Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1901 — Page 7

FARM AND GARDEN

Extending End Gate. When corn has been loaded on a wAgfen, It is very unhandy to shovel off at first until the bottom of the wagon box has been reached, says an exchange. To overcome this difficulty different methods are followed, such as laying one end of a long, wide board on the end gate of the wagon and the other on the floor of the box before loading and shoveling on the board till the bottom of the box is to be got at, but the extending end gate, shown in the picture, will be found among the best of these expedients. It is fastened to the bed of the box by strap hinges which are sunk into the wood so as not to interfere with the shovel. The gate is made wide enough to allow the side pieces to be outside of the box. Iron ' etraps hold the side pieces secure on the gate. A rod of one-quarter inch iron looped in the manner shown in the cut is attached on each Slide. Thumbscrew bolts enable the looped rods to hold the gate when let down. When the hand bolts are screwed up/tightly on/the rod, they will hold the gate when

EXTENDING END GATE.

closed, for ordinary occasions, but hooks may be quickly attached to hold it still more securely. The gate will afford a platform for the farmer to stand on when starting to seoop up the corn as well as prove very advantageous In loading and unloading many articles. Handy Helps in Butchering;. To clean find carry a hog with ease use a short ladder (about six feet long will do) and place legs about a foot long under each end. Place a little tar in the scalding water, and the hog will clean easier. For a good hog scraper take a piece of an old grass scythe about four inches in length, with edge rather dull. In place of a scalding trough a large cask laid in a slanting position will answer the purpose almost as well. Two good rails placed in a slanting position against a building is the simplest method of hanging a bog easily. To clean a pork barrel that is tainted and has a bad smell about it wash it out as clean as you can, then whitewash it with fresh slacked lime. Let the barrel dry. and It is ready for use. The lime will not hurt the meat at all—Kansas Farmer. Valuable Beef. Here is given a picture of the Aber-deen-Angus steer “Advance,” sweepstakes winner as best beef animal at the Chicago Show, which was sold at auction for the astonishing price of

STEER SOLD FOR $1.50 A POUND.

$1 .50 per pound live weight, bringing $2,415. He was sent to New York to be butchered for the Christmas market, the purchaser being an agent of a packing company who wanted the beast as an advertisement. Bis Mares. The breeding of draft horses of extreme weight is not Hkely to be overdone in this country for a long time, sajis the National Stockman. The fact Is there are not any too many mares that can produce the top weight kind. A good, big draft mare Is, therefore, worth money to the man who is fixed, for raising heavy horses. Breed her to a good, big stallion, feed her and the foal plenty of good growing feed, such as oats, bran and clover hay, with some corn, too, and there is no danger of an undersized colt Draft blood is something, but not everything. Lack of feed In early life accounts for a whole - lot of draft bred horses that are only “chunks” of 1,400 pounds or less. Undersized nearly always means underfed at some stage of the game. Estimated Production of Corn. The production of corn in 1900 is estimated at 2,105,102,516 bushels; oats, 800,125,989 bushels; barley, 58,925,833 bushels; rye, 23,995,927 bushels; buckwheat, 9,566,960 bushels; potatoes, 210,926,897 bushels, and hay, 50,110,906 tons. The area from which these crops were gathered was as follows In acres: Corn, 83,320,872; oats, 27,864,705; barley, 2,1944282; rye, 1,191,326; buckwheat, 637,930; potatoes, 2,611,054, and

hay, 39,182,890. The corn crop of 1000 was one of the four largest ever gathered, while the oat crop has been exceeded only once. On the other hand, the barley and rye crops are the smallest, with one exception, in acres since 1887. The buckwheat crop is the smallest since 1883 and the hay crop is the smallest, with one exception, since 1888. Big Gain in Winter Wheat. The statistician v of Department of Agriculture estimates the United States wheat crop of 1900 at 522,229,505 bushels, the area harves’ted being 42,495,385 acres and the average an acre 12.29 bushels. The production of winter Wheat is estimated at 350,025,409 bushels, and spring wheat at 172,200,096 bushels, the area actually harvested being 20,235,897 acres in the former ease and 16,259,488 acres in the latter. The winter wheat acreage, totally abandoned in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, is finally placed at 8,522,787 acres, and the spring wheat acreage, totally abandoned in North Dakota and South Dakota, at 1,793,467 acres. The extraordinarily rapid rate at which the winter wheat acreage of Nebraska is gaining upon the spring wheat acreage of that State has necessitated a special Investigation of the relative extent to which the two varieties were grown during the last year. The result of the investigation is that while no change is called for in the total wheat figures of the State, 590,575 acres have been added to the winter wheat column at the expense spring variety. Farm Cattle. It is not true that the cattle business to be profitable must be conducted on the broad ranges of the Western plains, says Texas Farm and Ranch. That is one profitable system of cattle raising, but there is another -which yields fully as great profits for the capital invested. Raising cattle on the farm has in all countries and all ages been found profitable, and more so now than ever. By raising cattle on the farm the farmer has a good market for all the feed he can raise, saves labor and expense of transportation and avoids much loss from waste and the hocus pocus of commerce. And one of the main features of stock farming is that it can be made to continually improve the fertility and value of the farm. Storing Apples in Winter. The Canada experimental farms made experiments to ascertain the best methods of storing apples -in winter. Specimens wrapped in paper kept better than those not wrapped, and there were few rotten apples, and they lost least by evaporation. The ground floor storeroom did not preserve them as well as the cellar. A tight package preserved the fruit best in storeroom, but not in cellar. Per contra, a ventilated package did better in cellar than in storeroom. Good Cows in ’lemand. While certain sections are selling some of their milk cows and fattening others, because of a scarcity of hay, we do not notice any lack of demand for good cows in our market report or any falling off in their price. In fact, not for many years has trade been more active or prices better in Boston market—American Cultivator. Milk Vessels. Milk vessels should, as far as possible, be made without seams, and all soldered joints be made as smooth as possible. Horticultural Notes. Priming.—Examine trees recently planted, and if the wood is not plump prune them In closely, as shriveling proclaims the roots unable to supply so much top. Bleeding Heart.—A strong root of bleeding heart potted and placed In a window in winter will be sure to give you flowers, and its large, rosy, pink blooms are charming to look on. Hedge for Limited Place.—Where space is limited use arbor vitae for a hedge. It forms a complete one, while growing tall without spreading. Hemlock and Norway spruce require more ground room. Fern for Indoors.—A variety of the sword fern, known as the Boston fern, Is in much demand for Indoor use. All of the family to which it belongs are useful In the same way, not objecting to air of dwellings. Basket Willow’s.—There are favorite willows for basket-making, such as the Forbyana and Purpurea, because of their flexibility, but those w’ho make baskets use many kinds, some of stout growth and some of slender growth. House Plants and Insects.—ls house plants are started free of insects they are rarely much troubled with them in winter, but vigilance must be exercised to keep them clean, as their welldoing is greatly dependent on this. A Mistake—lt is a mistake to rake up the leaves in the w’ood lot or any other place where they may be allowed to remain. Besides being of value as a winter protection, when decayed they add much to the fertility of the ground. Blackberries and raspberries grow from shoots formed just below ground. When transplanting them the mistake of setting them too deep, practically killing them, is not uncommon. The roots should be but just below the surface. The Snyder blackberry is a popular sort in- the Northwest because of its extreme hardiness and its productiveness. Taylor’s prolific has larger fruit, but it is hardly as hardy as the other, but quite haply enough for the Middle States. Seedling Peaches.—Californians say the seedling peaches are much longer lived than others. This is not new. Seedlings of all kinds possess more vigor than trees raised in any other way, but bow would the world get along without budding and grafting?

QUEEN IS IN DANGER.

VICTORIA REPORTED TO BE SERIOUSLY ILL. Britain’s Aged Sovereign Collapses, Mentally and Physically, and End Seems Not Far Distant—Court Physicians Are Said to Fear the Worst. The news that Queen Victoria is, dangerously ill startled England Friday. No court circular appeared and eminent physicians hurried from London to Osborne by special trains. It is the first , time that there has been any official admission that the Queen, who is the oldest sovereign that has ever reigned in England, Is otherwise than in excellent health. Ten days ago her majesty’s digestion became impaired, her appetite failed and she has since been rapidly going down. Her physicians have privately admitted the .seriousness of the problem confronting them. The proclamation of the fact that her majesty’s physicians insist upon her being kept perfectly quiet in the house, and upon her complete abstinence from the transaction of all business, is construed as indicating that there has been not only a physical, but likewise a mental collapse, in which case the end of this eventful reign cannot be long delayed.

Spain (in a whisper)—Don’t get the old man riled. I did once.—Chicago Inter Ocean.

The South African war has been a tremendous trial to Victoria. The killing and maiming of her troops has borne crushingly upon her, and it is said that she has thought of nothing but war for many months. The death of her grandson, Prince Christian, proved a shattering blow to her nervous system. When Lord Roberts visited the aged sovereign two weeks ago he found her intellectual-

QUEEN VICTORIA.

ly alert and apparently physically well. Unfortunately, the field marshal could not encourage the fond dream in which she had begun to indulge that the South African struggle was at an end. This mournful fact seems to have pierced her despairing heart like a knife. Since the commander-in-chief’s visit the Queen has withdrawn herself from all save her immediate family and taken her meals alone. When Victoria dies and Albert Edward succeeds to the throne monarchy in England will have .received a severe blow. The present generation has been brought up with the Queen as the beneficent and gracious head of the State. It is impossible to think of the British empire without the Queen as its ruler. However

LOCATION OF THE DANISH WEST INDIES.

excellent may be King Albert, be can never hope to occupy the position which his mother has held for nearly sixty-four years. He will of necessity follow in her footsteps. Sixty years precedent is hard to change, and the hand of the Queen, although absent, will long direct the policy or the British empire. When the Queen dies, the greatest personal influence of the age dies also. She stands as the head of the great family of European monarchs and even those not directly related to Queen Victoria have always been accustomed, before they came to their thrones, to see her seated firmly at the head of the British empire. To all European monarchs she has been counselor, guide and friend.

Since President McKinley has had the grip he has received enough cure-all from all parts of the country to stock a goodsized pill shop.

POSSIBLE TROUBLE VENEZELA.

The trouble in Venezuela is between two American companies, both claiming the right to work certain deposits of asphaltum in the State of Bermudez, near the mouth of the Orinoco river. The Barber Asphalt Company has been engaged on these deports for several years, having secured a concession to work them from the government of Venezuela. That government has been overthrown by a revolution, and the opposition is now in power, with Gen. Castro as president, who, on certain allegations, revoked the concession to the Barber company and granted a new concession to what is known as the Warner company, which is in favor with the government. It has been asserted that the new concession was obtained by bribery and misrepresentation; that President Castro needed money, and that the Warner company paid him $40,000 cash to throw the Barbers out.

When the new company went down to Bermudez .to take possession it met with resistance. The Barber people insisted upon their tights and prepared to defend

them. The Warners appealed to the government. The president sent troops to their assistance. The Barbers armed their men and held the fort. The United States minister at Caracas has been endeavoring to arrange a compromise or in some way prevent hostilities, and the little gunboat Scorpion has been sent to the scene of the trouble to prevent the contestants from shooting each other. Some idea of the absurdity of a serious war between the United States and Venezuela may be gathered from the statement that the Central American country, which has an area five times as large as that of the State of Michigan, has a total population of only 2,320,000, somewhat less than that of Michigan, of which number nearly one-fourth are uncivilized Indians. The regular army of Venezuela consists of 3,600 men, with a militia which in time of civil war has put as many as 66,000 men into the field.

ISLANDS WE ARE AFTER.

Danish West Indies Located to Be of Great Advantage. / United States Minister Swenson, at Copenhagen, has opened negotiations with the Danish government for the purchase by the United States of the Danish West Indies. The principal question is as .to the price to be paid. Denmark, it is understood, wants $7,000,000 and the United States is willing to give half of that .amount. Before the Spanish war it was the testimony of all naval officers that the strategic choice of the Danish West Indies was incalculable. Possibly, since the acquisition of Porto Rico by the United States government, this opinion would be modified. Nevertheless, the Danish islands are situated in a portion to be of great advantage as coaling stations and naval outposts in a time of war. They are located just east of Porto Rico, and form the upper end of the crescent of the Leeward Islands. In the event of the isthmian canal and a subsequent war between the United States and a Euro-

pean power, they would constitute just one more vantage point in the Caribbean against the approach of foreign warships. Germany would like to get the islands, but Denmark knows the United States would not permit of their disposal to a European power, and that Uncle Sam is the only customer that can buy them. A story comes from Lincolnshire, England, of an old woman in her 91st year who acts as parish clerk, attending all weddings, christenings and funerals, keeps the church in order, substitutes for church warden in taking the collection when that official is absent, and has even acted as organ blower and bell ringer on occasions. Florida people are going more and more into the small fruit and orange business. There are no statutory holidays in Mississippi, Kansas or Nevada.

RECORD OF THE WEEK

Indiana incidents tersely TOLD. Farmer. War on a Railroad—Slater’s Labors Finally Rewarded—Oil Money for Indiana Landowners—Clay County Woman Barely Escapes Burial Alive. Judge West in the Circuit Court at Crawfordsville refused to grant a temporary restraining order in the case of the Chicago and Southeastern Railroad Company, which wus barred from crossing the land of Wesley Grantham. He declared Grantham had already been kept out of his property seven years and that the constitution guaranteed him certain rights with which the court did not propose to interfere. The road’s attorney l asked that an order be made giving the road possession until the land could be condemned, hut the court refused this, saying the company had had seven years to do this and had failed. Farmers rallied to the assistance of Grantham, and wrecked a mile of track. The court issued an order forbidding any further destruction of the road’s property. Sister Frees from Ponds. Gov. Mount pardoned William W. Kennedy, who was sentenced to prison for life in 1885 for the murder of David Baker at Greensburg. Kennedy was paroled in 1897 ami has for several months been attached to the sanitary service in Havana. The case attracted national attention because of the efforts of Kate Kennedy, the convicted man’sisister, to secure his pardon. The sister has appealed to every Governor since her brother’s conviction, but without success until now. For several years, in- man's garb, she traveled over the country in an endeavor to locate the real murderer, and, tramping her way, never missed an opportunity to interview tramps and criminals with the view to ascertaining the whereabouts of the man for whose crime she claimed her brother was suffering. Farmers Made Rich by Oil. During 1900 almost $1,000,000 was paid in royalties to Indiana farmers for oil territory. Indiana oil for the year averaged a fraction less than 94 cents per barrel for the crude product at the well. The pipe line companies charge a rate of 20 cents for running the product. During file year the output of the wells in the State of Indiana amounted to 5,650,950 barrels, representing a value of $5,284,624.94. Farmers say that some of the land which has proven the best oil territory would never be worth one cent per acre for cultivation. Returns to Life in Time. Mrs. Cyrus Clark, wife of a farmer of Clay County, came to life after having been pronounced dead by physicians. Her body was attired for burial and preparation was made for the funeral when she spoke. Intense excitement was caused among the mourners who crowded around her. Finally she opened her eyes and is now growing stronger. Bh<* was conscious some time before she spoke and realized that she was being prepared fdr burial.' Grief Drives Him to Suicide. Grief caused by the death of his young wife a few months after her Wedding impelled Robert E. Lee Pryor of Eastbank, W. Va., to send a bullet crashing into his brain in George’s Hotel In Indianapolis. He died later. On a table was found the photograph of the wife, placed in such a position that as he stood before the mirror her image was reflected in his face when be shot himself.

State News in Brief. Brazil will have a new brewery. Jasper N. Frist will be the next postmaster of Clinton. Work on the Muncie-Hartford City electric line will not begin until the ground thaws. Anderson postoffice has passed the $40,000 mark*, and Postmaster Small gets a raise in salary. Jacob F. Sours, 88, Huntington, called his five children together and distributed $13,000 among them. “Uncle” Charley Price, 85, died near Elwood. He was once a cook in the navy. He married at 83. Robert Burke, Madison, and Sarah S. Schrodt met in Louisville, and after five minutes’ acquaintance, decided to get married. They were refused a license in Jeffersonville because they were too young. Mrs. Mida Dewey, Elwood, 13 years old, has brought suit to have her marriage with Charles G. Dewey set aside. He says he was an engineer on the warship Brooklyn. He is in jail at Anderson, charged with beating a board bill. For the time in the history of Clay County criminals expiated their 'crimes by receiving a severe whipping at Brazil. Three colored boys, Davey Jones, David Bowman and Harvey Bass, vtere brought up in police court on a charge of petit larceny. The judge decided that the boys should go free if tbeit' mothers, who were present, would give them a public thrashing. The mothers consented and with rawhides punished their recreant sons for three minutes. Grover Allen, the heaviest boy for his age in the country, died in Anderson of fatty degeneration of the heart. He was apparently as well as usual when going to the lounge to lay down, but died within a few minutes. He was 8 years old, 4 feet 10 inches tall and the last time he was on the scales weighed 251 pounds. The past year be had been gaining in weight at the rate of ten pounds a month. The parents have declined offers from meet all the circuses on the road. His health would not permit it. His weight was such he could got around with the greatest difficulty and when he stepped to a curb he had to be helped. The Wilson Mercantile Company of Washington, of which Mayor Wilson is the manager and treasurer, failed. The assets and liabilities are each about $40,000. Martin Crevision, 80. got from two to fourteen years, Laporte, on the charge of assault and battery with intent to kill. The Governor will be asked to pardon him. Board sidewalks, Elwood, will be torn up. The city has lost in, three damage auits for accident*. Citizens will have to build good sidewalks or go through t\e mud.

INDIANA LAWMAKERS

Representative M., F. McCarty of Catroll County introduced in the Legislature on Tuesilay a bill which is supposed to be the effort of the minority in the way of obtaining antitrust legislation. It defines as ’’criminal usurpation of the governing powers to attempt to control or regulate the production Or sale of any commodity without a copyright from the State of Indiana.’.' A $10,600 fine and penitentiary sentence is provided for a violation. A bill also introduced by Senator Lambert of Columbus is to establish an Indiana village for epileptics. Senator Burns introduced a bill to do away with the. cigarette traffic in Indiana, providing a heavy fine and punishment for the sale and giving away of cigarettes. Representative Bishop of Morgan introduced a bill for the death penalty tor kidnaping children. Speaker Artman announced his committees Tuesday morning. The following are the chairmen: Elections, Minturn; ways and means. King; judiciary, Bonham; organization of courts, Sparks; banks, Scott; education, Clem; building and loans, Bishop; reformatory. Stout; prison, Erdlitz; swamp lands, Beckman; military affairs, Dudley; claims, Neal; trust lands, Stookey; fees and salaries. Manifold; sinking fund, Whitcomb; rights and privileges. Miller of Kosciusko; railroads, Kirkman; manufactures and commerce, Vestal; county and township business, Owen; agriculture, Matthews: benevolent and scientific institutions, Clem; temperance, Wesling; mileage and accounts, Davis of Wayne; corporations, Roberts of Jefferson; rivers and waters, Mueller; public expenditures, Miller of Ohio; federal relations, Perrett; city of Indianapolis, Ostermeyer; cities and towns, Bell; engrossed bills, Adamson; roads, Thomas; statistics. Jack; insurance, Morgan; printing, Rogers; reformatory institutions, Gillett; drains and dykes, Kelley; mines, Johnson; labor, Clarke; medicine, health and statistics, Van Fleet; inspection of the journal, Speaker; natural resources, Stutesman; phraseology of bills, Harris; congressional apportionment, Reagan; legislative apportionment. Jackways; telegraph and telephones, Pritchard; soldiers’ monument. NJarshall of Fountain; State soldiers’ homes, Carmichael; joint committees, public buildings, Burried; enrolled bills, Morton; State library, Mummert. The Legislature received a number of new bills on Wednesday and took action on several committee reports. Four bills passed the House and were sent to the Senate. One of these, by Mr. Bonham, provided for the appointment of two stenographers, one for the minority and the other for the majority side of the chamber, one additional page and an assistant postmaster at $5 a day. The other bills that passed the House legalize the incorporation of English and Gentryville and the acts of the Town Board of Etna Green, Kosciusko County. They were passed under suspension of the rules. Thirty-one new bills were introduced in the House. After a session lasting a little over an hour in the morning the Senate adjourned, to meet again in the afternoon. Twenty-five new bills were introduced, making a total of eighty-four bills thus far. Among the important, measures was one by Senator Conlogue creating a commission to pass on voting machines before they can be bought for use at Indiana elections. Senator Gard sent up a bill to do away with the camp nuisance, and Senatqf*lnman (minority leader) offered a measure to make it a felony to buy a vote. Charles E. Wilson appeared and read a notice from Gov. Durbin to the Senate that he has appointed Mr. Wilson his private secretary. In the Senate on Friday the bill to provide for the punishment at the Michigan City prison of criminals adjudged to suffer the death penalty was passed under a suspension of the rules. This bill corrects the omission in the law that changed the southern prison to a reformatory and failed to provide for the execution of criminals convicted south of the national road. The primary election bill, requiring the holding of party primary conventions in certain large counties, was favorably reported by the elections committee. Despite reports to the contrary, no steps have been taken in the direction of preparing a bill to punish wife beaters by whipping. Many members of the Legislature were practically stranded in Indianapolis because they came to the capital with only a few dollars and have not been able yet to appropriate money to pay themselves. Friday afternoon solons were going about borrowing money from their friends or wiring home for remittances to settle their personal ex penses. In the House on Thursday Speaker Artman knocked out the time-honored mileage graft by ordering a roll-call, each member responding to his name with a statement of the amount of mileage to which he is entitled. The Senate sent over the bill appropriating $105,000 to pay the expenses of the Legislature, with the clause stricken out allowing extra allowances. On motion of Mr. Kink, seconded by Mr. Neal, the amendment was promptly rejected, and Messrs. King, Neal and James were appointed a conference committee. Col. C. E. W ilson, the Governor's private secretary, read a message notifying the House of Gov. Mount s death. Messrs. Scott, Stutesman, King. Gauntt, Reser, Janies, Murphy, Waugh ami the Speaker were appointed a committee to draft appropriate resolutions. At 11:30 o’clock the House adjourned out of respect for ex-Gov. Mount. In the Senate many bills were introduced. The Senate took action similar to that of the House on the death of ex-Gov. Mount.

Short State Items.

A Cleveland, Ohio, automobile factory wants to locate in Anderson. Dr. B. F. Swafford, 67, well-known physician, died at Terre Haute. Clinton is to have a new $20,000 hotel. to be built by a stock company. Tilford B. Dickerson, 73. veteran horx - man and trainer, is dead in Greensburg. He trained a number of record breakers. While cleaning snow out of switches Frank Darron of Michigan City was struck by a switch engine, breaking his back. Richmond City Gonneil awarded the contract for a municipal lighting plant to the Varney Construction Company, Indianapolis. Mrs. Jennie White, who escaped from* Keystone with James Wood, was arrested, Poplar Bluff. Mo. She is repentant and will return home.