Holt township news -

Last week's rain did an immense amount of good to small grains and grass, which were choking for a good, square drink.

Ennis & Tufts, are running telephone lines from their store around to neighboring houses. This is all right for the boys, but we fear it will sadly interfere with the housework in those domiciles where the untamed telephone becomes domesticated.

Corn planting will be nearly or quite done this present week.

Old Mr Barnard has the largest, best built, and fattest five month old bull calf probably in the State of Iowa. It will weigh nearly or quite six hundred pounds.

In the family of Mr Dan Leonard is domesticated a cat and kittens. There is naught so very peculiar about this fact, but said cat has taken to her maternal bosom a squirrel, which lives in the nest with the infant felines, and draws nourishment from the same maternal fount.

Mr Leonard, of Dan Post Office, has discovered a way to stop the ravages of the cut worm on your cabbage plants. It consists in running a furrow, and then setting the plants on the inclined or beveled side of the furrow. The sides are so steep that the worms roll down to the bottom, when trying to bite into the stalk. There is no humbug about this, for many have witnessed the unsuccessful efforts of the pest to destroy the plants.

From T.J. Davis' place a curious phenomenon may be seen any clear morning. During the day the town of Lenox is hidden from view by an intervening roll of the prairie, but at sunrise the town can plainly be discerned standing high above the ridge. As the sun rises higher, the town gradually disappears from view until when the luminary has attained an altitude of some fifteen degrees, it vanishes from sight. The same illusion occurs at the same time, with regard to a grove to the south of Lenox.

The school, in the independent district known as the Gravel Hill district is being taught this summer by Alonzo Dennis, brother of C.W. Dennis, who is teaching Antioch school so acceptably.

Dr McColm, whose card appears in this same issue of the Republican has modified and changed the inside arrangements of his new drug store, which has delayed his getting moved in. He will be opened out this present week, however.

There is a very general complaint among hog raisers of bad luck with young spring pigs, which keel over and died with a reckless, disregard of their owner's interests painful to contemplate. It just shows the innate perversity of hog nature.

Rye was headed out in this township three weeks ago. Rather an unusual thing to happen in Iowa, is it not, to see fall grain headed out in April?

We intended to have stated two weeks ago that Shephard Shaw, of this township, has his fine stallion, "Chesnut Morgan," at home on Mondays and Tuesday of each week, at Ned More's near the Center schoolhouse, in Washington township, on Wednesday and Thursday, at Wm Huston's in Marshall township on Friday and Saturday. The notice was by some means, mislaid and failed to appear as was intended.