Quaint Sayings and Cute Doings of the Littles Folks
A collage of child friendly vignettes from St. Nicholas and Washington Post style items. It includes Freddig noting room on the ground, the pussy cat bird from Evergreen Lane, blindgirl's buff with a queen and scepter, and a speckled Hamburg rooster Cockolorum Jinks that amused a family with its antics and interactions with visitors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Evergreen Lane
Pascal
Sorum
Hamburg
Mama
Puzzles for the Eye and Optical Illusions Found in Nature
The article describes an optical illusion from Nature showing two pillars with a gothic arch and a third pillar that intersects the arch apex. It notes the surprising effect where arch curves appear unequal when drawn neatly in outline, especially without shading, and hints at another simple illusion created by terminating lines differently.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nature
Visual puzzle on line lengths and hat measurement
The reader is invited to judge line lengths by eye, compare AA BB and CC, and then test with a hat placed on the table. Without measuring, pick which distance across the hat top or from top to bottom is greater, then measure with a foot rule to verify.
India's New Viceroy Sir Henry Norman Named To India Post
Sir Henry Norman is appointed by Prime Minister Gladstone as viceroy of India, succeeding Lord Lansdowne. A veteran soldier and statesman born in 1826, he joined the Bengal army in 1844 and has governed Jamaica in 1883 and Queensland in 1888, earning a reputation as a model colonial administrator.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
Gladstone
Sir Henry Norman
Lord Lansdowne
Sir Henry
Bengal Army
Jamaica
Queensland
Ingenious Wren method spares Windsor town hall roof
An old Windsor tale credits Sir Christopher Wren with placating a worried official by adding pillars to the town hall roof. Later cleaning revealed the supports barely touched the roof, yet the plan calmed critics and showcased Wren’s architectural skill. The piece ends with a call to repeal lynch law.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Christopher Wren
Town Hall of
Windsor
Christopher
Wren
Real Rural Reading Plowing Under Green Crops for Manure
Long excerpt discusses turning under green crops for manure with bone meal. It shares a farmer's decades of experience improving corn and ensilage yields through bone applications and green manuring, plus a note on rye, clover, and herd manure. It includes crop yields from Dawson's Golden Chaff and other varieties, and ends with a tale of two pigs returning home after being moved.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Acre
Harvesting Apples and Pears The Right Season
A late writer warns orchardists lose value by improper picking timing. Apples need careful scheduling to avoid losses. pears may ripen earlier and should be picked before full ripeness for best flavor. Pick, pack, and store in cool, uniform conditions to improve quality.
The Hoe in the Corn Field
The American Cultivator notes Eastern farmers still rely on hoeing for weed control in corn. Western reliance on horse cultivators has led to abundant weeds, with advice on hoeing without damaging corn leaves or soil. It emphasizes that some hoeing remains essential for straight rows and proper soil distribution.
Canadian Wheat Experiments at Ontario Station
The Ontario Agricultural Experiment Station reports winter wheat trials, testing eleven varieties among sixty two screened on station plots. A square rod of each variety was sown and subjected to numerous trials to compare performance and yield potential.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ontario Agricultural Experiment Station
Why Cows Give Down Milk
The text explains milk flow depends on the cow’s contentment and muscle relaxation. Worry tightens muscles, hindering milk release, while preferred feed calms nerves. Maternal affection remains active but memory is weak, allowing cows to be comforted during milking. Milkers can simulate calf suckling to boost milk yield.
Harvest Moon and Night Work in Harvest Time
An article notes the harvest moon near the September equinox signals wheat and corn work in England and discusses long hours fading as shorter workdays return. It offers home tips on fabric care, cleaning, and kitchen uses from ammonia turpentine to removing mildew and icing a cake with egg white.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Reserved Seat to St Pauls Provoking Reply
The Rev Sidney Smith famed for wit was asked by a friend for a reserved seat in St Pauls. He warned the trip would prove fatal and his words would thaw oddly yet offered to help those determined, advising to present the enclosed card to vergers for placement.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sidney Smith
St. Paul's
St. Paul’s
Jupiter Plagious Weather Riddle
An outsider asks if Jupiter Plagious holds the rains in a driving storm. The answer is no, he lets them go.
Geese Wars Endanger Knight's Landing Wheat Fields
Senator Dave recounts massive wild geese incursions in California wheat country. At Knight's Landing the 14,000 acre ranch uses herders, trained dogs, and coordinated plowing to deter geese that devastate crops. He notes the birds' precision in feeding and the constant effort required to protect grain.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
California
United States
Dave
San Francisco Examiner
Knight's Landing
Sacramento
Yolo
Scheme to Change Red Hair Color Gives City Editor a Laugh
A mysterious visitor proposes a bizarre plan to alter red hair by using a magnetized steel barrel and dynamo to strip iron from the body. He claims long treatment would change hair color, while noting red hair signals high iron and vivid vitality. The city editor treats it as a sensational ticket but the tale remains unbelievable.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dynamo
Old Prints Respect for Silent Portraits in Black and White
A reflection on cherished prints that adorn study walls and endure while living readers overlook the pictured authors. The speaker notes how society honors an author’s works yet often neglects the likenesses that accompany them, praising the dignified figures in wigs, robes, and clerical garb for their quiet steadiness.
The Awful Pause and a Lively Counting Game
In a Chicago Journal piece a witty social moment unfolds at a luncheon where two women Milly and the narrator pretend to converse by counting aloud. They imitate lively chatter, eliciting amused looks from an elderly stranger and prompting banter about what they might be discussing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Millie B
Milly
Chicago Journal
A Few Stern Facts About Sinkers in Fishing Trade
A glimpse into the sinker industry notes annual lead use of 300 to 400 tons in the nation. New York and other cities produce many sinkers, with daily melts of up to two tons during peak season. Sinkers vary in style and weight for nets and lines, including the widely used eight-ounce Bank six sided sinker. A fishing boat can buy three to four hundred pounds weekly, and one expert jokes the ocean bottom near the lightship may be paved with sinkers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Boston
Brooklyn
Be Cheerful in Adversity and Find Sunshine
The passage urges constant cheerfulness as a remedy for distress. It extols a merry heart, optimistic vision, and dawnlike renewal, advising readers to dismiss the dark past and embrace morning light and song. It frames cheerfulness as the key to a happy life.
Old Bachelors and Their Marital Tales
A Philadelphia Bulletin remark catalogs famous men who never married including Descartes Spinoza Newton Swedenborg Kant Voltaire Walpole Gibbon Drake Beethoven Richelieu Angelo Watts Montgomery Cooper Grey Hume Randolph Irving Buchanan Tilden Stevens Stevens Whittier Whitman Brooks The point: none can say how much greater they might have been if they had married.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Descartes
Spinoza
Newton
Swedenborg
Kant
Voltaire
Horace Walpole
Edward Gibbon
Francis Drake
Beethoven
Richelieu
Michael Angelo
Isaac Watts
Montgomery
Cooper, Grey
David Hume
John Randolph
Washington Irving
James Buchanan
Samuel J. Tilden
Thaddeus Stevens
Alexander Stevens
John G. Whittier
Walt Whitman
Phillips Brooks
Philadelphia Bulletin
Half Boy Wanted and Other Odd Bits from the Street
A street scene note mentions a boy who drew a two hand cart in New York and challenged anyone who could haul more. It also recalls a quip about a woman giving up time to care for a baby, and a brief exchange about power and class.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Biffer
Duffer
New York
Also Mentioned on This Page
Freddig
Papa
Kerflop
Washington Post
Little Herbert
Pace
New Orleans Picayune
St. Nicholas
Robert Dawson
Paris
Ont
Mediterranean
Hame
Odds and
Nita
Joss
Godeys
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!