I'VE BEEN THINKING
i i n n 1 1
BY CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS.
A StllllM iiatoli Of SUHfloWerS IIS :i
crop pays.
Cream wlilcli Is ripened withuiit
ncourliiK gives good Hnvor to butter.
It Ih a jioor excuse which fries to
excuso the presence of the poor cow
In tho' herd.
SiinllowL'r seed Is one of tho host
feeds for chickens, especially during
I lit! moiling SeilHOll.
Increasing tho egg production ot
hoiiH Ih accomplished by saving only
tho host layers for breeders.
You cannot keep your Hook of sheep
freo from ticks unless you dip thmn
at loant once a year; remember that.
He sure you haves'' got. tho host out
of yoiir farm boforo you allow dis
contonts to encourage you to sell out
and move.
Four ounces of molasses, one pint of
water anil a nickel's worth of quassia
chips mixed together and boiled
makes a cheap Hy poison.
If you allow the weeds to take the
moisture and nourishment, needed by
tho crops you need not wonder at tho
small growth and poor yield.
A thrlfly apple orchard Is the best
kind of insurance. It will pay you
dividends In a fow years and will he
stow u valuable legacy upon your ram.,
lly when you are gone.
Break your c ills early.
(Jet. Hie mower In good repair. You
"will need It soon.
Change or food should bo niado
gradually.
Urush fences look nnlldy and are
breeding places for pests or all kinds.
Declare war on the Canadian thistle,
Inaugurate a vigorous 'campaign and
grant no quarter.
The milking machine seems about
as near being on a practical basis as
the Hying machine.
Try and be more sympathetic than
the fence board which separates your
land from your neighbors'.
It Is generally the man who has no
silo who discovers Hint silage injures
(he cow's teeth or works other 111 to
the stock.
The fair season Is coming Plan
now lo get something ready for the
show, and do what you can to make
your local fair a success.
Don't waste much time with tho sick
fowl. Separate at once from the rest
of Iho Hock, and If it does not respond
quickly to treatment use the ax and
shovel.
We never will know how many farm.
ers owe their success to (lie manage
ment and good judgment of their
wives, and what is worse, many rami-
ers do not realize it themselves.
Colorado farmers have the organiz
ing fever and are forming unions
with a view to bettering I heir condl-
llons. They expect lo make money
by buying in carlots and selling for
casli f. o. b.
Not too late to sow silage corn. Get
the corn in and then plan for the
building of a silo in which to put it
next fall. Your stock will respond
to (he feed next winter and repay you
several times over for your trouble.
Machine grease can be readllv
cleaned from the hands by a little
kerosene and sawdust. The oil will
cut the grease and the sawdust will ab
sorb both oil and grease together, so
that soap and water will have a
chance to do Its work.
wt
Wlint. hlnnnlnf r,. i.nHnr ,i,i.... ",,u,u l" erenm 01 cows or tin-
" """"""iij ....! ...III. I ... . , . .
for the farm work, niachlnerv that rMmw U,1K Ju ' I,,UH ' mixc worn-
will save labor, don't forget that there sof ""I1 V'0 . ol. 's. tI,oro"ShIy
are many things you can provide for
the kitchen and dairy which will
lighten tho work of tho wire also.
mixed and ripened. Unless this is
done a considerable portion or the
slower cream is washed into tho but-
tormllk as soon as the quicker cream
comes to butter.
An lowan reports tho birth of a
short-horn calf without a tail, the end
of tho backbone coming' but an Inch
Set tho Tew poor acres on tho rami
Into- trees and start a wood lot. Any
of the quick growing trees will return
a profit In a few years on land that
Wfllllil Mtlinrvvlon tint vlrtlil nnnnnli i r
Pay the Uxor and the interest on the "r St!!y(,a(! l,h? M J",nl- Th? caH
nonoy invested. iB ' wen. inis is not
a cuiiiiuou occurrence, out a great
IllilllV Similar OllSOM m nn rnnnpil
Do not-wait until the hay crop Is Tho wrilm. lmi n Himii,. ,.,i.n"
1.. 1 1 !. .. .. ' " "-"" 111...
rcuuy ui cm. uou.ro looiung over me i,o wna OI1 thn ,..,.. ,,n .. n
I I. ... I f .... I
iiiuwui dim huuiii wiiuiiiim lupuiiH
whether
need to bo made. You may bo put to
aggravating loss by having to wait Tor
now parts. Find out what you need
und send for tho parts desired at
once.
Under tho head of rool farming mnv
bo enumerated such fads as raising
rrogs, squabs, skunks, and oven rais
ing ginseng. Such rads may work
with those who thoroughly understand
the business, but Hi
Aer rowls have been kept for will fld thnt Mm Mniin .i. n,m
nnnin limn in antt fnrwl wlinln riilfi I ..i ... .... 1
. " "w" Hianu nun m hotter stead than anv of
v...... ...... vU..n.uU.w.i ip.nu.-u ui ineso schemes which seem on paper
111 Oil- I'llMnil 11 I mill .1 nou 1 in r.. I , . ...
" """- at east, to oner h u- iiiiiinniiin.,o
........ f t - , . . . , , I r- tinviuiuiiio
kuuh lur bi niuin ami uikuhuuk nam
-rxl ImtiA t .... l. .11, lt. ..l
iuwu wave ucuh u IUJIJ, 111 UIHU8U UUIl mi.- .,,.,.. ..
they are quite unfitted to perrorm rr '.JTl
office required of them when hard or " ,L ,n l "uro
whole uraln is nrovlded. o t that the Income from the sale
- i n lint iitinr .irwit. .... - . j.
..w. ..mil nwwn nut. uAceeci inis
llllinmit tin. inivir lu nl, ...!.. ..... i
A Bhel er In the fie ds nol only is ner way. Tho onIy satisfactory moth,
good for the stock but It proves handy 0! of detorminlmr tii n..oati i i...
11. ...... ...I a. " ....v.w.. ,o
mi HiLi, iuwvb nun mo 8110(1011 weighing the milk and testing tho nor
" v-ii i cciu. oi miner rat it contains hy the
erect a framework and put tooling Hubcock tost. A cow that does not
paper over tho top, but it means a
mighty sight of comfort In an emor
gency. And think of tho tltuo you
save in not having to run to tho
house for shelter.
that does not
pay takes up just as much room as a
profitable one. Sell her for beef.
This Ih tho ration which a Pennsvl.
vanlan feeds his turkey poults with
gOOd SUCCeSS. The limilts rnnnl,.,. nr.
It Is poor management which tries food until a dav old. :i nnti,, 1,
to do the work of tho farm with the vldotl for thorn, but wnt,. n.,H an..A
young growing horses and then mar- should be placed within reach Tho
Itntlnir them iih soon nn tliov
. JUU mM. U1 lu u HIOppj- Kind as
iiira. iu mw met piuce, youiig noises mat leads to bowel trouble. Curds o
Hint nrn worked Inn hnnl niimini i n..ii. i. .
. ......w. uuiuii uucuau la iikoii nv rnom on.'
developed properly, and, secondly, tho they thrive on it. Stale bread mols
worn ui inu lunn is uounu 10 sutTor. toned and sntioezo.l v la i
Raise your horses, but don't oxpect Onion tons and l,ni,iHn,, iv
, m m . . ... I " IV.IH V 1
ioo mucu wont out or uioni wnuo tiiey mlncod fino should bo fed oach day
are maturing. while In nnnflnnnionf P... i
.....v. 1 11 U UHl I CI
the best food when two wiwi-a nt,i
It is quite possiblo to break colts and later cracked corn or wimni
to narnesa at very oariy ago. one should bo provided
farmers boy broke a pair of colls
at six weeKs or ago. no rigged a Hmo Is a stock brooder's methor
set of light harness with cloth collars, Qf tralnlnir horns to irrnrWni i
and drove them around tho barn lot a u0 bores a small clmlot lmin o'.
few times, and then took-them out In horn about one-fourth Inch from tin
the road, driving only 100 yards or nf horn. Take a small wire such as
so away from barn at first. After ls UBOd for baling hav, run this
about a weok's tlmo at this ho hitched through tho hole In each horn wind
them to an old buggy, and walked and tho wiro once around each horn back
urove mum uuiu n nuu lhuui won ac- 0f the holos; thou twist oach omi
customed to the rig, then ho got in around main wire and fasten in con
aim roue awuy, guuraiug wuu uuro tor. Leave wire on until Iuipur ...
tuat tuey nau no cuancu to get away. woji started to curve.
"A love Tor gauiblln' was born about
tho time that human nature first
opened Its eyes. A disposition to
steal somothln' was born just a Tow
moments before, but a man may gam
ble and not be a thief. There Is
Hitch a thing as an honest gambler
that is, a gambler who Is willing to
give a man a fair chance to loso his
money. The gambler wants your
money, and it ain't much trouble for
him to accommodate ills conscience as
to the way he gets It. If he Is sharp-
;r than you are ho compliments him
self with the fact that ho understands
his business, and every man that has
a trade likes to know Its details better
than the other man does."
Thus spoke old Llniuel to a few
friends who were gathered about the
fireside in the .lucklln home. Tho
wind was howling and the snow, like
shredded sheets, was flying past the
windows. i
"But you don't believe that all
gamblers are thieves?" remarked old
man Hrlzlntlne. I
"1 said I didn't. Hut there ain't
tiothin' that will strain a man's lion-
esty more than gamblln' will."
"That's been preached on many a
time," Hrlzlnline spoke up. "Hut I
never gambled in my life, and "
'And you don't know just how far
you are honest," Mm broke iu.
"1 don't know that I understand
you."
"Didn't think you did," replied .luck.
Hn. "Hut I can explain. The man
that gambles has more temptations to
steal than any other man. When he
ins lost everything a strong resent
ment arises against lire. It is almost
mpossible for him to believe that he
ins been fairly beaten, and if ho is
broad enough to acknowledge this he
then questions Kate for her one-
sidedness. He wants to know what
ight she's got to discriminate so
against him. It has been said that all
men are natural gamblers, and it may
be true, for the most or us have had
to fight against It.
"Unfortunately for man, work was
put on him as a curse. Tho fact Is,
t ennobles him, hut he accepted it as
a curse. And wnen ins brother nas
committed a crime, not grave enough
to hang him, he says: 'I will sen
tence you to work.' In the olden times
a man that worked wan't respected as
much as the highwayman. They
hanged the robber, it Is true, but they
espected him more than they did
the man that handled tho hoe. And
the gambler ls a sort of social high
wayman. I don't say he Is a bad fel
ler. In many instances he per
suades himself to believe that
lis profession is right. He puts up
his money, takes chances, and if he
wins he has come by the money as
honestly as If he had dug in the
ground for II he thinks. And as long
as ho wins he may be honest. Hut
his principles undergo a change when
ho begins to lose. Then he can't
help feelin that he Is glvln 'the
other feller too much show. When ho
has lost all he must have money In
order to carry on his business. Sup
pose he is employed to collect money
suppose he Is In a bank. If he
refrains from takin' money to gam
ble with he Is honest desperately
honest, you might say. And ho may
refrain day after day for years; but
some day he muy find himself weak.
This weakness may consist of an over-
confidence In seir In an overabun
dance or hope, in a ralth that he will
win and can pay back. Right there
ho is gone. Think you are strong
enough to stand such a temptation as
that, Brother Brizintine?"
"I would not use any man's money,"
Hrlzlntlne answered. "1 surely have
sense enough to know what is my
own, and knowing what Is not my own
I have honesty enough not to take it."
"Yes," replied .Tucklln, "and what
you have said Is the answer that nine
out of ten men would niako and hon
estly, too. But the fact Is, you don't
know."
"What! do you mean to Bay I don't
know whether or not I'm honest?"
"I mean just what I say you don't
know. It is all very well for the tin
tried man to believe himself strong,
but unless he has been severely tried
he does not know."
"Do you know, Brother .Tucklln?"
"Woll, I'll tell you Just how far 1
know. Many years ago I was workln'
at. a mill that took In a good deal of
money. Finally they gave me charge
of It. Along about that time a party
of us used to meet two or three times
a week to play a social game of poker.
It got to bo so sociable that It kept
me broke. 1 know that It was largoly
a game of luck and that tho cards
would break even after awhile, and
that may be true, In tho long run,
but the run is too long. In the course
of a thousand years they might have
broke oven, but as It was, they broke
with just enough promise to hold mo
tied In fascination to the gamo. I
began to borrow money and It took
all of my wages to pay It back. On"
night I Went over to meet the boys.
I didn't have a cent of my own, and
I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't
thought that some one would lend me
enough to get Into the game. But
everyone hemmed and hawed and
spoke of the extreme need for money,
of hard times and the like till' very
men who had week after week got
all of my wages. Just then It Hashed
across me that in my pocket were
more than a hundred dollars belongln'
to the mill. With tills amount as a
backin' I felt sure that I could win
back some of the money I had lost.
It was perfectly plain I could do it.
At some stage of the game' T had near
ly always been ahead, but wouldn't
quit. Hut why couldn't I quit? The
other fellers jumped, and with my
money. Why couldn't I do tho same?
I broke out in a sweat. I strove to
bring up arguments against my sit
ting in the game and couldn't. Luck
whispered that It was with me, and It
didn't seem possible that I could loso.
Never before had 1 felt so strongly
that It was my night. I arose and
walked up and down the room. 1
could hear my blood singln'. I turned
and looked at the boys, each one with
an expression of eagerness on his
face. I felt myself superior to them. I
could beat them. There they sat,
completely within the power or my
skill and my luck. I could win
enough to pay back the money that I
owed, and with my wages I could buy
clothes and I needed 'em. Sudden
ly I rushed out of the house, and I
ran ran all the way to the home of
the mill owner snatched his money
out or my pocket and gave it to him.
I told him what 1 hud gone through
with, and he turned pale and took hold
or the mantelpiece to steady hltnseir.
'My son,' said he, 'I have been all
along there, only I didn't run away
until afterward. They caught me and
brought mo back, and It was only by
the grace of of human nature that I
didn't go to the penitentiary."
In the company there were three
young fellows. The old man's recital
had moved them. "And did you play
again, Uncle Llni?" one of them inquired.
"No, I didn't. And although It may
appear narrow in me, but let me say
that a playln' card shan't come into
my house. In itself a deck of cards
is Innocent enough, and so is a bottle
of licker if you don't drink it. It is
true, though, so far as my experience
counts, that nearly every gambler be
gins in a social way, without any
thought of beconiln' one. Very fow
of them set out with the aim to make
gamblin' their profession. Take bosses,
for Instance. Nearly all men like a
flna boss like to see him run. They
develop a judgment as to the runnln'
qualities of a boss and finally are
willln' to back it up with money.
Whose business Is it? The money be
longs to them and was honestly
earned. Understand, now, I ain't a
preachin a moral sermon ror I
ain't fitted ror that. I just want to
talk In a human nature sort of way
for the benefit of these boys. Don't
bet on anything. That's the safest
plan. If there's no fun in goln' to
boss races unless you bet, don't go."
"But haven't you bet on roosters?"
old Brizintine Inquired, looking wise.
"Woll, I have seen the feathers Hy
from the wrong chicken," Lim an
swered. "And if I have bet, and have
seen the evil of It. I am all the fitter
to talk to these young chups. Boys,
If you don't want to bo on trlaT all
your life, don't bet on anything."
(Copyright, by Oplo Head.)
Timid Diamonds.
The lapidary was about to cut the
tall off a tadpole-shaped yellow dla
mond.
"Tho chances are," he said, "that
this fellow will turn whlto from ter
ror when I split him. if he does, his
value will go up 200 per cent."
Tho lapidary sot his steel knife In
position, he prepared to strike on the
knife's back a momentous blow.
"Wish mo luck," he said.
And the hammer foil, the amputated
tail dropped into the box underneath,
and lo, the yellow diamond that had
been split was now quito white.
"The yellow taint," the cutter ex-
plained, "was only in the tail. Yet
the taint was reflected all through the
stone, and this made it seem of a uui
form yellow throughout. Now the
taint Is gone, and our yellow diamond
is a pure whlto one. Tho miracle hap
pons fairly often."
Native historians of Arghanlstan a3
sort that the inhabitants of their coun
try are the lost ton trlbos of Israel.
According to these chroniclers, tho
Afghans are descended from Af.
ghana, who was tho son of a certain
Jeremiah, who was tho son of a
King Saul. The eastward removal of
the seed of Afghana is attributed to
Nsbuchudnezzar.
HILD Papa, what
Is a Now Yorker?
Papa My child, a
New Yorker Is one
who lives In New
York who has his
residence there. A
New Yorker may
be a Chinaman
from Pell street,
or a Polish .Tow
from Rlvlngton
street, or a Syrian
rrom Washington
street, or an Ital
ian rrom the Ital
ian quarter, or a
Greek or Jap or
Swede or any na
tionality at all,
provided ho lives
in New York city.
Child Well, sup
pose a Russian
lives in Brooklyn.
Papa He 1b a New Yorker.
Child Well, If a Portuguese lived In
the Bronx?
Papa He would bo a New Yorker.
Of course, my child, In a large sense,
all inhabitants of the state of New
York are New Yorkers, but, generally
speaking, by the term New Yorker is
meant one who lives In the city of
New York, and that Is why a China
man out on Staten island Is a Now
Yorker.
Child Papa, does a man have to be
a foreigner in order to live in New
York?
Papa What a question, my child.
Of course not. There are many living
in New York whose native language
is English.
Child Oh, they were born there?
Papa Not necessarily. Some were
born in Great Britain and Ireland and
some in the British possessions, but
they all speak English and they live
in New York and are New Yorkers.
Child Well, papa-, you have told
me about foreigners who were New
Yorkers, and about English-speaking
people who were New Yorkers and
about Americans who were New York
ers, but. I want to know it' there
couldn't be a more perfect kind of
Now Yorker than any of these one
who was born in New York and who
spoke English?
Papa Why, yes, my child; there
are thousands born" in New York who
speak English. They are hard and
fast New Yorkers. Their parents
were Germans and Italians and
Frenchmen and Jews and Greeks, but
they were born in'New York and they
speak English.
Child Then, papa, they are the real
New Yorkers, aren't they?
Papa Well. 1 believe that they are
considered to be the most patriotic
New Yorkers because their New
Yorkism is so new; but, my child, in
this city of which we" are speaking,
this city of nearly 4,000,000 inhabi
tants, there is a little class, without
much Influence, to be sure, but still
seir-respocting and respected by oth
ers, a mere handful. It Is true, but a
very Intelligent handful.
Child And who are they, papa?
Papa They, my child, are the na
tive American New Yorkers, whose
parents and grandparents and great
grandparents, to the third and fourth
generation, were born and brought up
in New York.
Child And who always spoke Eng
lish? Papa Well, no. They spoke Dutch
originally, but they have spoken Eng
lish longer than the majority of the
rest. Those are the real New York
ers. Child I never heard of them.
Where do they keep themselves?
Papa One of them Is the president
of the United States.
Child Oh, yes, of course. So he la
a Simon-pure New Yorker?
Papa Well, no; come to think of it,
he Isn't, because I bellove his mother
was a southerner.
Child Well, do the Simon-pure New
Yorkers sign their names as from
New York?
Papa Yes, my boy, they do, and
they would like to be able to sign in
a special colored ink to make It more
emphatic.
Child Well, papa, I suppose that
if they could have kept out the for
eigners and the English-speaking
aliens and the Yankees and the
southerners and the westerners, and
just left New York for the real born
and hied New Yorkers, New York
would be even greater than It is?
Papa No, no, my boy. No city ever
gets to the top of the pile unaided. It
is because of all these people who
have come In to show New York how
to misgovern Itself that she Is the
greatest city on the western hemis
phere and is destined to he the great
est city that the sun ever shone upon.
Child And what will become of the
real New York New Yorkers?
Papa They will disappear after a
while.
Child Why, papa?
Papa Because it Is getting to be
the fashion to bo born Iu the country.
Child Oh!
(CopyHht, by James Pott & Co.)