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HANKSGIVING DAY has a long
and curious history and did not
originate entirely with the Pil
grims at Plymouth, for Thanksgiv
ing days are mentioned in the Bi
ble—days set apart for giving
thanks to God for some special
mercy. These days of fast and
prayer were customary in England
before the Reformation, and later
the Protestants appointed certain days of praise
and thanks for various blessings. The discov
ery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 in London
brought the common sentiment of Thanksgiving.
A scheme had been formed to blow up parlia
ment house on the 6th of November, the first
day of the session. Great quantities of gunpow
der and inflammable material were found con
cealed in the vaults «nderneath the building. The
plot was discovered and the traitors were exe
cuted. In consequence of this deliverance the
day was ordered to be kept as "a public thanks
giving to Almighty God" every year that "un
feigned thankfulness may never be forgotten, and
that all ages to come may yield praises to God's
divine majesty for the same." All ministers were
ordered to say prepers thereon, for which special
forms were provided. This annual thanksgiving,
together with one established later on May 29,
was abolished in 1833 in England, for both had
fallen into disuse. For several years afterwards,
however, these days were recognized in New
England by the Episcopal church on account of
its place in their church calendars. England
continued to have special days appointed for giv
ing thanks, and as recently as 1872 there was a
day selected for the public to offer prayers of
thanksgiving for the recovery of the late King
Edward, then prince of Wales, from typhoid
fever.
The first thanksgiving on the American conti
nent was held by an English minister named
Wolfall, and was celebrated off the coast of New
foundland. This pious man accompanied the
Frobisher expedition which brought the first Eng
lish colony to North America. The log of the
Bhip gives the record of the day's observances
and tells how on Monday, May 28, 1578, aboard
the Ayde, the men received communion, and how
Minister Wolfall in a sermon gave humble and
hearty thanks to God for his miraculous deliver
ance in these dangerous places. This was the
first Christian sermon preached in North Ameri
can waters. Again in 1607 there was a similar
service held at Sagadahoc—a little village on
the coast of Maine. There is little record of
this thanksgiving except that it consumed only
a few hours of the day, after which the people
returned to their labors.
The great American Thanksgiving day had its
origin in the Massachusetts colony in 1621, and
Gov. William Bradford, the first governor of that
little band of sturdy pilgrims, sent out the first
Thanksgiving proclamation, setting apart a day
for prayer and rejoicing over the plenteous har
vest of that year. The Englishmen recalled their
Guy Fawkes thanksgiving, and the Dutch remem
bered hearing their ancestors speak of the great
day of praise and prayer' held at Leyden, Hol
land, in 1578, when that city was delivered from
a siege. So, the entire colony began their pious
preparation for what proved to be the gayest
Thanksgiving the colony ever knew, for after
the first one, which lasted several days, the
Puritan Thanksgiving meant long sermons, long
prayers and long faces. Governor Bradford de
termined that the initial Thanksgiving should be
celebrated with no little ceremony and that
feasting should play a part in the occasion. His
tory tells us that be sent out four men, who
were to search for game for the feast. Many
fowls were shot—in fact, enough to meet the
wants of the colony for a week. Wild turkeys
predominated, so it seems that the turkey made
its appearance early in the history of Thanks
giving. The day selected was December 13 (old
ütyle). At the dawn of that day a small cannon
was fired from the hill and a procession was
formed near the beach, close to where the
Plymouth Rock now rests. Elder Brewster, wear
ing his ministerial garb and carrying the Bible,
led the procession as it moved solemnly along
the street. The men walked three abreast, with
Governor Bradford in the rear. There was a
long service in the meeting house, and after It
was over there was a dinner—and such a din
ner had never been known in the colony, for,
apart from the savory turkey and other wild
fowl, the women had done their share in pro
viding good things from the limited supply at
their command. The most dramatic incident oc
curred when the dinner was in progress, for as
if by magic 90 friendly red men, under King
Massasolt, appeared, carrying haunches of veni
son as an addition to the feast Thanksgiving
day soon lengthened into days, for the psalm
singing and feasting, intersperse« with war
dances, were continued several days.
After that Thanksgiving days took on a differ
ent aspect, and occurred at any season; some
twice a year, or sometimes a year or two
were skipped, just as it
pleased the governor of
the colony, until 1664,
when the day became a
formal one in Massachu
setts. Other colonies fol
lowed the example, and
pretty soon all New Eng
land joined in giving
thanks on the same day.
During the Revolution
ary war Thanksgiving
days became a fashion,
and the continental con
gress set apart at least
eight days during one
year for that purpose.
On December 18, 1777,
General Washington is
sued a proclamation for a
general Thanksgiving to
be celebrated by the sol
diers of the Continental army. In 1789 congress
decided to ask the president to issue a proclama
tion asking the people to suspend work and give
thanks on a certain day of the year. There had
been considerable opposition to the passage of
the bill, some of the reasons given being more
humorous than serious. President Washington
acquiesced in the wishes of congress and issued
a proclamation appointing November 26 of that
year as the day for the American people to join
in thanksgiving to God for the care and pro
tection he had given them in their plentiful
harvest and freedom from epidemics.
From time to time our presidents Issued
proclamations, but it was generally left to the
governors of the states to determine on what
day it should occur. Under the administration of
John Adams two national fast days were ob
served, but no real Thanksgiving. It was not
until 1815, after three national fasts on account
of the war, that another national Thanksgiving
was appointed by the president, James Madison.
This was due to peace with Great Britain. After
this there was anotfier lull in proclamations as
far as presidents were concerned until 1849, when
President Taylor set a day of fast on August the
third on account of the cholera. Meanwhile the
national Thanksgiving day seemed to be dying
out, except in the New England states. Then
came the Civil war, and the nation was again
summoned to fasting, and two such days were
kept in 1861—January 4 and September 26—but
it was not until 1863 that the horizon had so
brightened as to warrant the appointment of a
national Thanksgiving. Immediately after the
Battle of Gettysburg Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, a Boston
woman, wrote to President Lincoln suggesting a
national thanksgiving, and following her advice,
the president set apart Thursday, August 6, as
a day of "praise and prayer." On November 26
of the same year another Thanksgiving was kept,
and this was really a great festival and observed
in every northern state. In 1864 the 24th of
November was kept. After this, with one ex
ception, our great national day of thanks has
been celebrated on the last Thursday in No
vember.
The presidential proclamations contain very
little that is new or original and usually take the
form of an essay. In 1898, after the Spanlsh
Amerlcan war. President McKinley had a chance
to vary the conventional form by "giving special
thanks for the restoration of peace." This was
Just 100 years after Washington's proclamation.
President Roosevelt, who always did original
things, declared "that a Thanksgiving proclama
tion could not be made a brilliant epigrammati
cal paper." The proclamation of the president
stamps the feast with a sort of official character
—something possessed by no other holiday. This
proclamation does not make it a legal holiday—
it merely recommends that the people suspend
business for the day. A special statute in each
state Is required to make the day a legal holi
day, and this has not been enacted in every
state.
The day was originally set apart for thanksgiv
ing, fasting, prayer and religious devotions, but
the modern Thanksgiving has become a day of
feasting and Jollity, and Is made the occasion
of all sorts of sports and festivities. The craze
for outdoor life keeps many from the churches,
although the places of worship continue to be
filled with "a goodly company," who gather to
give thanks to him "from whom cometh every
good and every perfect gift."
The turkey Is still king of the Thanksgiving
feast and as an addition the good things of the
field and vineyard have been added. The famous
pigeon pie, which was a popular Thanksgiving
dish la the early part of the nineteenth century.
Is rarely seen In these days. The wild pigeons,
which alighted in great numbers on the buck
wheat fields, were enticed by a decoy duck with
in a spring net and caught by the hundred.
They were kept alive and fattened on grain until
the day before Thanksgiving, when they were
killed and made into a pie for the Thanksgiving
table
Moat of the old customs of the day have
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passed out of existence. The turkey raffle with
dice is still a custom In some parts of the coun
try. Usually the turkey is a tough bird, which
was purchased cheap by the proprietor of the
saloon (for the raffle usually takes place there).
The raffle, of course, draws a crowd of men, who
incidentally patronize the bar during the pro
ceedings. Another sportive feature of Thanks
giving no longer In vogue was the shooting
match, where live turkeys tied to sticks were
used. This cruel practice was abandoned be
cause the New England clergy objected, not on
account of Its cruelty, but because It kept the
men away from the church service. This reason
seems to fit In with the Idea of the men back in
the seventeenth century who, while they were
eating a Thanksgiving dinner of venison, discov
ered that the deer had been killed on Sunday.
They at once sent for the Indian and had him
publicly whipped, and alBO compelled him to
return the money which he had been paid for
the deer. This being done, they at once re
sumed their dinner and finished up the venison.
New York city is responsible for the strangest
of all Thanksgiving customs, and one which has
only recently died out. Young men and boys
used to dress themselves In fantastic garb and
parade the streets—hundreds of the boys wear
ing their sisters' old clotheB, their faces smeared
with paint and their heads covered with wigs.
As late as 1885 they held parades and made the
street hideous with their thumping drums and
blaring trumpets. In 1870 this queer perform
ance took on the dignity of a political parade and
prizes were distributed to the companies wearing
the most unique clothing. Senator William M.
Tweed, the famous political boss of that period, I
was the donor of a prize of $600 In gold. This
custom was undoubtedly a survival of Guy
Fawkes days, carried out on a later day In the
year; for some unknown reason It was practiced
only In New York city.
Thanksgiving has always been a day of char
ity, and In the old days It was considered bad
luck to turn even a tramp from the door, and
today our friendly Inns, almshouses and charit
able Institutions have their turkey dinners, usual
ly gifts from charitable people. Our prisons, too,
serve their Inmates with a hearty meal and have
some sort of service of praise. The customs of
the great national holiday may have changed
somewhat, yet the spirit of the first Thanksgiv
ing, which was held at Plymouth. In 1621, still
hovers about the national day of prayer and
praise of the twentieth century—a spirit of
thankfulness to God for his mercy and ktndneai
to the people of our great American republic.
FOR ARRIVING COOKS.
"How will I find the house?" asked the cook,
who had booked for Lonelyvllle.
"Can't go wrong," said her employer.' "Oui
suburb maintains a reception committee at th*
depot"
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SAVE THE BEST SEEDS
Utmost Care Is Needed for Suc
cessful Results.
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Amateur Will Do Well Not to Raise
Several Varieties of Any Vegetable
ae The) Are 8ure to Mix
and Deteriorate.
(By R. G. WEATHERSTONE.)
"No occupation," says Burbank, "re
quires more accuracy, foresight and
skill than does scientific plant or
animal breeding." This specialist has
found out that it requires more than
one generation of plant life to estab
lish a cross that is permanent; that
the union of two distinct types may
prove a cross that Is valuable or the
reverse.
In our own seed saving the utmost
care is necessary to bring the result
up to the standard. We have all seen
two pieces of grain sown side by side,
with seemingly similar conditions.
The one was treated with extra seed,
thoroughly cleaned to remove all
weeds. The other had only fair seed,
sown as it was gathered from the field.
Perhaps it had been tested and proof
given that it would "grow." And this
was deemed sufficient. But the har
vest was on the side of the good seed.
If you have an extra good crop of
corn, the best ears, carefully selected,
both as to the number of ears on a
stalk and the size and shape of each
ear, will bring much more next spring
when sold by the bushel.
They must be carefully dried. If
put in the bln with the bulk of the
corn they may "grow," but the vitality
will be impaired, and they will not
bring the price that can be com
manded if properly cared for.
It 1 b the last end that is often the
losing one. After a thing is raised It
pays to care for it in the best possible
manner and get the greatest profit.
Some think that pumpkin seed are
pumpkin seed, no matter what pump
kin they came from. It is a safe rule
that like begets like.
If you want to perpetuate your stock
and have something that is really
worth saving always select the best
and the earliest for saving seed.
Select the smoothest tomatoes and
scrape the seed into a can of cold
water. Put it in some out-of-the-way
place and let remain several days or
until the seeds have sunk to the bot
tom of the dish. Pour off the water
and dry the seeds.
They will be found covered with a
dark fuzz and when dry may be kept
in paper packets, as supplied by the
seedsman. This is much preferable to
the old fashion of keeping them on a
cloth.
Cabbage, beets, parsnips and other
biennials are beet purchased direct
from the seedsman. If your time is
worth anything it is more profitable
to buy than to raise thpse.
If you have any left-overs in the
seed box, be sure to date each packet
as saved, then there will be no chance
of wondering which is best.
If among several tested varieties one
Is decidedly the best, save seeds from
this only. The amateur will do well
not to try to raise several varieties of
any vegetable as they are sure to mix
and deteriorate in quality.
If your seed is not up to the
standard do not save it but buy next
season of some realiable dealer. It is
money ahead In the end.
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UDDER FOR PICKING FRUIT
Much Inconvenience Avoided by At
taching Support for Baeket—Both
Hands Free to Work.
In picking fruit from a tree one la
often, inconvenienced by having to
hold a basket with one hand and
having only one hand for picking,
the illustration shows how a basket
support can be attached to the right
hand board of the step ladder. This
support la constructed of rod Iron,
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8upport for Basket.
about a half inch in diameter and bent
wihle red-hot into shape, as shown at
"A." This is Inserted In the two
holes shown in the ladder, so that the
two ends pass closely below the step,
which holds them firmly. On this the
basket is set, and both hands are
free to work. Smaller rods may be
used if pieces are welded across
one or both places shown by the dot
ted lines.
Pigs on Rapa
Pigs will live and grow on rape with
out a supplement of grain, but a small
addition of the latter is profitable.
Dry sows will, however, do well on
rape alone.
Beat Insect Destroyer.
The guinea fowl is the best Insect
destroyed among fowls, as It «ata
many Inennts that other fowls will not
touch.
PLEASURE IN KEEPING BEES
No Moro Interesting or Profitable
Business Connected With Farm
Beat Keepers Are Women.
(By C. M. BENTLEY.)
As a side line, considering the ex
pense of installation, there is no more
interesting and profitable business
than beekeeping. Not only is this true
for the fruitgrower and farmer, but to
the residents of cities, those In mer
cantile and professional lines. Some
of the best beekeepers are womem
True It is that time and attention and
preliminary knowledge are necessary;
but experience will be gained rapidly
when the living bees are studied in
connection with printed instructions.
A visit to an apiary conducted by a
practical beekeeper will furnish valu
able suggestions and Interest in the
work. No one who wishes to derive
the greatest pleasure and profit from
his bees should expect the little fel
lows to do good work uneless provid
ed with suitable hives. Do not for a
moment attempt to keep bees in hol
low logs or plank boxes; instead have
modern hives which can be opened
from time to time so that the true
condition of your bees may be studied.
Surplus honey may be taken off with
out destroying your bees, or even dis
turbing them. Should your bees be
come diseased it will be an easy mat
ter, with a separable hive, to inspect
them and determine the cause.
Like all other industries when first
undertaken, beekeepers should begin
in a simple way. If you are not
acquainted with bees it is best to be
gin with one colony and one or two
Simple,
good books on beekeeping, and sub
scribe for one of the best bee jour
nals. Study the living bees and your
publications together. It will take
only a comparatively short time—
about one season—to Increase your
colonies and prepare for making
honey.
2»
But Modern
Necessary.
Equipment
SOME LESSONS IN PLOWING
Furrows Should Be Kept Straight as
Possible, Avoiding Triangles or
Bellows-Shaped Pieces.
(By J. G. STEIN.)
There are different ways to plow.
One way is straight, and the other
must be crooked, of course.
By the straight way is meant keep
ing the furrows straight as possible,
and square each piece so there will
not be any triangles or bellows-shaped
pieces.
Have the field true on all sides;
that Is, It may be longer one way
than the other, but each side should
be straight, so if you plow straight
when you start you will have the dead
furrows even and no wedges at the
end.
There will also be no odd shaped
pieces in the center to make a lot
of extra turning.
The crooked way Is used by many,
who start a furrow any old place oa
one end of the field and drive to the
other end, without a mark to go by.
A little crook with people of this kind
does not seem to be of much import
ance, but crooked furrows take extra
time and are a nuisance In general.
Another thing which saves much
time, particularly In harvest, Is a
space which should be left between
the fence and the field unplowed.
This should be about 16 feet wide, and
should be sown to grass. This strip
will save going through the grain
with a binder, and back, and it also
saves the hired man a lot of extra
work in shocking, as he can start as
soon as the reaper does and will not
have to wait until a swath Is cut in
which to place the shock.
INJURY DONE BY HEAD LOUSE
Insects Are Very Destructive to Lit
tie Chicks and Must Be Controlled
or Exterminated.
(By A. C. SMITH. Professor of Poultry
Husbandry, Minnesota Experiment
Station.)
The head louse attacks young
chicks generally before they are feath
ered out, and Is first found on the
head with Its claws or feeders sunk
Into the skin of the head. As they
become more numerous, they attack
the throat and neck as well. The rem
edy is simple, but it takes a little time.
Each chick must have its head
greased with lard, cottonseed oil or
olive oil. You will have to look close
ly to see these Insects. They are
very destructive to chickens, and
must be controlled or exterminated if
the chick is to be healthy.
Mule Unappreciated.
Often we do not appreciate the vlr
tues of the modest, unassuming mule.
He costs no more than a horse colt to
foal and raise and Is lpss trouble and
expense to put in the harness. He Is
not as susceptible to disease as the
horse, and he Is not so easily made
stiff or lame. He requires less feed
than a horse of the aame size, yet will
do as much or more work with -less
1 fatigue. He will do you 20 years'
1 faithful service.