| LIFE ABOARD THE OLYMPIA. I
& W
|3 TKc JRoutirxz orv DeWey s Flagship From the
Bugles JRev'cillz to J-'ipedovM,
|| JACK AT WORK AND AT PLAY. §
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NEW YORK CITY (Special).—The
life of the sailors aboard Admiral
Dewey's flagship, the cruiser Olympia,
is a duplicate of the routine peculiar
to every other boat in the United
States Navy. The discipline has not
been relaxed because the jack tars ac
quitted themselves sc well at Manila.
On the contrary, an extra effort is
made by the erew to hold by good be
havior in peace the laurels they won
in time of war. The men-o'-war's men
of the Olympia are feted and petted
while ashore, but once under the Ad
miral's eye they return to the stern
realities of life on the ocean wave.
It is sot a very fascinating or wildly
hilarious life that of the man forward
on board a modern warship. There is
a monotony and sameness of things
that eat into the heart at times, and it
is only the excitement caused by a
wreok or a storm or a series of battles
like that recently experienced that
lends a welcome air of diversion to the
naval day. To rise at 5.30 to the harsh
notes of a bugle and drum is the or
der, except during the few winter
months, when a half hour's grace "is
permitted. The "musics," as the
marine drummers and buglars are
called, are summoned ten minutes be
fore time by the corporal of the guard.
The two lads, rubbing the sleep from
their eyes, take their stand near the
forward hatch, and, at the word from
the officer of the deck, break into the
stillness of the early morning with an
infernal hubbub technically known as
"reveille." The hideous uproar speed
ily brings a chorus of grunts and
WRITING HOME.
(On bonrJ the flagship Olympia.)
yawns, not unmixed with something
stronger, from the occupants of the
hammock-crowded berth deck, and
presently the ladder leading above is
thronged with half-clad figures mount
iug upward in a ghostly procession.
Each figure carries upon his shoulder
his individual hammock, carefully
lashed and fettered. This he de
posits in the receptacles prepared for
the purpose and then hies himself to
liis mess, where he finds steaming cof
fee without milk and barely sweetened,
but extremely welcome as au eye
opener.
The spotlessly clean decks of naval
vessels are proverbial. This cleanli
ness, which seemed novel even to royal
eyes, is the result of hours of hard,
constant work every morning on board
every ship in the service. It is to the
executive officer that all praise or
blame in reference to the condition of
u ship bolongs, and directly after the
crew has had its early coffee he is on
deck personally superintending the
holystoning and scrubbing and per
haps painting. Herelieves the officer
of the deck, who goes below for a light
lunch, and then sees that the boat
swain's mates and the captains of the
different parts of the ship distribute
their men to the best advantage. If it
be wash day the crew is allowed to at
tend to its laundry work before the
sorubbing begins, for,be it understood,
there are no "Hop Lees" or colored
women in the naval service.
It is seldom that the ship's cook,
who has the exclusive privilege to
make and sell dried apple pies at
twenty-five cents a pie, and the ship's
barber, who pursues his tonsorial art
at the rate of $1 each quarter for every
man on his books, scrub their own
clothing. They are rich enough to
hire a ueedy landsman or coal passer
to do it for them.
As the sailor's outfit consists solely
of cloth or white duck trousers, flan
THE FENCING DRILL.
nel inside and outside shirts and the
ordinary cotton hose, the operation of
washing does not call for skill or prep
aration. For instance, if the article
to be renovated is the flannel shirt,
Jack selects a clear part of the deck,
sprinkles a little water upon the spot,
then spreads his shirt, previously
soaked, upon the deck. Then with
salt water soap and a scrubbing brush
he sets to work. A subsequent rinsing
completes the task and the garment
is fastened with bits of twine 1o the
clothesline stretched from mast to
mast.
Holystoning decks and scrubbing
AT MESS ON BOARD THE OLYMPIA.
ladders and gratings with sand and
canvas continues until ten minutes of
8 o'olock, when the call to "spread
mess gear" is sounded by the boat
swain's mate on watch. This is also
the signal to clean up, and each jackie
grabs a deck bucket, gets his share of
fresh water from the captain of his
part of the ship, and makes his toilet,
which, if not elaborate, amply suffices
for his needs.
After the washing, the sailor's
toilet consists of a vigorous rubbing
with a coarse towel—his own private
property—and a hair brushing with
the aid of an ancient brush and a small
wooden-framed glass generally carried
in the little chest, or ditty box, which
is the officially approved trunk of each
jackie.
At th& stroke of eight bells, 8
o'clock, the call to breakfast is given.
Salty air and an open, free life pro
duce excellent appetites, and there is
no dawdling in the race for the mess
tables on the bertlideck.
Breakfast over, the men have until
9 to smoke, then all hands are turned
to and the ship is cleaned up for quar
ters. This latter ceremony is con
ducted daily, rain or shine. During
CHAPLAIN BEAXEY, OF THE OLYMPIA.
week days the morning hours, are
generally devoted to drill. A settled
schedule is made out when the ship
goes into commission, and this is
strictly adhered to. Each ship has
its general quarters, fire quarters,
collision drill, abandon ship, arm and
away boats, broadsword exercise, or
something of similar character, and
from 9.30 until noon the decks are
alive with men under instruction.
Dinner is followed by a short rest,
and at 1 o'clock "turn to" is sounded
again. During the afternoon five
days of the week the crew is kept at
work attending to the multifarious
duties of the ship. Saturday after
noon is considered a half holiday, the
smoking lamp is lighted, and if the
ship is in port the mw are allowed to
see visitors and enjoy themselves »®>
cording to their individual inclina
tions. With mess-gear in the early
eveniug, the working day ends. Sap
per is followed by a period of re
laxation nntil the mellow not.es of the
bugle sound taps, and the boatswain's
mate's whistle echoes through the
decks in the last call of the day"
"pipe down."
There are many other incidents
which goto make up the naval day.
At hea, when the ship's company is
divided into watches, the monotony is
greater than in port. It is daring the
latter time, with the fleet atanchorofl
some friendly city, or when the ship
is tied up to a dock in one of the home
navy yards, that Jaok finds his hoars
filled with variety and pleasures suffi
cient to satisfy even his desires. It
is then the liberty list—a potent term
in the navy—is made out. To dis
cover one's name on the liberty list
means shore with its fascinating at
traotions, and if there is anything on
this footstool the average sailor love?
it is to "hit the beach" with a fen
dollars in his pocket.
Sunday is, as far as possible, kept
as a day of rest. After, the morning
scrub and inspection comes service bj
the chaplain. The old rhyme of
Six days shnlt thou labor and do all that
thou art able;
On the seventh, holystone the decks and
scour the cable,
Is no longer appropriate, since all
labor, except what is absolutely neces
sary, is dispensed with.
To attend divine servioe, dressed in
THE BARBER'S CHAIR ON THE 01/TMFIA.
their best, is the one extra duty re
quired of the men, and the afternoon
is practically free until sundown.
Chaplain Eeaney, of the Olympia, is
one of the most popular men aboard,
and the men confide in him to au ex
tent that is remarkable.
Oviter Opening ail Art.
It takes one hundred million oysters
a week to satisfy the requirements of
the New York market. This year the
supply promises to be prolific.
ANATOMY OP THE OYBTEB.
The oyster openers are a class by
themselves, as distinct and clannish
as the 'longshoremen for ocean liners.
They receive SI a thousand, and it
is a poor shucker that cannot earn $5
in a day's work of eight hours. Many
of them earn §8 and 89-
There are as many ways of opening
an oyster an there are of carving a
duck, and each shucker thinks that
nis way is the best. It depends upon
where a mau has been brought up to
the business. Men who have been
brought up in New York use nothing
but the knife, but they ase it in dif
ferent ways. Not one man in a hun
dred is a good side knife opener.
Other men who use nothing but the
knife simply stab the oyster. Epicures
declare that this spoils it, but oyster
men say that for the general trade it
makes little difference. If a shucker
has been brought up in the South,
Baltimore or Norfolk, for instance, he
uses a hammer as well as a knife in
opening an oyster.
An Editor's Just Plaint.
"Send in your items of news when
they are fresh," says the Salisbury
(Mo.) Press. "We don't like to puD
-1 lish a birth after the child is weaned,
a marriage after the honeymoon is
over, a death after the widow is mar
ried again, nor the notice of an enter
tainment after the job work is done
elsewhere and the editor is charged
for admission."
ODORLESS WINDOW KITCHEN.
How One Woman Does Light Boau>
keeping In One Boom.
A neat little window kitchen is the
invention of an ingenious woman who
was compelled to do light housekeep
ing in one room in which there* were
no modern improvements. After
struggling for some months with a
FOB LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING.
small table and a gas stove, she dis
covered that, no matter how much care
was exercised, light housekeeping
would leave heavy odors. But she
finally hit npon a plan that makes
light housekeeping odorless, easy and
practical, even if the keeper has only
one small room.
She had a little box kitchen built
outside of the lower part of her win
dow. In this there were two shelves,
the lower for a gas stove and the up
per for a variety of culinary utensils.
The window kitchen is a miniature ex
tension, and can be made out of a
strong pine packing box and attached
outside of almost any ordinary win
dow. It must be firmly screwed tc
the woodwork on either side, and the
top slanted and covered tar paper. A
row of holes about an inch in diameter
should be bored through each parti
tion of the miniature kitchen, to as
sure good ventilation and to carry out
the steam and odors that come from
cooking. A hole must also be bored
in the lower sash of the window, large
enough for a gas tube to pass through
and be connected with the nearest gas
jet. This allows the window to be
raised without interfering with the
tube.
In warm weather the upper shelf of
the window kitchen can be used as a
receptacle for food to complete the
kitchen arrangements. Inside the
room the inventor had a window seat
built and upholstered. The upholstery
and hanging could be removed while
the meal was being prepared and the
seat used as a table, while the draw
ers and compartments and cupboards
built underneath served as a recep
tacle for dishes and table linen. She
huug a peat little pair of curtainsfrom
the middle sash of the window, which
could be moved back aud forth when
the stove was in operation.
After the dishes had been washed
and restored to their shelves and cup
boards tho upholstered seat is put
back aud the end of the couch piled
up with pillows. The curtains are
drawn, and no one would ever know
that a meal had been prepared.
A Relic of the Light itrignde'ii Charge.
A soldier's mouldy hat has just been
fouud under a huge stone in the
"Valley of Death" at Balaclava. Some
boys had shifted the bowlder, as bees
had built a nest beneath it,
youngsters wanted to get the honey.
From the design of tho badge it is
evident that the headgear belonged to
a trooper of the Seventeenth Lancers,
a corps which was included in the im
mortal Light Brigade. London
Chronicle.
Uncle Sam'§ Beautiful Girl Model.
A beautiful little New York girl has
the distinction of having her picture
on every §2 bill issued by the United
Stutes in 1896. Her name is Boso
Marston, and she is but sixteen years
of age. Little Miss Marston is said
to be the most shapely child known to
the New YorK artists. She is par
ticularly remarkable for the beauty
and grace of her arms, hands and feet,
which closely resemble the old Greek
models. On the 1896 82 bill there is
a group of five beautiful female fig
ures. The one which represents Boso
Marston is that of the girl kneeling
on the left of the group. The ac
companying illustration gives a fair
representation of the girl in one of
her poses. She has posed for leading
artists for over four years. The fig
ures of Steam, Electricity and Manu
factures on the 1896 $2 bill were all
ROSO MARSTON'.
sketched from her poses, and she was
one of the models for the beantifal
figure paintings that decorate the
walls of the Congressional library at
Washington. It is said that Miss
Marston earns 850 a week as a model
TFOR FAR H AND GARDEN.I
The Top of the J*all.
There is an old saying among dairy
men that the cow's profits are at the
top of the pail. When feeding this
should never be forgotten, and the
dairyman should make it his business
to see that the feed is of such a char
acter that will allow the cow to put
plenty of "top" to her milk.
For an ordinary dairy cow a ration
of twelve pounds of clover hay,twenty
pounds of corn silage, four pounds of
corn meal, four pounds of wheat bran,
and four pounds of gluten meal will
assist the animal greatly in accom
plishing the feat. It might also be
well to bear in mind that a thorough
bred will greatly assist the milk in
getting the "top."
Cutting the Chicken*' Wing*.
If a persou cares to, it is possible to
cut the wings when the chickens are
young so that their flying ability will
be effectually impaired for all time.
This will often prove to be a great ad
vantage, especially with fowls of the
Leghorn, Hamburg and Minorca
breeds. This is not difficult or pain
ful to the chick, if done at the right
time, and consists simply in cutting
the wing at the last joint; the portion
cut off is but a trifle when the chick
is young, but when it is developed it
make-i quite a material difference in
its wing power, so much so that it is
a comparatively small matter to con
fine thein, and so far as practicability
is concerned, it does not impair their
useful qualities in the least If the
work is done when the chicken is
about ten or twelve days old, it is
scarcely paiuful, and the chick soon
recovers its usual activity.
Controlling the Potato Stalk Weevil.
The adult weevil passes the winter
in the potato stalk, where it develops.
The easiest method of getting rid of
it is to destroy all the potato vines
after the crop has been removed. The
sooner the potatoes are dug the bet
ter. If the vines are left too long
many of them will rot, leaving the
roots together with one or more wee
vils in the ground. The Kansas ex
periment station calls attention to the
fact that there are certain very com
mon weeds which a>e in themselves
great nuisances and aid in harboring
the stalk weevil. These are ground
cherry, stinkweed, eocklebur and bull
nettle. These farmers should learn
to recognize aud keep out of potato
fields. They should be pulled up
roots and all aud destroyed. If pull
ing is too expensive au operation the
weeds should be cut down while young
and allowed to dry up. Many of the
larvao in tho stalks will perish for
want of proper food.
Great care should always be taken
to promote vigorous growth by clean
culture aud fertilization. The heavy
vine does not suffer nearly so severely
as one that is in any way weakened.
The greatest in ury oecurs to vines of
low vitality which have suffered al
ready from the attacks of other insects
drouth or heat. Spraying with lon
don purple and paris green has been
recommended aud may be of some
use. Sweeping the vines with au in
sect net when the beetles are on the
outside may result in getting rid of a
great many of them.—New England
Homestead.
Kntrnnceo to Fields.
In all country roa 1 making there is
usually much plowing up of roadsides
and scraping of tho soil into the mid
dle of the highway to make a good
road bed. Most of this work is worse
than useless, though there are places
where the opeu ditch beside the road
operates as a drain aud thus dees some
good. But in auycase thefarmer who
owns laud adjoining the road should
insist that if the ditch is needed the
h ; ghway overseer must bridge the
open ditch RO that it will aot obstruct
the entrances to his fields. Out of
those fields he will each year draw
many loads of produce, aud iuto them
as many of mauui e. To have a good
entinuce to his fields is therefore
the most important part of road mak
ing for him. Yet after the road tax is
worke 1 out it is often found that a
high but very narrow roadbed has been
made i:i the centre of the highway,
aud a ditch between it and the gate
that he uses to enter his fields. The
only way for the farmer then to do is
to make at his owu expense a culvert
for water to pa«s through, aud cover
it nearly as high as the roadbed. It
will make a bad place to turn if the
roadbed is narrow as well as h'gh.
When a farmer has a lew such ex
periences he will probably come to
the conclusion that woi kiug out his
tax under the average path master is
about the dearest possible way to keep
roads iu good coudition, even though
he does not have to pay out any
money. The time is coming when
deep underdrains besi.le the roadbed
will make only a very slight rise in
the ceutre necessary to insure a good
track. The deep drain should be con
nected at frequent intervals with tho
loose stone o.- underdraiu uuder the
roadbed itself. This will keep the
road always dry, audit will make it
easy to turn out without breaking
down or overturning an overloaded
wagon. Thou with a wide gate, so as
to avoid danger of hitting either side
when a loaded wagon goes through,
there will be fewer losses by breakage
of wheels, axles or gate posts, ai»l the
farmer will have the lenefits of the
good road as much aB those who merely
drive on its roadbed.— American Cul
tivator.
Winter Feeding and Roup.
During winter iu tne morning I feed
a warm mash coui|osed of one scoop
ful of oats aud corn, ground together,
to twice the ouantitv of b: p au. about
one half a scoopful of cut clover, •
small handful of oil ipeal and what
table scraps or boiled potato parings
1 happen to have. I wis the above
with warm or scalding water and let
it cool until just warm, when I feed
it. If a little green bone be added,
say au ounce to each ben three times
a week, it would help it out greatly.
Do not feed any moie of this mash
than they will eat up clean. About
10 o'clock I scatter oats, also wheat
—when I have it—in the litter on the
floor of the scratching shed. This
keeps them busy until noon when I
feed any kind of green stuff that I
have, such as cabbage leavos or pota
to parings. It is well to give a little
chopped onion once in a while. About
2 o'clock I feed them their corn iu
the scratching shed, nnd they will find
all of this by 4 o'clock when I give
them all the boiled oats they will eat.
I find that by feeding the corn in the
scratching shed the fowls are much
more active in the morniug than when
they are fed on the bare lioor and not
compelled to jxercise. If your chicken
houses are not made with the opeu
scratching sheds attached, try and
arrange some place that will auswer
the purpose, and you will be repaid in
the number of eggs you will get, also
in the good health of your fowls.
If your fowls are affected with roup
I can recommend the following treat
ment as an infallible remedy: Goto
your druggist and purchase live or teu
cents worth of peroxide of hydrogen.
If the affected bird's nostrils are
stopped up, clean them out, and with
a small syringe inject some of the hy
drogen into them; also swab the throat
with a feather saturated with the hy
drogen. Then take a small cloth wet
in the hydrogen and bathe the head.
Bepeat this treatment two or three
times daily until the the fowl is cured,
which it will be iu two or three days,
except in case* of long standing. I
have cured chickens that had the roup
so badly that their tongues were
swollen so that they were forced to
hold their beaks open.—A. B. iu the
Agricultural Epitomist.
Effect of Good Stabling.
In a perfect stable with all the con
ditions just right, about 18 pounds of
good mixed hay a day will be used by
a 1000-pound cow to simply exist,
writes J. S. Woodward iu Hoards'
Dairyman. If no food is given be
yond this, no production of milk cau
take place except at the expense of the
cow's condition. Dr. Lehman made
some very instructive experiments in
which a flood of light is thrown on
this question of feeding cows. He
shows that the same cow that was
kept in the pink of couditiou on 18
; pouuds of dry matter in hay, ate all
the way up to 25 pounds as she was
placed iu less favored couditious.
That when turned out for a couple of
hours each day, as cows a:e usually
treated, she ate 21 pounds with no
gain of milk production. He then
continued to show the cost of milk
production in food beyond this point.
His experiments were very instruc
tive, showing that wheu eatiug 25
pounds dry matter iu a cold stable ud
milk resulted, and the same wheu eat
ing 18 to 21 pouuds under more favor
able conditions, so that iu each case,
the food eaten was entirely wasted so
far as production of milk was con
cerned. That wheu eating 25 pounds
of dry matter, under ordinary condi
tions, 11 pounds of milk was made at
au expense of 2.27 pouuds of dry mat
ter for each pound.
But as the ration was increased for
each two pounds of dry matter, the in
crease of milk was about 5.6, aud at a
gradual reduction in the amount of
dry matter to produce a pound of
milt,
The conclusions of the above turns a
bright light on one gravo mistake otteu
made, that of deficient feeding.
A bright, clear headed mau will
look iuto this question, and will see
that the milk costing the least is pro
duced wheu the cow is fed an abun
dant ration, properly balanced. We
have often heard farmers remark con
cerning a ueignbor who was a liberal
feeder: "Yes, I know he gets lots of
milk, but it costs him all it is worth
in" feeding."
By the above it will be seen that it
took just about half the food to pro
duce a pound of milk when the cow
was fed 32 pouuds of dry matter that
it did wheu she was fed 25 pouuds,
conditions being the same. Many
feed their cows only about enough to
maintain life. They get but little
milk, and what they get costs high.
Chicken Chat.
B an keeps the chicks in good con
dition.
Fumigate aud whitewash the hen
house at lea-;t twice a year.
A good p an is to divide the run
way into halves and cultivate one sec
ti .u every year.
If auy of the fowls acquire a habit
of feather eating, separate them before
the vke sprea s.
A good heu should lay from 150 to
17 i a year. Cull out those which
will not do that well.
Unless the ground is light and mel
low iu the chi. keu run, a dust bath
should bo provide 1 iu summer.
Watch that grit box aud see that it
is always well tilled. Many of the so
i ailed cases of cholera came from this
one neglect
There is no better location for a
poultry yard than the orchard. Many
a stray worm or bug which might
damage the trees furbishes food for
the fowls.
If yon have a crop o\ millet use
some for your scratching shed this
wiuter. The hens are fond of the
*eed, and get the exercise they require
while searchiug for it.
The number of penniless men in th«
Klondike is oUced at 3000-