Live Decoys and Birds Used to Snare Their Own Kind
A survey of old hunting tricks shows live decoys used to trap wild birds. Caged songbirds lure others, trained parrots lure kakas, and crows or jays are deceived by decoy tactics. Japanese methods involve a network of ponds, watch huts, nets, and trained birds under expert supervision to harvest duck and fowl flocks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
New Zealand
Orgilby
America
Cuba
India
Cherrug
Laggar
Yarrell
Alexander Wil
Wilson
Tokyo
London
Chesapeake Bay
New York Post
Webster and Lord Brougham’s Misunderstood Meeting
During a visit to England Daniel Webster was received coolly by Lord Brougham who mistook him for the lexicographer Webster. After the faux pas Brougham apologized, explaining his error, and Webster graciously accepted the explanation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Websters
Daniel Webster
England
Lord Brougham
Webster
Senate of the
United States
Jupiter
Modesty of Erin's Daughter Quoted in Irish Race Remark
In a Boston Commercial Bulletin excerpt, an English lady questions an Irish girl about Irish identity. The girl answers that boasting of belonging to the Irish race is sinful.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Erin
Boston Commercial Bulletin
Dutch Cheese Market at Alkmaar Reveals Weigh House Tradition
The Alkmaar cheese market in northern Holland, famed for its right to weigh since 1651, handles Eidam cheese as producers, dealers, and buyers converge in a disciplined noon transact. Weigh house bells, tall gabled houses, and colorfully dressed peasants frame a vivid scene of 17th century commerce.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eidam
Zuyder Zee
Alkmaar
Holland
William of Orange
Amsterdam
Rotterdam
Man
Pall Mall Gazette
Lake Cayuga Mysteries and Drownings in its Waters
Lake Cayuga in west central New York spans over forty miles with an average width of three miles. The article notes many drownings in its waters since settlement, reflecting a long history of hazardous conditions and unanswered questions about the lake’s dangers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lake Cayuga
States
New York
Chippendale and the Rise of Mahogany Furniture
The article traces Chippendale’s influence through his published designs and copperplate engravings enabling reproduction and improvement. It notes mahogany’s shift from medicinal belief to furniture material after a London physician’s candle box inspired demand. A cabinetmaker’s success with the hard wood impressed the Duchess of Buckingham, boosting mahogany’s appeal.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chippendale
London
Duchess of Buckingham
The Origin of Horsepower and James Watt
The text explains how steam engines replaced horsepower in mills and pumps. It notes James Watt defined horsepower as 33 000 foot pounds per minute after comparing work by heavy dray horses. Watt used powerful horses and measured their output to establish the unit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Watt
Watt
Balance and consequences in human action
Orlande J. Smith argues that all actions are weighed by their consequences. He distinguishes reaction, effect, and result as facets of one law of causation, noting how knowledge and morality arise from observing outcomes in science, trade, and daily life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Orlande J. Smith
Elder Tree Symbolism Across Literature and Folklore
The London Telegraph discusses elder trees as symbols of disgrace and grief in classic works. It cites Shakespeare Judas legends from Love's Labour's Lost and Cymbeline, Ben Jonson, and Nixon, noting elder as an emblem tied to hanging and misfortune.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Judas
Ben Jonson
Nixon
Shakespeare
Miseries of the Red Sea Travel Becomes Severe
London Tit-Bits notes that engine failure in Red Sea voyages leads to extreme passenger suffering. Heat from daily hot winds alternating with calmer days causes intolerable conditions, with ships sometimes circling or reversing to provide brief relief in the oppressive atmosphere.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Red Sea
London
Declared His Intentions in a Dance
Mrs Rusher learns Mr Goldcoin has declared his intentions but will never marry. Mabel confirms the moment after a long evening of dancing.
Apt to Be Elusive Authorities Question in Cleveland Leader
In a Cleveland Leader quotation the question asks who the authorities are and defines them as those who at critical moments claim they have no authority. The remark frames authority as evasive and self-exculpating.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cleveland
General Lee predicts Grant’s move at Spottsylvania
During the Civil War General Lee orders Gordon to Spottsylvania, saying Grant will be there. Gordon questions the reason, but Lee explains he has studied Grant’s plans and expects his next appearance. Grant arrives, triggering one of the war’s fiercest battles.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
States
Lee
General Gordon
Spottsylvania
Gordon
Grant
The Buffalo Wallows and Their Aged Plain
The Buffalo Wallows are barren black depressions on the plains that still appear as they did centuries ago. They hold water in spring then dry to hard, circular basins shaped by generations of bison, while buffalo birds still cluster on cattle to glean insects and feed on buffalo grass.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
L Green
Kangas City
Mackenzie 1704 Northwest Expedition and Jewish Origin Theory
Sir Alexander Mackenzie led a 1704 voyage from Lake Athabasca to the Pacific in a birch bark canoe with a crew of nine, carrying 8000 pounds of supplies. His report noted native peoples’ strong religious instincts and suggested a mixed ancestral origin potentially linked to Jewish communities through early trade or intermarriage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sir Alexander Mackenzie
Far Northwest
Lake Athabasca
Pacific Coast
Heines Humor Sustained by Berlioz and Wit
The quote recalls Heine’s stubborn humor near death. Berlioz visited him days before he died, while a tiresome professor departed. Heine whispered that he felt stupid, then joked about examining a chest and not whistling, replying he could not whistle even with pieces of M. Scribe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Heine
Hector Berlioz
M. Scribe
Made a Lock For the Key at Temple Church
An old seven pound key eighteen inches long hangs on the door of Temple church in Fleet Street London. Unlike other keys the lock was made for it and both have been in use since the Crusades. The church was built by the Knights Templars in 1486.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Temple Church
Fleet Street
London
Knights Templars
London Standard
Inconsistent Woman and the Privilege to Change
The New York Press quotes a man saying a woman is the most inconsistent he has seen and notes a woman's privilege to change her mind. He adds that the current girl never does, highlighting a contrast in expectations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Press
In a Bad Way. Doctor Sleep Questioned
A Detroit Free Press item notes a patient unable to sleep after 9 in the morning, and a doctor considers insomnia as the likely diagnosis. The exchange highlights sleep disorder concerns and medical curiosity of the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Timid suitor seeks daughter’s hand in stern reply
A youth enters an office to ask for the daughter’s hand in marriage. The stern parent retorts that the hand isn’t nearby and jokes she may be using it as a piano thumper at that hour.
Boston Wires Resent It
A humorous exchange from Boston Tele phone girl and a patron circulates as a comic grievance about grammar and line cuts. The dialogue features a central quarrel over subject verb agreement and a sharp response from Chicago Tribune style.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boston
Central
Boston Telephone Girl
Chicago Tribune
Receipt Proposed By Dukey And Shears
A brief dialogue shows Dukey and Shears debating a formal receipt for a prolonged account, with light banter about seating and courtesy. The exchange centers on settling a lingering balance and the idea of issuing a receipt as proof of payment.
Men and Clocks. She-A clock is different from a man.
A fragmented riddle-like excerpt contrasts a clock and a man with questions about time and labor. The passage plays on gendered phrasing and the idea that timekeeping devices continue functioning as people may not.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Haas
Cayuga
the Elder
Cymbeline
London Telegraph
Lees Milfitary Genies
The
Buffalo Wallows
Dukey
Shears
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