smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

Tho story or n German Family In Missouri.


A sedalia (Mo.) paper says: There
was told to us story, the truth OF which
we can vouch for, and the details OF
which are so pathetic, and yet so horrid,
as to sound more like some witch's work
than like the plain fact it is. It has
never been published before, and was
known to but two OF three persons
until only day or two since. -.


Near Cambridge, Saline county, Lies
an island out in the middle Of the Mis-
souri, river. It is large one, and its
soil is fit for the raising Of corn and mel
ons and q few kinds of vegetables. Upon
this resided q German family, Waggoner
by name. It was composed of husband
and wife and two very pretty children,
aged respectively five years and ten.
The old man had him comfortable
house built, and made his living by boat
ing and by what yield few sandy acres
might give him.


Ono day the husband Of this family
had some business on the mainland, and
30 he bade bis wife. and children good
bye, got into his boat and rowed across
the stream, intending without fail to be
back the evening Of that day. This was
on the morning Of Tuesday. The night
following, the mother of the family TOOK
sick with collie, it is supposed, and died.


No aid could reach her, and there she
was dying, out on that lonely island in
the nipht. and with only her two little
children at her bedside. AnMously must
she have listened. with her hearing al
ready deadened, for the coming OF her
husband, and wistfully must those Little
children have stretched theirsight across
the water for the return Of their father.


But he came not, and there In mid
stream, and in the darkened cabin, those
children were left alone with a dead
mother. They could, OF course, do
nothing for themselves, and there was 10
aid in reach of them, 30 they bad to Let
the body remain just as it lay in the last
struggle Of death. ...'....' '.as =,


That night the cold came on, and by
morning the stream was blocked with
ice, so that no skiff might cross it in
safety. .:,'..' -.


The days went YEARLY BY, and the
children, frightened and fatigued be-
yond anything we may imagine, began
to feel the want Of provisions. There
was scant supply Of them in the cabin
when the father left, and they were now
about consumed. Most horrid OF all the
story, but no less the truth, the rats
began to seek the corpse Of the dead
mother, and when the husband return
ed, a week from the day OF his depart
ure, who can picture the horror that
befell him as hs entered his once happy
home and found his wife lying there
with her face half eaten off with the yer.
min, and his little children almost starv-
Year: 1876

E1P1osrvE.-The pumpkin is not gen.
orally supposed to be dangerous vege-
table, but the recent experience OF q
woman in Massachusetts proves that it
may be. This woman, proposing to
make some pumpkin pies, found that
the pumpkin was frozen, and put it into
an oven to "thaw out" When she
went to remove it it exploded with the
report of q bombshell, part striking
her in the face with great force and
burning Her severely. ,
Year: 1876

Not costly dress nor queenly air,
Not jeweled hand, complexion fair
Not graceful form nor lofty tread
Nor paint, nor curls, nor splendid head
Not pearly teeth nor sparkling eyes;
Not voice that nightingale outvies
Not breath as sweet as eglantine
Not gaudy gems nor fabrics fine;
Not all the stIres of fashions mart,
Nor yet the Establishments of art
Not one nor all of these combined,
Can make one woman true, refined,
'Tis not the casket that we prize,
But that which in the casket lies
These outward charms that please the sigh
Are naught unless the heart is right
Year: 1876

HE SPEED OF RAILWAY TRAINs.-
Trains are now run at the rate of about
forty miles an hour-sometimes much


faster, and generally somewhat slower.
The fastest trains in England run at sixty
miles an hour. To run at this rate, the
piston or driving rod of the locomotive
must travel at the speed of eight hundred
feet per minute, or SO rapidly that it can
not be seen to move at all. George Ste
phenson, the first to claim that the loco
motive could run at twelve miles an hour,
was called insane until he proved it. 1t
was but few years after this that prom
nent engineers SAID that railway trains
could be regularly run at one hundred
miles an hour and Stephenson was again
miles an hour was as fast as trains could
be regularly and safely run. But is now
discovered that he was nearly right, and
locomotive makers are no longer building
engines to run faster than this rate. But
they are trying instead 20 save the time
lost in taking coal and water for supply
ing the engines. On some lines long
open trough, forty feet long, is laid be-
tween the rails. This is filled with water.
AS the locomotive passes at the speed of
fifty miles an hour, pipe or scoop is
lowered into this trough /; the water is
thus dipped up and placed in :he water
box for use by the engine. Another in
vention is a huge box placed above the
road and filed with coal. AS the locomo-
tive passes, it touches a spring, the box
turns instantly upside down and the coal
drops into the tender which runs behind
the locomotive. The time which is thus
saved will of course make the trips short
er, without calling for an increase of
speed. 1t may be that when the boys of
to-day are grown, railway trains will not
be run any faster than they are now but
in spite of what George Stephenson has
prophesied, | suspect some future Amer
lean engineer, who is now boy, will find
means OF running them twice as fast rs
they are now run, and | hope with greater
safety to the passe ngers.-,H. Nicholas.
Year: 1876

FULLY QUALIFIED.-When a man up
in Wisconsin, who was running for the
office OF Lieutenant Governor, was asked
by friend if he thought hs experience
was such as to qualify him to discharge
the duties of his office, he said he thought
it ought to be-hc had been Lieutenant
Governor in his own family ever since
he was married,
Year: 1876

A GENTLEMAN in Chicago noticed
pi geon entangled in some string on
tree so that it could rot oXirlcato itseIi'-"
A number of boys were throwing stones
at il. but the kind man rebuked them for
their cruelty and drove them away. lie
then got ladder and tenderly took the
frightened, auttering little creature in bis
hand, and the next day he observed that
it made one os the best pics he had ever
eaten.
Year: 1876

elapso without much progress. These obsti-
nate cases are sometimes benefited by
little fasting. AT first the milk is skinned
at twelve hours old but as the calf grows
older more cream is taken aud finally all
that will rise before souring, the intention
being to skim before ii reaches this condition.
This, however, is not always practicable in
the heat Of summer. The calf is tied in the
barn and fed three times a day with milk,
and as soon as old enough, with fine, early
cut hay. l believe this better way than
TO feed the same quantity twice day, We
humans eat three times day, and we feed
our cattle three times. Is the calf better
able to live and thrive upon two meals than
grown-up cuttle2 Certainly not so we'll.
The young Of every species need their food
often. Watch the young lambs, infants and
young birds and be convinced. Sometimes
when the flow of milk is checked, or there is
other demand for it, oatmeal Cruel is SUBJ
stituted, and answers a very good purpose to
make up the deficiency.


After haying when the grass has started
the calf is turned out and if his meals have
not been reduced to two this is now done
and continued until winter. Then he is fed
with milk once a day at noon, while it is to
be had, the longer the better if weaned before
turning out to grass. In order to receive
the most benefit, the milk is warmed to the
temperature ofmilk just drawn from the COW.
OF course water should be furnished as soon
as needed but while milk is abundant and
is fed three times day it is unnecessary.


There is no less Importance in good,
warm winter quarters than in feed. A cold
shed, through and under which the wind
whistles dirges and carries snsw, is not a
suitable place for calves, and it will defeat
the best care in feeding. They need a
warm stable and clean bed and in warm
sunny days chance to take the sun.


There may be better way than the one
here described. But calves treated in this
way will grow every day from the time they
are dropped, and at no time faster than in
the winter. When spring comes and they
are turned out they continue to grow
whereas the hide.bound, hair-reversed scala
wag that has stood in the tracks of a milk
ing stool all winter will not begin to thrive
until the season is considerably advanced


S. 4. G.
IItr,o;o1fo,,
Year: 1876

to market in the winter, doing it our
selves, with our own teams, it will add quite
an item to our income. While we are draw
ing an income from our wood lots, we should
keep in mind that wood and timber will he
required in the future, aud that it is our
duty to preserve the forests for those who may
come after us. If VIC cut the mature trees,
we should plant others to grow up and take
their places. We should not reduce the
number of acres of forest upon our farms.
The per cent. Of forest to the cleared land in
Vermont is already less than in Germany,
and many Of the old divisions Of Europe.
There are very few farms in the more thick
ly settled portions of the state, whose value
would not be increased $1,000, if ten addi.
tional acres were in heavy timber. We can
raise forest trees more easily than fruit trees,
and probably neglect to do SO, only because
we see no immediate profit to ourselves. But
we all hope to leave something to our fami-
lies. What bettor can we leave them than a
thrifty wood lott


Our poor pastures, if fenced against cattle,
will grow up to wood in time, but we cannot
afford to wait for nature to do it ALL We
should plant seeds and set young trees oil
such valuable kinds as we wish to havO oc.
cupy the ground Silver or white maple
and elm, both rapidly growing trees ripen
their seeds from the first to the middle OF
June, if the seeds are planted as soon as
ripe, they will spring up and make growth
of from one to three feet the same season.
The sugar maple is easily raised from seeds,
or it may be transplanted from the forest
when from six to ten feet high If set out
one to the square rod, it will form the basis
of a sugar lot, which in twenty-five years
will be worth one hundred dollars per acre
Chestnut is very valuable timber, and is
easily propagated. If the nuts when gath
cred are mixed with sand or loan, and buried
in the ground below severe frost, they will
be in condition to plant as soon as the frost
is out of the ground in the spring, We may
easily cover our side hills, river banks, and
portions of our rocky, braky pastures with
forests, which will greatly increase the value
of our farms. A belt of ovOrgreOns planted
on the north side of our dwellings will afford
much needed shelter from our northern winds,
and trees planted by the road side and
around our yards will add much to make
our homes more comfortable, pleasant and
attractive.
Year: 1876

question of the profit Of cooking meal for
mich COWS is one which every man can set
tIo for himself by trying it, great deal bet
ter than any man can tell him. Let him
give the same rations every day except that
the meal is cooked every other week,
weighing the milk and butter 1t must not
be supposed that the question is for ever dis.
posed Of by an experiment of two weeks
duration. The longer it is continued the
more reliable will be the results.


Roots on the other hand incr ease the flow
of milk without adding to the oil. Some
roots lower the proportion of oil or butter il
fed very freely. They give tone to the sys.
tenn and assist is digesting dry food. Roots
and grain are best fed together.


An acre of turnips grown last season on
the farm of the editor of the FARMER, is
estimated to have cost less than ten cents per
bushel in the cellar, including use of land,
manure, barrel of phosphate, and labor.
Sow them early in june on sod land we'll
manursd and plowed in. If ten loads of old
well rotted manure are narrowed in after
blowing, and narrowed three or four times
with week between the crop will be greatly
benefited. In the absence Of old manure
some concentrated fertilizer should be applied
in the drill to give them a start. No crop
pays for superphosphato so we'll as turnips


Sow with hand drill, IA boy can SOW an
acre in an hour after the superphosphate i.
is soWn,) three feet and half apart. Cul.
tivate them soon as the plants are large
enough to follow the rows. Weed them be.
fore the weeds start, and do not fail. Then
it be done quickly with hoe. Otherwise il
is slow, lingering back-aching job. Leave
the plants ten inches apart. Two good hoe.
ings are ususally enough if the weeds that
afterwards start are pulled out and the
cultivator is kept going. Do not fear to
hurt them with the cultivator If a leaf is
broken off now aud then it is no great loss
Top them with sharp hoe. Pull them
with hook if the ground is not wet the
jolting of loading and unloading will clean
them enough.
Year: 1876

Perhaps the making and saving of manure
will be looked upon, by some, as a very
hackneyod theme. True, it may be so.called,
but, at the same time, it is equally true that
it is one Of those subjects upon which there
needs to be given, "llne upon line, precept
upon precept," for it is, emphatically, one of
the very foundation stones Unsuccessful farm
ing. No matter how rich and fertile any soil
may be, constant and repeated cropping, with
out return, will sooner or later, make 1t un.
productive. We all know this to be trite,
and experience, especially among western
farmers, proves it equally true. The teach
ings of the various agricultural papers upon
the matter under consideration have had
very much to do in bringing about the great
change for the better, in developing and hus-
banding the resources of the farm. The
change, in this respect, is not imaginary it
is real, as any one with an eye to observa.
tion can very readily perceive.


To illustrate From 90 to % years ago.
when the writer began farming "on his own
hook" it was the custom for the Indian
wheat hulls, made at the grist !, mill a mile
away, to be run into the stream to get them
out of the way. No one wanted them they
were looked upon as nuisance. The writer
was subjected to no small amount Of ridicule,
when he first began the practice of drawing
them to his farm for litter and bedding.
Now the demand for the hulls made at the
same mill is so general that they are not
only kept well cleared out, but, at certain
times, the miller is able to sell them for a
small price


The same change, in regard to the saving
Of forest leaves, can be noticed. Ten loads
of them are saved now where one was a
score of years ago. Not long ago farmer
would have been laughed at, if he was found
digging and hauling muck from the swamps
or "bog-hole," then regarded as nuisance.
Now it is justly regarded as one of the great
est conscrvatories Of what may, by labor, be
turned to wealth. The same Of saw dust and
shavings They were formerly considered
worthless for the purposes of manuring, and
so they we're, aud are, to certain extent in
and of themselves. 1t is when used as alb.
sorbents Of the liquid portions of manure,
that their real value is apparent. A case in
point; a progressive farmer used saw dust
freely for bedding and an absorbent of urine !;
so freely that when used on the land it had
the appearance of being simply aud only
saw dust. "What good do you think that is
going to do your corn ?" was the inquiry OF
his skeptical neghbors, as he was placing
the same in the furrow. The sequel dem.
onstratod the wisdom of its use. The corn
where it was used was fully as good as where
the manure was orthodox


Still there are some men who refuse to
learn. Several times every week 90 by
the stable door of man who keeps horse,
and uses no bedding. Hulls, saw dust and
shavings near by to be had for the drawing
few rods but not bushel does he use, and
most likely never will. lie must keep in the
old rut. D. Il. AvERILL.
Nortifeld, VI.
Year: 1876

VIM McNall writes to the N. 4. Home
stead that some farmers are always having
bad luck with their COWS at calving time and
they seem to think Providence is against
them. Care and experience will prevent
great deal Of our bad luck. Two or three
OF my neighbors lost cows by allowing them
to drink all the cold water they wanted
soon after calviug. One lost a COW in this
way; he put his COW in an underground
stable to calve, very damp, the walls covered
with ice ; the COW never got up and soon
died. She had cold chills, and weakness;
no medicine did any good. A German had
a COW about coming in; he thought she
needed strength, so gave her about all the
corn meal she would eat he came very near
losing his COW, have used strong boneset
tea, red or black pepper in it for some of
these troubles with success. The better way
when your cows time is about out is to put
her in a stabls by herself, loose at night;
especially would give but very little meal
for week before calviug; bran, potatoes,
roots, etc are better after calying give no
cold water for two or three days, take off
the chill with hot water, stir in a little bran,
pallful three times a day after that you
can gradually increase the meal without
danger,
Year: 1876

cially when it is fed to mich COWS. This is
by no means lost, for either meat or milk is
worth much more than the bran. Besides,
the fertilizing material, in passing through
the body Of an animal, absorbs the various
dead matter thrown off from the body, and
is, besides, partially prepared or cooked
by animal heat, so as to be more readily SOL
uble as plant food.


Dry bran in the soil, unless in very wet
and warm season, will not become freely SOL
uble and fit for use by plants. The expert
ment has been tried of using raw corn meal
as manure for corn, but we believe it has not
proved profitable. Bran is less promising
material for manure than corn meal, as it
decomposes less rapidly and contains less
nitrogen.


Whenever bran can be bought for $40 to
S22 per ton, it is profitable feed for mlch
cows, aud in similar quantities for idle
horses aud growing stock. Horses working
every day need stronger feed, but for horses
lying idle in the stable bran has an excellent
laxative effect, keeping the bowels in good
condition and preparing for higher feeding
which should always be commenced as the
working season approaches.
Year: 1876

The centennial grounds, two miles from
the city of Philadelphia are to be so made.
quately provided with means of communica,
tion that there has been much anxiety on the
subject. The Pennsylvania state grange has
taken the matter in hand, and engaged a
large tract of land at Elm Station, about six
miles distant from West Philadelphia, and
four and half miles from the depot in front
Of the main entrance to the centennial
grounds, where they are erecting cheap struc-
lures which will afford accommodations for
24O0 people, at fifty cents for each meal and
the same for lodging. A basket lunch will
also be furnished to those who wish to take
it along with them to the show. The Penn.
sylvania Central will carry and return for
ID cents, and one way for ten.
Year: 1876

There is no stock upon the farm that will
make better returns for good care than the
calf; nor is there any more sadly neglected
when its real demands are taken into account
The first year is a very important one 10 the
life OF neat stock aud if this is suffo red to
pass without the best results, the creature
will not readily recover, and often will never
do it, If the calf is made to shirk for itself
among herd of cattle, fed upon straw, coarse
hay and cOrn.iodder at any time of day
when most convenient and its hair taught to
turn towards its nose, it will be but little
heavier in spring than December lst, when
it should grow as rapidly in winter as in
summer.


Born and brought up upon the farm, but
for many years cultiVating but few village
acres, my farming operations are circum-
scribed so that | seldom raise but one calf
it is barely possible if | had ten they would
grow up into scalawags, but not likely for
if ten should prove too many, the number
would be reduced to fit the treatment. There
is an old adage that reads thus "What is
worth doing at all is worth we'll doing" and
the calf is one of its truthful witnesses
Whatever the business on hand, it always
pays best to do it we'll No profit is born
of neglect.


My calves-I mean my calC-is allowed
to suck about one week, then taken from the
COW and taught to drink There is gener.
ally little difficulty in teaching them at THU
age Sometimes one will be found so obsti
nate or foOlish-calves are not proverbia
for their good senso--that several days will
Year: 1876

As new remedy for parasites on domes-
tic animals, we would advise that they be
sent to state political convention. Ifevery
louse, tick and other insect together with the
poor creature on whose blood they prey Is
not smothered, then set the editor Of
the FARMER down as no judge of the virtue
Of tobacco smoke.
Year: 1876

STEAMING FOoD For CATTLE-The editor
Of the New England Farmer, sums up his
conclusions in regard to steaming food as
follows:


If one has considerable quantities of course
or inferior fodder to work up, and wishes to
make up for its inferiorty by the use of
grain, and if the principle object is selling
milk by measure, without special regard to
quality, and if the number of COWS kept is
large, say twenty or more, and one expects
these conditions to exist several years, it will
pay to purchase good steam boiler and
cook the feed for the COWS ; but if the num-
Der Of animals is small, the quality of tho
very best, as when the object Of feeding is
anything but making milk for market, he
had better make his stables as warm and
comfortable as possible, and feed his hay
whole and raw, rather than incur the expense
and extra labor necessary for steamlng food
We also believe that many who have adopt
ed steaming and have, at the same time,
made their barns warm and comfortable by
tighter covering, or by the fire from the
furnace, or by both, and have also warmed
the water drank by the cows, would find it
not little puzziing to decide just now how
much Of the improvement in the condition
Of the animals, the increase in the amount
Of milk, and the saving Of fodder is due to
stcaming or cooking the food, and how much
to the general improvement in the care and
management of the animals which usually
accompanies the introduction of steamer on
the farm.
Year: 1876

A correspondent of the FARMER at War
ron inquiries if the keeping qualities of butter
would be injured by setting the cream
which rises ats high temperature mot hav-
ing conveniences for cooliug) in cold spring
until ready to churn.


There is no objection to keeping the
cream cool enough to prevent rapid develop
meut Of acidity. But it will not do to keep
it so cold that it will become bitter before
sufficient acidity develops. That would give
the same Objectionable results that are some.
times met with in winter Perhaps Mr.
Fassett or some other reader of the FARMER
will answer more definitely
Year: 1876

A correspondent to the Country Gentle
man recommends sowing mixed grain. To
the quantity of barley to be sown on an acre
add four quarts of fax seed, and four quarts
Of spring wheat.
Year: 1876

Monsieur Peupion, estimates as the result
of experiments that the pickerel devours
over fifty times his own weight of other fish
in year. And yet some people would pro-
tect this cannibal by law.