Newspaper Page Text
Good Hiiminer Hog Pen.
Where swine are to be kept In a
■omewn&t small enclosure and fed In
Hi" house it Is not always easy to keep
the floor of the DOOM dean. The plan
here suggested will accomplish this
and give the hogs something to keep
them busy besides. Tin- hoghouse is
built with a slanting floor and lv the
end at. the high part Is cut a trough
the entire width of the house, Into
which is thrown leaf mold or broken
A BUMMKH HOG PEN.
nod. This the swine will root down
and It will act as an absorbent of the
immure, particularly the liquid por
tions. If the floor Is made quite slant
ing most of this sod, etc., will be root
ed down to the lower end by the hogs.
While the artist has not shown the
floor slanting as it should be, in the il
lustration, otherwise the out will show
Just how the pen should be built. In
the lower part of the illustration figure
A shows the end of the plank floor,
with a strong timber supporting tho
edge, and a heavy piece of plank an
derneath, forming the edge support;
Figure B, the end section, shows ex
act mode of construction, the upper
piece (O) floor, and X the method of
spiking together to support. This rath
er complicated finish Is to prevent the
Jiogs from rooting uuder the floor.—ln
dlunapolis News.
A Steady Sawhorae.
When sawing wood it Is a matter of
considerable work to get out the
pieces, mortise and fit them together
to make an ordinary sawhorse. The
one shown In the cut from New En
gland Homestead can be built In twen
ty minutes If one has some strips of
hardwood board at hand of the proper
"width. The crosspleces are firmly
nailed together, and six strips of tho
A QCICKLY MADE BAWHORSE.
same board put on to strengthen and
hold the ends in place. Such a horse
will prove very rigid and serviceable.
Farm Notes.
Too heavy loads make balky horses.
With all stock discomfort always
costs In extra feed.
Milking should always be done In a
/lean, airy place, free from all bad
odors.
Plowing for wheat should begin Just
as soon as possible after the harvest
■work Is finished up.
The cow, to do her best and continue
It for the longest period, must have at
least one-flfth of her f(X>d of some kind
of nitrogen.
Good hickory ashes are said to be
excellent for expelllug worms from
the bowels of young horses. Give a
couple of tablespoonfuls twice a week
In their feed.
Dairy stock can not be improved If
a promiscuous trying of all breeds 1b
permitted to go on>
Cream should have a uniform con
sistency as well as being of uniform
ripeness before churning.
It takes longer and costs mow to
make up a pound of loss than It does
to add nve pounds of gain under favor
able conditions.
.hil^ DS fattenln « b°«« the food
•hould always be given in « dean
wholesome condition aad never al
towed to become bout.
The walk Is the foundation of all
the other gaits, and without beginning
at the foundation nil future develop
ments will be unsatisfactory.
As soon as the tops of the onions
are dead they should be pulled, thrown
in rows, allowed to cure a few days
und then be stored away.
Exhibiting Crops.
Any farmer who will religiously fol
low his county fairs from year to year
will observe the opportunities there to
make a reputation If he can grow one
particular crop better than another.
As every one knows, one soil worker
Is an expert potato grower, another
raises prize swine, another understands
corn better than other crops, and 80
on.
I^et each one take a specimen of
that which he can grow best to the
county fair and exhibit, advises the
Indianapolis News. Possibly he may
not win a prize, but he will have a
chance to see what others are doing
and thus ascertain his own shortcom
ings. Again, his exhibit may attract
the attention of some one who wants
just the product he produces and a
profitable business is worked up.
The educational advantages of the
county fair ought not to be overlooked
and the family should be taken to
every one that can be reached at a
moderate cost. Get out Into the world
and see what other farmers are doing;
one will find them willing to talk and
one may get enough good Ideas at a
'single fair to pay for the expense of
attendance twenty times over. Bear
this item in mind as the fairs begin
now and in September.
New Kjjb Plant.
Those who have a market for egj>
plant will ilnd the Early Black Beauty
a decided Improvement on the lm-
proved Large Pur
ple, which has
been the one va
riety up to the in
troduction of the
Black Beauty
which could be re
lied upon.
The Early Black
Beauty Is entirely
spineless, is ten
days or more earlier than the Large.
Purple, the fruit is large and the
plants are remarkably healthy, a char
acteristic which will be greatly appre
ciated. The Illustration gives an Idea
of the perfect form of the sort.
Sulphate for Blight.
While the recognized formula for
Bordeaux mixture yill remain a favor
ite for potato blight applications, there
are some objections to its use, one of
the most formidable ones being the
clogging of the nozzle of the sprayer
by the lime used in the making of the
mixture. Experiments have been made,
on a small scale, with the soda-copper
mixture which are exceedingly prom
ising. The ordinary washing soda is
used—four pounds of sulphate of cop
per, five pounds of washing soda and
ttfty gallons of water as a basis, and
increasing the quantity of sulphate
and soda slightly if it was necessary.
Dissolve the soda In a barrel and
then pour It into the copper sulphate,
mixing thoroughly and using with the
spray pump in precisely the same man
ner in which Bordeaux mixture is
used, and at the same intervals. While
it is not advised that this new mixture
be substituted for the Bordeaux mix
ture, it is well worth experimenting
with on a small scale.—Exchange.
Improving the Meadow.
There are many meadowi yearly
turned into pastures which might be
saved for hay yields several years
longer with a little care at the right
time* One of the best ways of doing
this at small expense is to plow the
meadow early in August after manur
ing It well, and ben is a way of util
izing manute one is storing under tlie
shed, and which is going to waste, and
sow rye in early September at the rate
of two bushels an acre.
In April or as early as possible, plow
under the rye. smooth and sow with
grass seed, using the mixture best sult
tnl to your section or using a mixture
of timothy, red top and clover, which
Is excellent In most sectlous, and will
not contain enough clover to Injure It
for sale as prime mixed hay.
Hardy QnalL
It is proposed to import a la-«»e num
ber of the mountain quail of Califor
nia to be bred and turned loose In
various parts of New England. They
are claimed to be hardy birds, well
able to stand the severe winters of
this section, and larger than the com
mon quail. Some of the Imported birds
will be turned loose at once, but others
will be kept In pens for a time.
Vitality once broken Is repaired at
a loss, and Is" liable to break again
under a strain.
MANYVENOMOUSREPTILEBDEAF
Sinkind Often Ksc-npca Danger of At
tack OwiiiK to This Circumatunce.
It is a little known fact—lt lias, In
•d, but recently been discovered by
naturalists—that a majority of the
venomous reptiles with which the
world is infested are wholly or par
tially deaf, while Lhelr sight is often
defectlre. To this is probably due the
Immunity of man from the attack of
these creatures, for men hear and see
the serpents before they are heard or
seen and are enabled either to escape
from their proximity or to make ade
quate prepa rat ions for defense.
A German naturalist, M. Werner of
Vienna, lias recently reported the re
sult of observations that he has been
making for some time on the senses of
Inferior vertebrates.
On certain points the conclusions of
M. Werner are surprising, and in all
they are worthy of notice. M. Wer
ner has observed 138 individuals, of
which one-third were at liberty, and
he took all precaution possible not to
let the creatures know they were
watched. One general fact is evident,
that reptiles and amphibians are
strongly attracted by water, Tney go
straight for it, even when they are at
a distance so great that they could not
divine Its presence by any of the
senses known to us. It seems really
that a sense of which we nave no
knowledge Informs them of the direc
tion in which water may be found.
There seems to be a sort of chemical
attraction, says M. Werner. But how
does this act and on what part of the
creature? This remains a mystery.
Reptile! also seek the light, but in
dependently of heat; they are positive
ly heliotropic and in winter they often
leave a comfortable and warm retreat
to seek the sunlight. Sight Is gener
ally good with them. It is probably
the finest sense they possess, but It
would still appear to be limited.
The caymans and the crocodiles can
not distinguish a man at distances of
more than six times thoir length, ac
cording to M. Werner. In the water
fishes see only at very close range—
about half their own length. This will
seem, perhaps, unlikely to anglers, al
though some of them can cite in
stances showing that fish cannot see
far. Snakes seem to have a mediocre
sense of sight. The boa, for instance,
does not see at more than a quarter
and a third of Its own length; different
species are limited to one-fifth or one
eighth of their length.
TENNESSEE MILK SICKNESS.
Disease, 'Peculiar to State, Kills Man
and Heast.
From time to time in the last five
decades Tennesseeans have been stir
red to a profound sense of interest in
the State's mysterious malady, "milk
sickness," as its deadly reappearance
in certain sections of the State has
been followed by fatal results to hu
man beings and to stock. No one has
ever discovered the cause of the mal
ady from which death relieves the vic
tim, after such physical agony as al
most deprives the human species of the
power of speech and dumb brutes ex
press their sufferings by frenzied
search for water to cool the thirst
which consumes them. Once by a
stream, they plunge or fall into it, and
quickly drink themselves to death.
The fatal sickness Is known to a lim
ited extent in several sections of the
State, but exists principally near Spar
ta, in White county. It is contracted
through drinking the milk of cows
that have eaten a certain weed, known
as the "milk-sick weed," winch tooki
somewhat like clover, and grows thick
ly on the infected land. Hut what
constitutes the poison in the weed is
no more determined to-day than It whs
when first located by the keen-witted,
nature-wise mountaineers, who hare
been Its chief victims. It has been aa
cribed at various times to mineral*,
whose poison is absorbed In the roots
lof the "mllkslck" plant; to a vapo:
from some fungus growth, and to the
action of the dew, producing, in con
nection with the life of the plant, a
i certain poisonous acid. But all of those
theories have failed under tests ap
plied by practical science. On the larg
est infected section known to exist in
: the limits of the State, "Mllktick
Mountain," in White county, no min
eral whatsoever exists; cattle which
ate the "milk-sick weed" after the dew
I had dried died in agony, just as those
which ate it when the dew was fresh
and sparkling, and the strictest search
failed to find any fungous growth
; whatever.—Louisville Courier-Journal.
Plenty of Excitement.
The man from New England allowed
his glance to wander over the native
of Dakota as they both stood on the
narrow platform of the Gritty Plains
station.
"See a good many queer-look ins;
folks round here, don't you?" the man
from New England inquired, jerkin*
Ms thumb toward the landscape be
hind the station.
The native of Dakota had presum
ably not seen the jerk, as his eyes
were bent on the ground.
"I reckon we do." he said, with j?n>at
deliberation. "You take a place like
this, where there's two trains a day
from the East, and we can get our
moneys worth o" fun whenever we'vg
got time to stand gaping round."
THE PAST WEEK OF WAR.
Russians Fortify Tie Pass—Japs Re
cuperate.
The past week was one of inactivity
at the scene of war, so far as actual
engagements were concerned. Kuro
paikin was at Mukden, and a large
part of nis force was at work on the
fortifications of Tie pass. The main
army of Oyama remained in the vicin
ity of lentai, recuperating after the
severe work around Liaoyang and, de
spite Russian surmises, evidently get
ting in form for another advance
movement The Baltic fleet was re
ported to have sailed from Cronstadt,
and the Itussian auxiliary cruiser Lena
arrived at San Francisco.
On Monday Kuroki was reported to
have fallen back to join the main army
at Ventai, while on Tuesday it was
said that a Japanese force was within
24 miles of Mukden, but not moving
north. Preparations by the Russians
for a resistance at Mukden continued,
and work on the Tie pass fortifications
was pushed vigorously.
Kuropatkin's official rtport of the
battle of Liaoyang was ma'» public
Wednesday, and the Russian comman
der said that his losses were below
17.000, of which 4500 were killed. The
Japanese remained stationary, but
were reported to have taken over the
local administration of the Manchu
rian districts occupied by them.
Late in the week work of dismantl
ing the Russian cruiser began at San
Francisco, and on Friday the Japanese
were reported as concentrating at
Bensiaputze, about 20 miles southeast
of Mukden. The larger part of the
army, however, was still at Yentai.
With the close of the week it was
evident that another Japanese advance
had begun, an early report from Muk
den yesterday announcing that the for
ward movement of Oyama was from
the east, southeast and southwest. Out
posts were closely engaged and there
was almost constant skirmishing. All
the indications point to another battle
this week, either at Mukden itself or
at the strong positions to the north,
which the Russians have fortified since
their retreat from Liaoyang.
SINKS JUNKS OFF PORT ARTHUR.
Japs Roughly Handle Crews of Block-
ade Runners.
Chinese, Russians and Japanese at
Chefoo all agree that the Japanese
blockading Port Arthur are paying par
ticular attention to junks, which tor
months past have been trying to smug
gle dispatches and supplies into the
fortress, and that when caught the
crews are roughly treated. The junks
generally are sunk and the men on
board taken into Port Dalny. By
mistake the Japanese sunk a junk
which was carryink delicacies to Gen
eral Nog] from an admirer, but a part
of the cargo was recovered. General
Nogi commands the Japanese besieg
ers. The Japanese are employing se
vere measures in this respect, with the
idea of intimidating blockade runners.
Russian civilians who have reached
Chefoo from Port Arthur say that can
ned corn beef is plentiful there, and
that the fresh meat supply consists of
12 horses slaughtered daily.
Life in the town, when no bombard
ment is going on, proceeds much as it
did in limes of peace. Church services
are held as usual in the dismantled
Church, and the band follows the usual
custom of playing in public twice a
week.
All Russians there agree that the
Japanese do not occupy any fort in
the inner line of defenses. The forts
which were damaged have been repair
ed almost as good as new during the
quiet of the last 18 days. These Rus
sians do not believe that the Japanese
will succeed in taking the fortress.
TRAINS CROSS SALT LAKE.
New Cut-Off Saves Over One Hour's
Time and $1500 a Day Expense.
Without ceremonies of any kind the
great Ugden Lucin cutoff of the Ham
man system, running across the north
ern arm of Great Salt lake,was open
ed last Sunday for passenger trifflc.
It is now an actual part of the over
land system, and henceforth all trains
will be run over the tracks of the cut
off, which stretches for miles in an
absolutely straight line over piling and
fillings through the water of Salt like.
The new time schedules contemplat
ed for the overland traffic will effect
an actual lessening of more than two
hours in the running time between
Chicago and San Francisco, besides
cutting out the operating expenses of
43 miles of the most difficult and cost
ly railroading in the country, the track
age over Promontory hill on the north
sho^p of Great Salt lake. The elimin
ation of this part of the system from
overland traffic will, it is estimated,
save about $1500 a day in operating
expense"
American to See Peter Crowned.
Belgrade, Servia. —John B. Jackson,
American minister to Greece, Rouma
nia and Servia, has arrived here from
Athens to attend the coronation of
King Peter.
It is easier to domesticate a hum
ming bird than a canary.
POKE'S COMETjW^si^
Famous Fiery Phenomena May *..
Be Seen. y No *
Encke's famous comet Is nnTO
preaching perihelion and i 8 V S **
Inland Empire people with a 32? *
This comet is famous in VaUtT
the shortest period of recur,*
about three and on-fourth WMSI
named for Johann Franz Encke a Op
man astronomer, who discovered t f
remarkable shortness of its «L ?
but the comet was really first ob 8e X
by Pons the famous French aTm
mer in Marseilles in 1818 it S^ 0*
peared with great brilliancy on
occasions. Astronomers say that tl
will again describe the long fiery tn
resembling that of a fish that has cha
acterized its former appearances it
is gradually getting nearer and nearer
the sun, and the general belief i 8 that
it will one day fall into that body
and be consumed.
The comet at the present time is in
the southern part of the constellation
Cetus, rising above the southeastern
horizou at about 7:45 in the evening
so that it is in good position for ot>
servation about 9:30 p. m., but is not
visible without the aid of a telescope
It is slowly moving in a southwesterly
direction and will reach perihelion, or
make its nearest approach to the sun
January 3, 1905. It is noted as being
nearest the sun of all known comets,
as having the shortest period of rfr
currence (3.303 years), and as having
its period shortened from two hours to
two and one-half hours with each re
turn to pehihelion.
Spokane Retail Markets.
Vegetables—Potaties, 2@2^c lb;
turnips, 3@sc bunch; rutabagas, 3c
lb; dry onions, 4@sc lb; cabbage, 4@
5c lb; celery, 2 bunches sc; parsley,
3@sc bunch; cucumbers, s@Bc each;
green onions, 10@15c doz; radishes,
oc bunch; rhubarb, 2@sc lb; green
peas, 4@sc lb; new beets, 3 bunches
10c; watercress, 5c bunch, string
beans, B@loc lb; fresh carrots, two
bunches sc; mint, 5c bunch; tomatoes,
3@6c lb; parsnips, 2 bunches sc; can
teloups, 3@sc each; cauliflower, 10®
15c bunch; green peppers, 35@40c lb;
watermelons, 25@40c each; summer
squash, s@loc each; crooked neck
squash, s@loc each; green corn, 15itf
25c doz; egg plant, 10@15c ea; sweet
potatoes, 6c lb; dewberries, 10c box;
garlic, 15c.
Fruits —Lemons, 25@30c doz; bana
nas, 15@25c doz; oranges, 15@50c dz;
pineapples, 30@35c each; plums, 3@sc
lb; grapes, s@loc lb; pears, 6@loc lb;
peaches, 3@6c lb; new apples, 4@sc
lb; blackberries, 10c box; peach plums
10@15c basket.
Poultry—Dressed chickens, young
chickens, 18c lb; hens, 18c lb; old
roosters, 14@16c lb; spring ducks, 60
@7Oc each; goslings, 20c lb; spring
chickens, 40@50c.
Dairy Products —Butter, best cream
ery, 30@35c lb; common creamery,
20@25c lb; best country, 20c lb; com
mon country, 12%@15c lb; imported
Swiss cheese, 40c lb; American Swiss
cheese, 25c lb; cream brick cheese, 18
@25c lb; New York cheese, 20c lb;
Wisconsin cheese, 15c lb.
Eggs—New laid eggs, 25@30c doz;
eastern eggs, 20@25c doz.
Grain and Feed—Timothy, 90@95c
cwt; alfalfa, 85@90c cwt; oats, tlto
cwt; grain hay, 85@90c cwt; bran, 85
@90c cwt; bran and shorts, 95c@|l
cwt; shorts, $1.25 cwt; wheat, $1.40
cwt; chopped barley, |1.30@1.35 cwt;
oil meal, 2%c lb; seed oats, $1.50 cwt.
Wholesale Produce Prices.
New potatoes, $1.25 cwt; summer
squash, $1 box; blackberries, $2@2.2S
crate; peaches, 50@75c box; grapes,
85c@1.25 crate; tomatoes, 40@60c bx;
cucumbers, 60 box 20 lbs; onions, |1.«
cwt; cabbage. $2 cwt; apples, 65c@
1.24 box; plums, 50@60c crate; V&
pers, 65c box; pears, $1<&1.25 box;
crabapples, $1 box; Rocky Ford can
taloups, $1.25 crate.
Wholesale Feed Prices.
Bran, $16 ton; bran and shorts, JJ 7
ton; oats, $1.35 cwt; wheat. $1.20 cwt,
chopped corn, $1.60 cwt; whole corn,
$1.50 cwt; timothy hay, $16 t°n; "'
falfa hay $13 ton.
Prices Paid to Producers.
Vegetables and Fruits—Carrots an
beets, lc lb; string beans, 5c lb; V° '
toes, $1 cwt; plums, 40c crate; appi -
50@65c box; pears, 75c@$l box;
ions, $1.25 cwt; cabbage, $1.25 cwt
Poultry and Eggs—Chickens, roo
ers, 10c lb; hens, 12@13c lb live*'
young chickens, $3@4.50 doz; tv»« •
dressed, 18@20c lb; geese and ««"
12@14c lb; eggs, $5.75@6.50 case.
Live Stock-Steers. $2.50@3
wethers, $3 cwt; hogs, $6 cwt; yea,
@6 cwt. . •!$
Hay—Timothy, $15 ton; al»»»
ton; oata, $1.1001.20 cwt
Creamery Products, f. o. o. ay"
—First grade creamery butter i» .
lb. 22% c
Japan After Capital.
There is evidence of a str°° g or of
litical movement in Japan in i
the abolition of all restrictions
tenure of real estate by »ließß for $c
remodeling the mortgage law
purpose of removing the oDs
the way of introduction of tore 6
ital.
