The Cedarville Herald, Volume 12, Numbers 27-52

The Cedarville Herald. w a, muio. i»awntisr. CEDARVILLB, i s OHIO, WAX OF TH E FLEA TREE . Much tWi« true I’nrallinr, TUlti Uj Ctvluoe From Little liiiWJtfc The most interesting article of all tlie many curious things which enter into the trade of China i s . “ insect wax,” writes Minister Denby from Peking to the department of state. This product; sometimes known as “white wax," isob- -iained in western China, not fa r1from the frontier of Thibet. It is gathered from a tree called by the natives the “ crackHhg’flea tree," from the pepping of its branches when burned, The tree it. an evergreen, and in the spring i t bears clusters of white flow­ ers, which are succeeded by fruit of a 'dark purple color. Early in May nu­ merous brown pea-shaped scales ap­ pear bn the baric of the' boughs and trunk. These, upon being opened, are found to contain a mass of small ani­ mals, resembling .flour in appearance, whose movements are almost imper­ ceptible. The- animals are the larvm of the White wax Insect, which owns the scientific name of “coccus-pc-la." People gather the scales and carry them to the prefecture of Chia-tlng, which is the center of this industry, . For the_ jpurney they arc wrapped in packages containing about “sixteen ounces eaclu The .utmost care is taken to protect them from heat in order that 1tlie larvm may not develop prematurely. The city of Chia-tlng stands in the midst of a plain which is an'immense vice 'field. The state of ground into which tips vust field is divided for pur­ poses at cultivation are edged with stumps from four to twelve fe.et in height, bearing,numerous sprouts upon 'their gnarled heads. These stumps re­ semble a t a distance pollard willows. The trees, however, are a species of ashs, and are called by the Chinese ' “white wax trees." Beneath their branches the white .wax scales are suspended in' small packages wrapped iu leaves, ’ about ■twenty or thirty scales in each package.. Holes- arc punched in the leafy wrap­ pings and the insects on emerging from th e scales creep up the houghs to the leaves of the trees, among which they remain for two weeks. At. the end pf tha t time they crawl back to the twigs .•and branches, on which the foinalbs de­ posits their eggs and the males excrete the substance know as white wax. The first appearance of the wax. on the under sides of the boughs and twigs resembles snow, and it gradually spreads over the whole of the branches to the depth of a quarter of on inch..At - the expiration of one hnndred days from tlic placing of the insects on the trees the deposit is complete. The branches are then cut, off. As much of the wax as possible is re­ moved by hand, but to secure what re­ mains the branches arc afterward boiled. This boiling destroys the eggs, thus making necessary the bringing of fresh, scales the following year from another locality, os above described. A pound of scales! I Is si id, will produce four or five pounds of wax. The wax scraped off is put Into boil­ ing water, where it melts, and. rising to the surface, is skimmed off aud put into molds. Here it solidifies aud the work of manufacture Is complete. The insects, which have stink to tliu bottom of the pat, are pressed out, and, when the wax has all been extracted from them, are fed to the pigs. A ton of the wax is worth nt Shanghai about one Thousand dollars. A tree from which tho branches have been removed is not available again for -■productive purposes until the third year following. If the wax is left on the tree tho male insects buried nndarit Undergo a metamorphosis, emerging with wings in the autumn and flying away. This whit© wax is a substance of •great utility in China. I t melts only at a very Tilgh tefnperatnre—IfiOdegrees ' Fahrenheit—and is chiefly employed to cover candles made of an'inal and vege­ tables tallow to prevent them from burn­ ing too rapidlv. I t Is used in some lo­ calities as a sizing for paper and cotton goods, ft glaze for silk and polish for furniture. Also it is utilized in south­ ern China as a polish for stone orna­ ments. Immense quantities of i t are slapped from the ports of the upper Yungtse in junks, Tho introduction of foreign kerosene, now so universally used. in China, has •THE BATTLE FIELD. “ JUMP ING T H E CO UN TY ." An A r m y Officer T elle Some R anm rk ab la • Storied o tW e r Tllnelt. “And phut la yer b’y Phalira doin’ now, Mistress Maloney?" “Sure it’s gov'ment employ he is now, and a, fpipc.job b e lms ipdadc. Every wake or two he comes home wid hashing of greenbuuks and batthera down the dure wld rt new goold watch." “Faith an’ it is a nate job Intirely, and phwat do they 'call It?" “Indade I disremeinber.lhe exact name, "but 1 think they call i t ’Iepptn the boutoty, Phelim’s experience in 1803 was that of a good many thousands during the hardest days of the greatrobelUon. The drafts ordered by the president .wove being rapidly enforced. A man whose name was on the fated list of conscripts had but the one alternative—the ranks or provide a ’‘substitute." By the pro­ visions of the act oftcongress au thorizing the draft, $000 was the allowance for these substitutes. But as the war pro­ gressed and everybody’s name was on the proyost marshal’s books—that is every citizen’s name who had ever voted or was an eligible voter—the price rose in proportion.to the scarcity of available material for substitutes, till in some of the smaller states lit New England and in mohy western neighborhppds, large sums, from twelve hundred dollars to two thousand .dollars even, were paid •by -U hjso - w I ux -were, drafted, and the quotas of each county and town being duty apportioned, the citizens thereof voted county ahd toyvn bounties, and these sums, added, to the state and na­ tional bounties, made up a. very re­ spectable inducement to young men to enlist. This stated of affairs hold out every temptation to unprincipled men to cn- .ejaliatfoi|fc|a bounty,; Many sueh eu> tistments^frojmade by foreigners and not a few Americans. most of them' with no family ties and' no regard for them if ttTcybad, did the same thing. ‘They, enlisted for the money, pure and simple, aud a little pMjtwy here and tUorcwaxsmallnwttebttosuch, elastic ^ n s ^ n ’e ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ b w i t u t # in a; Ktoatw'c^brt bf the uoautry.JiadT *v£orn |k>t h i fJwt tlmt lis bras bn alieb or at «uy rate had never voted, and enlisted only Jfqrbounty, mespy to desert when fie could. Another (dost Wascomposed of men, recruited to fiU up regiments already in the field. . They received similar large bounties, apd bad no more intention of fighting than the substi- tutes had, and were in great part, especially in cities, graduates from jails and penitentiaries, good enough food for powder if their teeth, were strong enough to bite a “hard-tack." When these men had passed tbCir medical examination, signed their en­ listment papers and duty perjnrcd themselves according tb the law, they were put into United States uniforms, furnished With blanket, knapsack, haversack and canteen and sent, under guard, to some receiving depot where they remained until they were for­ warded to the several regiments to which they were accredited. In these temporary depots, especially in large cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston, there Was a complete reign of terror, Strength and brutality were uppermost. Half a dozen ruffians would attack a small sized man and take Ids money from lilm. To complain wasuselesa; it was impossible to identi­ fy the money or to fix the offense, in general, upon any one Individual. From time to time these recruiting depots were thinned out by sending the men to various camps until enough were collected for any designated regi­ ment Troops from the cast were scut to Camp Grant and Camp Taylor, four or five miles from Washington, the former being only for drafted men and tlie other for substitutes aud recruits newly enlisted 1 had charge of the latter camp dar­ ing the winter of i 801-5, and of all the ungracious work I ever had to do in the army tha t was the meanest. To start with, 1 bad control of a shifting, vary­ ing class of humanity, as ‘‘hard’’ a lot as ever assembled in a penitentiary, with nono of the restraints which are thrown about the la tte r place, with no possibility of maintaining more than a semblance of discipline, Ifhad all the responsibilities of * prison warden, without his means of enforcing obedi­ ence, and 1 am satisfied tha t a year of such work would have brutalized me beyond redemption. As i t was, I found my character, nob I tru st an ungentle one, deteriorating from day to day un­ desert, should make his gumds tem­ porarily bjiud for a few minute* or ac­ cidentally turn his back to permit an escape. Full fifteen per cent, of the men In camp wore missing every week, and never did the morning report show less than ten or twelve missing out of 500or 000, There was a regularly organized, bu­ reau for “bounty jumpers," It had its headquarters in Washington, known, of course, only to its patrons and direc­ tors. I t had its branches in every large city, I t had its “underground rail­ road" is* the abolitionists had, I t had its sepret places o f Innocent exterior, where deserter* were boarded, furnish­ ed with citizen’s clothing and disguises of varipus kinds. In fine, nothing was wanting to enable a man. to enlist, get his bounty, make his escape, get to an­ other part of the country and.enlist again* and again desert Substitute- brokers got rich, -the army ,suffered, scoundrels flourished and waxed fat. Occasionally a bounty jumper was caught and two o r throe w.oro shot, But the: kind heart of President Lin­ coln generally commuted their sen­ tences.to imprisonment at*the Dry Tor- nugas, and finally, soon after the ter­ mination of the war, they were all set free under a general amnesty. -Sp ring - field Republican, TH E RESULT A T GETTYSBURG . had a discouraging influence on the pro- dor Bttch stow ing influences, and 1Was (lllctlott OX *HWCCt fT&JC. Mineral Oil 4h n n trfn l wfiAn 4rnn«/At<r«r1 4r% a" in lamp.* aiforda a cheaper lijfirfc than tallow candles. I t ispossible, however, th a t a use for the product i'nay be found in other countries,—Washington Star. N ot a ft Encyclopedia. “Young man, can you tell tAe Where the courthouse and the town(ball isF* “Yes. sir; want a paper, mister?” “No; can yoti tell rnewhere the oofirt- house and the town hall is?" ,, * “Yes, sir; want a shlrie, mister?’’ “No; will yon answer my question? Cnnyou tell me where the courthouse and tho town hull 1>?" “Yes, Sir; I ’l l catty your satchelthcrc for ten cents, mUter." “Not" “Well, den,mister, If ycr going ter be *o grouchy an' want* ter knowso much, I’ll have ter leave ycr a t dc mercy of tie cops wot’s only been on dor force siucc tie old-timers was fired, an* wat has ter look In de directory ter find out wSuvo da lives. See?"—Chicago Press, truly thankful when transferred to a more congenial line of duty. CampTaylor covered In all an area oi about fifteen acres, surrounded by no stockade, bu t instead with an armed guard of the veteran reserve corps, an organization which those of the present generation know nothing. I t was com posed of Soldiers who had been wound­ ed severely enough to prevent them from doing more serious duty In the field, Many of these men had received very littlS bounty on enlistment; some none a t ail, and It Is no t to be wondered a t that they felt aggrieved a t seeing thetorough# with hundreds o f dollar* in their pockets, enjoying life after their fashion, gambling and loafing and Idling away the slow hou rs while they, Who had borne the heat and bur­ den Of the day, were living along, wounded and getting a mere pittance Nor is i t to be wondered at, either, that a hnndred dollar hill, deftly ad­ ministered hy a recruit who wan tad to What! S lig h t H nve Clmnjjctl I t to * Confed­ erate., Victory* Gen. Abner Doubleday writes that to­ ward .the -close of the contest on the first day’s fight a t Gettysburg Hancock rode up and told me that he . had been sepL to - assume , command of the field. Ho /.was - our good genius, for ho a t ouce brought ojfdcrout of con­ fusion, and made such adpiU-ahla dis­ positions that lie secured the ridge and hoklit. As ho . wa3 junior in rank to Gem Upward, he haii no right, .tech­ nically speaking, to supersede tlie lat- fer.Moado had assigned him to that duty, i t is-.true, but under the. law.only the president himself could place a junior .general over a senior. Howard did not rccognizo him ' as his superior, and l think Hancock as he rode ovef to me was in some doubt as to whether I, as commander of the First corps, would acknowledge him as' Howard's super­ ior, Had ! refused to do so the battle o f Gettysburg in all- probability would have had a different termination. As Hancock ranked me, however,', the question did not concern ' me personal­ ly, and I saw plainly enough that if I refused to acknowledge his delegated authority both the'F irst and Eleventh edrps would be surrounded and cap­ tured. I had no desire to see tho men of my command sent to adorn the pris­ ons of tho confederacy, and I therefore did not insist on ntty technicality which would bo certain to produce that re­ s u lt—North American Review. NOTES AND PERSONALS. A ooti* watch was recently dug up near Atlanta, Ga., on the old breast­ works in' Coke’s d istrict Cobb county. The case was in good condition, but the works were entirely eaten up by ru st The owner is supposed to have been killed during the war. I t is a sad fact that Webster Bell, wbo was Gen. Grant’s special courier to Gen. Sherman, in Georgia, hearing the news of Leo's surrender, died recently in ltoxbury, Mass., with none to care for him bu t strangers. About a year ago lie applied for a pension, but tho papers granting him a pension arrived only after his death and burial, Ax interesting little war story has Gov, Jones, of Alabama; for its hem At the time Gbrdon was resisting Sher­ man’s advance, Jones, then a staff cap­ tain, was delivering a message from his chief, when lie saw a little child, clad only in its night clothes,, hiding in ter- tot* behind a frame house in tho direct tracks'of the bullets from each army. Jones rode forward, took the child on his liorsr, and galloped with her to the confederate line.. When the union forces saw the act they ceased firing, and there was Hn impromptu cessation of hostilities until the child had been carried to a point of safety. . F ew unloh generals are held in high­ e r esteem by 'the people of the south than Gen. Gftlusha l*ennypacket\ for whom the TCnnesseeatas' especially have a Warm feeling of admiration. In Nashville, just after the close of the war, and during the .gloomy day* of the reconstruction period, his patient and kindly treatment of his: former foes did much to allav the bitter hatreds of the time. Gen. Fennypackeris notable war record is recalled by tlifc recent action of-the secretary of War In gran t­ ing him a medal of honor for bravery a t Fort Fisher. He was otie of the youngest of tlie prominent command­ ers of tlie north, having been brCvettad a major-general when only twenty-two. G en . Wti.tmn’s Brigade of mounted infantry famous in the Army of the CtitnlK-rlatid. will be one of the first to marie its petition ou the' bhttledleld at Chiekamauga. The park ebrtnri'issfon- ers have granted permission to tlie bri­ gade to place Us monument on tlie sits of widow Glenn's house, the advanced position gained by Wilder after Sheri­ dan was driven, from hi*, position On the right wing’ of, tho Federal forces, A suitable.tab let will be erected. The executive committee of the brigade is now asking for designs itf marble,gran­ ite and bronze. The selection will be made and the monument erected so that it cart be unveiled and dedicated on the next anniversary of the battle, wh in the society of the army of ths Cumber­ land will meet there. IN WOMAN’S BEHALF. WORK. FOR T HE MIDDLE-AGED, Gives th e W ives m id M other* W ith L ittle O dss to S u p p o rt L u c ra tiv e Em p lo y - tneut. One has only td ' scan the advertise’ ment* for “female hylp" in our great dailies to got a t a d ea r and compre­ hensive understanding of the maili,dif­ ficulty which stands like a lion in the path to oppose all women who are no longer young in obtaining work at a fair compensation. To meet the re­ quirements of tho ordinary advertiser, the applicant must be “young, and pre­ possessing," or “ a refined young, lady of pleasingaddress," or “a girl between ftgon of eighteen and twenty," etc. - The average business man, merchant or lawyer, demands that hls'female help shall' be attractive; and to be so, in the judgment o f the representative biped male; youth Is absolutely essen­ tial. ■ • Now, why does this state of things exist? I t thoroughly conscientious work was the ultimate aim, the clfinces are that the woman of experience would fill the bill more acceptably; bu t alas for poor human nature! The ex­ cellence of the work has nothing to do with it. The typo-writer, book-keeper ,or cashier must be ornamental- • Most men prefer a pretty face to good work on general principles; and, if aesthetic it*their tastes', have a refined, and most pntdonabie (?) horror o f a plain face old or young. . Then the woman who desires work, in nine cases’out of ten, has a family to. support;' has been left without re­ sources by an - improvident husband, and has added to hter heavy burden Of grief a struggle for tho existence rand maintenance of her little ones. Or perliaps tlip failing powers and invalid­ ism of lmsbaqd and father have forced her into the working throng. The middle-aged women who work, outside of this forlorn class of widows and wives, are spinsters who commenced as teachers or .clerks in 'th e 'heyday of their youth, and have held their own hy undoubted merit and energy. In­ deed, wo find our middleagcd spinsters occupying the best places as teachers. It is a case of the survi val of the fittest, for the incompetent teachers of fifteen or twenty years ago have long since either 'married or gone into dress­ making, millinery, etc., where they have either gained “woman's wisdom’’ in becoming mothers, or sunk into the ruts of the common-place. Let us look to the wives aud widows who are seeking work a t the present time. I t is not for themselves alone, but for others. They apply for a posi­ tion, and are offered a paltry wage, to­ tally inadequate to-their needs, and, if they demur, are met with the answer: “Oh, well, wo can’t afford to pay any more. There are dozens of young ladies willing and anxious to work for this sum." They must accept this pit­ tance; or go again upon their weary search for remunerative employment. Tho “wisdom" which “the bearing nml tiio training of a child” has brought them, does not avail them here, in this new struggle for life, though it sup­ plies courage and perseverance. They iiiiitt enter the list against-tho inex­ perience of youth. They can not avail themselves of the opportunities which are afforded young girls of becoming apprentices, etc. for they must earn a living. They must grope their way blindly; or, St possessed of rare intelli­ gence and natural aptitude, must see the palm borne away from them by in­ ferior beings, possessing the all-con­ quering attributes of'youth and beauty. This is wholly unjust. Youth and beauty are sure to win in the matri­ monial lists; it is right aud proper they should do so. They are usually omy waiting for the contest' They are physically better able to cope with grim necessity; and as they have only themselves to care for, their needs are not so g rea t Give the grief-stricken widow and troubled wife a chance; the young and lovely maiden can look out for herself, so to speak. There ought to be some other work than canvassing offered to the self- respecting and industriously inclined middleraged woman. Let women of wealth and noble-minded charity meet these needs by a broad philanthropy worthy of such a coarse. Woman’s best friend should be woman. With capital and brains, let women go into business, become merchants, bankers, lawyers, dealers, manufacturers. There will he a demand for the experienced, the skill­ ful, the intelligent workers. Young, and old, pretty and plain, all may have an equal opportunity. Let evening schools be provided for middle-aged women, widows, wives and spinsters, free or not as may be determined upon, A nominal fee, to cover expenses of light and beat, to maintain that inde­ pendence which is vital in all true charity, may be charged each student. Let telegraphy, short-hand, book-keep­ ing, penmanship, mathematics, dress­ making, engraving, typesetting, e tc , bo taught, and let the course be thor­ oughly elective. Instructors may be volunteers from the more favored classes, o r salaried women whose edfi* cation ahd attainments have already fitted them for the Work.— -Wom&n’s Journal. ^ \ ___ Tine ladiOs of the American colony in Franc© have opened an exchange for Women’s work on the plan of the ex­ changes in thin country, American pies, cakbs, etc,, are furnished, a circu­ lating library has been established, and once a week musical tnatinfee*are given by celebrated artist*. P O U L TRY RAISING. I t I s m P ro fita b le P u rs u it fo r W om an if P ro p e rly M anaged—Som e Advice. One of the largest poultry farm* In the vicinity of New York city is man­ aged by two young women, who, only three years ago, were ^pupils in Or. West's seminary for young women, on tlie Heights in Brooklyn. The farm is located hear Baldwin's, Long Island. . Our business venture,” said one of. these young women, “ waf brought about in a purely accidental manner. An acquaintance of ours has been read­ ing in some newspaper# about poultry- raising as a, business for women, and laughingly told us that we ought to go into the Lusinoss and make some money. The remark was -only made in a jesting spirit, but we began to talk the matter over between ourselves, and fi­ nally decided to make a venture. A relative of my friend’s bought a farm for us on Long Island about; twenty miles from the city, within easy reach of the market for our produco. “We have been established about two years and a half. Our farm consists of sixteen acres. Gar chicken bouse ismu feet long, and we have a smaller build, ing for brooding purposes. We started with about fifty liens, now we have hundreds, and wo have raised thousands of ducks. “We had both been born'and raised in town, and never had seen the coun­ try, except on the short va<Uitions city people take during tho sumtn'er. We' knew nothing about the poultry busi­ ness when we started. “Wedid not even have book knowl­ edge on the subject. Wo made up our minds; to succeed, and we have suc­ ceeded. At the same time, though there is a good livingin the business. “Wo never advise woraen to follow our exampie,-because; where one-might succeed a dozen might. faiL We con­ stantly receive letters from woman ask­ ing our advice on this subject. “School teachers want to abandon their nerve-wearing vocation, widows and spinsters with a little capital think they see in the chicken business an easy road to fortune. “I t is only fair, for the benefit of this class "of inquirers and hundreds of other women whose thoughts, are turned -to this branch of 'woman’s work,' to glte'them some .idea of what the labor connected' with. the.business realty is. “F irstof all, no woman should dream of entering this business unless she is possessed .of a strong constitution.' This is a species of work which requires the most robust health. “It is preposterou* to think that semi-invalids could ever be successful in poultry business; I mean, of course, if they are carrying on the business for the purpose of making money. Then, again, you must hare enough capital to make a fair start or you will fail. “A yoUng woman wrote to us from Connecticut the other day, saying that she had $400, and thought of going in the business; we Udyised her not to d i t ' She could not carry on the busineA’ alone; it takes two to attend to thv work, and sometimes, -literally, wo have to work day and n igh t “ For instance, wo only pick and pre­ pare our chickens to order, Friday is our busiest day, for customers—restau­ r a n t boarding;hou*e and hotel keepers —are preparing for Saturday and Sun­ day. “On Friday night, when wo have fin­ ished a big.day’s work, we may receive by telegraph three or four orders to be filled a t once. That means that tho chickens are to bo sent by the early morning express. The consequence is that we are obliged to sit up all night to pick the chickens, for ail the fowl are sent'dry, hand-picked, “Some one asks; “Why don’t you employ help?” “Because the help, nine times out of ten, would not do the work properly; it is very difficult to get th a t kind of as­ sistance when you are most in need of it, and itNvouId eat up too much of the profits to keep pickers on hand all the time, because they would not bo con­ stantly employed. “Amateurs think it is easy to find customers for their fine poultry, and any other kind it certainly would not pay a woman to raise. If you send to middlemen—jobbers—they take all the profits. “In the large hotels the chief pur­ chases all such food from the produce dealers. Those who raise spring broil­ ers or pecan clucks are obliged to charge a good price for them to cover expenses atid yield a fair profit on the labor. We found, a t the outset, tha t butchers could not afford to pay pur prices, ar.d Wo soon learned tha t ail the very rich were the hardest of all to secure as pat­ rons. “The truth is, after yon have got the poultry to sell, it requires a great deal of hard work and enterprise. N6 wom­ an must think’tliat Simply because she can raise fine poultry she will find at once a profitable market fdr the same, Of Course she -will Ilhd a demand for good fowl, but she ntnst receive fair prices o r she ban no t conduct the busi­ ness profitably. “ Amateur poultry raisers generally fait because they go into the business too extChsivety. and, in their employ­ ment of help, all tile profits are eatca u p "—BostonGlobe. * AxantcA to-day possesses over ons thousand women physicians and nearly one hundred ordained women ministers. Fifty-six of the sex became lawyers a* early as 1882, and the number list greatly increased since then THI H Al‘r»« ) E . e ham han- rigli strii witl ing left van rigl —ri ' bre H la rf wil’ lar;. the up ear Ion sof par swf ,im: got we i f e ‘ * stj at: m pi in HC it or a* i! 1 h K h