A WAR* BOLD.
By ST. OEOItQE RATHBORNB,
•Authorof “Little Mitt Millions,'' "The Spider's
Web," "Dr. Jack't Widow'," “Mist Caprice," etc,
Capjrlgbi 1801. Street *o<l Smltk. New York.
CHAPTER XIV.
A Battle of Giants.
Some of the most frantic hovered
at the windows, as though ready to
plunge through space if the worst
came.
They were crazed for the time be
ing and could not be blamed.
Many a precious life went out that
fatal day, that might have been saved
by the exercise of a little judgment
and coolness; for of all the attributes
which mortal man inherits or ac
quires these prove the richest legacy
in such a time of actual panic.
Having taken his bearings, and
discovered which way the numbers
ran, Charlie started upon what he be
lieved was the last leg of his course.
Now he must speedily realize the
worst; if he came upon Arline’s rooms
and found them empty, he would
know she was somewhere about the
intricate passages, lost and facing
death, as when he first found her.
What a travesty of fate such a
thing would be.
Tragedies were being enacted with
in those walls, that had many times
echoed with the sounds of gayety,
and now rang with shrieks; already
the greedy fire fiend had cut off many
from escape, and yearned to encom
pass their destruction.
Some doors were closed, but the
majority stood gaping wide open,
whence the terrified occupants had
fled just as they were.
T»■» nneciirwr nf tVinon PVi o Viod
a glimpse of a lady, richly attired,
bending over an open trunk, evidently
seeking to lay hold of her precious
jewel boxes ere flying.
Mayhap they cost her what all the
jewels from Cleopatra’s day to this
could not replace—life.
Once a woman had seized upon him
—crazed by fear, she clutched him as
a drowning man might a straw.
Charlie could not have his mission
jeopardized by such detention—he
was compelled to break away, shout
ing at the same time for her to go to
the stairs and descend while the
chance remained. God only knew
how long this golden opportunity
might be held out to them, for the
greedy flames were making hideous
headway and presently the entire
building would be a charnal house.
All obstacles had thus far been
overcome by his iron wTlll—determin
ed to reach and save Arline, he had
swept them aside as the March wind
whirls the dust out of its path.
But the end was not.
One barrier remained.
Charlie suspected it not until the
thing burst upon him, sudden and un
expected as lightning from the clear
sky overhead.
Again a detaining hand.
This time it brought his forward
movement to a complete stop, and
he realized there was something more
serious in the detention than when
the poor groveling chambermaid had
clutched his knees.
It was a man; through the haze he
had seen his presence without pay
ing the least attention to him, and
now the t'ellpw, probably as terrified
as the women, frantically clung to
him.
a u tut; oidii o ui uif ait; escape;
—let go!” shouted Charlie, and when
the other laughed with devilish glee
in his ear Stuart turned his head to
see close to his own the face of the
bogus Capt. Brand, transformed by
passion into the countenance of a
fiend.
Was it accident or deep design that
brought Macauley to this floor of the
hotel at such a tragical moment?
When Charlie felt that grip on his
arm and looked into the maddened
orbs of the ogre, be seemed to realize
that a great crisis in his life had
arrived.
The stake was Arline’s love.
This man might be innocent or
guilty of murderous design, but ap
pearances were mightily against him.
His manner indicated as plainly as
words: ‘ This far shall you come and
no farther.”
Instinct warned Charlie to prepare
r for the worst, to throw himself into a
position that was aggressive even
while defensive.
It was a wise precaution, for the
other, even while he continued to
glare malevolently into his face, sud
denly threw himself upon Stuart.
As he expected, Charlie found Ma
cauley a man gifted with tremendous
muscular power. Like trained ath
letes, the two men whirled around,
each seeking the downfall of the
other.
To Charlie each second meant a
closer approach of doom, while with
the other the passage of time brought
savage satisfaction, as his base plans
grew nearer realization.
Charlie retracted a step mustering
every atom of power in his muscular
frame for the storm which he meant
to spring upon the already gloating
enemy.
Macaulej was drunk with the suc
cess that had seemed to be already
within his grasp.
He thus could be taken off his
guard, and once in retreat, complete
rout must follow.
So sudden was the attack, so over
whelming in its resistless energy that
the ogre fell back in confusion, hard
ly knowing just how to meet so
strange a rally.
And Stuart followed it up—he knew
full well that what was worth doing
at all 'was worth doing well.
r
y
He was bent on ending the struggle
then and there—in order to do so
most effectively he let out still an
other kink, and surprised his enemy
with a succession of tricks that com
pleted his utter demoralization.
It .vas the work of a gladiator. Char
lie, having stunned the ogre with a
multiplicity of short-arm blows, hurl
ed him in a shuddering heap aside,
and found himself once more free to
go forw'ard.
CHAPTER XV.
When Charlie Kissed Her.
The flames had been making hid
eous progress while this mad en
counter took place, and already their
red tongues leaped into view at the
further end of the corridor.
Charlie was panting like a hunted
stag, hardly able to catch his breath
in that smoke-burdened atmosphere—
yet, no sooner had he hurled his en
emy to the floor, and found the coast
clear, than he started along the hall
way.
The numbers on the doors now
stood out plainly enough, thanks 10
the illumination afforded by the
flames, and he knew he was close to
where Arline might be found.
He saw the door was closed.
It gave him a shock—then she had
not escaped with the first—she must
still be within her room.
He pounced upon the knob and
turned it.
Horrors! There was no response
—the door utterly refused to give
way, being locked within.
Charlie pounded with his fist upou
the panel.
“Open the door, Arline! Open, for
God’s sake! The hotel is on fire!”
Apparently he shouted loud enough
to arouse the dead, yet no answer
came from beyond.
Stuart knew of but one resource
left-—it was a desperate case, and re
quired a desperate remedy.
He raised his foot.
One mighty blow shivered the lock
as completely as though a battering
ram had been brought to bear against
it.
l lie uuur new upeu
Nothing barred his progress now,
and with a bound the Briton was in
the room.
Arline lay upon a Turkish lounge
—the crash of the door had done what
all else had failed to accomplish, for
she had just raised her head and was
staring at him with eyes dilating in
horror as they discovered the whirl
ing clouds of smoke that curled in
after him.
Charlie ran to assist the girl to
her feet, at the same time calling:
“The hotel is on Are, but be brave,
and I will save you, if possible!”
His manner calmed her more than
all else.
She looked into his face, and al
though her voice trembled, she kept
a brave front as she said:
“I trust you with my life, Charlie!
Tell me what to do, and God help us
both!”
iutin .......i *. „ +.
he thought her then and there—he
had believed it on that former oc
casion, when she wandered in the.
dark Steen dungeons and passages,
and now it was made doubly sure.
It would have been worth something
to Stuart at this critical juncture,
could he have become possessed of the
valuable information which the fallen
ogre had held regarding the ways and
means of reaching a fire escape.
As it was, he found himself cast
upon his own resources and compelled
to make a virtue of necessity.
One thing was absolutely certain—
he could not count on assistance, and
if they escaped it must be through his
persistent and determined work.
Then, again, he kept before his
mind the fact that escape must be
downward—that flight to the roof
would only render their immolation
the more certain.
Each story they could descend
would take them nearer the street
and increase their chances of being
assisted through the medium of the
fire ladders.
Charlie had taken his bearings—
ho knew the Are had not as yet spread
over the entire building, though the
smoke must have done so ere now.
The stairs he had ascended were
still free from flames, though thi3
could not long be said, as they were
in jeopardy.
Snatching up a cloak which ha
found, he pressed it about Arline.
Some craze must have been running
riot in his veins at the time, for as
her sweet face came close to his own
he deliberately kissed her: nor did
she by look or word protest—there
was something almost holy in the act
—it was as though the man wished
her to know the great love that was
in his heart before they faced the
dreadful ordeal which might be their
destruction. As though he might thus
seal his claim upon the woman he
adored, even though together they
were doomed to journey toward an
other world.
“Come! Have courage, my darling,-’
he said.
Probably few men on earth have
been given so strange an opportunity
to declare their love, and under such
conditions who could envy Charlie
Stuart the brief spasm of delight
which he experienced, for the first
time he passed his arm about Arline’s
waist with a sense of proprietorship.
Love is a strong factor in the race
—the girl might have been rendered
frantic with fear had she found her
self alone face to face with the
threatening destruction, but with his
strong arm to lean upon, and the
knowledge of his declared passion u>
sustain her, she could meet the dread
issue with courage.
And it required all the nerve she
possessed to keep from screaming
when once in the hall she saw the
avalanche of roaring fire at the farth
er end.
Charlie led her directly toward it,
yet she trusted him implicitly—it was
a glorious symbol of the power he
was to exercise in all time to come,
if so be they escaped with their llve3.
The stairs at last.
Another minute and it might have
been too hazardous to attempt a de
scent—but that small space of time
has won kingdoms ere now.
Down one flight—that much was
saved them at any rate, even should
the worst nappen.
When they started upon the second
descent, it was like running the
gauntlet; fingers of fire stretched out
yearningly toward them, and one even
came so close that Arllne involuntar
ily uttered a scream, thinking Char
lie, who had thrust his body on that
side, was doomed.
This narrow escape told him that
it would be utterly impossible to make
any further use of the stairway in
advancing their cause, since below it
was wreathed in flames.
Their only course was to retreat
from the fire as far as possible, and
there await rescue or provide for it
through their own ingenuity.
Still they heard the shrieks of fear
distracted women, cowering in cor
ners or rushing wildly through the
corridors calling for the help that
could never reach them.
Such a scene of horror must haunt
one while life lasts, so fraught wdth
human suffering and the utter ina
bility to render aid.
He had not calculated wrongly;
while the smoke remained more dense
than ever, the danger of immediate
fire was not so great, although he saw
it pushing toward them from three
separate and distinct quarters, as
though closing in upon its victims.
An open window at the end of the
hall was Charlie's objective point.
He had hopes of discovering there
the iron ladder that would enable
those who had the nerve to grasp its
rounds to drop to safety below.
Alas! disappointment awaited him,
keen and cutting, since there was no
such avenue of escape provided In
this quarter.
It was a dizzy distance down to the
street, and only a maddened brain
could conceive the idea of leaping out
into space.
Charlie leaned out to survey the
situation.
Immediately a roar of warning arose
from thousands of throats below,
while arms waved him back, doubtless
under the belief that he meant to
take the mad plunge.
He was not quite reduced to such
an insane policy—his resources had
not yet been exhausted.
Charlie had his bearings now—he
remembered the lay of the land—
surely there must be a better chance
of escape in the rear.
Turning into another corridor,which
led in the desired quarter, he pushed
on. Arline clung to his arm with
whitened face and eyes that reflected
the horror of her soul, but, thank
Heaven! as yet her steps did not fal
ter, nor did she give any signs of
collapse, while his great courage re
mained to buoy her soul up.
The situation grew more intense
with every passing second, and Char
lie knew all too well that unless for
tune speedily gave them an opening
it would be too late, since the fire was
now sweeping with remorseless fury
over the main portion of the doomed
structure.
Charlie Stuart knew he had to solve
the proble mof his existence, as well
as that of the gentle being who clung
so eagerly to his arm.
No man was ever better equipped
for the fray.
He had everything to urge him on
to superhuman efforts — abounding
life, with all that means to a healthy
young man, and, besides, the knowl
edge that he was beloved by the girl
to whom his heart had gone out.
Yes, if ever a man had reason to
strive with might and main for vic
tory, it was Charlie Stuart.
Manfully he met the requisition.
(To be continued.)
HOW SLEEP MAY BE WOOED
Position in Which a Person Should
Lie to Induce Somnolence.
Few persons in an ordinary assem
blage can tell offhand what positions
they assume to induce sleep and yet
there is not an individual in the
world who has not some trick of dis
tributing limbs and trunk to insure
slumber’s blissful spell which he
practices unconsciously. This is a
night habit as perpetual and immuta
ble under normal conditions as the
succession of the seasons. No sooner
are we really off to the land of nod
than the night habit asserts itself.
Our hands and arms seek the same
parts of the bed or the same portions
of our bodies upon which they have
nightly rested since infancy; our feet
and legs stretch at the same angles
or loosely entwine in comfortable re
laxation as commanded by unconscious
will.
It is seldom of our own deliberate
volition that we place our bodies in
position for sleep, as you will find
to-night on going to bed if you re
member these words. In truth, if you
do not seek to combat the instincts
you will be surprised at the disposi
tions of the various members involun
tarily made. If you endeavor to go
to sleep by a new arrangement of the
body you will also be surprised by
the revolt against slumber which will
surely ensue, but even before the
struggle is well begun you will prob
ably surrender and permit the all
masterful night habit to reinstate
those little details of position which
long practice has made necessary te
your comfort.
WHAT PROTECTION IS
TRUE PRINCIPLE THAT UNDER
LIES OUR PRESENT TARIFF.
It Fosters National Pride and Assures
Complete Industrial Independence —
Free Traders Have Nothing to Offer
in Exchange for It.
The protective tariff policy came
Into existence under the first adminis
tration. The protective principle was
the cardinal doctrine In the creed of
the greatest constructive statesman
America ever produced, Alexander
Hamilton. It had warm advocates in
George Washington nnd the other
great men who surrounded the Father
of his country during the eight years
in which he served as chief magis
trate. It has been aptly called the na
tional policy for the reason that it
exalted America above every other
nation and proposed to develop Its in
dustries and resources In order that
the nation might attain industrial as
well as political independence. It was
conceded at the beginning mat to es
tablish this policy would involve some
sacrifices. It was conceded at the be
ginning that there were to be higher
prices for some commodities as a re
sult of protection; but it was argued
that the compensating benefits would
more than offset this. Throughout the
development of this system these hopes
have been fully realized, so that where
as at the beginning we were absolutely
at the mercy of European manufac
turers, we are to-day practically inde
pendent of them and through homo
competition there has been a constant
decline in the price of all the great
staple articles of manufacture. Amer
ican labor has throughout the entire
period of our national existence com
manded a higher price than similar
iauui luimcu in auj uiuci pui iiuu
of the world. The American laborer
has grown in independence, intelli
gence and opportunity with the de
velopment of this system, until to-day
he occupies a place undreamed of by
his predecessors of a generation ago.
The free-trader has from the begin
ning held to the doctrine of the sur
vival of the fittest without any inter
ference on the part of the government.
They have contended that in the world
of labor the splHt of national pride
should not enter. That from a busi
ness standpoint we should consider
the laborer or the manufacturer of
any other country as just as much
entitled to consideration as the manu
facturer or laborer of our own coun
try. The free-trader has always had
in mind first of all the interest of
what we might style the consumer
who primarily is not a producer, that
is to say, the professional and sal
aried classes and those wrho live upon
the interest derived from securities.
The habit of mind can be discovered
in many fields outside those where
the protection and free-trade doctrines
ordinarily clash. For example, the
believer in free-traoe will naturally be
opposed to Chinese exclusion. To the
man who believes absolutely in free
trade doctrines the Chinaman is
worthy of as much consideration as
an American. If you say to this man
that it is dangerous to permit this
country to be overrun with cheap
Chinese labor, he will tell you that
if the American wage earner cannot
compete with the heathen Chinese so
much the worse for the former. The
set phrase, “The fittest will survive,”
satisfies him at all points.
Periodically throughout our history
the free-trader by appealing to vari
ous selfish interests here and there to
vote for an era of cheapness has per
suaded the American electorate to elect
a congress and a president favorable
to the free-trade doctrines. Every
such triumph has been followed by a
period of industrial depression char
acterized by falling prices, business
failures, low wages and enforced idle
ness. There has been no exception.
This generation had its experience be
tween 1893 and 1896. Almost every
man old enough to vote can remem
ber very vividly what took place then.
Yet it is practically certain that in the
next national campaign, which is just
upon us, another appeal will be made
to the people to vote for a cheap era,
and if a sufficient number of them can
be caught by this stale bait it can be
confidently predicted that history win
repeat itself. It cannot be otherwise.
—Cedar Rapids Republican.
Protection With Reciprocity.
There is ample room lor reciprocity
alongside of protection, but the latter
cannot and must not be supplanted.
The American producer needs markets
for his surplus products, but he is not
ready to surrender the matchless
home field in order to get them. Nor
need he. The United States, with its
industries developed under the foster
ing care of protection, has so much to
sell and is in a position to buy in
such large quantities that it cannot
command favorable terms without sac
rificing domestic interests. It was
Lord Salisbury, the British premier,
who once lamented the fact that free
trade had left England economically
defenseless. He said in substance
that his country could exact nothing
from other nations in return for trade
concessions, because it had already
given up everything, and there was
no opportunity for a quid pro quo. The
United States, on the other hand, is
economically impregnable. Protection
has aided it in perfecting a wonderful
industrial system, and it is in a posi
tion to sell to all the world. It 'has
almost illimitable resources in the
form of products which the world
needs. It is able to buy vast amounts
of goods which other parts of the
world supply. It holds a masterful
place, and can make reciprocity min
later to its own Interests as well as to
those of its customers.
This Is the principle contemplated
by the statesmen who have favored
reciprocity. The benefits are not to be
one-sided. If the United States yields
something in the way of trade advan
tages the reciprocating nations must
be equally obliging. Reciprocity will
not be used to destroy what protec
tion has built up. The two must go
hand in hand. When we have
reciprocity It must be with protection.
That is sound Americanism and the
true Republican policy.—Troy Times.
RECIPROCITY WITH CANADA.
American Farmers Certain to Protest
Against It.
A delegation representing the Cham
bers of Commerce of the United States
has told President Roosevelt that It
believes reciprocity with Canada will
be of great value to American com
merce and industry. The President told
the delegation that he would take the
matter “under advisement.” This Is
usually a polite method of saying that
one is not ready to take action.
At this time Canada is the best pur
chaser of American products after the
United Kingdom and Germany. There
is no doubt that freer trade relations
with the Dominion would add largely
to its American purchases, especially
as regards manufactured goods. There
would also bo a largely increased «on
sumptlon of American coal.
It will not bo an easy matter, how
ever, to negotiate a reciprocity treaty
such as Canada desires, for the reason
that the Canadians will be more ready
to receive than to give. They will ask
for many concessions. They will bo
willing to make few. But even if a
treaty should be negotiated on what
could fairly be called reasonable
terms. Its ratification would be more
than doubtful. There are bo many In
terests which would protest against a
reciprocity in which they would see an
injury to themselves.
/is u matter oi course v.anauu wuuiu
Insist on lower duties on farm and gar
dent products. Against this concession
all the American farmers anywhere
near the boundary line between the
two countries would protest. They
would tell of their losses if the cheaper
vegetables, eggs and poultry of the
Canadians came into competition with
their products. These farmers are not
without influence in Congress. While
the mine owners of Ohio and Indiana
would favor free trade in coal, East
ern mine owners who do not wish to
have to compete with Nova Scotia coal
in New England would object to it.
The manufacturing interests as a ruio
would look kindly on reciprocity, but
other powerful interests would oppose
It.
So until a reciprocity project shall
have been devised which offends no
body the customs duties on Canadian
products are likely to remain as they
are. To get up a scheme which does
not displease somebody is beyond the
power of man.—Chicago Tribune.
Only the Sick Need Medicine.
There are men who believe that all
that is necessary to revise the tariff
is to give a brief time to the cutting
of duties. The country was prosper
ous in 1892 until the defeat of GeE.
Harrison made sweeping tariff re
vision certain. Such sweeping re
vision was made in the Wilson bill,
which the house passed. The Gor
man bill, which became law, saved
the iron and other schedules, but the
certainty of revision along purely
revenue lines wa3 the leading cause
of the panic which followed the in
auguration of Mr. Cleveland. Recov
ery did not come until the passage of
the Dingley law.
With this warning before the coun
try the general revision of the tariff
should be made with the greatest
care. The country is prosperous be
yond precedent. Few people can be
greatly injured by retention of the
present tariff for a season, when labor
is so generally employed and many
lines of manufacture are crowded
with orders. The Pittsburg Dispatch,
an independent Republican paper,
holding conservative views on the
tariff, is right when it says that “tar
iff revision is a medicine; it may do
some good when commerce is un
healthy, but if, in the height of busi
ness vigor, we begin tinkering the
industrial body witn nostrums, it may
very soon reach the condition of bad
health.” The growing sentiment
among Republicans who discuss the
question in Washington is in favor of
submitting the revision to a body of
experts. But, whatever policy may
be adopted, the Republican party will
be united in its support.—Indianapolis
Journal.
Would Stimulate Hostility.
Reciprocity is being urged as a
means of staving off or allaying Euro
pean tariff hostility to the United
States, yet it is more calculated to
stimulate it. Whatever concessions
we make to one nation we must make
to its competitors, or else we shall
have all sorts of trouble. The matter
of tariff would thus be transferred
from congress to the state depart
ment, ar.d constant tinkering would
be the result. If we aro going to
make changes in our tariff rates it
would be far better to make them
direct and have them apply to all
countries, than to begin frittering
away the protection of our industries
piecemeal, with constant disturbance
of trade because of the uncertainties
of the future. The interests that are
behind this movement for extending
the markets for some of our products
at the expense of others are powerful
and apparently have with them a
strong following in the senate, but it
takes a two-thirds vote to ratify a
treaty and here is where they may
fail.—San Jose (Cal.) Mercury.
Humus In the Orchard.
It Is an Important point In farming
to preserve the humus In the soil
where there Is humus and to supply It
where there ip no humus. Humus has
a value distinctive from that of the
fertility It contains. It holds moisture
In the soil and also hold3 some forms
of fertility. To increase It In the or
chard a good way Is to grow legumes
of some sort and plow them under at
stated seasons. Not only does the cul
tivator thus Increase the humus In the
soil, but the nitrogen Is increased as
It has been caught from the air by
these plants. Some follow the prac
tice of not plowing or spading under
the green crop, but of mowing and
leaving it on the ground. But to our
mind this is a very Inferior way of get
ting the good of the decaying humus.
The air must in that case rob the crop
mown of a part of Its fertility, espe
cially the volatile portions. Moreover
the roots In the ground cannot get
hold of this decaying vegetation, and
we see little chance of their benefit
ting by It We believe that by all
means the crop should be turned un
der in some way. The soil will then
grow more perfect In mechanical
structure from year to year and the
roots will always be able to get Into
touch with the humus and the fertility
and moisture contained In It.
Spraying on Windy Days.
Prof. W. J. Green, horticulturist of
the Ohio Experiment station, says:
"Choose a day for spraying with crude
petroleum when evaporation Is rapid,
aa greater injury Is done In damp than
In drying weather. If the sun shines
and the wind is blowing, all the bet
ter. A light wind Is not advantageous
but a brisk or high wind assists op
erations materially. When there Is
no wind, begin at the top of the tree,
spraying around the tree, and work
downward rather than upward. Avoid
double applications, such as may re
sult by spraying up and down the
tree. If the wind is brisk, hold the
nozzle high and let the material drift
through the trees. In this way trees
some distance away may be covered
almoBt as well as those near by. The
operator must shift his position and
change tho height of the nozzle as ex
perience shows to be necessary. When
the wind changes, another application
must be made on the other side of
the trees. There is less danger of
overspraying In a high wind than
when the air is calm, but there is also
a greater probability of missing parts
of trees.
Wood Ashes for Fruit Plantations.
Where wood ashes can be obtained
they will usually be found to be of
considerable value as a source of pot
ash and phosphoric acid. They are
especially good on the strawberry
patch, if used in moderate quantities.
Tht.r value will depe-d on a number
of things, chief of which is the kind
of wood from which they were made.
Some trees have only five or six per
cent of potash In the ash, while trees
like the elm, are very rich in potash,
the ash being sometimes a3 high as 25
per cent in potash. One ton of wood
ashes should contain not less than 100
pounds of potash, which at five cents
per pound is worth $5.00, while the
phosphorus itcontains should be worth
in the neighborhood of another dollar.
This makes a value of $600 for the ton
of ashes. This, of course, applies to
unleached ashes. Leaching very ma
terially decreases the value of ashes,
as It removes a large proportion of the
potash. Ashes also contain lime, which
is of value on many soils.
Manure Strawberries in Advance of
Planting.
Where possible strawberry ground
should be thoroughly fertilized the
year before putting in the plants. This
should be done in the case of making
new beds. It is now time to be look
ing after that phase of strawberry
growing. Plow the ground now in
which are to be set strawberry plants
next year. Fertilize it heavily and
plow in the mpnure. It will rot by
spring, when the ground should be
again pulverized. If the manure is
rotted by fall, the ground may be then
reworked to incorporate more thor
oughly the fiber in the manure. Where
old beds are to be fertilized, the ma
nure can be scattered in the spaces
between the rows now, and then
spaded or cultivated in. It is possible
to overdo the matter of fertility and
cause the production of foliage rather
than berries. There is, however, less
danger in doing this than of feeding
the plants too little.
Tree Labels.
A good way to make a label that
will last for years is to use a pine
strip, painting it with white lead. Be
fore the lead is dry write the name of
the tree on the tag with a lead pencil.
The plumbago and the oil will com
bine to form an indellible inscription
that will be good for years. Many of
the little tags that come with new
trees are so badly written that the
names are effaced in a few months, or
the iron wire rusts and the tags drop
off. Tags should be fastened to trees
with copper wire. To allow a tree to
go untagged may cause all kinds of
complications in the future. The mat
ter is worth attending to at the first
opportunity, and if the opportunity
does not come of itself it should be
made.
I Close inbreeding should be avoided.
