The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 33, Ed. 1 Friday, March 11, 1898 Page: 3 of 8
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FARM AND GARDEN.
matters of interest to
agriculturists.
THE NEXT EXPLOSION WILL BE INTERNAL.
DIRECT LEGISLATION.
THE VERDICT OF SWISS STATES-
MEN ON THE SUBJECT.
Th Will of the People Proclaimed by •
.Stroke of the pen, and not l>y Fire Arms
and Itloody Revolutions. New Law* to
AiiMwer Ileal Wants.
Hon. Karl Burkly, Councillor of Zur-
ich, veteran Swiss reformer (in his sev-1
enty-tifth year), called the Father of:
the Referendum.
Social referm is condemned to re- j
main in a state of theory until the
right means can he found to put it into
practice, and these means can be above
all no other than that the laws shall
be made by the voice of the people and j
not according to the wishes of the ;
privileged few. The political fulcrum j
i* wanted to the social lever where- ,
with society may lift from off its;
hinges the old form of society with its
poverty of the masses and its individ -
ual wealth.
The history of the world abundantly
proves that the law is only a written
expression of the interest of the law-
giver. In a real democracy wherein
direct legislation gives into the peo-
ple's hands the instrument of perpetual
motion and the path for constant peace-
ful revolution lies open before it—the
people will en-ate new forms and laws
not according to preconceived social
theories but according to real wants as
they make themselves felt, and it will
make its will prevail, as in Switzer-
land, by a stroke of tlie pen and no
longer by lire arms and bloody revolu-
tions.
Hon. Theodore Curti, Nat ional Coun-
cillor (corresponds to United States
benator), lieado* group of extreme left
in Federal Assembly, Historian, etc.
The referendum works well in a
great crisis. He mistakes who thinks
the people will systematically reject
proposed laws and that this obstruct-
ionist feeling will prevent their dis-
tinguishing good laws from bad ones.
After the practice of the referendum
the people possess a great treasury of
know.edge. A great question now
looms all over the world; Shall legisla-
tion now and in the future be in the
hands of representatives who cannot
escape the danger of defending their
own interests and becoming a new
privileged class, or shall it be the
work of the people all together and
express their intelligence, aspirations
and demands?
A parliament can never give to the
people that feeling of unity which
comes with the referendum. The citi-
zens of Orisons, which is a confedera-
tion of communes, snjT: "The referen-
dum has made one people of us." One
cannot imagine a more close commun-
ion among people than this act has
brought about in which each partici-
pates. See how the canton of St. <i*ll
has been solidified by the union of
classes, the most diverse and opposite
historically and geographically. The
common voting develops a public con-
science. Switzerland unites in its blood
an astonishing number of antagonisms,
but every one allows that these have
been leveled by the referendum and
that legislation by the people has
brought us all to feel as one people.
Prof. Louis Waurin, Professor Sociol-
ogy in the University of Oeneva, Swit-
serland.
The cantonal and municipal applica-
tion of the referendum, the right of
popular initiative, and, above all, the
introduction of proportional represen
tation, are eloquent elements of politi-
cal righteousness at Oeneva.
llou. Numa l)roz, ex-president of
Swiss Kepublic, Economist and Au-
thor,
Under the influence of the referen-
dum a profound change has come over
the spirit both of parliament and peo-
ple. The idea of employer and em-
ployed. of sender and sent, which lies
at the root of the representative sys-
tem, becomes an absolute realty. The
people still choose their representa
tives to make their laws, but they re
serve the right of sanction. The crafts"
man carries out the work to his own
satisfaction; the employer who gave
the order is of different opinion and
sends it back to be altered. It is per-
fectly simple, each has done his duty
within the limits assigned to him;
there is no ground for quarrel. The
legislator is not discredited; he is only
in the position of a deputy whose bill
is not passed. There is no question of
resigning. If here and there a meas-
ure is rejected, others are passed;
there is clearly no want of confidence.
Moreover, after rejecting a law, it is
quite common to re-elect the same rep-
resentatives.
The people have generally shown
themselves wiser than the meddling
politicians, who have tried to draw
them into systematic opposition. If
now and then they have voted under
the influence of obvious ill-humor with
their representatives, they have on the
other hand more than once given the
agitator clearly to understand that he
had no chance with them. The net re-
sult has been a great tranqualizing of
public life. When the ballot has pro-
nounced, everybody accepts the result
Those who make the most noise cannot
impose on the people as they do in oth-
er countries; they are taken for what
they are really worth. Adapted to a
people fundamently democratic, like
the Swiss, the referendum is unques-
tionably one of the best forms of gov-
ernment ever attempted. It may be
thought good to modify it in accord-
ance with the suggestions of experi-
ence, but there can never again be any
question of doing away with it.
Hon. C. Pescurtins, National Coun-
cillor (corresponds to United States
Senator), President Swiss Catholic
Workingnien's association, delegate to
1897 international congress for labor
legislation.
The prominent place which Switzer-
land occupies among European nations
is more closely connected with her
democratic form of government than
would seem from a superficial view.
If Switzerland is at the head of all Eu-
ropean countries in labor legislation
and if anarchism has nowhere such a
small number of followers, direct leg-
islation by the people is to be thanked.
By it the working class can defend
their just claims and be able to obtain
the legitimate protection, which is the
best safeguard of social peace.—New
Time.
Populism.
The Times-Democrat quotes the fol-
lowing high authority upon the con-
stitutionality, practicability and advis-
ability of the government ownership
of telegraph and telephone:
A 9TATK8XAN.
"It is quite manifest (the telegraph)
is destined to exert great influence or
the business affairs of society. In th«
hands of private indt vidua is they will
be able to monopolize intelligence. 1
think that such an engine should be
exclusively under the control of tin
government"—Henry Clay, candidatf
for president in 1844.
A CHIEF JUSTICE.
''The powers thus granted (by th
Constitution) are not confined to the
instrumentality of the post service
known or in use when the Constitution
was adopted, but they keep pace with
the progress of the country and adapt
themselves to the new developments
of time and circumstances. The}* ex-
tend from the hors^ to the stage coach;
from the coach to the steamboat; fioir.
the steamboat to the railroad, anq
from the railroad to the railroad."—
Morrison R. Waite, Chief Justice o!
the United States, 1874-1888.
A STATE JUUGE.
"Many who admit the great advam
tages of the telegraph and telephony
being operated as a part of the posta)
system are deterred by the inquiry, 'Ij
it constitutional?' In truth it is un-
constitutional for this essential branch
of the postal svstem to be operated ai
a private monopoly or in any othei
manner than by the government.*'—
Judge Walter Clark, of the Supremt
Court of North Caroline.
A JUSTICE.
"If the government may be safel;
intrusted with the transmission of oui
letters and papers, I see no reason wlij
it may not also be intrusted with tin
transmission of our telegrams and par
eels, as is almost universally the cast
in Europe."—Justice Brown, of the Su
preme Court of the United States.
It is said that the governments o
seventy-five nations of the world owi
and operate their telegraph systems.
The United States, together witl
Hawaii, Honduras, Cuba, and a feu
other countries, is lagging behind it
this great march of progress.
Also recozniging the fact the rai
roads carry nearly all of our mail anc
that is no longer an experiment, bu
on the other hand has met with mosl
satisfactory results in other countries
we would ask the Times-Democrat it
all candor what are the objections t<
this much advocated scheme—the gov-
ernment ownership of the railroads?
Thero can be no doubt but that i
would secure a much better and cheap
er service.—I'opulist.
True Words.
The American "people" don't worl
for themselves. Some of them thinl
they do, but they don't. They work t(
support rotten nobility of Europe—1<
support tilted profligates, who sell i
name given their ancestors by souk
savage chief of a warlike tribe. The\
sell the name to the would-be-loyalt\
of the United States in return for mil
lions of surplus wealth created neithei
by American capitalist nor foreign
prince, but by the working people—
the common laborer of North Ameri-
ca. These working people rot with
disease, they starve in garrets, they
freeze on the highways, while the re-
sult of their labor is reduced to spark-
ling drops of champagne to be drunk
by the roystering rowdies of the old
world. Hence I say that the American
people do not work for themselves—
though some of them think they do.—
Oov. Pingree.
Noma Fp-to-Date Hints About Cul-
tivation of the Noll and Yield*
Thereof—Horticulture, Viticulture and
Floriculture.
Arouud the Farm.
Laet harvest, owing to the wet weath-
er, a certain flat In one of my fields
was so wet as to measurably drown the
oats which were sown upon It. There
ware more or less oats, however, all
through It, and a huge crop of sour
grass and various sorts of weeds. I
cut and stacked it. Today the stock
prefer it to bright, threshed timothy.
I had sown the flat to timothy and clo-
ver and wanted the land clean, which
was the chief reason for mowing the
milted oats, weeds and sour grass. I
shall never despair again of getting
some good out of even a first-class
stand of weeds.
The blanket of snow has prevented
the ground from freezing to any ex-
tent. Hence fence posts can be driven
with less labor than In the fall. The
cracks through the fields mado by the
drouth I see are closed, and the ground
is damp a foot down or more. This is
cheering, for the cracks prevented the
flow of water to the reservoirs.
In my opinion the wide-awake farm-
er will keep over a few hundred bush-
els of corn, at least until he is reason-
ably sure of another sufficient crop.
Also, he will save a few tons of hay.
There has been a slaughter of rab-
bits this winter beyond any other sea-
son within my knowledge. The taste
for fried bunny is on the increase
among the people. I am glad of it. It
will save blackberry gardens and young
fruit trees, for, singular as It seems,
many farmers neglect the ounce of pre-
ventive so long in such matters that
they are compelled to use the pound of
cure. The only objection any farmer
can have to gunners hunting rabbits in
his fields is, he don't want them to kill
his quails, and he wants them to bo
careful about shooting towards stock.
A neighbor had two valuable Angora
goats killed this winter by careless
gunners.
In an adjacent neighborhood I am
credibly informed that some sort of a
pest is killing off the rabbits; that
many dead ones are daily found. It
may be they are mistaken. The dead
rabbits are perhaps those which have
been wounded and escaped, and after-
wards died. The neighborhood, how-
ever, says no to this suggestion.
Renters seem determined not to pay
cash for land. They are willing to
give a larger share of grain than hith-
erto. Some are now willing to give
half the crop. The rule hitherto for
some years has been two-fifths in the
bushel and crib and half the hay. That
is what I have rented for a number of
years past. I have made careful esti-
mates and find that, one year with an-
other, I have done as well, and some-
times better, than those who have
rented their land for cash. I have had
one renter seven years, and he has done
as well by his portion of the farm as
I myself would have done. The great
trouble with many renters is they hog
the land over. It runs down under their
hands. The fences, the house, the
barn and the door-yard and orchard
look as if a very poor widow lived there
and had no help whatever. This kind
of farming makes the owner harder in
his demands than he would be if the
renter took a little pride in keeping
the place in good condition. I have no
use for a slovenly renter.
EDWARD U. H EATON.
Training Crape Vines.
E. G. Lodeman, Department of Agri-
culture Report: Training, on the other
hand, is almost wholly a matter of
convenience. It does not affect the
strength of the vine or the value of
the crop in any essential particular.
The training of a vine refers to the dis-
posal or arrangement of the various
parts of the vine after pruning has
taken place. The method of training
adapted determines the operator to
leave certain growths in certain posi-
tions, not because more or better fruit
is expected, but for the reason, per-
haps, that the fruit may be harvested
with greater ease, that a laborious op-
eration may be wholly dispensed with,
or that there may be less danger to the
maturing crop from winds or other nat-
ural agencies. The method of training
adopted by a vineyardist is largely the
result of personal preference or of ed-
ucation, although soil and variety are
important factors in the selection of a
system. The health and vigor of the
vine are rarely affected by the method
in which it is trained, and although
some system of training must be adopt-
ed in every vineyard, still altogether
too much weight has been laid by most
horticultural writers upon the peculiar
merits of the various systems, while the
actually ruinous effects of bad pruning
have not always been sufficiently em-
phasized. A vine properly trained is
desirable, but a properly pruned vine
is essential to the highest success. The
importance of this subject necessitates
a somewhat detailed statement of the
principles which are vitally connected
with the proper pruning of the vine.
These principles serve also as the foun-
dation for all systems of training, and
they can not be ignored without more
or less injury to the plants.
(1) The amount of fruit which a vine
can bear and mature in highest perfec-
tion is limited; when this limit is ex-
ceeded the fruit deteriorates.
(2) Upan the fruit the effect of over-
production is to reduce the size of the
berries and of the clusters, and prob-
ably also to impair the quality; the
vine makes a poor growth, the foliage
is small and the vigor of the plant is
generally reduced. When a vine has
been allowed to overbear, especially
when it is young, years may some-
times be required before the vine re-
turns to It* normal condition.
(3) A plant that is carrying less
fruit than it is capable of maturing
generally produces a very heavy foliage
and an excess of wood. This may prob-
ably be explained by the supposition
that the energies of the plant are di-
rected almost entirely to vegetlve ac-
tivity.
(4) The most difficult and important
feature of grape pruning is to be able
to judge of the kind and amount of
wood which should be allowed to re-
main upon the plant. This amount Is
dependent upon soil, variety, climate,
character of the season, and to a lim-
ited extent upon the method of train-
ing. The paramount Importance of
having a properly balanced top and
root system is most fully realized by
American vineyardlsts of long expe-
rience. Years of study, especially the
study of the variety of grape and of
the soil upon which It is growing, are
brought to bear upon each individual
vine when it is pruned, and In no di-
rection can the skill of the vineyardUl
be more clearly demonstrated thai .n
questions regarding the amount and
kind of bearing wood that Is allowed
to remain. No rule-of-thumb will cov-
er a living and sensitive organism for
the grape-vine; in pruning judgment
must be exercised at almost every step-
But It is fortunate that considerable
variation may be allowed without se-
rious consequences or the profitable
culture of the grape would Indeed be a
hopeless task. Yet the less the reliance
placed upon this allowed vt.uUeu the
better will be the vine.
(letting Wild Honey.
The usual way when a bee tree hag
been found is to cut it down, stupefy
the bees with smoke as well as may be,
and take their honey. This, of course,
destroys all future harvests of sweei
from that tree or swarm. Possibly
Daniel Johnson, an old bee hunter, of
Dedham, Me., has discovered a better
way. The bees provided against their
tree being cut down and their stores
destroyed by selecting a tree which
overhung a deep ravine. If the tree
were cut down it would fall into the
ravine, smashing the tree and destroy-
ing the honey. So he Inserted a gag
pipe from a hollow near the ground,
running it up the tree until the honey
was reached. Then he built a fire at
the foot of the tree. So soon as the
fire warmed the honey inside, it began
to run down, where It was caught in
palls. It nearly filled a barrel. Mr.
Johnson thinks he has a permanent
hive of bees on that tree so long as It
does not succumb to the effects of lire
at its roots. He thinks there is enough
honey left to winter the bees, and that
next year they will go to work and fill
the empty combs. lSut it is very pos-
sible that heat sufficient to melt honey
comb has killed the bees, and that the
barrel of honey this year is the last he
will get from that tree.
Experience.
No advice, however good, can take
the place of experience. There is no
way that the novice in poultry keeping
can become efficient except by experi-
ence. Many people think they have
experience, but later find to their cost
that they had not obtained for a num-
ber of years, has a little touch of poul-
try diseases, cures the troubles with
ease and Imagines that he knows all
all about them and that he can fight
off anything that comes. When any of
his neighbors has a like trouble he
cheerfully gives them his advice and
knows, or thinks he docs, that if they
follow the recipes they will have no
further trouble. But later he finds that
he knew less than he supposed. One
of the same diseases attacks his flock
again. He tries the old remedies and
finds they will not check this new in-
vasion. The enemy comes on fearless-
ly and creates havoc in his yards. He
now gets a little more experience and
perhaps comes down to the old remedy
—the hatchet. Thereafter he says that
there is no cure for this or that dis-
ease. Is he right? Who knows? We
all need more experience and more
systematic investigation.
Canada Thistles.
Any reader of The Farmers' Review
that can answer the question will
oblige G. L. Having several patches of
these plants in a pasture of two hun-
dred acres, we know those thistles to
be rich In sugar; cut, too, within the
spring cattle prefer them as fodder bet-
ter than rank grass. We have known
field mice to climb the main stem, to
eat the seed in its capsules. Thistles
and grass growing together cut with a
scythe in mowing will make excellent
hay for cows, increasing their flow of
milk; that produces sweet butter. The
dry spines being sharp, are very disa-
greeable to bare hands. When stacked
in large barns the saccharine matter
sweats vigorously and sometimes fires
the stacks by spontaneous combustion.
If the sod containing thistles is then
broken by plowing, planted with pota-
toes for two seasons thistles are de-
stroyed. In Great Britain many per-
sons use them for edible greens, before
cabbage comes.
RICHARD BAKER, JR.
Monument to the Potato.—A curious
monument has been discovered in the
dense undergrowth of the so-called
brandhai, in the Upper Hartz. It is a
granite block, about 7 feet high, resting
on a stone pedestal, and on an Iron tab-
let attached to It is the following In-
scription: "Here, in the year 1747, the
first trials were made with the cultiva-
tion of the potato." The German peas-
ant at the time did not take kindly to
AylMbmr; Oirhi \.. r.klM.
As I am often in receipt of letter*
concerning the Aylesbury Ducks, I wish
to say at the beginning that they are
the champions for feathers. Experience
has taught me this. For ten yean i
have been engaged in duck breeding
and have handled nearly all varieties.
The Cayuga is a good duck, but being
black, Is objected to by some. The
dark pin feathers give them a bad ap-
pearance when they are prepared for
market. Yet the Cayuga takes on fat
well, and I think no duck is better if
a nice roast be desired. I see that Mr.
James Rankin is giving his Peklns
Hulte a boosf, us belr-.g only ducks
that are fit for broilers, or for quick
growth when It Is desired to put them
ou the market at an early age, and he
says that there is no breed good enough
to cross them with., This country U
full of Mr. Rankin'8 Imperial Pekins.
I have had fifty or more of them my-
self for a long time. But I have dis-
posed of the last of them, and think
that I will never own another. I will
agree with Mr. Rankin when he says
that there Is nothing lit to cross them
on. I am sure that I would not like
to ruin any of my breeds by crossing
them with the Peklns. The Pckin is
all right to sell by weight when you do
get one fat, as they are of large frame.
But they are slow to take on fat. But
to get the feathers fit for dress Is
where the pinch comes. Every latfy In
the land will tell you that the llttlt
old-fashioned duck is better for feath-
ers than the Pekln. When the Pekln
feathers are ripe they are as coarse ai
hen feathers, and there are about ai
few of them.
On the other hand, the Aylesbury
ducks are good layers, take good cart
of their young, are hardy and nearlj
as large as ttie Pekin3. Their feathers
are first-class for the purposes foi
which such feathers are desired. They
have a heavy, thick coat of feathers
which ripen up evenly and which art
very easy to pick. But they are un-
like the Pekln ducks in that they must
have a pond or pool to swim in. Show
me a duck or goose that does not carl
much for water and I will show you
a bird that has poor feathers. Now, 1
do not wish to injure the business ol
Mr. Rankin, but if the Pekln duck li
fit for anything more than to sell on
the market like a fat pig I do not knom
what it is.
H. C. HUNT.
Tazewell county, Illinois.
Utilizing the Dandelion Harvent.
The following is from the National
Stockman and Farmer: Question—Wt
have in this locality a good deal of dan^
delion that comes early In the spring
and Is splendid for the bees to build uj
on. But they frequently store a sur-
plus from It that is not desirable hon-
ey. Could I, by keeping off the surplus
arrangements, Induce them to swarm
earlier, so they will fill the hive from
the dandelion, and thereby be ready to
store the surplus from white clover?
Would the swarm be likely to be as
strong as if they were allowed to store
a surplus before swarming? A. S. W.
Answer—You can do something to-,
ward inducing earlier swarming by
giving the bees less room. But if they
swarm early because they're crowded
you can easily see that if they had
more room and didn't swarm they
would become stronger, and so would
throw off heavier swarms. Probably
it would be a little difficult to get the
bees to swarm so early that the swarm
would fill up their brood combs with
enough dandelion honey so the clover
honey would all go into the sections.
But you might compass your purpose
in a little different way. Give the
queen all the room she will occupy dur-
ing dandelion harvest, either by put-
ting a second story under the hive,
or by taking away from the hive
combs filled with dandelion honey, re-
placing tliem with empty combs or
frames filled with foundation. That
would give you strong colonies and
strong swarms, and when the swarms
were hived you could give them the ex-
tra combs of dandelion honey, and that
would be practically the same as if
they should swarm a little earlier and
fill up on dandelion honey themselves.
Impending Russian Famine.—As a
result of the short wheat crop in Rus-
sia a famine is threatened in several
districts. Statistics lately issued leave
no doubt that about fourteen govern-
ments will this winter suffer severely.
In the famine of 1891 twenty govern-
ments were affected, including those
which suffer this year. The prelimi-
nary statistics of the harvest of 1897
show a deficiency in rye, wheat, oats
and barley of one thousand million
poods compared with the good yield of
1S94. The last two years have also
been below the average, and in addi-
tion to the hay crop other cattle foods,
as well as potatoes, give a very poor
return this year. As the result, the
peasants must sell or kill their cattle
and horses, leaving themselves abso-
lutely helpless. It Is further noted that
this autumn has been so dry that in
many districts the seeds, which should
have been sown by this time, are either
not put in the ground or give small
hope of a satisfactory yield. These pre-
liminary figures are based on returns
from a thousand correspondents In all
parts of the empire.—English Ex-
change.
Road Improvement.—If Improvement
in highways is ever reached it must be-
gin down on the roads as now found,
and step by step work up to a better
condition. Forty-nine miles of every
fifty of highways in Xiaine are in the
rural sections. This property and these
people cannot be drawn upon by unlim-
ited taxation or burdensome loans to
the potato plant on introduction to the j <arry nn a grand reform in this direc-
eountry. It had, however, a great friend tlon, however desirable such a condi-
in the king, Frederick II., who was con-
vinced of its value, but who was obliged
to use forcible measures to get the peo-
ple of Pomerania and Silesia to plant
It.—Ex.
Why Is a woman's husband leas dear
to her than her husband's wife?
tlon might be.—Maine Farmer.
The Lord -* ver intended that the
lazy man should get rich raising
chickens.
Hen manure should be applied to th«
soil as wanted and should not be rot-
ted flrat ~ %'
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Allan, John S. The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 33, Ed. 1 Friday, March 11, 1898, newspaper, March 11, 1898; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc115813/m1/3/: accessed May 5, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.