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& The VOLUME XV. For a navigator to have succeeded whore such world-famous seafarers as Cabot, Hudson, Baffin, Davis and Sir John Franklin failed is no small feat. The name of Capt. Roald Amundsen will go irto the Walhalla of great ex plorers, for he is the first man. to complete a transit of the Northwest passage, a feat which has been the dOO year dream of seamen. Huge sums of ^money and thousands jf lives have been sacrificed and untold suffering undergone, in the hope of finding a short route across the north ernmost part of America. It was the dream of such a passage that led to ihe discovery of the American conti aent. Mighty vessels have been built which were designed to resist the fierce tides and the floating ice in the treacherous straits, and it is a curious circumstance that when the big ves sels failed, success has finally come to a little cockleshell of a boat only sev enty feet long and twenty wide. The total crew of the Gioa, includ ing Capt Anundsen, numbered only eight men, yet these came through in safety wh^re Sir John Franklin and his 129 perished. Xow that the feat has been accom plished, it cannot be denied that it rep resents little gain of practical value. A passage that has only been threaded once in five centuries, and then only after a dangerous trip of two years, can scarcely be said to hold out much promise of commercial reward. Capt. Amundsen's investigation of the magnetic pole will probably prove of much greater utility, but there is that in the finai conquest of the North west passage that appeals strongly to th,e imagination, and far outstrips the colder scientific achievement. Man will reap no financial benefits from the Northwest passage, but it was his cupidity that started the quest. The discoveries made centuries ago by the Portuguese andr-Spaniards in the* south/Tatitu'des" of Asia prompted other nations of Europe to seek a shorter "route., to the wealth of the Eastern country. John Catot, the discoverer of the American continent, reasoned that the feasible plan was to cross the Atlantic, find an avenue across the comparative ly narrow expanse of northernmost America, and then by continuing west ward, to reach Asia. He made the attempt in 1497, but found his progress barred by New foundland and Labrador. Three years later Gaspard Cortereal ?nd his brother made three voyages in the same direction, and on reaching Newfoundland, sailed north. In every trial they were stopped on the coast of Labrador, and having failed to pro vide for any relief in case their pro visions became exhausted, finally per ished. This is the first record of life lost in the quest of the Northwest passage, though in the two hundred-odd voyages that have followed there are abundant Instances where starvation and cold have brought many an intrepid life to an end on the barren arctic wastes. Seventy-nine years after the Cabot expedition, James Frobisher started out on a second important attempt. In sach of the succeeding two years he repeated his efforts, but. was doomed to failure. Amundsen's Transit of the Northwest Passage From 1585 to 1588 the enterprise to discover the passage received a fresh impetus through the explorations of Capt. John Davis, who sailed up the strait which now bears his name, as far as seventy degrees north, and re pqrted open water further up yet. He then surveyed the east and west sides of the straits, but without further im portant results.. The great Henry Huson, who had previously attempted the Northeast passage, which corresponds to the Northwest in theory, but seeks a tran sit across Asia instead of America, de voted his time in an effort to find that for which Cabot, Frobisher and Davis had sought in vain. The outcome of his work was the discovery of the Hudson strait and bay. He believed the latter to be none other than an inlet of the Pacific ocean, which theory was proven erron eous by the investigations of Button in 1612. About the time of the achievement of American independence a series of expeditions were started, which con tinued without a break till 1836. With out yielding success these bore impor tant fruits in the direction of afford ing further knowledge. The chief of these were those com manded by Capt. Cook, Capt. Van couver, Capt. Ross, Capt. Parry, Cap tains Frank and Lyon and Capt. Back. The next great expedition was that commanded by Sir John Franklin, which was lavishly fitted out by Eng- f4ft CAPT. ROALD AMUNDSEN. & & & ^',1 it HENRY HUDSON. --J -r *•-. V-ffc.-r- r^- 1 1 land, in the hope that it would settle once and for all the long mooted question. The pathetic outcome of that expe dition. is one of the famed romances bf history. Every schoolboy is familiar with, the details and the surmise and conjecture that exist to this day as to whatever became of "tire leader and his men. The expedition left England May 19, 1845. It was last seen at Baffin's bay. The survivors, abandoned the vessel and are thought to have perished in an attempt to reach the American main land. But others hold the theory that they did hot die, but came' to the settle ments of some friendly^ people, perhaps yet unknown-to the rest of the world, there intermarried, and with their de scendants such as are spared, may be living there1 to this day. The theory may be far-fetched, but it gains confirmation from the fact that fifteen relief expeditions have failed to disclose any sign of the unfor tunate men. Amundsen, though he traversed this territory, and saw the rough monument which sailors erected in honor of Franklin, did not find any trace of the expedition. The searchers for Franklin thor oughly explored the district with the result that many straits were found that connected Dayis and Bering straits. It was Capt. McClure who really dis covered the feasibility of crossing from the Atlantic to "the Pacific, though he himself did not succeed in completing the transit. Amundson, who is a Norwegian and a comrade of Nansen, left Norway in June, 1903. He had no intention of seeking the North pole. His two goals were a completion of the Northwest passage and an investigation of the magnetic pole. In both he succeeded. The explorer established his first base in Leopold harbor, where he caade absolute mag netic observations.'dicing 1904. He es tablished his secondxbase station on King William's island in/the summer of 1905, and erected self-registering in struments.. His discovery'of the. magnetic pole is of the highest* importance to naviga tors. This part ofhis work has inter ested scientists ever since the expedi tion was planned. Since/Columbus in 1492, first noted the:various devi^ons of the magnetic compass ^r^m tjie triie north, scientists have. trifed, without success, to find the reason for tfie vari ations. Also^lt ha§ .been disputed whether the, magnetic pole: is Station-* ary, and it is erpected that Capt Am undsen's report will confirm the gen eral belief that tl^s pole moves at times.: a The newspaper "Kysten" of Chris? tiania, 'states that United States Sen ator Knute Nelson of Minnesota has proposed that thie American govern ment purchase the steamship Gjoa, in order that she may be the first vessel to go through the Panaina canal, and thus be the only" ship'' that has sailed around America, and it is possible that congress may act favorably on the suggestion. And it is so easy for a woman to have a headache whev she cant 'think bf. any other ,exouse.f..v-j'4-:V ltf 'J j,vK~, ?. tLj** v~~ **v GitAND MARXIS, MINNESOTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 1907 -1!- ••. -v-• •. MOTHERS SOMETIMES LAY DOWN SCEPTER TO$ EARLY. Mistake to Allow Children to Hurry Parents Out of Middle Age, Where They Belong, Into Old Age, Says Writer. BY MARGARET E SANGSTER. (Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.) In the history of.-• every liome a period is reached when the mothers stop training the children' and the thildren begin training the mothers. The process of training always in volves a disagreeable side to the per sons trained. Children, for instance, see -when grown up that the truest Icindnes3 to them was shown when ihey were-.not allowed to have their own way# but in the early years they often enough felt rebellious when re strained or. denied. The moulding touch may be so gently given and edu cation may be conducted with so much tact that pleasure predominates. As a iule, there, is somei friction during training whether colls or children or parents are- the -subjects. Mothers -arrive by imperceptible (stages at the point where they cease to take the "initative 'and the children take. it for them. Occasionally they feel a mild surprise when "a grown up Daughter calmly advises jthem to do this or not. to do the other when th.ere fet^n^ferehCe with their clrps their.-comija^s andgoings,- and' when innovations are ii^cd^ced in-, the household manageii^ht A' strong willed mother does hot easily yield her precedence and in her case the children have to wait until a fit of ill ness, a long visit or an absence of some sort gives them their oppor tunity. Once she yields an inch, they take an ell. The maternal sceptre laid down temporarily is seldom re sumed with'its previous vigor. Often the training of the middle aged mother is so tenderly and sweetly undertaken and accomplished that she slips into the background without being aware that she has practically abdicated her .position as queen. Yet it happens every day that worn ten by no'means old, not at all weak 'ened- in mind or body, and as thor oughly oonversant with affairs as ever fthey were, simply through granting concessions to their adoring children [lose the rank of reigning sovereign to .Which tfiey are entitled. "Beware of letting your children 'persuade you that you must take care of yourself, that you must not go here or go there, or get too tired," said a wise man to a friend. "Going down hili needs no exertion ^t is just the lightest push here at the top of the hill and off you speed never plimbing back again. Children ofte^ Jhurry mothers out of middle age where jthey belong into old age where they do not belong." «. There is a very beautiful and thoughtful education of mothers, so exceptional and so gracious that it is worth mentioning in any discussion of the question. Thousands of mothers are so busy with housekeeping anil bringing up children that they lose heart about .keeping up their reading and they sit in" the presence of their VALAIS DESIGN. The' Valaia design is traced on rather a dark colored linen, with a trold conventional poppy design, and is most effective worked out in" rich, deep shades of a color. Economical Fire Kindler. An economical fire kindler znay be made by dipping corn cobs in a mix ture of .melted resin and tar and dry 1! v., 1 ess of the Home. ,vr college-bred sons and daughters feel ing that they are miserably, deficient and hardly fit to breathe the same at mosphere, with their gifted offspring. "I stand by the side of the road and gaze at my daughter alnlost with Awe," confessed a mother who had no excuse for such profound humility. Another, filled with joy and pride at the triumphs of a son whose genius was admitted, dwelt continually on the incredible fact that she was regarded with constant affection by one so bril liant and commanding A as her boy. This mental attitude is of course en tirely wrong and much to be depre cated. Experience has been a richer and more profitable feature to mothers than schools and colleges have been to' their children. The right management of a honie imparts to a woman who is responsive and receptive, sympathetic and. enthusiastic, something quite as useful as a university education. I heard not long ago a story that seemed to me full of the sweetest senitment aind the most practical sug gestiyeness. A daughter who had been graduated with high honors came home with her diploma and spent her. first vacation in becoming intimate with her mother. In the four, years of separation the two'had drifted a little apart not in. love but in'acquaintance with those common affairs that form the staple of life in thought and con versation. The daughter :did-not her room or her hammock .and spend hours injstudy and^reading t^at would liave been £xclusive,though delightful, but immediately ipok hold of the daily work wit^ta wijfr in every' possible way she lightened her mother's burden arid when after hejrmother. and herself had passed many pleasant afternoons together over books that tp the mother opened a new world of culture, the daughter planned a course of study that they might pursue together. Their home was remote from neigh bors and they had plenty of time. Re sisting the inclination to* go abroad and find a congenial/field for study or professional work, the younger wom an stayed by the elder' and awakened her to a new youth. "After a woman is 50 years old she may as well die," was the bittec speech of a mother who realized J:hat so far from taking the first place with her children, she had become a cipher in their estimation. Naturally, when children have left behind them schools and school mas ters and are confronted with the prob lems and situations of maturity they have a right to independence. They must take the responsibility for their own actions. They are not unlike the birds that have learned to use their wings and get their own food and that no longer need the supervision that was once so untiring in the days of the nest. Yet' it were well for most grown up children to delay too much training of their parents. How' shall we train our mothers would best. be answered in most instance's, by an emphatic order to let them alone. Let mothers dress as they please, set their tables as they like, hold fast to little provincialisms in their dialect, un checked, and be old-fashioned if they wish. There, are endless varieties of roses in these days, but the white rose that blooms in the old-fashioned garden is ^sweeter than any of the newer productions. "TARTANS" TO BE WORN. The coming winter is expected to be. a distinctly "tartan'' one, for the Scotch plaid is seen not only in dress materials and trimmings, but is intro duced. Into wings and quills and even roses. Plain broadcloth costumes have been fashioned by "the leading costumiers in Paris and London', with, short sack coats and skirts trimmed' with narrow bands of pipings of tar tan, and a distinct novelty, is the little green and blue tartan "hip", ^cpaj' trimmed jwith. collar and facings of black silk poplin and finished with old-silver buttons. Silk poplin,' one of the fashionable materials for'tile com ing season, is being used for TfmWwg these" little coats, with a judicious trimming tartan, for wearing, with:-a blue -cloth skirt, and '.in' juxtaposition is the skirt of brownlaadililue: palid, with orange stripe running'through it to accompany a plain brown cloth & y%wt- -,•? ,«£»*- •?. The feeding tests carried on by the Illinois experiment station, at TJrbana have probably never had their equal in the United States, both from the point of extensiveness of the opera tions and the thoroughness with which the work has been done. The suc cess attained has been largely due to the excellent equipment with which those conducting the experiments have had to work. The feeding plant consists of a stor age barn, sheds, feed lots, watering plant and other essentials to a com plete equipment To. the south of the feed lots is a 144-foot corn crib and on the north is a 20x28. engine house. There are 12 feeding lots in the two rows mentioned, seven of which are situated on the south side of the alley and five on the north side. All face to the south and all are paved with brick with the exception of three lots on the north side of the alley, one of which is used for experiment ing with .cattle" fed in an ordinary earth lot. The sheds on the south Bide of the alley are open on the south EXPERIMENT STATION Splendid. Equipment Afforded Opportunity for Exhaustive Observation.. GENERAL PLAN STORAGE •—r •—r FEED LOT FEED LOT •a •a «J«-OATE go to f— side, while those on the north side are inclosed, and provided with-large sliding, doors. None are paved. Feed carriers convey the concen trates and chaffed roughage-from the second floor of the storage barn to the lots on the south. side of the alley. For general plan" see cuts on this page. The storage barn, containing a silo, feed grinder, cutter and shredder, feed bins, stalls,, and storage room for roughage, is of plank-frame construc tion, all they framing material being Df two inch lumber sized to 1% inches. It is 44 by 72 feet and is divided ipto five bents. Beginning at the north, the bents are spaced as follows: 15 feet, 14% feet the driveway, 12 feet 14% feet and 15 2-3 feet. The foundation is a brick wall-13 inches thick extending below the frost line and rising one foot above the grade line. The ground was, excavated six inches for the floor and the result ing space filled 3% inches with gravel well tamped, then inch with fine sand over which were, laid* No. 1 pav ing brick flushed with cement. The jbrick were laid flat:in all?: places, with the exception of the driveway, where they were placed bn'edge. 4 The two north sections, contain a 30-ton silo, feed bins, cutter, and stor age for baled hay. iiafV yfmt, tHmmpri with military braid- jbushels. Just above this bin and in ing, having on some models, a narrow tonnection with it, is a smaller one flat piping of orange cloth or velvet ^th a capacity of 100 bushels. Grain: Introduced on eitfeTsfde of the MA scooped into the southend of the ltfl§^ wM The walls are 18 feet high curb, 31 feet peak, 40 feet studding 2x6, 24 inches on center plates, 2x6, two ply drop siding, 1x8 inches rafters, 2x6 inches, 24' inches on. center roof pheathing,vlx2% inches,^three inches apart ce ^hingies, 5x2 laid 4% inches to the,-weather. A feed cutter and. grinder are^lf* cated near a 4x14 foot bin on the first boor. This bin has a capiaf^ty of '300 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. lower bin and elevated into the one above, from which it' run.£ into the grinder and when ground, is elevated to the bins on the second floor. When ear corn is fed in the form of corn and cob meal it is scooped from a wagon into the grinder and elevated as in the case of shelled corn or other grain. If fed finely broken (similar to crushed corn) it is run through an ensilage machine and blown into bins on the second floor, as is also done with hay when fed in a chaffed state but if fed broken by hand it is scooped from a wagon to the second' floor, through the same opening by which the feed carriers leave the barn. Other feeds, such as oil meal, cot ton-seed meal, gluten meal, bran, etc., which are always purchased in sacks, are conveyed to the second floor by hand from a wagon in driveway of barn. As these feeds are needed they are weighed during the day, placed in feed carriers, and conveyed at feeding time to the lots south of alley. The lots on the south side of the alley are each 48 feet long by 36 feet BARN AND FEED LOTS S-HED 71 1 0 9 I 8 FE ED .. W—•—u W—•—u LOTS J.TA.NK CORN TILt^OBAIN -DRAIM General Plan of Beef Cattle' Experimental Plant. wide, exclusive of shed, with a 12x36 shed open to the south. Each lot is enclosed by a board fence four feet eight inches high. All lots are paved with brick. The sheds are not paved. These lots have gates leading into each other, to the alley, and out of the south end of the lots. There is also a gate in each lot so placed that it, together with the gate between the lots, can close the space between the fence and feed bunk, thereby making it possible to confine the cattle under the shed while the lots are cleaned and in the lots when the sheds are cleaned. Each lot is furnished with a feed bunk for concentrated feed and two mangers for hay. One watering tank is provided for two lots. View of the Sheds and Feed Lots. The grade used in paving these lots was one. slightly above the surround ing level and given enough slope (6^ inches from north to south and 3% inches from east to west of each lot) to allow the water to run to the south west corner of each lot wheije tile .were laid to carry it away. The shed south of the-alley is 250 feet long and 12 feet wide and is di vided into 'seven equal compartments. .The feed bunks are five feet nine inches by 1& feet, and are located five feet six inches from the shed. The posts are 4x4S, nine feet' apart one way and six feet apart the other way.' AH extend from the pavement above the bunk to form t^he framework of the feed carrier's track. Two hay mangers in each lot are built of material of the same size and in the game manner. The entire length of the track is 270 fe^t and the total fall, 11.25 feet, which means a fall of one fjoot in 24 •feet. However, the'fall from the door of the barn to-the west side of lot 4, a little over half the distance, is one foot in 19.8 feet, while the remaining fill Is only one,foot in 36.5 feet." Thus it is seen the greatest fall is allowed ..imt after the carriers leave the rirvw *t, NUMBER' 30. 'CNG1NE HOUSC jS ZM. •is s:-i