Snow and scheming in a midwestern village romance
Maria Ellen returns from prayer meeting to snow and a looming marriage trap set by her mother. Elder Burrows pursues a wealthy match, but twist reveals the elder himself as Maria Ellen’s intended. The vow to wed shifts the household as truth emerges and happiness finally smiles on the pair.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Maria Ellen
Henry Watson
Mrs. Turner
Elder Burrows
Sam Burrows
Samuel Burrows
Maria Ellen Turner
Harding
Elder
Detroit Free
Stone-Handling Derrick Frame for Stumps and Stones
A compact stone handling device built on a wagon frame with a rear floor to receive stones or stumps. Uprights use 2x6 hardwood, bolted and screwed for strength, with a block and tackle to swing loads onto the platform. Construction takes a few hours and saves a week of labor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
P. A. Simpson
The Poets Column Fishin Song Echoes Youth
A juvenile voice laments hard labor and onions weeding while craving fishing, hearing the call of sport beyond chores. The piece captures rural vibe, family duty, and cheerful mutterings of boyhood in a Houston Post column by J. M. Lewis.
Drilled Corn Culture and Public Lands Expansion
Farmers advise on drilling corn and weed control for higher yields and shallow cultivation. The piece cites large public land turnover, patents issued, and irrigation plans, noting 970 million acres remain and westward expansion may house future population growth according to the Kansas City Journal.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indiana
United States
Kansas City Journal
Silk worm culture offered by department of agriculture
The Department of Agriculture seeks volunteers to trial silk worm culture in the United States. Free silk worm eggs and a manual are available to those who can supply suitable food leaves from white mulberry or Osage orange trees. Applicants must specify tree quantities or send leaf samples. The department buys spun cocoons, paying 75 cents to one dollar per pound after drying, making this an engaging activity for women and children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Department of Agriculture
United States
Department of Agriculure
Successful farmers must be business men
The American Agriculturist argues farmers should treat farming as a business, tracking costs per hog, horse care, corn and oats production. Better cost awareness would reduce complaints of unprofitable seasons and mortgaged farms, linking profitability to disciplined farming practices.
Pocket gophers and earthworms reshape soil in years and months
Ernest Thompson notes in Century that earthworms elevate soil by one inch in five years, while pocket gophers accomplish the same in five months. Though worm digestions differ, the gopher’s action thoroughly disintegrates and blends dead vegetation with soil to create rich loam.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Darwin
Opiack
Ernest Thompson
One Man Sawing Machine Described for Lone User
A Rural New Yorker description outlines a single operator crosscut device. It details a 2x4 standard 10 feet 4 inches high, a three quarter by two inch wide swing member seven feet three inches long, guides three feet two inches clear, a four foot Pitman one inch thick, a six foot saw projecting four feet two inches, and a slightly slanted handle. The saw carriage uses two straight legs mounted at a convenient height with forward bolts and washers, plus boards halved and nailed to the standard for stability.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pitman
New Yorker
All Around the Farm
Plants derive substance from the air via leaves and form most of their bulk. The cow pea deserves more attention as agriculture grows in popularity. Decayed plant matter largely helps soil structure, not manure. Humus exhaustion risks tillage, so farmers must keep land fertile and begin swine raising with a few animals.
Handling Very Short Grain With a Harvester
Farm Journal notes that when cutting very short grain the grain clogs the sickle if the reel is not adjusted. Lowering the reel helps reduce clogging but causes grain to scatter on the platform. A remedy is to attach heavy canvas ten inches wide along the reel slats to sweep grain onto the platform and minimize waste.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Farm Journal
War on the fly as summer news hums in
The quotation chronicles a persistent fly as a cheerful omen of summer, urging protection against insects with screens and sticky poisonous papers. It portrays growing annoyance as the insect multiplies, framing a seasonal urban battle. The piece cites Chicago Daily News’s brisk tone.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Daily News
Unbrushed Brush of the Summer Dreams
Poem excerpt by George Henry Daugherty from Woman's Home Companion reflecting on youthful summers and the sweetness of untasted peaches and grapes. It contrasts pleasure with later regret and finds lessons in time and experience.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George Henry Daugherty
Woman's Home Companion
Turning Sight Lines to Brighter Days in Verse
A collage of two poems and attributions shows a writer urging readers to shift from bleak views to hopeful sights. The first piece by S. E. Kiser in the Chicago Record-Herald encourages turning away from dark scenes toward fruitful, blooming fields. The second lyric by Grace G. Boswick in Lippincott's Magazine depicts Mandy’s homecoming brightening the narrator’s world and easing emotional ache.
Verse Fragments Speak Of Seasonal Change And Hope
A collection of poem excerpts from Four-Track News Washington Star and Atlanta Constitution note spring imagery and themes of moving past sorrow toward brighter horizons. The lines reference nature, rivers, and fishing, alongside reflections on time and longing. The tone echoes late 19th to early 20th century newspaper poetry.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Arthur Lewis Tubbi
Billy Jones
J. M. Lewis
Houston Post
Gopher
Zephyrs
Mr. Blue
Earth
S. E. Kiser
Chicago Record-Herald
Mandy
W. H. Wilson
Washington Star
F. L. Stanton
Atlanta Constitution