Arid lands eyed for cultivation amid unrest and pests
The article cites estimates of 106 million acres potentially arable via irrigation, with Congress withholding reservoir funding. It reports sudden mountain outbursts in Armenia, dialogue on nitro compounds, a post mortem tooth case, and rising caterpillar plagues affecting agriculture from Illinois to Bavaria and Kansas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Saget Powell
United States
Geoaghel Garvey
Chicago Herald
Belliods
Columbia
Niemen
Bavaria
Gromen
Gripp
Jomege
America Simultani
Too Late to Share Gifts on the Burial Day
A Congregationalist verse warns that love and kindness must be given today or risk loss. It urges swiftness in compassion before death ends opportunities, noting tomorrow may not arrive and delaying may seal fate.
The First Born and a Shifting Family Bond
Preston and his wife in their bedroom cherish the newborn son while the mother pours all love into the child, leaving the husband feeling isolated. He confronts the birth’s impact on their marriage as the wife’s devotion shifts toward the baby, revealing a deep transformation in their relationship and future.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Preston
Ted
Goubente
Harper’s Weekly
Desert Flowers and Mesquite in the Colorado Desert
The piece describes delicate blue flowers near salty springs resembling forget-me-nots, and tiny white blooms on six inch stalks that fade when picked. It highlights the mesquite as the desert pride with edible beans, honey from blossoms, and dramatic leaf growth after thorny drought, shading a cool pool where birds travel and people find respite.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colorado Desert
Cuteness of the Crow in Ostrich Farm Tale
Annie Martin recounts a crow’s cleverness as it aids egg hatching by dropping sand atop ostrich eggs to shade the chick. The crow later drops stones from height to crack shells, aiding food access. It may even hoist tortoises aloft to break them, while similar crows or hawks lift whelks and sea urchins to crack them.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Annie Martin
Patchwork armor and luck save famous generals in battle
A Bel ford's Magazine piece argues armor, patches, and bravado influence survival in combat. It cites Napoleon, Nelson, Suvarov, Frederick the Great, Wellington, Murat, and others, noting bullets, shells, and duels where fortune or misfortune shaped fates across forty six battles and two hundred ten skirmishes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Balmacceda
Oswald
Belford
Napoleon
Admiral Nelson
Marshal Suwaroff
Frederick the Great
Torgan
Hickory Jackson
Dickinson
Wellington
Joachim Murat
Sibyl Lenormand
The Kakapo: A Flightless Owl Parrot of New Zealand
The kakapo or owl parrot of western New Zealand is an odd blend of parrot and hawk features with flightlessness. It is semi nocturnal, flees dogs like a chicken, and its lack of predators is blamed for losing the capacity to fly across walls.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Zealand
Belford
Sargent Locomotive on Royal Blue Line Takes Lead
The Baltimore to Philadelphia Royal Blue Line express trains behind the largest engine in the country weighing 187000 pounds with four driving wheels each 6 feet 6 inches in diameter. The black locomotive is a grand mechanism and suggests an engineer at the controls.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sargent
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Trees Barked by Mice and Rabbits Save for Graft
An article notes trees denuded of bark cannot recover and suggests wrapping with old newspapers to save them. It advises cutting back to sound bark and grafting, plus using small wood blocks with meat, tallow, and rat poison to deter mice in orchards.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Times
Improving Flower Beds and Shared Garden Layouts
The piece argues against costly flower borders and promotes practical beds five to six feet wide, circles from drives, and a combined vegetable and flower garden. It describes soil preparation, composting, rim edging for hoe access, and notes English garden traditions with hollyhocks nasturtiums and pinks. It also briefly lists farm notes on poultry, cattle, and general harvest readiness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Engliss
New York Voice
Periodical Plague of Rats in New Zealand Bush Country
A South Island New Zealand rat visitation recurs every four years with small, pale rodents weighing about two ounces. They climb trees, emit a distinct cry, and retreat to fur trees when chased. The piece notes their size, behavior, and resemblance to the common rat but highlights their arboreal agility.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
South Island
New Zealand
Popular Science Monthly
Canning Fruit and Preserving Skins and Butter
Plenty of practical home tips from old newspapers on freshening rancid butter with fresh milk and water, caring for chamois skins, and step by step methods for canning fruits. Includes pot types, handling, ammonia treatment, and sugar ratios for preserving berries and currants.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
E. R. Parker
Courier- Journal
Pioneer mule train arrives at Santa Rosa in 1849 mode
An extra train led by Con ductor James Van Winkle and Fred Hanschildt reaches Santa Rosa. From San Luis Obispo to Rogue River Oregon via Crescent City, the outfit prepares to peel and pack tan bars at 87 per cord. Fifty men and a hundred mules will work, each mule carrying a quarter cord of bark.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pioneer Bays
Santa Rosa
James van Winkle
Fred Hanschildt
Hoskins
San Luis Obispo
Santa Cruz
Rogue River
Oregon
Crescent City
Arching elms and cowry shell money in old voyage notes
A fragment from a periodical page recalls a shady arch and cool green paths as a quaint contrast to grand monuments. It reflects on cowry shells as early money among American Indians, wampum, and shell currency practices across regions, plus a sentimental roadside vignette from a New York Herald piece.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
Africa
Detroit Free Press
Also Mentioned on This Page
Indiana Progress
ILGO
Wanperer
William
Walth
Chili
Qarsh
Santiago
Michal
Armenia
Real
Henry
Meum J. Maxim
Washington
France
Loum
Bell
Inition
Oat i Fo
Mar
Jov
David G. Phillips
Frank S. Walker
King’s River Forest
Kaweah River
Tule River
Kern River
King’s River
Tulare County
Cal
Ned
Mise Nevarre
Tod
Connecticut Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station
New York World
B. F. Lennow
Ozier
Europe
Syracuse
St Louie
Cincinnati
Chicago
New York
Bill the Scrub Bull
Newfoundland
Cleveland
Jeaven
New York Sun
New York Herald
Noostide
Sentiment OX Wheels
Broadway
Darline
Nellie
Peet
Fry
Trnes
Asia
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!