The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, May 25, 1886, Image 6
grv;- .
FOR THE FARM AND HOME,
'
??
l'rcpariiiB Klnuuro. i
A barnyard can and should be kept
neat. The manure should be stacked in
She centre, and the droppings in the
other parts of the yard should be thrown j
on this stack at least once a day. The
jnnuurc stack should be kept lowest in
the central part, and if the drainage of
She roof bo occnsionn.llv t.nmorl on fViie
all the bettor. This mass can bo loadci
more easily iiito wagons, and will be
louud of greater bulk and strength than
allowed to scatter over the yard, exposed
to sun and rains. When the
ground is settling so manure can be
moved to the fields, fortunate is the provident
farmer who has turned his manure
pile twice, and now has it fine and re- I
duced in bulk. It is in condition to be
appropriated as plant food, and can be
taken to the field with half the labor
required had it not been worked over.
It can be spread ovenly on the wheat or
meadow lands, while the crude manure
is thrown off in chunks of forkfuls, to
wnothcr plants and be a nuisanco on the
meadow or wheat field. There is a class
of farmers who have a mania for making
munurc. Making manure for the sake of
the manuro is a little like paying a dollar
or two per cord for it and hauling it sevaral
miles to the farm.
The Ideal Potato.
3Iy ideal of a perfect potato, writes a
correspondent of the Rural New Yorker,
is one of medium size, with a clean,
white skin (although any kind of color
would not be objectionable, provided it
possessed all the other qualifications),
v "" with very shallow or slightly raised eyes;
flesh pure white, oookina- rlrv flrmfw.
o ?J ? """*JT ?
without any earthy or other decided
' flavor, unless it should be a peculiar
utty taste, occasionally found in some
sorts when grown under favorable conditions.
The plant should be stout, but
not rank, and the tops should not be too
spreading, while the yield of marketable
tubers should bo large, with very few or
no small ones. It should be a good
keeper, retaining its early good quality
nntil late in the season. The tubers
should grow compactly in the hill, and
fee produced at a shallow depth, without
way tendency to grow out of the soil.
Moreover, it should be adapted to a
wide raugc of country, retaining its size,
quality, productiveness, etc., nearly
everywhere, on an almost infinite variety
of soils. Although wo have hundreds of
-varieties, wo have as yet no single potato
with all the above qualifications. In
order to bring about this dnaiiWl im.
provement there is evidently but one
way?to save the fruit of sorts most
nearly approaching the "ideal" in every
* V particular (cross-breeding or hybridizing,
if possible,' kinds which together possess
all that is desired), and plant the seeds
from these fruits until the perfect ideal
potato is obtained. 1
Mind in Farming.
Tho idea has generally prevailed in the ,
past, and possibly more by farmers than 1
others, that" for the business of farming ^
fcut little intellectual training was neces- ^
ary. A willingness to work on in the t
old routine, that has been transmitted j
from the practices of the past, was all j
that could be safely relied on for success.
This narrow view, born and kept alive ^
liy ignorance only, is a mistaken fallacy ^
of the past, fast dying out, rather than <
the sentiment of intelligent, present a
thought. Tho agriculture of i<>
w - - J
not based on manual labor alone. The
ducation of the mental faculties, as well
as the training of the hand to work skil- ^
fully, is recognized as an essential in fit- ^
ting for the life' work of the farm. Upon
these, intelligence and labor combined,
lest the hope of progress in agriculture.
And yet it may bo questioned if farmers 8
fully appreciate the value to their chil- 8
dren of a home training and education
in the work and in the business of the 8
farm. Each year there go out from the
farms young men and women to assume
the work of managing farms for them- V
elves. Are these young men and women ^
as well educated and trained in the work
and WiiHtnpon nflf' "
.. ui niu litnu as tney,
the sons and daughters of farmers, ought, ^
With their opportunities, to be? We fear ^
there is yet too much of indifference in 11
parents in teaching their children the Cl
business of farming, not only as a trade, ^
but as a profession. It ought to be kept ^
constantly in view that the training and s*
education needed by the farmer can 111
largely be learned at home, and that the
practical knowledge thus gained will bo 01
af inestimable value; so much capital
with which to begin the business of farm- e:
ing.?Maine Farmer. ^
o<
Kaiilati Lettuce. ai
Among tho common salads there is st
one in such general demand for the tt
table as lettuce. It is an easy grower si
and yet it needs for its best development 01
m. (ia? 1 *
w ^w\? m/ii uuu wmciui culture* JUOttUCG ill
fii too often treated as a subsidiary crop, 01
and is sowa too thickly in seed-beds and b<
grown too thickly together. The lettuce w
bed should always, where possible, be set cl
i apart from the rest of the garden in some si
tray so that it may be cultivated freely lo
without disturbing other vegetables, vi
Hot only should the soil bo mellow, deep fc
and highly cnriched with manure, but it tt
dhould havo full exposure to the air, ti
with pprfc^t graining. In the opinion of ol
Mr. William Barley, an authority on* the vi
kitchen garden, those who would secure
a fine growth of lettuco should give their
chief attention to its culturo in tho early
summer or in the autumn months. The
ucuc ana aridity of moderately dry summers
too generally hurry its growth into
llowering and the seed form.
To secure the autumn crop, a sowing
should bo made during tho sccond or
third week in July, choosing cloudy or
rainy weather if possible. For main crop
the seed is usually sown by market
gardeners in the open ground about the
middlo of September, and transplanted
to cold frames as soon as largo enough to
handle, being wintered over in the same
manner as early cabbage. Plants have
been known to come out in the spring
perfectly fresh, from seed sown in the
open ground in the middle of September.
Lettuce is a plant of comparatively tender
growth, and unless care is taken to
promptly destroy all weeds, it may be
quickly choked up so as to be worthless.
Tho kinds best to use are those known as
Black Seeded Simpson and Salamander;
tho ono is a curled leaf variety; tho other
is plain or smooth leaved, and forms a
solid head.
Seed* mid Weed*. "
How long a seed will retain its vitality
is a question which can never be settled,
because people cannot live long enough
to decide it. The past season an old
fence row dividing a garden from a field,
which neighbors say has not been disturbed
for at least a century, was spaded
up, and produced a thick growth of
wild mustard. This is a common weed in
my neighborhood, and comes up whenever
any new land is cleared or old
meadow or garden is plowed or spaded
deeply, or wherever the earth is thrown
out from newly dug cellars. It is said
that the heaps of earth which have been
left around old European mines undisturbed
since the ancient Romans left
them became covered with the common
weeds of the country as soon as they are
turned over. I have recently seen
newly cleared forest land springing up
thickly with red top grass, and this is
the common natural herbage over extensive
areas, and on the tops of the mountains
in the Blue Ridge country from
West Virginia to Alabama. Every backwoods
farmer knows how the common .
fire weed springs up on newly cleared ,
and burned timber land. All these well
known facts tend to show that seeds of
many varieties of plants are practically
indestructible by any natural causes in 1
the soil. Hence the greatest caution is '
to be observed in keeping seeds of
weeds out of manure and from the soil.
There are few things which arc impos- (
sible when one determines to do them,
and the clearing of a farm or garden of 1
weeds is quite easily possible. The way '
to do this is to never let a weed seed. In (
time the stock will be exhausted. The ]
usual "how-not-to-do-it" plan is to spend 1
a great deal of labor with the cultivator
and the hoe in rooting out weeds while a 1
crop is young, and then when the very ?
tvorat time?the seeding time?arrives, 1
the crop is "laid by" as it is called, and 8
ihe weeds arc left to ripen, and scatter t
;heir seeds on the soil to mnke work for c
mother year. If a farmer is asked what c
8 the greatest drawback to his success g
le will tell you it is the nuisance of to
vceds, but the Northern farmer has a t
rery faint idea of them as compared with t
he Southern farmers, and yet these
Southern farmers are the most careless of
my in this respect.?New York Times.
The Care of Horses, v
A leading veterinary surgeon In con- tl
'ersation with a reporter for the Mail r)
nd Express today, said: "Want of or- ^
liniirv ? ~r "
...-J V??a V *y* KOU 1 UIU3 9UI11U OX IX1C . DCSt
torses. Even those people employed to
ake charge of the animals often neglect
ome of the simplest things. Every horse
hould be reshod at least once a month.
ai
Jter each day's work the animal's feet
hould be carefully examined, to ascersun
that the shoes are in good order and
ravel or stones removed. Twice each
reek the feet should be carefully looked ot
til
t, broken nails replaced, loose shoes
istened and projecting clinches reduced. ^
?nce a week the feet should be stuffed
rith flaxseed meal or wet clay. Any un- *
ealthy condition of the hoof ought to be ^
nmediately attended to. Horses require
ireful grooming and should bo rubbed gn
ry when used; not allowed to stand
ithout rubbing when heated. Occasional ^
longing of the nostrils with a weak jj
lixture of vinegar and water is also jr
eneficial. The practice o? using a hose jn
r stream of cold water on a horse when ^
oated is very injurious. Care should be
kivuigu iu see taut ino iced is kept free ^
om dust, foreign substances and bad
ior. Small quantities fed frequently ftE
e best for the animals. Bran mash g.(
lould be given once a week, never of- m
iner than twice, exeept when it is de- ^
raple as a purge. Glauber ^alts given ce
ace a week will help to keep the horse t-(
calthy. Watering a horse while warm ^
r immediately after eating is bad; but
sfore eating it is not objectionable, or ^
hile at work. Stables should be kept ^
eon, well ventilated and free from
nells. The feed-boxes should be scrupu>usly
clean 'and washed once a week with
inegar and water. Those animals af- Lt
cted with glanders or discharge from
uj nostrils should be isolated and kept
ed. Man and beast are both in danger
f infection therefrom. In places and th
cmity where an infected animal if thus lij
tied tho wood and iron work should bo
' cleansed with hot water and soap, and
covercd with a wash of freshly-mixed
quicklime, which should bo scrapcd oil
and removed within two days. All harness,
horse-cloths, saddle-cloths and
blankets used by a glandercd liorso
should be destroyed. Corns on horses'
feet are bruises of the sensitive sole, and
mostly occur in tho foro feet. Theso
should bo carefully attended to, and if
treated in time will soon disappear; otherwise
the horse may be permanently Inmcd.
Trotting on a hard road will often produce
corns, and like human beings, they
arise many times from bad shoes. Attention
to theso simple things will often
save valuable horses from being ruined."
?New York Mail and Express.
Household Illnts.
Seal the juicc left from canning fruits
in small bottles and keep for making
fruit pudding sauce.
If gilt frames, when new, are covercd
with a coat of white varnish, all spccks
can then be washed off with water without
harm.
Strong brine may be used to advantage
in washing bedsteads. Hot alum
water is also good for this purpose.
If the wall about the stove has been
smoked by the stove, cover the black
patches with gum-shellac, and they will
not strike through either paint or kalsomine.
A teaspoonful of borax put in the last
water in which clothes are rinsed will
whiten them wondcriully. Pound the
borax so it will dissolve easily. This is
especially good to remove the yellow
that time gives to white garments that
have been laid awav two or three vnnrs
H?clpea.
Fresh Herrings.?Wash and drain; put
in a baking pan; add salt, pepper, two
or three chopped onions, parsley and
thyme; cover with equal parts of vinegar
and water, and hake one hour in a
slow oven.
Raised Doughnuts.?In the morning
take one pint of warm milk, one cup of
9ugar, one-half teacup of yeast, a little
salt, and set a sponge, making it rather
thick. At night add one cup of sugar,
one-half cup of lard, and two eggs,
knead up and let it stand till morning.
Then roll out thin, cut round, and let it
stand on the molding board till light.
Fried Potatoes.?Peel them and boil j
in salted water; do not let them boil
until they are soft. Beat one egg, and
tiavc ready some fine cracker crumbs; roll
;he potato in the egg, and then the
cracker, and fry in butter until a light
jrown, turning frequently that the color
nay be uniform; or the potatoes may be
Iropped into hot lard. In this case, a
:loth should be laid over a plate and the
sotatocs should be drained for a moment
n this before sending them to the table.
Tomato Catsup.?Skin the tomatoes
ind cook them well. Press them through
i sieve, and to each five pints add three
jints of good cider vinegar. Boil slowly
tlong (about two hours) until it begins
o thicken; then add one tablespoonful
>f ground cloves, one of allspice, one of
innamon, one of pepper and three
;rated nutmegs. Boil till very thick,
letween six and eight hours, and add 1
wo tablespoonfuls of line salt. "When
horoughly cold bottle, cork and seal it^
Carious Action of Mind on Mind. '
Talking of these tests recently with a '
riend, who has been a Professor until
rithin a short time in an important insti- '
ution, he described a trial made at his
*sidence by a company of acquaintances (
rho were spending an evening with his (
imfly. At his suggestion, and as an '
scperiment which might afford amuse- (
lent and instruction, a lady was chosen, '
as blindfolded and seated on a chair, 1
txd was furnished with a pencil and pa- t
er. The Professor left the room and in *
le hall drew a zigzag, ponderous figure t
n a paper he held. Returning and I
ending behind the lady on the chair, 1
id fastening his mind intently on his 8
rawinsr. she betran in * f?w mnmnnfi. r
raw slowly the irregular lines he had i
at on his paper. To test the matter I
ill further, he again left the room and t
rew as perfect a circle as he could on a 1
esh paper. Returning, and under the f
me conditions, the lady drew a similar t
rele, then hesitated a moment, and i
icn, to the surprise of*all, drew a straight t
ae from above the circle down into it. s
l a moment he remembered that on go- t
g out the second time his first intention I
id been to draw as perfect a rectangle u
, he could, and that he had carried out 4
Lis intention so far as to draw the per- 4
mdicular lino or one side of the figure t a
id inadvertently left this line on the '
3e of the paper when he changed his g
md in favor of the circle. The lady si
id followed a reversed order of the pro- sses
of his mind,' and, the first mtcn)n
being indistinct in him, had in a
isitating way repeated the straight line ^
id carried it into the circle instead of
rcpiug it oucsiao 01 it.?Uhristian InUigenw.
1
ii o
Took His Degree. w
"Are you a member of the Knights of
ibor?" p
"No, but I had one last week." n
"Had one? What do you mean?" w
"Had a night of labor. My baby had t<
e colic from nine o'clock until day- i<
fht."?Graphic. <
/' / y* v . ? A
! LADIES DEPARTMENT.
Breakfast, Dinner and T??.
"What do I want for breakfast, dear?
My wants aro all in my mind quito clear;
You?with your cheerful morning smile,
And a pretty dress, my thoughts to beguile
Into thinking of flowers; an earnest word
That will all through my busy day be hoar
And make mo suro that my morning light
Beams strongly true, e'en while dancii
Ul'IgUC,
Bo cortain to givo mo tlicso, nil these,
And anything elso you can or plenso.
But dinner?what will I have for that?
Well, doar, when I outer, do IT my hat,
And turn to tho table, I want to sou you,
Standing, just as you always do.
To make me lose all tho forenoon's fret,
And cheer for tho nfternoon's work to got;
Tell mo all your news, and I'll toll mino,
And with lovo and joy and peace we'll dino.
3e cortain to give mo these, ull theso,
And anything else that you can or pleaso.
And what for tea? Have I any choice?
Yes, dear, tho sound of your own swot
voice,
And your gontlo presence. 1 always feel
The cares of tho (lay, liko shadows, steal
Away from your soul light; and ovening res
Como just in tho way I lovo the l>ost.
So, when you aro planning our twilight ton
With a special thought in your heart for m<
Bo certain to givo mo theso, all those.
And anything elso that you can or please.
?Juniata Stafford, in Good Housekeeping
llairdrcssing.
Some of the latest Pari3 styles of hair
dressing arc exceedingly graceful. Th
hair is waved and is arranged on the to]
of the head. Tight locks caress the fore
head below the wavy masses of hair, ar
ranged pompadour fashion, and adornct
with jeweled fleur-de-lis. One or tw<
long loose curls stray down the back o
the neck, as was the fashion ten yeari
ago. Another style has the hair wavec
over the head, with loosely twined coil:
of hair covering the back of the head.
Mnle Escort* Unnecessnry.
Number of matrons of high social position
in "Washington have for some years
been in the habit of going to the theatre
and elsewhere with young ladies unattended
by gentlemen. Last spring one
party for the opera was composed entirely
of ladies, a married lady and several
young girls, and the opera occurring at a
theatre where a request is made regularly
on the programme that the audience
promenade between the acts, the young
girls in couplos walked about during the
entr'actes.
The wife of the late Senator Charles
Sumner, during the time she was married
to him, used to take one or more other
ladies with her to the theatre and have
no male escort at such times. Twenty
years ago Mrs. John Sherman, wife of
Senator Sherman, expressed surprise
when a widow from Louisville, Ky., told
her that she and her daughter had not attended
a party to which. Mrs. Sherman
had invited t.hem WniKn ?
L11V.J 11UU 11U
escort, and Mrs. Sherman said she never
thought of waiting for her husband to
escort her and her niece (an elderly sister
of Mrs. Don Cameron, now the wife of
Gen Miles), anywhere, because ho was
generally too busy to do so, so she and
Miss Sherman went everywhere alone together.?
Washington Letter.
What A Lady I?.
The definition of a simple idea is the
groat difficulty of lexicographers and
others. To judge from dictionaries and
treatises on ethics it is almost, or, according
to some, quite impossible. But
jome very complicated ideas arc almost
squally incapable of exact definition.
Five hundred years ago Mmc. Barnes of
Sop well Priory, or the writer of the
"Book of St. Albans," whoever she was,
mdeavored, with singular want of success,
to tell "how gentlemen should be
known from ungentlemen." The virtues
>f chivalry are enumerated without givng
us a very distinct idea of knighthood,
ind then we come to the nine articles of
jentleness, which are these: That a genleman
should be lordly of countenance,
;rcatable in language, wise in his answer,
perfect in goverance, chccrful to faithful- j
less; that he should use few oaths in
wearing, be "buxom to Goddis bydling,"
knowing his own birth and bcarng
and dreading to offend his sovereign.
>Ta <1 AllVlf ??? 1 - *
,iv uv/uuv ifix^ou aiu mi iimrKS oi genleness,
but most inquirers will want a
ittle more. Dr. Johnson is not more exilicit.
According to him, breeding is
he chief thing. A gentleman, he says,
s "a man of birth, a man of extraction,
hough not noble," but he allows, as a
ocondary meaning, "a man raised above
he vulgar by his character or post."
)amc Julians avoids any attempt to tell
8 4'what is a lady," although in her
'Process of Hawking" she teaches us that
'there is a merlyon, and that hawk is for
Mady." and informs us, moreover, that
'gentlemen and honest persons have
reat delight in hawking" Johnson
lys a lady is "a woman of high rank.''
-Saturday Review.
Xlelptul Wives*
An English writer says that when
lings are going wrong, women show to
io best advantage. He illustrates his
imark by the touching story of the wife
f John R. Green, the historian, who
as cut off in the zenith of his fame.
What Mrs. Green said of her husband's
ersistency at work during his fatal illess,
was told in the Companion last
eek. She did not tell what part Jiic
>ok in the heroic work. Yet she tendi
him with such skillful care as to promghiif
life; and she was more than a
V-v * : '
* i
nurso. She was his amanuensis, writing
at his dictation; his private secretary,
consulting authorities and examining oh
' scure points, thus doing for him work
which he could not do.
It was by her sympathetic and intelligent
help that the book was prepared,
d, lie could not work more than two hours
a day, and often weeks passed when lit
ltr 1-1 - -
- uuum not no tne slightest mental labor.
In those day3 of enforced idleness, she
was busy getting ready matter for him to
work over when the propitious hours
should come.
Sir "William Napier, the historian of
tho Peninsular War, was effectively
helped by his wife in the preparation oi
his great work. A great mass of documents,
some of them in cipher, had to bo
translated and epitomized. Lady Napiei
did it all. The historian's handwriting
^ was almost illegible?he himself could
hardly read it after it had been written
twenty-four hours.
She took the rough, interlined sheets
?t and made a copy of them for the printer.
She did all, reading, deciphering, epi
' tomising, and copying, without for a day
neglecting the citre and education of a
large family.
When Wellington heard of her skill
in deciphering the contents of King
Joseph Bonaparte's portfolios, and tho
correspondence captured at Yittoria, he
c said:
P "I would have given twenty thousand
pounds to any person who could liavo
done this for me in the Peninsula."?
* Youth's Companion.
i
t lTaslilon Notes.
s Black tulle tabliers embroidered with
I colored beads appear.
5 Net beaded with dull pearls is exceeding
soft and beautiful. Beaded
gloves arc a novelty which are
promised us for street wear,
i Triangular -jets are very stylish foi
> trimming all sorts of head gear.
The Austrian colors, black and yellow,
predominate in millinery aud parasols.
White chenille embroidery and Roman
pearls are the trimmings of bridal gowns. I
Butterflies and blossoms of chenille are !
sold ready to be applied to net or tulle.
Crimson guipure lace, forty inches
wide, has narrow edging to correspond.
Chenille and beads are worked in
effectively together on the new flouncing
laces.
If the hair is worn high a bonnet must
be small to form the apex to the monument.
Black silks arc loaded down with jet,
and are a glittering, jingling mass of
J beads.
I .Tflnnnosp nmnn r\f J
J. u.uj/v ui Ull^llb UU1UIS IS USCU
for vesta for black- grenadine or silk
dresses.
This snmnicr is to be a parasol season,
and the stereotyped styles of frames have
quite gone by.
Hats have peculiar shapes this season;
one resembles the paper bag in common
use with the grocers.
Silk skirts of every hue, fascinating
with their different trimmings of lace are
shown to cover the maillots.
Tlmililctnd ~r J ? 4
J.IV.1V<_L3 Ul JJllllU wool
in shades of ecru or brown are worn
with black or colored dresses.
Plain silk skirts will be worn with
polonaises of cambric or sateen with
pompadour or foulard designs.
Single flat and raised designs in silk
passementerie are very effective in trimming
the flat panels tabliers now so much
used.
The irrepressible jersey is protean in its
forms. It is hardly to be rscognizcd, so
elaborate is it in design and "enrichment."
Silk cashmere comes in many of tho
pretty new shades. Stripes or spots in
chenille appear on almost all of tho nov
city dress goods.
A bright ribbon, a guaze scarf, 01
trimming with lace, transforms last
year's costume into a new one to all intents
and purposes.
Canvas goods are shown in variety of
designs amounting to a craze, and if tho
people follow the bent of the manufacturer
the streets must be well canvassed.
Black lace and jet will be used to
trim foulard or India silks in the new
shades of bronze, yellow-green, poppy (
red and electric blue. The sashes of .
these costumcs arc usually of black and
moire antique.
Crazy cloth appears this year in extra- j
ordinary variety. It is easily put in or* (
dcr when soiled, as it requires no iron- (
ing, owing to its crape-like surface. I| j
is to be had in every shado of plai$ t
color without figure, and also witt I (
cream-white around covpiWI I
o V4V4A (
cato designs. ( x
Limit of Hearing.
It has been found by Dr. Tait that the B
ear in women can perceive higher notes? c
that is, sounds with a greater number ol a
vibrations per second?than the ear in f
men. The highest limit of human hear- ^
ing is 8omewlicro between 41,000 and e
42,000 vibrations per second. Few persons
have equal sensibility to acute sounds a
in both ears, the right ear usually hearing
a higher note than the left. Tho
lowest continuous sounds have about six* b
teen Titrations per second. 1 p
tjV Tv3' v'vL"4 -(-'i"'*?
vjjna^B ' V1'-)"* :
CHILDREN'S COLUMN*
A Cup of Tea.
A very old dame,
In a very small cot,
Mado tea in a blue and whifco china teapot;
She drank it so black
I'm sure you would think,
Twas tho very worst thing an old lady could
drink.
She never drank vvator,
Nor cotFeo, no wine;
But said her black tea was excoodingly flue.
She'd draw it at morn,
And at night drank it up,
i prom an old-fashioned bluo and white china
toacup.
Ami sho lived long ago,
Yet I have heard say,
She's making and drinking her tea to thi3
day. ?Our Little Ones.
Ilaby Snal*.
If tlic following account of the manner
in which young seals arc taught to swim
is true, says Youth's Companion, it is not
very much unlike the way in which children
are instructed in the same art by
Pacific Islanders. The babies are simply
thrown into the water, but their fathers
stand by to rescue them if they should be
! in danger.
A seal mother gives a curious display
of maternal solicitude in teaching her calf
to s.vim. First taking hold of it by the
flipper and for a while supporting it
above water, with a shove she sends the
youngster adrift, leaving it to shift for
itself. In a short time the little creature
bccomes exhausted, when she takes a
fresh grip on its flipper, and again supports
it till it has recovered breath, after
which there is another push-oil, followed
by a new attempt to swim, the same
process being several times repeated to
the end of the lesson.
Birds ami Pens.
Between forty and fifty years ago quill
pens were in general use in the schools,
and the pupils who could make or mend
a pen were considered quite accomplished.
The quills most commonly used for pens
are those of the goose. Swan quills are
considered better, but they are expensive.
Other quills, such as turkey, eagle,
and others, have also been used more or
less, while crow and raven quills have
been used for drawing purposes, and for
making fine lines. Only the five outer
wing feathers of the goose arc used for
quills, the second and third being the
best, white those of the left wing are preferred
to those of the right wing, from
the fact of their curving outward from
the writer using them. Quills plucked
from living birds in the spring arc the
best, those from dead, and especially fattened
birds, being useless. Quills have
to be prepared for use by heating in a
sand bath (from 130 to 180 degrees F.),
and afterwards scraping away the outer
fatty membrane. AiVr coqling tlie^quills
are elastic, somewhat brittle, and are
then cut to suit.
Ihe Maelstrom.
When I was a boy, twenty-five or thirty
years ago, I used to read in my geography,
with a kind of a shudder, of an
awful whirlpool, called the Maelstrom,
off the coast of Norway, which sucked in
vessels that came auywhere in its neighborhood,
and out of whose mysterious
centre nothing could escape alive. What
is the reality on which this story was v <3
founded. Dr. C. C. Tiffany takes pains
to tell us in a recent account of a trip to
Tromso, this: "It is the one humbug of
Norway. It is simply a dangerous current
at the south end of the Laffoden
Islands, between the islands of Mn.ik?n.
aes and Vteroe. When the wiud blows
from certain quarters, particularly from
northwest, and meets the returning tide
in th<? strait, the whole sea between
Moskenaes and Vueroc is thrown in such
agitation that no ship could live in it.
In calm weather, however, it is crossed
in safety three-quarters of an hour before
flood tide. "What gives it the name and
appearance of a whirlpool is that the set
of the tide is changed at its different
stages by the narrow limits in which it
acts. Its movement is at first toward the r
southeast; then, after flood tide, it turns
from south toward the southwest, and
finallv toward the northwest; so that it x
takes twelve hours to complete the circle .
of its movement. Rather slow motion
for such a fast character as a whirlpool.
?Harper''a Yowuj People.
Bad Effect of Pickles.
The influence of acids in retarding or
arresting salivary digestion is further of
importance in the dietectic use of pickles,
vinegar, salads and acid fruits. In the
:asc of vinegar it was fcund that one
part in 5000 sensibly retarded this process,
a proportion of one in 1,000 rendejrjd
it very slow, and onfc in 500 arrested
t completely; so that when acid salads 4
iro taken together with bread tho effect
>f tho acid is to prcvcRt any salivary
ingestion of the bread, a matter of little
nomcnt to a person with a vigorous di- ^
restion, but to a feeble dyspeptic one of
ome importance. There is a very wide
preau belief that drinking vinegar is an
fficacious means of avoiding getting fat,
,nd this popular belief would appear
rom these experimental observations to
>e well founded. If the vinegar bo takn
at the same time as farinaccous food
b will greatly interfere with its digestion
nd assimilation.?Nineteenth Century.
In Stuttgart, Germany, tfie tricycle ha*
ecn adopted by the Government for the
ostal service.