THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. (JT-QT G?D1NA1W ERVIN WARDMAN, PRIVATE FMILIZffi WEALTH WSiw DbertH.Moultoi ertilizers are going to be higher than they have ever been. A famine impends. Yet the American farmer wasted wore than four hundred million dollars' worth of manure j the best ferti lizer, last year. S'"'''' 'A X T JTOrrittfegrp , . liHtTIT I'LHIW nn. irnltitr t hn hltrhiil- I than they have over boon before, ow I Ing to the war. Bo ncuto lins tho I potash situation bocotuo that Unclo I 8nm, among nil bis other diplomatic 1 troubles. hns been dlckcrltiir with tho allies niul with Germany to lot.a little miserable shipment of 10 tonu of pot ash fertiliser coma through tho block ado for the uso of the department of r.grlqulturo'a fnrm experiment work. Yot with such it fertilizer fnmlno staring the American farmer in tho fuco, ho has deliberately wasted during the lust year between four hundred million and four hundred and fifty million dollars' worth of manure, (ho beat of nil fertilizers. And this, according to Authorities on agriculture and fertilizer, Is a regu lar yearly occurrence. It Is not theoretical; It Is actual loss, and tho strangest part of tho story Is that the great bulk, If not nil, of this wasto, could ho saved Just as easily as not. In fact, most of It would he saved If American farmers wore, for In stance, Dutch or Gorman farmers. It would bo saved by the farmers of any of Uu old countries, whero every pound of soli fertility Is conserved as uutomntlcully and as nnturnlly as though It wore minted money. In Germany tho alzo of Uie immure pllo has long been an Index to tho wealth of tho farmer. What the value would bo of the Increased crops that would result from this American plant food, now wasted, can hardly bo estimated, but tho In creased yields of corn, wheat, potatoes, and all farm crops would amount to something enormous. On the basis of using this needlessly wasted strength In manure on the corn crop alono It Is estimated that the yield would bo Increased at least a billion and a half bushels, besides perma nently Improving tho condition of tho soil to a tremendous degree. In fact, a good many corn fields of tho present day would bo so surprised at receiving their quota of this wasted soil fertility that they would not recognize themselves. And yot the Dutch or tho German way of handling mn nuro, clllclent as It Is, Is not tho best. Amerlruns have discovered tho way to provcut all wanto lu iimnuro and it Involves no more labor or expense on the part of tho farmer than his present methods .through which he loses annually neurly half a iillllon dollars. Tho nverago successful fnrmor or gardener will ay thut this statement doesn't upply to him? thut ho knows tho value of good manure nnd uses every bit of U that ho can get. Hut 1b he certuln that ho makes tho best uso of nil his manuro? When he hauls a ton of mimuro on to tho Held, Is Its fertilizing content all thnt It should ho and is lie sure thnt from 10 to 00 per cent of Its crop-producing strength has not been dissipated through leaching, ttro-funglng, or lack of provision to absorb or conserve the animal urlnof Tnko na nn Instance tho enso of urlno alone: A cow will produce 40 to 50 pounds of solid mnimro ii iity, but she will also make from !X) to HO pounds ' of urlno and fully one-half of tho nitrogen In her ration goes Into thnt urlno. So It Is most Important to conservo the urine, for nitrogen is tho most ex pensive element of manure or fertilizer. The other two Important plant foods aro potash nnd phos phorus. Even though manuro Is highly regarded by nil good fanners, nevertheless there Is probably no product of equal valuo which 'is so miserably neg lected and regarding which such real Ignorance, prevails, Tho first great sourco of loss Is through tho Incomplete absorption of tho urine, nnd It is not Infrequent to see no attempt being made to save this portion of the manuro in spite of the fact that It Is richer In both nitrogen and potash than Is the dung, and In splto of the fuct that theso fer tilizers are more uvallablo for tho plant In tho urlno than In tho dung. The second greatest sourco of wasto of mauurc Is tho loss Incurred by leaching. If' n good-sized mnnuro pllo Is stacked up against tho sldo of the stable whero tho water from the eaves can drip on It. or If It Is piled ny a slope or other exposed plnce, ovory heavy rain washes away crisp bank notes In the form of nitrogen and potash. These Icaehed chemicals arc the most valuable portions of tho pile, tho most avallablo for plant forcing. Tho third common source of loss Is that Incurred ' by heating and fermenting. When manuro lu put 16. plies it soon heats and throws off more or less ghs and vapor. The fermentation which produces these gnsos Is caused by the action of bacteria, or mtnuto organisms, Tho bncterln which prodtico tho most rapid formputntlon In manure, In order to work their best, need plenty of air, or, more strict ly, oxygon. Therefore, fermentation will bo most rapid In loosely piled mnnuro. Heat and somo moisture aro necessary for fermcntntlon, but, if tho manure Is we. and heavy, fermentation Is checked becauso tho temperature Is lowered and much of the oxygen excluded from tho pile. Tho strong odpr of nmmouln, so common around n stable, Is a simple evldcnco of tho fermentation and theloss of nitrogen which Is going on. Fresh mnnuro loses In tho process of decny from '10 to TO per cent of Its original weight. An 80-ton heap of cow mnnuro left exposed for one year lost (50 per cent of Its dry substance. Some tests eon ducted by tho United States department of agri culture showed that two tons of horse manure ex posed In n pllo for five mouths lost 57 per cent of Its gross weight, 00 per cent of Its nitrogen, 47 por cent of Its phosphoric acid and 70 per cent or Its potash, or nn average loss of three-fifths. Five tons of cow manure exposed for tho same length of time In a compact pllo lost, through leach ing and dissipation of gases, 40 per cent In gross weight, 41 per cent of Its nitrogen, 10 per cent of Its phosphoric acid and 8 per cent of Its potash. Hero was n terrific wnste, veritably, yet not greater than Is to bo found In most common farm practice. What would any business mnu or nny farmer think of u city real estate Investment or a land invest ment which depreciated In valuo In this wlseV And . what If ho discovered that ho could have prevented It at almost no cost or extra effort to himself V The newspaper 1lfo of Ervln Ward man, who beenmc publisher of tho Now York Sun when it was purchased by Frank Munsey, has been for the most part n steady, day-by-day nffatr. But it had one lively interlude, during the Spanish-American war. Mr. Wnrdman, then editor of tho New York Press, enlisted as a private, nnd was sent at first to Chattanooga. Of his stay there a little story is related. Mr. Wardmnn had ordered ono of his reporters to the encampment for Instructions on a ccrtnln story, and, us fate would have It, tho day of the reporter's arrival at tho camp was Private Wnrdmnn's day for sentry duty In front of the commandant's tent. It also happened thnt tho commandant nnd tho reporter were old friends, and tho latter received an Invitation to dinner In the soldier's tent, with a cold bottle on tho side. Nnturnlly tho reporter made tho most of the situation. Ho found many occasions for pnsslng In and out of the tent, snlutlng every time ho pnssed Sentry Wardmun, who was obliged by military courtesy to return tho salute. It Is said that a brond grin ornamented tho features of the reporter eveiy time tho tent flap closed behind him, but Private Wardmnn took It all in the lino of duty.. Later Mr. Wardmun was commissioned a lieutenant and sent to Porto Rico, where he snw fighting nnd so well conducted himself that he was men tioned In orders and commended for gallantry. The fnrm scientists and tho theorists can prench all they want to about tho economy of the farmer building fine, big sheds to keep tho rain off the manure or other such plans, but It goes without saying thnt tho nvcrnge farmer isn't going tlo see It that way. But he doesn't have to I sThe remedy for such losses Is simple In tho extreme. In fnct. exactly tho right wny of bundling manure so as to save nil this loss ts about tho cheapest, cleanest nnd altogether tho cnslest way to hnndlo manure. The flfflt step to prevent the loss of the fertilizing elements In mnnuro Is to provide plenty of bedding or Utter In tho stnblo to nbsorb nnd save all tho liquid. The losses due to fermentation can bo grently checked by mixing horse mnnuro with cow ,nmir, nnd mnklne tho temporary piles compact to ns to exclude tho air, and by thoroughly wetting tho manure, which will assist In excluding the air mil nisn reduco the tbmncrnture. Tho Ideal wny on tho average farm Is to follow the plan, all through the year, of hauling manuro directly from tho stnblo ana sprenutng u ui onte. There is generally provalllug notion among farm om Hint if manuro is hauled and sprend In mid summer, the sun will scorch It to a cinder and burn all tho good out of It Tho government ngrlculturnl Rt.itlnn In Maryland. Just outside of Wnshlugton, decided to determine this mntter accurntely, and Its nnnlvtlcnl experiments have exploded two very common beliefs, tho summer-burning theory being one of them. Tho other common belief which has been blown to ntoms Is that it Is better to plow manure under In the fall thun to leave it exposeu on the laud's surface during the winter nud then ninw It under In tho spring. In tho first Instance manure spread in "burning" Julv and allowed to stnnd until the following spring gnvo better results in carefully checked ex periments than that spread m tne iouowmg spriuj; lust before plowing. In the second series of ex periments, better yields were secured nfter allow , Ing the manure to lie on top of thoand all winter And plowing it unuer in tno spring umu wer w talncd from plowing It under In tne ran. LANSING, PRESIDENT FOR JUST ONE DAY The next president of tho United States will be Hobcrt Lansing of Now York, tho present secretary of state. Mr. Lansing's term of ofilco does not depend upon tho nctlon of nny political convention; it Is likewise Irrespective of any prlmury or direct election. In point of fact, It dates back to January 10, 18S0, when congress pnssed an net providing thnt, In tho event of the denth, removal, 'resigna tion or Inability of both tho president and the vice president of the United Stntcs, the sccretnry of stnte shall net ns president. March 4. 1017, will fall upon n Sunday, nnd It Is contrnry to all precedent although not In qpposl tlon to nny lnw to hold nn Inauguration on Sun day. Therefore tho Incoming chief executive will take tho onth of office nnd commence his term shortly nfter noon on March 5. President Wilson's term commenced at noon on Mnrch 4, 1013; there fore, according to the Constitution, Which defines tho term of a president us "four yeurs," his tenure of olllco will be over at noon onMarch 4, and, even If he Is elected to succeed himself, he cannot take the onth of ofilco until noon on tho following dny. Vlco President Marshall, of course, Is under the snmo disability ns the president. Therefore the secretary of state, Mr. Lansing, will bo president or tno united states ror tno nours nnd some minutes elapsing between noon on Sunday, Mnrch 4, and tho time thnt tho new president takes the oath of onico on the following day. This brief term of olllco Is not a mere formality, It Is nn nctuol occupation of tho power of presl dent, with nil his authorities und prerogatives. Mr. Lnnslag "President Lnnslng," for tho dny will be empowered to occupy tho White House, to Is sue pardons, to at tend to nil tho other business of which tho chief executive bxts control, nnd to ride to the cnpltol, should he desire, ns the outgoing president on Inauguration day. Moreover, this Is the first time In tho history of tho untlon that a secretary of state has had this honor bestowed jipon hint nnd only tho second time In tho 140 years of the existence of the United amies tnnt tne omee nns neen neicl uy nnyone other thnn the president and vlco president. THE MARK OF THE DEATH'S HEAD. rrom the day of tho medieval nrchsr, who notched his crossbow, to tho dny of the Westorn bail imui. who notched his gun, men hnvo always sought to proserve some mark of military prowess, some tally of their victims. This wnr bus not changed human nature. Tho modern military avia tor, tho only soldier who still fights single-handed, does not notch his gun; but ho paints a death's head on tho wing of his 'plane to show that ho hat vanquished his foo In open combat. COSBY TESTS POISON GASES Col. Spencer Cosby, United States military nttuchc nt Pnrls, hns been speaking In n hoarse whisper of Inte, and his friends aro congratulating him on losing nothing more thnn his voice. When the Germnn army began tho Uso of poison gases, Colonel Cosby shnred the keen Interest of his brother military Investigators In the new ele ment of warfare, nnd determined to test the gases on himself. Ho was given the opportunity by tho French nrray chemists, who had samples of tho three kinds itscd, direct from the front. The two less deadly varieties were tried, and Colonel Cosby found them not especially overpowering. They hud now reached tho deadly gas which clutches nnd kills. Tho Chemist paused. "You will not try this," he snid, nppenllngly. "Yes, nil of them," suld tho colonel positively. "Then we must bo very cuutlous," snld the chemist. "Plnce yourself about a foot awny from tho bottle. I will rntse the glnss stopper the slightest possible fraction of an Inch, so that only nn insignificant portion of gas can escape but it will be enough. Now, ready 1" Ho drew tho stopper the slightest particle, and only for. an Instant, with Colonel Cosby n foot nwny. But in that instant the colonel felt he had been hurled buck 20 feet. Tongues of fire were eating at his throat, and ten thou sand needles were darting around his neck. It seemed ns though live vitriol hnd been emptied in his mouth and was coursing through Ills veins. His whole vocal system was paralyzed. This Infinitesimal portion of tho deadly gas had, It' an lnstunt, overpowered him. MB WWII IW ! IWW at mm i JmMM NEW ENVOY TO TURKEY Keeping up tho custom of sending n public-spirited, broad-minded, phil anthropic Jew to represent the United States In Turkey, the president hns ap pointed Abram I. Elkus, a well-known New York lawyer, as ambassador to succeed Henry Mprgenthnu, who nindo a distinguished record for himself nnd his country during trying times at Con stnntlnople. Mr. EUcus, who hns a high reputa tion ns a lawyer. Is senior member of tho firm of Elkus, Glenson & Pros kauer, and Is known especially for his work as counsel for 'the state factory Investigating commission, n position which he held from 1011 till 1015. Ho hns drafted some 80 bills, nil of which were enncted Into law, mitigating the evils of child labor, especially In canneries nnd tenement houses nnd prohibiting undue work and night work for women. Mr. Elkus was born In Now York city on August 0, 1807, uttended New York college nnd Columbia university and was admitted to tho bar In 1888. Ho Is assoclnted ns member or director practically with every Jewish philanthropic organization In New York city. Ho is vlco president of tho Free Synagogue and a trustee of tho Buron de Illrsch fund. Mr. Elkus was mnm-led In 1800 to Gertrude It. Hess of New York. They have two daughters, Ethel J. and Katharine, nnd one son, Jumes Mess Elkus. STARTS A CHARITABLE FAD Mudume Bnkhmeteff, tho wlfo of tho Itusslnn ambassador, has taken a flyer In fashions, und In Introducing to tho rich nnd exclusive set at Newport the brilliantly colored cotton and silk shawls such as tho peasants of her ndopted country wear, sho has at tho same time giver a stimulus to tho cot ton trade which nhould materially In crease tho Uucalan market for Ameri can cotton. When women of fashion aro more or less taking on the nccoutcrmcnts of war in the style of their hats nnd cents nnd tho picturesque dress of tho peasants of many of tho countries uf war, this Innovation ofMme. Bnkme- teff In the way of n light wrup for either morning or evening hns becomo n chrrlty ns well ns n fad, for tho manufacture of these shawls or scarfs helps the cottage peasant Industries of Russia, furnishing work to hundreds of women nnd children while the men aro at the front. Theso shawls ure n part of tho costume worn by peasunttf lu certain districts of Russia, and aro 3ometimes mado of silk.