It has been fairly common in to find poems and short stories printed in the local newspapers, but this one in particular from the Winchester Virginian of August 11, 1848 caught my eye. Tantalizingly labelled "Odes for the Campaign," and set to the air " Ye Mariners of England ," the full text is as follows: YE SEAMEN OF COLUMBIA. BY F. A. DURIVAGE. Ye seamen of Columbia, Our country’s boast and pride, Who man our ships on every sea, Wherever keel can ride, Forth fling from every mizzen-peak Your ensign to the breeze, As ye sweep Through the deep. In the freedom of the seas. For we at home will guard our rights, and the Freedom of the Seas. The mariners of England, Who ruled alone the wave, Till to their pride our Yankee tars An iron death-blow gave, Took heart of hope when banded kings Combined that flag to stain, Which gave light To the flight When our thunders shook the main. When the red cross sank beneath the stars, and Our thunders shoo
Spring is in the air, the plants are flowering, and life is returning...including the pesky insect kind. It's a struggle as old as time for humans to repel insects, and the home is one area of special concern. No one wants to find bugs chilling in their kitchen or climbing in bed with them at night. In addition to squeezing through cracks and under gaps in doors, windows are a traditional entry point for insects into the house. Until about 150 years ago, there was not a good way to enjoy fresh air and keep the flying bugs from coming inside. A failure in fly-paper , detail, from Puck, v. 16, no. 397 (October 15, 1884) Window screens came into use after the Civil War, when wire mesh became easier and cheaper to manufacture. Despite the benefits, window screens were not universally hailed as savior of the summertime when houses would need to have the windows opened for ventilation. If you were not an early adopter of screens, what other method could you use to keep flies away fro