Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1891 — Page 5

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. Some Valuable Information for the Plowman, Stockman, Poulterer, Nurseryman, and Everybody Connected uritb the Farm. THE FARM. A Yankee Fence.

N many localities rail fences are still in use, but the scarcity of timber prevents them from being rebuilt; hence various plans are adopted to still keep the fence with less wooden material. A fence that is not only neat, but truly economical of . timber, may be constructed as follows: Sound pieces of rails or other material are used for posts, which

may be either set or driven, and as rails are usually cut twelve feet in length the posts should be set seven feet apart from center to center. The geueral appearance of the fence when finished is shown in figure 2, while the manner of attaching the wire is shown in figure 1. Either rails, poles, boards, or slabs can be used in this manner. Each panel can be used or opened as a.driveway,and in the spring all posts that have been disturbed by the frost can be readily redriven without removing the rails or boards. Four rails make as good a cattle, horse, and sheep fence as seven rails

would laid up in the common zigzag form, occupy less ground and will be found very desirable. No. 9 or 10 galvanized wire should be used, drawipg each staple so that it will grip the wire. —American Aarlculturiat Farmers’ Barn Yards. Some day, when you have nothing else to do, take a ride through the country and count all the neatly-kept barn-yards you see. Even if you have other duties, go, if for no other reason than out of curiosity. In a ride of twenty miles you will not see ten half neatly-kept barnyards, and not more than two —more likely not one—as it should be kept. You will see a wagon here,another there, over there a sled and in another place a hay-rack, flat on the ground, all ranged about the middle of the lot; and besides all these things you will see plows, cornplanter, harrows, small hay-stacks, piles of boards, rails, posts and many other things I cannot now enumerate, thrown around in a haphazard way that ought *to put any farmer to shame. Not a blade of grass to be seen, when there should be a well-sodded yard. In thinking of the many, many farmers I have known, I can remember but one who has a well-kept barn-yard. And, as the yard indicates, he is a very methodical farmer. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” is his motto, and the entire farm shows that his motto has become a reality, not a mere theory. When he drives into the lot his wagon has a place of its own; each piece of machinery has its own place. Nothing is left in the center of the lot for a horse to run over and perhaps cripple itself. This barn-yard furnishes pasture for two work horses during the summer nights, and for four or five calves through the entire summer; yet, it does not contain over two acres. But the horses are allowed to run in it when the ground is soft. Of course, it never becomes cut up and rough. The farmer has hauled plenty of gravel about the barn, and little or no mud is found there. As most barn-lots are along the road in line with the house-yard, one would suppose as much care would be taken to keep them in order as is used on other promises. There is just where you are mistaken, as a ride will convince you. The house-yard may be perfectly neat and the adjoining barn-lot may be a perfect slough of filth and disorder. Why do not these men realize that their lots are but lots on an otherwise lovely picture? Why not use a little forethought when driving in with machinery and vehicles? It takes no longer to drive a wagon to the same place each time, than it does to unhitch wherever the horses may happen to stop. “But,” says one, *‘l haven’t room.” You think you have not room simply t because your lot is in such a confused jumble that you do not know yourself how much room you have until you “size up,” as the housekeepers say. Just try it once; if not for your own satisfaction, do so for the pleasure of the people who pass your place. At first they may make remarks and be inclined to wonder what can have taken possession of you, it is so unlike you to have order in yoiy barnyard. But never do you mind their talk, when this systematic plan has become a habit with you, others maybe led, seeing jour “light,” to “go and do likewise”.— Elza Renan.

THE HOUSEHOLD.

The Washboard with Rollers. The illustration shows the plan of a washboard which was invented by one of my brothers when I was a boy, writes

T. J. May. The first one that was made was used at home, and the neighbors, learning its convenience, had similar ones made for themselves. The board consists of a frame similar to the diagram, with rollers instead of grooves as in the ordinary washboard. The rollers are made of some hardwood, oak, beech, hickory, maple, or something of that kind. About an inch

A NOVEL WASHBOARD.

and a quarter in diameter I think would be the proper'size, however, that might be changed to any proportion. Set them in the frame as indicated in the diagram, being careful not to put them too far apart, as they are intended to roll when in the process of washing. An eighth of an inch would be the proper distance

apart to* set them. Any wood turner can furnish the rollers. Have the tenons cut on the ends to about half an inch. A thin board nailed on the back of the washboard at the top, and extending down about half way, is absolutely necessary in order to protect the one who is washing from getting wet. Vermin. The only way to keep down vermin is to take a day off and do the work well. Add a quart of kerosene to a tub of strong soap-suds, so as to form an emulsion. With,a watering pot, force pump, or any other contrivance, saturate every portion of the house, exterior, interior, floors, roosts, walls, under the roof, and be sure to get it into every crack and crevice. Theu dust each fowl thoroughly with Dalmation insect powder, holding the fowl head downwards, so as to have the powder reach every portion of the body. Lice multiply very rapidly during the summer, and the house should be kept clear of the droppings. A large number of young cockerels in the yards with the hens and pullets are a nuisance, and should be thinned out just as soon as can be done. Cheap Cots of Meat. Many of the so-called cheap cuts of meat are preferable, for instance, the shoulder df mutton is much more delicate than the leg, as most persons know, the price is low. The English, who of all people know what good mutton is, always give the leg to the household and save the shoulder for guests or first table. However, meat is not the only thing you must learn to choose. housewife does not know that a delicious stew may be made of round steak, which costs a mere, trifle when compared with the choicest sirloin and porterhouse steaks. First pound the round steak, then cut it into small pieces and proceed as with any meat stew.

Utilizing Old Carpets. Ingrain carpets, worn beyond repair, should be cut into lengthwise strips, and woven the same as a rag carpet. It is unnecessary to sew the ingrain cuttings, weavers generally preferring to overlap the strips as they weave. Mats and carpets assume quite a Persian look when made in this way, and are very durable. When the carpet is only worn on the edges or in certain spots the good portions may be sewed together, a border put on and a good looking rug made. Hints to Housekeepers. Tallow, applied warm, will soften and finally cure corns and bunions. Apples will not freeze if covered with linen cloth, nor pie or custard burn if in the oven with a dish of water. Purify cloths that have been kept from the air by laying pieces of charcoal (wrapped in paper) in the folds. Try the open air first. It is said that to drink sweet milk after onions will purify the breath so that no odor will remain. A cupful of strong coffee is also recommended. Don’t forget to have a few beans of coffee handy, for this serves as ?. deodorizer if burnt on coals of paper. Bits of charcoal are useful in absorbing gases and other impurities. Keep your jelly in a cool, dry closet. Either write the name’of the variety of the jell Tin a neat little slip of white paper, and paste this on the side of the glass, or write in the centre of the covers before pasting them on. A pretty way of serving eggs for tea is this: Cut bread in nice square pieces and toast. Take eggs out of the shell, keeping yolks whole. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, lay the beaten whites around nicely on the toast, drop yolks in center of white ring, salt and put in hot oven to bake a few minutes. When you take them out of the oven, pour a little melted butter on toast.

THE POULTRY YARD.

•Poultry Houses. We have endeavored to give a great many designs of poultry houses, and in this issue give two by way of comparison. It is not possible to present a design that would be acceptable, to all; hence each reader must compare the whole, and select the one most suitable for his purpose, considering the cost. Fig. 1 shows a house in which the roof and sides are combined. It may be 16 feet square, 9 feet at the peak, with a board at the bottom 1 foetr high; or it may be of any size cost for material is about sls, the floor being of earth. It is not so convenient for one entering it as is the house shown at Fig. 2; but this house gives more room on the ground, at less cost. Windows should

FIG. 1. —POULTRY HOUSE.

be at both ends, and the roosts may be short, so as not to interfere with ingress, or egress of the attendant. Fig. 2 show's a double house. This house is 10x16 feet, divided into two apartments, each Bxlo feet, and will cost about sls. Each apartment will accommodate about ten or twelve fowls, and one ventilator (A) will answer for both. There are two entrances to and from the interior, one at each end (B) and a

FIG. 2.—DOUBLE POULTRY HOUSE.

wire or lath partition, with a door in the partition, separate the two flocks. This house, like the other, gives plenty of room on the ground, and is more convenient in some respects; but both arc good and cheap. —Farm and Fireside. Ik Duck Raising Profitable? In a recent issue of our paper a correspondent asked for information in regard to duck-culture. From some experience in the matter, I draw the following conclusions: 1. The Pekin or Aylesbury ducks

seem to be best adapted for purely economical purposes, having large bodies, white plumage, and a habit.of extremely rapid growth. They are prolific eggproducers, and the eggs hatch well. 2. My experience with the young has been that extreme care is necessary for the first two or three days after they are hatched, as they do not begin to eat or drink readily, even when twenty-four or thirty-six hours old. A little patience, however, in teaching them to eat will overcome this difficulty—if difficulty others have found it. When they once begin to eat they will need no urging, as any one who attempts to feed a couple of hundred will soon find out.

3. Their growth from the shell 'up to the time when they are eight or nine weeks old is simply marvelous. One can almost see theii - bodies expanding. But to sustain such a growth they must have a large supply of growth-producing foods —milk, meat, bran, oats and whole wheat steamed, chopped clover steamed, and some corn meal, or better, cracked coru. To secure the greatest profit, the young stock should be marketed at about eight weeks of age. Prices in other years have been very good for young ducks at the proper season in the spring, in May and June, but the present season has seen a decrease in prices, I believe —probably owing to the large number that are produced. A great many have doubtless gone into raising them for market, induced by the good prices and the very rosy accounts that certain ones have given in regard to the business. 4. There are quite a number of points that ought to be considered before one invests very heavily in this class of poultry. The birds are exceedingly filthy aud noisy to have about. They will wander long distances from home in search of water for swimming if not confined in yards. They are enormous eaters, reminding one of the pig that was met by a sympathetic gentleman carrying a pSil of milk. Feelifig distressed at the hungry appearance of the pig, he presented the pail, from which the little porker drank every drop. “Then,” exclaimed the owner of the pig (so Jwe are told), “I picked oop the leetle baste, and nut ’im into the pail, an’ sure it is he did riot fill it half full!” The adult ducks are most excellent and persistent layers, and will average more eggs than the general run of hens, and the eggs usually sell at an extra price. Wisely conducted, the raising of ducks may be made to pay a profit, but the average poultry keeper will probably make more profit from hens, giving them the same care, and such food as ducks require in order to do well. If one is situated near tide waters where the ducks can gather a good deal of their living, the margin of profit might perhaps be quite large.— Cor. Country Gentleman.

THE DAIRY.

Cattle Breeding. The best beef has usually sold at a profit through all the seasons of depression. The exception may be accounted for in the improper methods of feeding, and neglect to improve the best time for marketing. Every general farmer should grow good-grade cattle —every animal the progency of a pure-bred sire of any of the recognized beef breeds, and the dam should be of the best type of cows, herself the get of a choice sire with as much good blood back of him as is obtainable. The cows should be trained to milk well; and if their capacity after a full test, when three years old. does not reach an average.of four gallons per day during at least 250 days in the year, great effort should be made to breed them so that their progeny will be more surely in the milking strains. Half of such a cow’s milk should go to the calf until six months old, the balance to good use for butter or cheese and the dross to the pigs. A 3-year-old cow whose average milk production is less than three gallons

A THOROUGHBRED.

daily for two-thirds of a year has no profitable place on the average farm. The four-gallon cow described above, under right management, will pay her way and give to her owner a 600-pound calf at six months old, free of charge, which may be counted the average animal profit from a herd of good cows. With such a steer of heifer calf it may be fed to early maturity, say at 600 days’ age. Under successful feeding for beef it will never become well acquainted with hunger, nor should it ever be allowed to become dyspeptic from full satisfaction at the feedbox. There is a right principle to follow in the successful production of beef and butter. The above outline applies to the general farmer who lives five miles or more from a village of 1,000 or more population or a railway station —his farm land being worth S3O to SIOO per acre. The special dairyman who sells milk in town by retail, or ships to the city wholesale trade may (?) ignore the calf and the beef question. The large farms where help is scarce and high priced and the land worth less than S3O per acre, may dispense with great milkers by careful management, grazing the cow principally, and the steers after 12-months-old, putting the latter on the market at thirty months of age instead of twenty months. But the prosperous cattleman must be a business man—one of natural ability; and the more he knows of the world of business the better chance for profit from His calling. —Orange Judd Farmer.

Dairy Notes. When one finds a hair in the butter it is a sufficient proof that that dairy is badly managed. One act of uncleanliness is an indication that the whole system of the management is defective. A cow requires four feet of width and from four and one-half feet in length for comfortable standing and lying room in a stall. To accommodate the differentsized cows the standing floor should taper from four and one-half feet at one end to five feet at the otner. The most comfortable fastening for a cow is a strap around the neck with a ring sown in it, to which is fastened by a snap hook, a short chain having a ring in the end to slide up and down a strong post at the upper qorner of the stalL

"SUNSET” COX IN BRONZE.

Louise Lawson's Statue Made for the Letter Carriers Ready for Casting. The letter carriers of New York some time ago inaugurated a movement to erect a monument in Central Park to S. S. Cox, the late member of Congress, who was a great friend of the postoffice employes, and had rendered them great service. They appealed to their brethren throughout the country, and met with great success. From every State in the Union subscriptions poured in on the committee, which was soon in

STATUE OF THE LATE S. S. COX.

(i position to set about the work practically. It was decided that the monmument should be a simple statue standing on a plain granite pedestal, and the contract for making the model was given to Miss Louise Lawson, the sculptor. She has completed her model in clay. The statue will be of bronze, will be nine feet high, and will stand on a pedestal twelve feet high. The model represents Mr. Cox as in the act of speaking in Congress, his eye on the Speaker, his right hand raised, and his index finger extended, while his left arm hangs by his side. Those who have seen the model differ in their opinion of its artistic merits. Some claim that it is a poor piece of work which can never be accepted by the art experts who are to pass upon it, while others insist that it is all right. The letter carriers have accepted it and agreed to pay Miss Lawson SIO,OOO for her work. Her original design was a monument that would portray the history of letter carrying from the days of „the„ fabled Mercury down to our own times. But the letter carriers wanted a simple statue on a pile of granite, and they have had their way.

ANOTHER FLYER.

A Machine Intended to Bore Though the Air. Mr. Allan, a resident of Seattle, Wash., is at present engaged in perfecting a flying machine. The cigarshaped framework will be 100 feet in length. About it will be a worm of silk filled with gas. The worm will form the thread of a screw ten feet in diameter at the center, and tapering at either end. A cabin in the frame,

INVENTOR AND MACHINE.

suspended from the axle, will be the source of the “power” which is to cause the screw to revolve and bore its way through the air. One man only is to occupy the cabin. Passengers will be carried in a basket suspended below the frame by long ropes. A complicated steering apparatus will control the course of the machine. Mr. Allan is confident that his invention will be “a go” when put to the test. That, however, is a matter that only the future can decide.

His Weak Spot.

One evening four or five drummers and agents who had been working Quincy. HI., to no purpose, were discussing their ill-luck in the office of the hotel, when one observed: “There’s an old shad down here in a hardw are store who makes me tired. This is about the fifteenth time I’ve tried for an order, and it’s no go.” “Old chap with a big nose on him ?” queried one of the others. “Yes.” “Ordered me out doors, confound him.” “And he told me,” said a third, “that he never bought of an agent, trusted a stranger, or got caught on any man’s game. * “'J hat’s old Blank to a dot,” putin the landlord. “He’s as sharp as he is stingy.” Considerable more was said in the same strain, but by and by a man who had registered from Chicago put in: “Boys, it’s all in understanding human nature. Bet you SSO even up that I can get $lO out of him in fifteen minutes, and that without value received or signing my name to a paper.” His money was covered instantly, and next morning he took one of the crowd down to the store, introduced himself, and said: “Mr. Blank, the Governor of this State gave me vouv name as a piominent resident of this neighborhood. Our house is publishing county histories of Illinois. Every subscriber at $25 has a full-paged portrait and two pages of reading matter. I shall take only five in this city, and you beiug the most prominent resident, jl have called upon jou first.” “Well, sir, in just twelve minutes he

had old Blank’s order for a book, and $lO paid down as a guarantee that he would take it. He had hit him in his weak Bpot, and our money fell into his pocket with a thud -which could be heard clear across the hotel office.— New York Sun.

Mr. Thompson's Return.

She’s a good-looking, keen-eved girl of 18, and 1 shouldn’t wonder if she’s a stenographer in some business house in New York. I’ve seen her oome over on the Pavonia Ferry and take a suburban train on the* Erie Road several times, and I always admired the independent and self-reliant way in which she carries herself. She isn’t bold or brazen, but sails right along as if she had certain rights, and was bound to maintain them. One day last week as she left the boat, a middle-aged man ol pleasant features who had followed her over, crowded her with his elbow and turned and smiled and began an apology. She caught on like a flash. He had “poked” her to create an opportunity, and if not downed then and there he would pester her again. A dozen of us saw and heard what happened. She turned on him, extended her hand for a shake, and artlessly exclaimed : “Why, Mr. Thompson, is that you? Why, the last I heard of you you had run away to Boston with a servant girl, and your wife didn’t oare a cent! You must have got baok!” He had. He had got back so much that his face fired up, the words he wanted to utter struck in his throat, and he made a mysterious disappearance about five seconds later. “Knows her biz,” observed a man who was walking behind the girl. “You bet!” replied his friend. “She’ll make somebody a staving good wife.” —New York Sun.

Thin Beggar Had Indigestion.

“Beggars nowadays know that the old stories common to their profession won’t go down with the average NewYorker who reads the papers and keeps up with the times,” said a young broker at the Hoffman House the other evening. “Being aware of the fact, they are ever on the lookout for some new method of approaching passers-by so they may be reasonably sure of getting a moment’s attention and incidentally a quarter, or at least a dime. Sometimes they size a man up from his appearance. and walking up to him they say boldly: ‘Mister, I am suffering awfully for a drink, and if you’d give me the price you’d save me a lot of suffering.’ “In making this appeal the mendicant knows that if the man to whom he appeals is ‘a man about town’ he will have known what it is to have been suffering for a drink himself and readily give up a dime to aid a man in the same plight. “The hungry man, the newsboy who hasn’t sold his papers, the stranger who wants a lodging over night, and the old woman who asks for her fare back to Harlem are all familiar figures to the New-Yorker, but I really met a man with an original idea yesterday,” continued the broker. “He approached me as usual, and I said: ‘Yes, I know, you are hungry and all that, but I can’t do anything for you.’ “To my surprise, however, he replied: ‘No, I ain’t hungry, boss. I just ate a big dinner and I’m suffering from indigestion. Can’t you give me something to buy medicine with V “He got a quarter.”— New York Herald.

The Secret Service.

The reasons why the business of the department is not revealed to the public are manifest, but I think there are many things which might well be revealed, and which, if known to the general public, would save the Chief of the Secret Service and his aids much bother, for it is a well-known fact that the ignorance of people concerning the workings of the department is simply astounding. It is the common impres sion that the United States Secret Service is in existence for the purpose of ferreting out all crimes against the Government. If a petty mail robbery occurs in Alabama, or opium smuggling is being practiced on the Canadian frontier, people of this country imagine that the secret service officials to the number of several hundted are at work upon the cases. This is, indeed, far from the truth. The Secret Service of the United States is for the sole purpose of ferreting out counterfeits and counterfeiters, and securing, if possible, the conviction of counterfeiters. The work done by this department is simply marvelous, in the face of the fact that the number of men employed on such work by the Government is but twenty-eight. Just think of it! Twenty-eight men cover this entire country hunting out counterfeits and counterfeiters, devising intricate schemes to catch the coniacker redhanded in his infamous work, planning deep-laid schemes for securing the “green goods,” and hunting up evidence against men well known to be engaged in making or selling counterfeit money. —Pittsburgh Dispatch.

A Queer Old Lady.

Mrs. Jane McKeene, an old lady in Lewiston, Me., who was recently taken to the insane asylum, had been very eccentric for years while working in the cotton mills, and a number of stories are told of her peculiarities. At one time she had a lot of cockroaches in a box near her looms which she would feed every day. Whether they ate the food provided by their benefactress is not known, but she took good care of them and they increased in numbers, until at last the superintendent discovered them and had them removed. The old lady cried bitterly that her pets —and whoever had such pets before—were removed/ Thev say she used to drop a silver coin in the canal day, which she said went to feed her husband and boy,who were drowned at sea. Her boy’s clothes, which she carried under her arm, she never parted with. Every morning she took the bundle to her work, and each night returned with it. Previous to the time of Elizabeth the only article to assist in eating was the jackknife, which also served for sundry other purpose-

GLASTONBURY ABBEY.

The Most Rsnownsd Ecclesiastical Bute In England. t Glastonbury Abbey is justly the most renowned ecclesiastical ruin in. England and bears a weight of the most varied and interesting assQciations. Though now, like some ancient tomb, it sits in solitary ruin, the influences, social, political, and rtligious. that it once distributed weave around' it a halo of renown. Glastonbury is said to have been originally an island and its surface a marsh, its then name being Yniswydryn—the Isle of the Glassy Water. This was changed by St. Benignus, one of the early abbots

RUINS OF GLASTONBURY ABBEY.

of the monastery, to Avalonia and subsequently, when Saxon power was ascendant, to Glastonbury. A very fuestionable tradition has it that oseph of Aramathtea, who provided a tomb for the Savior, was the first Christian missionary of Britain and the most beautiful romance has been thrown around the event. But more probably Britain was visited by some other missionaries in the first century, one of whom, it is believed, was S*t. Paul or Bran, the father of the renowned Caractaous. At this era the tendenoy of religious life was toward asceticism. Persecution raged and Christians retired into the solitudes of forests and caves, hoping to find that peace and security denied them by the cruelty of their enemies. Societies were formed and the foundations of regular monasteries were laid v This was so in Britain as in the Orient and Glastonbury Abbey was founded. Whatever community* of Christians dwelt together at Glastonbury during the first six centuries appear not to have adopted any particular garb, but when St. Austin visited the abbey in 605 he changed the existing institutes for those of St. Benedict. Glastonbury is therefore the first Benedictine abbey in England. In the beginning the buildings were poor, architecture in Britain being at that; time in its infancy. Abbot Herelewinus is credited with afterward rear-i ing the gorgeous pile of architecture which in its time was the delight and wonder of the age and still in its ruins is sublime and beautiful. The massive and lofty walls which inclosed the buildings ran in a quadrangular form and inclosed an area of sixty acres. Ht. Joseph’s chapel was strikingly beautiful and another chapel, whose ruins no longer exist, was plated over with 2,640 pounds of silver and had an altar of gold weighing 264 pounds. Kings visited the venerable pile and bestowed lands upon the abbey. King. Arthur, Kenwalch, the second King of the West Saxons, King Ina, King Eddins, Edward I. and his consort, Eleonora, »Canute, Edward 111. and his.

RUINS OF ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH.

queen, Philippa, were among thosewho contributed to the richness aud beautifying of the place. In 1184 the monastic buildings were destroyed by fire and Henry 11. rebuilt them. In 1286 an earthquake occurred in Somerset County and again the abbey was damaged. Improvements were then made till the far-famed convent reached its summit of magnificence and renown. But in the reign of Henry VIII. Glastonbury eharcdl the fate of other similar Its abbot, Bichard Whiting, was hang;ed, his body quartered, and different portions of it sent to Wells, Bath, Hchester, and Bridgewater to bleach in the winds of heaven, while his head! was placed on the abbey gate. The work of plundering the abbey went on until its immense revenues and possessions were squandered and the timehonored structure became a ruin. Modern vandals afterward repaired roads with portions of the building, and now one, while standing amid the ruins, can meditate on its past mutations and learn lessons impressive, instructive and mournful.

Singular Misadventure.

George Tolbert, a young herder, rode into Mojave, N. M., to have atooth pulled. On his way back his horse threw him, and, becoming frightened, kicked him into insensibility. When he gained consciousness he found that matches carried in his pocket had become ignited, setting fireto his clothing and! severely burning one foot. Being unable to walk, it is said he crawled on his hands and knees ten miles to reach assistance. It is> Thought amputa ion of the foot will be> necessary. A Callaway County, $!»., man is the proud possessor of a gourd which was brought from Wales in 1638.