- — Rr mn... —" ———— — No. AGRICULTURE IN MEXICO. PRIMITIVE FARMING METHODS RESULT IN POOR CROPS, Antiguated Plows, Hoes and Sickles ~=Mules Thresh the Wheat With To this is added a complex system of land tenure which retards the subdivis- ion of the great estates into small farms. The land owners are rich men who are lightly taxed and have no inclination either to improve their resources tor ir- rigation or to sell portions of their es- tates which are not under cultivation, Their Heels—-FPoor Water Supply. While Mexico is generally reputed to | be one of the richest, it is in reality,says I. N. Ford in the American Agriculturist, one of the poorest agricultural countries on the American continent. It produces barely enough corn and beans to keep an impoverished population alive, Wish tropical belts on the Gulf and Pacific | coasts pre-eminently adapted for the cul- tivation of sugar and cotton it has no surplus of either crop for export. There | are no finer coffee lands in the world than the mcuntain slopes of Vera Cruz, Michoacan, Jalisco, Guerrero, and Qajaca, but the product is inconsiderable in comparison with that of Brazil. With the exception of hides and raw fiber, Mexico has only a small surplus of agri- cultural produce to send to the American | market, which receives the bulk of the | exports of South America and the West | Indies. This inertia of its working pop- ulation combined with a deficient water | supply and an unprogressive agrarian | system neutralizes the advantagas of vast | extent of territory, variety of pacural products, and range of climate. | There is no conservatism like that of the Mexican peons. They are accus- | tomed to the old methods of agriculture and they will not depart from them. I | was greatly surprised during a recent | journey from Yucatan and Vera Cruz to | the hot lands of the Pacific and thence | to the Rio Grande to find wherever I | went the crooked -stick plow in use. On the largest haciendas American plows | have been introduced, but the laborers dislike them, and are constantly runuing them against rocks aod deliberately smashing them. Wherever farming is conducted on a small scale the ancient implement with its forked stick as a sub- stitute for the share is used. the shorter fork is pointed with iron, but invariably there is a single handle, In Indian villages I saw ox-teams that were lashed to the longer stick” by rawhide thongs fastened to their horus—as pimi tive a method of plowing as could well be imagined. The peons prefer their own implement because they do not con sider it necessary to do more than to scratch the earth when they raise their corn, beans and red peppers. Deep plowing in their estimation involves waste of energy in a land favored with perpetual summer and spring, and where the luxuriant magueyes grow without cultivation in every hollow and on every hillside. The Mexican peasant has in addition to his antiquated plow a hoe and a sickle, each patterned after those used in Gashen under the Pharaohs. ous snd clumsy, and looks like a huge rammer. The sickle has a full set of teeth in place of a sharp edge, With the hoe rank growth of weeds is kept down and the irrigating trenches are vpened and closed ; and with the sickle the small grains are harvested. Im. proved reapers and cultivators are never | seen except on a few large estates whose owners are suspected of having a weak. ness for fancy farming. Threshing ma chines have been introduced only in race instances. They the old-time method of driviag mules around a ring and having them thresh out the wheat with their heels, aided by the wind. Corn is the staple food of the population and it is husked by hand, and ground with a roller upon a stone after it has been soaked in hot water and lime over. night, The chief occupation of Mexican women of the lower classes is the prep. aration of tortillas or maize cakes, the paste when ground by the roller being baked in a shallow pan over a slow fire, The farm vehicles in rural Mexico are of rural coostruction. The wheels are solid sections cut from the trunks of trees with the pith puncturyd for the axle. The roads are so rough that any cart except a very heavy one with block Sometimes The hoe is pounder. Keep wheels would be in imminent danger of | dissolution, and hence conservatism may | have its use in the retention of the old. time mule and ox carts to be seen every. where on the high plateaux. Even when more modern vehicles are provided the | wheels are made of enormous circumfer. ence. At some of the improved sugar works, for example, ricks for carrying | cane, which is a loml of very light weight, are mounted upon wheels large | enough to move an obelisk. Mexico hasa vast territory with tropical belts on the Gulf and Pacific coasts avail- able for the cultivation of tobacco, sugar and coffee on a large scale, and a broad | plateau which by reason of its altitude is | practically an extension of the temperate zone into Southern latitudes, Land alone will not make a eountry rich. There must be an abundant supply of water; there must be an enlightened agrarian systema by which the number of self.in. terested cultivators can be increased year by year; and there must be an intelligent and industrious class of larming labor by | which produce ean be systematically | handled. All these conditions are lack. ing in Mexico, There are no large rivers, and the water supply is deficient throughout the | elevated plateau. Mexican farms with. | out systematic arrangements for irriga. tion are waste land. The great hacien. | das of what may be described as the | temperate zone are supplied with water in reservoirs during the rainy season for distribution during the dry season. Small farmers, if they can pur. chase water rights from the large pro. etors, are enabled to cultivate as much as can be irrigated from the main trenches. As the rich land owners us ually need all the water which they can control, it is difficult for a small farmer to obtain privileges, Those Who have a vested right derived by in. : entitling them to a fixed amount of water per day during the dry season ~ eannot increase the area under cultiva. tion. In a conntry where thee are fow akes and no forest tracts great | means, | seeds and reduce them to powder, ms there are the extension of facilities, The creation of an industrious class of small farmers is prevented in this way. WISE WORDS. What we learn with pleasure we never forget. Satisfied men can only be found in in coffins, Presumption is our national and orig- inal disease. Time and tide wait for no man’s three months’ note. Experience is the cream of life, but it sours with age, It often happens that fear is merely dread of being afraid. The man who keeps his mouth shat never has to eat any crow. The plant of happiness cannot thrive | without the air of cheefulness. The innocence of the intention abates nothing of the mischief of the example, If you want to know how to keep a { hotel, ask some one who never tried to keep one. Make frionds with your creditors if | you can, but never make a creditor of your friend. Many people mistake stubbornness for bravery, meanness for cconomy and vile- ness for wit, A felon is not a desirable thing to | have, but it is always on hand when you don't want it, Promises made in time of afMliction re- quire a better memory than people com mouly possess, You will no excuse Always hope for the best. never get it, so there will be for abandoning hope. If there is anything that makes a very 1 poor man feel sarcastic it te vd ad. vice to rich men on how to secure a good appetite, - ————— A Pocketful of Bees. A tall man with bushy black whiskers Cadilla Ia afternoon, and while he was registering placed a long narrow valise r. A spring in the valise seemed at ti wing to entered the House ye on the coun to have side LL given way, and a little door suddenly flew oy eyes of the bystanders thousands 1 out of a ie wn, disci the of Dees working in an hers was a small stamped standing about the counter all fears allayed stranger explained t and wouldnt they did He lecture upon the bee and its habits that when th at they do any delivered a were wouldn't harm if rl t get ou then short proved very interesting and drew quite a crowd for a few minutes. He said that his name was J. F. Michael, and that he wos from German, Ohio, where he has a large bee farm. He is here vis. iting the Exposition, and brought his boxful fine Italians that he might compare notes with some of the exhib. itors. When some one asked him if he show the queen to Mr. Michael dived into a ecapacious pocket and produced a handful of little boxes, each of which half a dozen common oees and a q “Great man,” exclaimes traveling man, ‘‘are you a walking hive" “Oh, of could him, containeq ueer, guns! a bee- no,” he responded, “b; no These are just a few of my pets that | carry around to show people. You see, each one cf these little boxes hes a queen in it. They are somewhat par- ticular as to their scciety, and I have put these other fellows in to Keep them company.” “Don’t they ever get loose aad run amuck over your person!” ‘Sometimes, but a few stings more or less don't make much difference. But you must excuse me, gentlemen, I have them their dinner,” and he snapped the satchel shut and left for his room! — Detroit Tribune. — ————.. The Laughing Plant. A curious plant grows in Arabia ealled the laughing plant. It is of moderate rize, with bright yellow flowers and sof. velvety seed pods, each of which con- tains two or three seeds resembling b! wk beans. The natives frequently dry the It is said that a dose of this powder pro. duces a similar effect to that of laughing gas. It causes the most sober person to dance, shout, and laugh in an extremely boisterous manner, and to run sbout do- ing the most ridiculous things for an in- terval of half an hour or more. As the effects of the powder wear off exhaustion to give —— | sets in, and the person falls into a deep | sleep. When he awakens several hours later he has not the slightest recollection of anything he did while under the in- fluence of the drug, Queen Victoria's Prize Cattle. Her Majesty, the Queen, exhibited a lot of Aberdeon-Angus cattle at the re- | cent fair of the Royal Northern Agri. cultural Soclety of Great Britain, at Aberdeen, and was fortunate enough to secure several prizes, Among her stock was a famous polled cow, which in point of size has been at the head of the show cattle of this breed for several years. The weight of this enormous cow last year was ‘‘over a ton” and she 14 said to have been improving since that time. ~ American Dairyman, Shattered Glass. 8till another old times belie! has down beneath the relentless of modern revisions, It seems that Cinder. olla’s famous slipper wasn't of glass at all, but of fur, The mistake arose | Mountain sheep is the American repre- | sentative of | them have horns on the male: those of { ity than 3 | and improved breeding came into play a help in preserving from injury | parts that rest on the ground. Lo) | ders and loss of flesh | reach of the horse when | sheet iron and in a way to prevent him | from getting hold of it with his teeth. i New York Sun, - grown by reason of the danger of their THE FARM AND GARDEN, PREVENTION OF HOG CHOLERA, This disease may be more cusily pre- vented than cured. One important thing is to protect the animals from con- tagion; against which no remedy is ef- fective, The hogs are to be kept dry and clean, the feed troughs must be washed out frequently, pure water 18 to supplied, and a gocd thing is a bathing trough for use, instead of a fiithy pud- dle, and this should be kept filled with clean water daily, Some charcoal once a day will be useful, and gorging with food is to be avoided.—New York Times. BHAREP GanIT, Even on stony ground the hens may, by daily foraging over the same space, use up all the available material that is serviceable as grit. Bmooth, round gravel is not suitable, Hens require something sharp and cutting, or they will be unable to properly masticate their food The broken china and crockery may be utilized with advantage for grit by pounding it into small pieces (about the size of beet seed), and scat. tering it wherever the hens forage, as | they will search for and find every piece. Farm and Fireside, LOXK SHEEP, The Louk is one of the varieties of sheep that have existed from time im- memorial in all the mountainous regions of Asia and Europe, and is confined al. | most entirely to the higher ranges of the Cumberland, Westmoreland and York. | shire hills in England. Tbe Rocky the All of same group. the female are less developed in nature, The natural Lonk is of little commercial importance, but is annually shown at the Royal Society's Shows, more as a curios- | As selection | anvthing else, bred off and tl wool till the modern breed in type.—dmerican Agri- the horns were we became less h Airy, became fixed fruit, first, second and third, or cullens. The first should be so sound, large and fair ns to command extra price. The second should be free from bruises or rotten spots, but with some imperfec. tions, such as goarly spots, scab spots and a wormhole or two. should include windfalls, somewhat bruised, yet suitable for evaporating, In | barrelling, the fruit should be lowered into the barrel in the basket before it is | emptied. There is no objection to fore- ing the end layers, provided those layers are fair representations of the throughout the barrels, but do not com- mit the folly of placing large, fair apples on the ends and small imperfect ones in the middle. If you do, be sure your sin will find you out, and if it failed to ex. pose you-to others, it would lower your own self-respect, It 18 a good plan to press in the head before moving the barrel, whether to the market, barn or fruit house, for to move them unheaded is to expose them to shaking and bruising. If stored awhile before marketing have the store room as cool and uniform in temperature as pos- | sible, and remove the heads so that the | moisture caused by the process of ‘‘sweat- ing," so-called, may evaporate, The mols- sture is caused by the cooler fruit con- densing the vapor in the surrounding atmosphere, — Metropolitan and Rural Home. FARM AXD GARDEN NOTES. How to put a horse ‘‘on his mettle:" | Shoe him. What is your reason for not keeping a few sheep! You can't crowded yard, make a profit with a You can't keep fowls thrifty without pireen food of some kind. Mud applied soon to a bee-sting is | said to afford instant relief, Millet seed makes a feed for young pouitry, Usually at this time it can be bought cheap. A little care for the stock hot, dry days will iadire Ho > i comfort money ia your pocket, | properly manage his hired help upon portant (o ue n agement ad jus 1d man in use, and it is equally portant to store them properly under iter when Before storing clean thor. | oughly both the wood and iron parts, If necessary the woodwork should be well Linseed or Spanish not in use, it is best to painted with an oil paint, ol and ochre, lion brown wil verm od paint for this purpose. | The dirt and grease should all be cleaned make ag off the iron or working parts then a coat of paint will prevent the iron or steel parts from rusting, and will not only be , but will put work then in condition for use in the spring If the shed has not a good floor, boards should be put under the wheels or all | It is im- portant to have the roof tight so that the machinery will keep dry. A little care in properly storing the machinery under shelter will not ouly make it last longer, but better and easier work can thus be with it when in use, St, Louis Re puri, also lesson the necessary to qaone | the moist plants with air-slaked lis Oue test of a man's fitne ably conducting a farm is hi : If going on a long drive do no that water is acce “between meals” One may repel striped beetles from melon and cucumber vines by dusting 4 me, It's a bad idea to lock the stable door after the What if the back the horse is stolen, thief shoula repeat and bring horse. those winter lambs you Now is the time for coupling if you wish the How about mean to turn off early next spring and sub- is a its habits, can it Dest prices, sheep The cleanly in all «ist on filth, nor filthy quarters. dainty feeder It cannot long survive in Do not expect too many egus. sionally a Lies will be found that will lay a great number of eggs, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Do apples pay! No, as the masses treat their orchards; yes, abundantly, when given anything like the intelligent care that makes auy other farm crop pay. winter While Leghorns are the best | layers it is necessary to provide them | with comfortable quarters if they are CRIB BITING HORSES, Crib biting in horses is sometimes an acquired habit, and colts will learn it from older animals with whom they are associated in the stable or fleld. Horses that are kept much in the stable without active exercise will sometimes for mere amusement bite the stall or manger, and | follow it up from day until it becomes a habit very difficult to break up. In other cases it is due to indigestion, the result of poor food, water, or over feed ing without sufficient exercise; in fact, | excesses of any kind may lead to indi. gestion and crib biting, and thence to the serious vice of wind sucking. A confirmed cribber is nearly always a wind sucker, and this leads to digestive disor- and health, For treatment cover all the woodwork within in stable with | Place a lump of rock salt in his manger, or where be can reachand lick it as often or as much as he chooses. In another box place a lump of white chalk, and i then sprinkle all the hay and oats given | | with water or a little magnesia and water. The animal should also have plenty of exercise, and if hens to stand in the stable for a day or two at a time put on a | | muzzle after ho has eaten his ration; but | the constant supply of salt and chalk | i will usually effect a cure without the use | of other remedies and preventives,— HARVESTING APPLES, The apple is the great, the important fruit of this country, yet it is a fruit that is shamefully abused. Although the apple harvest commences in summer the harvesting of the summer aod autumn crops is but like the skirmishing that preceds the great pitched battle com. pared to that of harvesting the winter fruit. Apple growers are a little afraid to suffer their fruit to hang until fully ing blown off by high, autumnal winds, Apples increase very much in Rim after many suppose that they are fully grown. The orchardist having many to pick should be amply provided with lad. ders, both self-supporting and those which lean ropes to let down the baadled baskets from the tree, The fruit should be kept laying; this should be arranged for now, Poultry like fruit of all kinds, espoc- | tally apples, which at this season ean nearly always be fed to « good advan. tage when more or less is going to wasle, Pullets that are expected to furnish | egies during the winter mast be reasons. late. | until time; lay bly well matured maturing puliets spring. Of the Cochine, the is the best for layers, bufls the best table fowls, followed by the by this will net me whites and blacks; one advantage they all have 1s their size. There is no advantage in feeding tur. keys for an extra large size. Medium fowls in good condition bring the best overstock sell the more readily, The third ! fruit ' | established in the neighborhood, A —— —— a ———— The First Iron Bridge. At the present day, when we are ac- | customed t3 look upon iron as the chief constructive material with which civil engineers and architects all over the world deal, the first fron bridge that was ever built is a curious sight. This bridge, the arches of which were made of iron, was called ‘‘Iroubridge,” aud it was erected in 1778. It spans a little river in the county of Balop, on the railroad line from Shrewsbury to Worcester, in England, At the present day the struc. | ture is surrounded by a thriving little vil. name from the Beveral iron foundries have been Inge, which took its bridge. | Structure was a timid attempt at what | row country road, | largest one #pans the bed of the river, It | i 378 tons, | two civil engineer, wrote as follows on the | | has since developed into an extensive in. There are three supports; two | dustry. of them are very small and cross « nag while the third and is shout ninety-six feet long and weighs The braces were cast at Coal Safety on the Seas. The old tar who sympathized with folks ou shore for the dangers they aad to face In getting sround would have still stronger arguments to sing about if he happened to be on deck now. He could quote the figures of the National Board of Bteam Navigation, which show that of the 500,000, 000 passengers car. ried by vessels on American waters and from American ports but sixty-five lives were lost, and defy the statistics of in- land travel to approach the results in the The | brookdale, every bar being composed of | segments, Stephenson, the great construction of this first iron bridge | “When we bear in mind that the mani pulation of cast iron was at the time of | its erection in its infancy we cannot help but feel convinced that unblushing au. | { hours ducity alone could conceive of such an | enterprise, and the ijotelligence with which the details were outlined and exe | cuted is equal to the boldness of the con \ Boston Ocea- frre dge i t | prices per pound, and when there is aa | Every farmer should have the conven. | y's Cream Baim ience of an icehouse. The best way is for a few neighbors to join and build, fill, and use the same. Ice in summer is a cheap—almost necessary—luxury, It does not pay to allow the hens to ! sit now; break them up at the start, | Late hatched chickens rarely | prove profitable unless we accept bantams, | his month will do very well for them. Leghorns, Wyandottes and light Bah. mas are all good steady layers; Minoroas, Spanish and Houdans lay the largest eggs; Plymouth Rocks are good layers, Lanshans are among the best winter layers, Keep the March and early April pul. lets for laying. If given comfortable quarters they will lay regularly the greater part of the winter. Late. hatched pullets will rarely lay before spring. If you have tried alfalfa (lucern) and failed, try it again on a new plan. Put out only a little, sow in rows and keep clean by hoeing, until it has made a good start, After that it will take care of itself, Gather up and store the sorghum blades withoat threshing. Picking off the seed will help to give the fowls ex- ercise d the winter, besides supply- ing them with a good ration \tore where it will keep dry. Iron for roofs is oh | ception.” The bridge is constantly used and is in an excellent condition, a fact which disproves all the omninous clamor. ings of cranks that the pernicious in fluences of rust will sooner or latter bring danger to the iron bridges of to day. Transcript, An Unhealthy City. Cairo for a long time has been notorious as one of the most unhealthy cities of her size in the world, and is the in (« : hat n theie ol mnuon alr present HKely Ww remain 80 unless Fren an be induced to employed 5 1 FUISDed sanitary et a scheme for ng Fig pared oe 8 BvS m of sewers whicl ? i to be t devised, generally ad best and that It mprovement by the f 3 . Of hall the oc he cheapest Ws pay for the appro pristion trot receipts of the proposed to | city, but France will not consent and de- | of sn Inver ree experts to the pational Commission of th mands appointment study the question, decide prime these experts unanimously. to be adopted unless soo pred by all The object sud, unless it is modified, the drainage plan must be abandoned, at least present, — of this proposition is clear, for the T vines Demorrat., I —=m—— How the Kalser Trains His Boys. It seems that the Emperor of Germany has a great deal of the old Spartan feel. ing about him--at all events, with refer ence to the traning of his children. His to invite plans, and to as to which is to be adopted ; no | fix little sons are subject to a severe reg- | imen by their father. They sleep in a | plain, bare room, upon iron cots, with | bard mattresses and scant bed-clothing At seven every morning they take a coid | bath, and are then put through wigor- Cus gymnastic exercises, — Philadelphia Record. i——— — It is said that 506,832 persons are members of the Congregational Church in this country, and more than one-fifth live in Massachusetts, which thus heads the list, co— high average of safety. But one life lost for every 7,692,807 people carried! Does not this clearly prove that ocean transportation has become a science, ship-building an architectural certainty, and that comfort, and promptoess have been wedded to the highest form of safetyl— Philadelphia Times. convenience oI — — A. M. Priest, Druggist, Shelbyville, Ind. suye: “Hall's Catarrh Cure gives the best of satisfaction. Cun get plenty of testimonials, ne it cures every one who takes It." Druggists sell it, Tho. Tuere is at Richmond, Mo, & horse nine. teen and three-quarter Lands high How a Student Viakes Money, Dean Reavess—I sm able to pay my boand and tuition, wear good clotaes and Lave money io my pocket by spending my odd and vacations pisting Jewelry and tableware and selling platers. | have made $2 per day; never loss than $4. | paid 85 for my plater 10 H. K. Delno & Co., Columbus, 0. Any one oan profit by my experi by writ. ing there for circulars. A BTUDENT. Causes no Nausen. Dr. Hoxsle's sally conceded 0 reed y for crou flanunation to thr isle, Or addross ‘rice WW cls vertain Croup Cure Is univer be Lhe only sure and safe sold. It speedily allays in. ost or lungs. Soid by Fi A A. VV. Hoxsie, Buffalo, N. ¥. FITS stopped tres by Dan. Kiise's GREAT NEnve Keston, No fits after ret day's TTS Marvelouscures, Treatise and $2tirial bottle ree. Dr. Kline, 981 Arch St, Phila, Pa If afflicted with sore eyes use Dr. lsase Thoms son's Eye-water. Droggists sell at Zio, per bottle. ONE ENJOYS Both the method and results when Byrup of Figsis taken; it is pleasant and refreshing to the taste, and acts gently yet promptly on the Kidneys, iver and Bowels, cleanses the sys tem effectually, dispels colds, bead aches and fevers and cures habitus constipation. Pree of Figs is vhe only remedy of its kind ever duced, pleasing to the taste ol) pod ceptable to the stomach, prompt in its action and truly beneheial its effects, prepared only from the most healthy and agreeable substances, its many excellent qualities com mend it to all and have made it the most popales remedy known, Syrup of Figs is for sale in 500 and 81 bottles by all leading drug. gista. Any reliable druggist who may not have it on hand will cure it promptly for any one whe wishes to try it. Do pot accept any substitute, CALIFORNIA FI6 SYRUP CO. CURES RHEUMATISM, NEURALCIA, LUMBACO, SCIATICA, Sprains, Bruises, Burns, Swellings, PROMPTLY AND PERMANENTLY. WILLCUUE Apply Balm into ench nostell ELY BROS, 8 Warren St X,Y, DONALD KENNEDY of Roxbury, Mass, Says Kennedy's Medical Discovery cures Horrid Old Sores, Deep- Seated Ulcers of 4Q years standing, Inward Tumors, and every disease of the skin, ex- cept Thunder Humor, and Cancer that has taken root. Price, $1.50. Sold by every Druggist in the United States and Canada. JONES SFALER TL Lm MJ ONES BingAMTON NY Is! Want to foarn aft about Bored! Howto Plok Out a Good One! Kpow impertec Hoos and so Guard sgalnet Fravd? Detect Discasy and EfBecta Cure when sameis possible’ Teli the age Wy be Tooth? What to oll the Different Parts of tae Animal! How to Shoe & Horse Properly © All this ond other Valuable Information oan be obtained bi tending our 100.FAGE ILLUSTRATED HORSE BOOK, which we will forward post Pad, om reosiptof only 35 cents bn stamps BOOK PUB. HOUSE, 134 Leonard me, N, V.Ohy + Te a TARR
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