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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1900)
To develop the Dairy Cow. (Condensed from Farmers' Review Ptcnojraphlo Report of Wisconsin Dalry mcn'o Convention.) Mrs. Adda P. Howie read a paper on how to devolop the dairy cow. Sho said thnt the first step to be taken In the development of any breed la to develop the confidence of tho animals. Tho best dairy cows In tho world have been developed by "centuries of gentle care.' Beginning with tho calf, an honeft effort should be made to de velop every good quality the animal may possess; clean, dry nnd comfort able quarters should be provided for the dependent creature, which will soon return nmplo recompense for all caro and labor expended. To obtain the fiest results the overyday life of a cow should bo reduced to a system bordering on utter monotony; she should go in and out of the same door, Invvrlably occupy tho samo stall, should bo fed, watered and milked at regular Intervals. Her entire existence sho'ild bo as uneventful as possible. A cow from tho time of dropping her firs, calf Bhould bo milked three times dally for a period extending from tho time of freshening to five weeks to ' as many months, according to condi tions. A five years' experience has given mo firm confidence in tho valuo of this practice. Q. At what times do you milk your cows? Mrs. Howie. At 4 o'clock In tho morning, at 2 p. m and at 9 o'clock at night. Mr. Burchnrd.4 That sounds awful; but how Is It with the men that run tho railroad trains. It must be re membered that the men that do this work havo timo during tho day to rest. Q. How about keeping the stablo clean? Mrs. Howie. In tho first place we whitewash our stables twice a year; but this last year wo were so busy that wo whitewashed it only once. When we do this whitewashing every cob web is swept down. Wo also put up curtains in the barn. The gutters arc flushed out every day, and the barn floor is scrubbed twice a week. I bo Heve that the barn Is worth only ono fnurth ns much as the herd, bo far nR tho cost of each is concerned, and that Is my idea of dairy farming. Q. What part of tho time each day in winter are your cows out of doors? Mrs. Howie. They aro turned out of doors in the morning as soon as they have consumed their morning ra tion. If tho day Is very cold the cows are taken In again In about two hours, and after being warmed up they aro again turned out; we do not let them get chilled. Q. How many times a day do you feed your cows grain? Mrs. Howie. We feed them three times a day If they are milked that number of times. Q. How long do you keep up tho milking threo times a day? Mrs. Howie. That depends on how the cows keep up their flow of milk; its soon as the flow decreases so that the udder, when emptied only twice a day, will not be painfully full, we stop milking three times a day. As a gen eral thing we do not milk threo times u day for more than two months, but we have sometimes milked that way for five months without hurting the cows. Q. Do you then cease to feed three times a day? Mrs. Howie. Yes; and wo increase the amount of feed at each of the other two feeds. Q. Do you weigh your milk every day in the year? Mrs. Howie. Yes, we weigh our milk at every milking in the year. As to the result of milking three times a day when the cows freshen I would eay that I have never had a case of garget on my farm. Q. In case a man does not want to breed for pedigree, will It pay to weigh the milk? Mrs. Howie. I think it will pay to weigh In any case; then the owner can tell whether the cow Is paying her way or not. Q. How long do you let a cow go dry? Mrs. Howie. I like to havo them go dry for six weeks, hut somo will not go dry at all. Q. How long should be tho first milking period of the heifer? Mrs. Howie. Tho same as the older cows. Q. How long should thero bo be tween calves? Mrs. Howie. I have some cows that were only 17 months old at tlmo of freshening, and cows that ago Bhould have a rest of 18 months between tho first-and second caves. But a cow of more mature ago should be allowed only 12 months between calves. Q. At what age do you prefer to have a cow freshen? Mrs. Howie. M 22 months of age. Educating Towards the Farm. A Putnam Co,, 111., stockman writes: "Will you kindly Inform me what per cent of tho boys from the farm who graduate from your school return to agricultural pursuits? I have been appointed to read a paper before our farmers' organization on the subject "Does a college education have a ten dency to draw our boys from the farm?" During the past year there has been a total attendance of 380 puplla In our College of Agriculture at Madison, Of these 120 were in tho dairy course pur suing studies laid down for the train ing of creamery and cheeso factory operator. No student was admitted to this course who had not bad at least four months' previous training In a factory. A goodly number of the pupils are owners of cheeso factories or creameries and many othom had places already secured. Bomo wero en gaged while still students at tho school or have found employment since leav ing us. Practically all of these 120 are now or will bo at tho opening of tho season busy In creameries and cheeso factories. So much for thoso students. The attendance on the short courso In agriculture (the young farmer' course) .during tho past winter was 250. Of theso 87 wero back for their second winter's instruction completing tho courso and tho remainder of tho class wero hero for tho first time. Un fortunately, on account of lack of ac commodation's, wo wero obliged to turn applicants from both the short course In agriculture (tho young farm ers' course) and the dairy courso. A large majority of tho students wero from Wisconsin farms, while 3C came from Illinois, 8 from Iowa, and smaller numbers from n dozen other states. About 90 per cent of theso young men wero from farms, and the small re mainder was composed of city boys ambitious to bo farmers. Several of the students were married men who own farms or wero seeking to bo farm managers. A largo majority of all wero still Interested In the home farm and havo returned to it for the coming season's work. Sixty-one members of tho short course class expressed a de sire to find employment on farms tho coming summer, some ns regulation farm hands, doing any kind of work called upon, whllo a number of others who had had considerable training nnd experience In management, sought po sitions as herdsmen, prlvato dairy men, foremen, etc. I am pleased to stato that every ono of tho 61 seeking places have found employment, and fully ono hundred requests, by letter and personal visits from farmers and stockmen, seeking help, have not been filled owing to lack of students want ing places. In general It may bo said that each year we havo at least three letters asking for our students to work on farms In some capacity to ono that we can send out. Thi3 year wo havo sent out students ns helpers, managers, foremen, etc., to states as far away as California on the west and the At lantic coast on tho east. Our theoretical Instruction In the College of Agriculture consists of lec tures In agricultural chemistry, farm bookkeeping, parliamentary practice, the elementary economics of agricul ture and elementary bacteriology. Our mixed theoretical and practical in struction consists in tho feeding, breeding and judging of farm animals, in the study of plant life and horticul ture, including tho study of seed plants, grafting, budding, planting, etc.; in the physics and mechanics of tho farm, including planning farm buildings, farm drainage, Irrigation, ventilation, the machinery of the farm, etc. In dairying the farmer Btudents are taught butter making as practiced on the farm. Tho wholly practical work consists of farm blacksmlthlng, farm carpentry, tho grooming and handling of horses, etc. Twenty-four instructors are required. I think no one can review this list of subjects and consider tho manner in which the studoots are Instructed without seeing at once that tho whole effort Is to prepare boys for the proper caro and management of the farm and good citizenship. Everything in such a course of instruction certainly tends to send tho boy back to the farm, and nothing to take him away from It. In deed, any of our students who may chooso to follow railroading, clerking or some other vocation, have in a largo measure wasted their time whllo studying with us, for our Instruction Is not in tho direction of being directly helpful to them. No one, then, can find reasonable objection to the state ment here mado, that fully 95 per cent of our short course students return to the farm. The remaining agricultural students in our catalogue, are pursuing tho four-years' courso in agriculture or aro taking graduate studies In agricul ture. Some of theso aro young men of means who propose to occupy farms of their own after leaving us. Others, with or without means, are fitting themselves for specialists either to superintend farms or to enter agri cultural college or experiment station work, agricultural journalism, or something of that kind. W. A. Henry, Dean College of Agriculture, Madison, Wis. Tamwortli Swine Ureedera Meet. Tho fourth annual meeting of the American Tamworth Swino Record Association was held in the city of Flint Feb. 21, 1900. The association is in a prosperous condition. Tho past year has seen new members added, and an IncreaBQ In tho number of animals recorded. Our membership Is In eleven states and provinces, and Indications are pointing to a wider spread of tho organization. Our finances aro In good shape no debts and a small balance In the treasury. Tho officers for 1900: President, B. O. Wood, Flint, Mich.; secretary and treasurer, E. N. Ball, Hamburg; di rectors T. L. Endsley, Charleston, 111.; E. N. Ball, Hamburg, Mich.; John Fulton, Jr., Brownsville, Ont; E. O. Wood and F. II. Rankin, Jr., Flint, Mich. Uniform Fruit Packages, Trouble is likely to arise when the state depart ment of agriculture attempts to enforce the law regulating the size of fruit packages, says Rural Ne.w Yorker. A crate of strawberries packed In "short" boxes and sent hero from New Jersey would probably come under the "original package" exemption, and could, doubtless, be told, much the same as olco Is now sold in orlflsal packages. This makes It all the more necessary that near-by states should enact and enforce a law similar to the one now In foroe here. Orchard Cultivation. (Condensed from Farmers' Review Stenographic Report of Illinois Round-up Institute.) Prof. Blair spoke on orchard culti vation. Tho orchardtst should culti vate Ills orchard for tho samo reason that a man should feed and water his stock. If tho orchard bo left to Itself it may live and produce fruit, but it It is to be a commercial orchard of value It must be fed. Cultivation helps to feed and water tho orchard. An or chard should not bo fertilized till the soil In It has been put In such stato by cultivation that tho plant food al ready thore can be used by tho trees. The ground should bo in a good stato of cultivation when the trees aro set out, and the first crop should not bo permitted to como within threo feet of tho trees, and that empty spaco should widen every year. In no caso should n crop be taken from the ground after tho trees have como into bearing. Cropping tho orchard has been a fruit ful causo of failure. Tho loss in fruit is often ten times, what the crops amount to. Soil to do Its best work must havo 40 or 50 per cent of satura tion. Corn should not bo grown in tho orchard for tho reason that it pumps out too much water. Because, the orchard docs well in sod Is no proof that It would not havo done better If cultivated. Q. Is the orchard grass seed that wo receive from tlmo to tlmo from tho government a good thing to sow In the orchnrd? Prof. Blair. No. Ono year in a long aeries of years It may prove all right, but as a practlco It should bo discouraged. Q. Can wo grow rnspberrlcs, black berries and currents in tho orchard? Prof. Blair. Such things, that re quire cultivation and manure, may bo grown between the trees, as they aro not likely to injure tho trees. Q. In tho preparation of tho land for trees would you subsoil? Will tho land hold tho molsturo better? Prof. Blair. It must bo remembered that subsolUng is not of long benefit, and If we subsoil the' land this year tho effects will be lost In n year or two. It will do well to subsoil direct ly under where tho trees aro to be set, as that will permit the trees to root deeply. Tho next year the sub soiling should be done a little nwny from the trees to encourage the roots to strike deep. Somo of our sandy lands aro not benefited by subsolUng, as they are naturally porous enough. It Is a good practice where the con ditions are right Q. What should be the cultivation of the orchard after It begins to frult7 Prof. Blair. Cultivate during tho early part of the season. Cultivate till tho trees have begun to harden up heir wood, and then put In some crop such ns the cow pea and leave It there. so that It will keep the soil In the best possible condition during tho fall and winter months. Plow It under In tho spring. During the winter It will help to hold the molsturo and snow. Cover tho land to keep What you havo gained. Provent in this way the soil from cementing together by the fall and spring rains. This can be dono by the cow pea as well as by any other plant. Q. How near to tho body of the trees should wo cultivate? Prof. Blair. Right up to tho trunk. Q. How largo is tho root system of a tree? Prof. Blair. It Is much larger than tho top. Plant two trees 40 feet apart, and in ten years their roots will In terlace. Q. How wide n space should we sub soil the first year? Wouldn't It be dan gerous to subsoil where tho land wants drainage? Prof. Blair. I would not subsoil on heavy clay land; for it would bo use less, and tho subsolUng would merely mnko a basin for holding tho water. Drainage must go with subsolUng. Henry Augustine. Wo should not mulch a young orchard unless we ex pect to keep It up; for mulching the young trees keeps the ground moist near surface and tho young roots take their direction along tho ground near the surface. Thero they aro moro ex posed to tho frosts of winter and need to be always protected. If the ground is cultivated deeply and not mulched tho roots will strike deeper, and after tho trees havo obtained their maturity and tho roots have taken their direc tion mulching can be followed to ad vantage. Q. What Implement would you use In cultivating tho orchard? Prof. Blair. Tho plow 1b the greatest pulverizer wo have, and if wo want to pulverize the ground deeply It will do the work bettor than any other Im plement. Q. Would you uso fertilizers In tho old orchard? Prof. Blair. I would fertilize with good stablo manuro and sow legumin ous plants. From observation I know that thero are thousands of orchards In southern Illinois that are literally starving to death. Q. Would you bow stock peas and hog them down? Prof. Blair. Tho hogging down problem must be determined by the grower himself. The southern Illinois land will not stand much of that. I would prefer to have the crop cut and fod, as tho tramping by the hogs Is very injurious to some soils. Borne or cbardlBts have had very good results from hogging down, and to such I would say, "Co ahead." Q. Is it Injurious to plow an or chard late In the fall and leave It that way all winter? Prof. Blair. We do sot encourage fall plowing. Mr. Hinckley. My experience In hogging down has always been satis factory, and by not using too many hogs I do not see that thero aro any Injurious effects. If a man puts In too many hogs tho ground will bo Injured by the tramping. Our Rainfall. The valuo of any stato for agricul ture must always bo governed largely by Its natural rainfall. It Is truo that tho semi-arid regions havo tho as sistance of irrigation, but Irrigation can affect but a small part of any stato, because of tho Impossibility of raising water onto tho higher lands In sufficient quantities to bo effective, and also becauso tho supply of water In such regions is very limited. Tho rainfall In tho different states of tho Union differs very widely, nnd this difference docs not by any means do pend on the dlstanco of tho regions affected from tho coast. Tho general theory of rainfall in tho United States Is that our supply cast of the Rocky mountains comes from the Quit of Mexico, nnd that west of tho Rocky mountains from the Pacific ocean. There is no doubt that this theory is true. We do not realize- how much we owe to the great chain of mountains running down through Mexico and Central America. Wero it not for this mountain range, a very large part of the United States, even from the Mis sissippi cast to tho Alleghany moun tains, would bo as arid as tho most arid portions of western Nebraska and Colorado. The great trado winds blowing from tho Atlantic westward to tho regions of Central America are stopped in their westward courso and deflected nortti, bolng kept in a northerly di rection by tho wholo rldgo of the Rocky mountains in Mexico nnd tho United States and even In a part of British America. It then deflects again toward tho cast and sweeps cast ward to tho Atlantic coast. Thus tho mountains cause a cyclonic formation of air movement, which is of unques tionable benefit to our ngrlculture. Tho wind as It comes from tho gulf is warm from tho heat of tho tropics, and saturated with moisture. As It goes north it is forced into a colder region of tho world and tho fall of tho air tcmpcraturo causes a squeezing of tho nlr sponge, till it lets down Its water. That this depositing of water Is duo to tho falling tempernturo of tho air is evident. In Florida, for in stance, at Key West tho rainfall is but 39 Inches a year, only about tho samo as that of eastern Kansas, while at Jacksonville tho fall is 56 inches and at Pensacola 63 Inches, a remarkable difference for the same Btato. Texas shows a great difference. At El Paso, in tho extreme western por tion, tho annual rainfall is only 10 inches; at Fort Elliot, in tho northern part of tho state, tho rainfall Is 24.5 Inches, while at Brownsville, the most southern part of the state and located near tho gulf, the fall Is about 37 Inches. But at Palestine, more than 300 miles north of Brownsville, the fall is over 45 Inches per year. The state of Ore gon is another one whoso rainfall Is very uneven. At Umatilla, in tho southeastern part of tho state, the fall Is but 9 Inches, whllo nt Portland it Is 49 Inches. This Is duo to the faat that Umatilla is sheltered by high ranges of mountains on both sides and gets an atmosphere that has been already hard squeezed before reaching It Washington stato has a fall of 27 Inches of rain at Dayton, In the east ern part of tho state, nnd n fall of 92 Inches at Tatoosh Island, in the ex treme, west. (loitlp and rrophecj about the Weather. Each spring brings to light some prophet who makes startling predic tions' as to tho weather for tho coming summer. Tho present season 1b no exception, nnd nlready a Now England seer has como to the front with the dlro prophecy that the coming sum mer will bo a record-breaker for heat. Wo hardly know whethor to believe this, or not Wo aro inclined to doubt it for tho simple reason that the weather that can break tho record will have to do somo pretty clever juggling tricks with tho thermometer, consid ering what has already been accom plished In that line. A glnnco over hot weather statistics makes us doubt very much whether 1900 will have tho ability to discount all its predecessors. In tho year 870 tho heat wns so Intense that reapers In tho fleldt; of central Europe dropped dead as they worked. The year 1000 was so hot that pools of water disappeared, springs dried up, and the fish, being left In tho mud, de cayed and bred a pestilence. In tho year 1130 springs and rivers disappear ed, even tho river Rhino being dried up In the territory of Alsace. In 1159 Italy suffered Intensely from tho drought and heat Not a drop of rain fell throughout tho year after tho first of May. In 1232 tho heat waB so great especially in tho Gorman states, that eggs could be roasted In tho sand. Tho years 1303 and 1304 saw heat so exces sive that even the Danube disappeared, and tho bed of the river could bo walk ed on like a highway. In 1333 corn fields and vineyards wero burned up. In 1473, tho historians tell us, tho whole earth "seemed on fire." Coming down to more modern times wo find that In 1718 the suffering from heat was terrible. Scarcely any rain fell on a largo part of Europe for nlno months, and tho grass and corn woro quite parched. In 1746 thero was neither rain nor dew for many months nnd the leaves fell from tho forest trees. In view of all theso facts tho summer that. overtopB all tho others for heat, will havo to be a scorchor, In deed. It in the sunshine and tho beat In tho air that develop the leaves of tho trees, and not the beat Jn the ground. A tree may be in full leaf though tho soil around Its roots be frozen solid. Markets for Meat Products. (From Farmers' Review Special Report ot National Mvo Stock Convention.) J. P. Hobbs spotto on the broadening markets for our meat products. In part ho said: Of England's vast bill of $200,000,000 last year for outsldo meat stuffs, the bulk of It was paid to tho United States. Our meat bill with Albion Is growing annually, and now people nre yearly cntlng moro and moro of our finely cured hog products. Wo havo preached them to tho nations' ot tho earth; wo cast them upon tho waters In ships. Theso floating warehouses havo carried our canned nnd cured meats into every foreign port, and theso products have even routed ling fish from the galleys of tho steamer and the schooner, I havo oaten Amer ican food in every part of tho world. While tho population of Europe In creases, the herds and flocks ot that area are not only relatively but actual ly decreasing In numbers, and our meat products aro going In thero to a greater nnd greater extent to make up tho loss and to fill tho tablo nocds of tho people. A quarter of a century ago Franco had 188 head of stock per 1,000 acrfs of country. Sho has now 164 head per 1,000 acres, with an Increased popula tion. Denmark had 197 head per 1,000 acres then nnd only 115 for tho samo acreage now. Oermany had threo times as many sheop per head ot population then ns now, nnd a lesser number of cattle per head ot population now than then. Holland and Switzerland each had twlco as many bead of sheep per head ot population then as now, and Belgium four'tlmcs as many. In theso countries tho flocks ot sheep nlono have decreased from 104,000,000 to 75,000,000 head, a not loss of 28 per cent, while the combined population has Increased nearly 25 per cent France, Sweden, Austro-Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Bel gium and Holland had a combined population of 140,000,000 twenty-flvo yeurs ago. They now havo 173,000,000, nn Incrcnso of 24 per cent, whllo their combined herds of cattlo havo only Increased from 48,000,000 to 58,000,000, or 21 per cent Our markets have ex tended to and so broadened In theso countries that Franco, Germany, Bel glum nnd some of tho others havo mot our meat Invasion with severe restric tions, which havo been In somo cases modified or entirely removed by our energetic agricultural department Tho need of our meats, however, has caused them to gradually let us In un der restricted conditions. These coun tries are now customers ot ours, and must becomo larger ones as tlmo woars on. In the last decade wo have made new Introductions, and still moro rapid strides In various Asiatic and African countries with our canned and cured meats. India, for Instance, imported 18,000,000 worth of food for tho four months from April to September, 1898, and 18,145,000 for tho samo period of 1899. That would total moro than 124, 000,000 for tho year. We sent In a largo quantity, ns compared with 'onr ex ports to this country, a decado ago. Australia, our great competitor In the fresh meat trado, has lost fully 30 per cent of her herds and flocks. Now South Wnlcs, tho chief antipodean stockraiscr, lost fully 60 per cont of her cattlo, and fully 35 per cent of hor sheop In tho Inst threo years from drouth. This slldeback gives us n fur ther opportunity to supply a trado al ready created for tho South Pacific meats in India and on tho Dark Conti nent Argentina has not been able to hold tho pace. Wo ship a surprisingly largo nmount of pork products to South America, Mexico and Central Ameri ca. Tho Important part which tho great herds of tho world havo played In feeding Europe, Asia and some African countries may be seen In the fact that fully 40,000,000 goats were slaughtered last year, tho United States alone re ceiving tho skins, tanned or otherwise, of nearly 17,000,000 of them. We have only 600.000 goats of our own. This fearful slaughter has been brought about by the high price of fur, oklns and tho general meat shortago ot tho world, and leaves this source much decimated for futuro years. The de ficiency will mako a now opening for our canned and cured goods. Tho broadening markets for our great prod ucts and their Intrusion into tho bills of fnre of every civilized country In the world somewhat accounts for tho Increase In our own slaughtering from 18,000,000 hogs nt tho packing houses In 1892-93 to thnt of 31,000,000 Inspect ed hogs killed at our abattoirs for tho fiscal year ending Juno 30, 1899. This means about thirty pounds of green swine flesh per head of population for the former season, nnd nearly forty five pounds per head of population for the latter. Tho effect which a roverenco for col or has upon .commorco Is remarkable. Certain nations are cranks on colors. It rounds childlike, but It is true that a fad in colors controls the trado of certain countries to a marvelous ex tent Russia is partial to red, Ger many captures and holds Rusrlan trado by catering to tho red tastr, ot tho Slav with crimson wrappers, etc. Sax ony's goods nre most popular in Brazil, because of their pink wrappers. Bra zilians have n mortal horror ot black. The Chinese detest green. Goods wrapped, boxed or otherwise packed In green are shunned by them. Green leathers, for Instatico; scaro them. Tho Celtic mind as represented by the Irish and the sons of Italy bos a strong predilection for green; the Scandi navian for yellow, The goods may be excellent and the inclosures the acme of art In all cases, but art fancies are not business, and make no headway against color prejudice. Tho Japanese bnvo a royal liking for blue, and sa on a.i to tho trado fantasies of other nntlcts and races. Until a few years ago the market) of India and other Asiatic countries, South Africa and many European coun tries wero practically closed to our meat products. They now tnko tho product of hundreds of thousands of our llvo stock. IIorllcullar.il Obierrntlon. Tho work of tho landscnpo gnrflencr Is ono of tho most Important that is dono in tho beautifying of homo grounds. In tho past wo havo tried to get along without such services, but the Inck of It has often proved very expensive. Tho grounds that wero plantod years ago wore very often Inartlstlcnlly covered with rows of trees and clumps of bushes that in time grew up to be unsightly thickets, obscuring the houso nnd shutting off tho view to tho road. Tho tlmo camo when, in the interest ot looks nnd comfort, many of tho trees had to be cut down, uud much ot tho underbrush cut away. The grounds even thon pre sented a sight fnr from desirable. All this can be avoided by paying out a llttlo money at tho start for tho ser vices of a first-clnss landscnpo gard ener. It is not necessary to havo him come to the farm, but a plot ot the home grounds may bo sont him Such a plot should show nil tho buildings and other artificial objects on the spaco to bo arranged, ns well as overy treo that It Is desired to have remain. It Is now seen to bo a mlstako to set out largo trees In tho front yard, unless perchance such trees bo at the side of the lawn. Of course where na ture has placed n noble treo in tlw Inwn no ono feels Uko disturbing it, but tho owner will try to preserve it as Its growth ot many years moro than offsets its occupancy ot ground thai Bhould be devoted to other thtngs. Where thero aro no such obstacles, th front of the yard should bo mado Into a lawn nnd there should bo nothing elso In front ot the houso thnn n flowci garden consisting mostly of annuals. Tho percnntnls should occupy a posi tion to tho rear or at least to tho side of tho lawn. Tho big trees Bhould bo plnnted by themselves; that Is, tho evergreens Bhould bo In ono placo nnd the deciduous trees In another, and these should never bo mixed with up plo trees. The general Idea Is to havo tho small growing plants in front ot tho houso nnd tho tall growing ones In tho back, that thero taay bo no ob struction to tho view nnd that a part of all may bo seen. In tho caso of tho big plants and trees bolng In front, the rear and Bmaller ones cannot hi seen at nil. Th Wool Sltnnllan. Sllbermnn, Bros., Chicago, in their market circular Bay: "The phenomenal activity In tho wool market during tho autumn ol 1899 left In tho hands of doalcra and commission houses In all ot tho lead ing markets a very limited quantity of desirable grades. In November and December manufacturers bought very largely., nnd for that reason wero not compelled to again, appear In the mar kot to make purchases to any extent for some time. Consequently tho mar ket remained quiet during January, at which timo tho London sales took place, and qulto unexpectedly flno wools declined from 7 Mi per cent to 10 per cent, whllo coarso nnd medium grades about held their own. SInco then manufacturers In this country havo bought flno and flno medium wool very sparingly, and only enough to supply their Immediate wants, "Another decllno of Vfa per cont to 10 per cent took placo In March sale In London on all kinds of wool. This had an Influence; it caused manufac turers to withhold from buying to any importaut degree. "In tho face of all theso facts we cannot now expect a very urgent de mand at anywhere near tho prices realized the latter part ot last year. "However, as montloned before, tho Etock wool In this country has becomo limited and threo-fourths ot it held in very strong hands, by parties who are not forced to sell at any great sacri fice; hence wo quoto today, 'Market quiet, but values firm.' ' "Wo do not 'feel nt nil discouraged regarding tho present situation. Not withstanding tho fact that many aro predicting lower prices, wo feel con fident thnt this quiet spell will soon ceaso. Manufacturers are consuming great quantities nnd must soon replen ish their stock of wool to enablo them to fill their fall orders for goodB al ready contracted for, J "Under the existing circumstances wo would not bo surprised to see qulto it reaction In April nnd May, with wool selling at higher prices than at pres ent prevail. "Tho present Indications nre that the South African war will soon end; with tho war over and conditions restored ubroad to a normal basis qulto a dif ferent spirit in business will undoubt edly prevail, nnd with equally as much prosperity In tho old country as hero wo feel very confident wo shall see an advanco In wool In all parts of tho globo at no distant day. "It is our opinion that statistically wool has a bright future." Nasturtiums. Few plants so eisily grown from Beed ylold such rlcl re turns In beautiful bloom. Thoy lll grow In all soils, and either In full sunshlno or partial r.ade, though in shady locations they must be planted farther apart, as tho grcator molsturo will Induce a larger growth of lne and foliage. They commence to blos som early in the summer and continue to flower freely until cut off by frost late in the fall. If you would find out how poor a man is try to borrow money ot klat