By JOHN R. MUSICK,
iatlnr 'of "Mjnttrioui Mr. Noward,” "Tb»
Dark Strangar,” "Charite Altcndala'*
Doubts,” Etc.
Copyright. 18*7, by Boaaar Bossss** Sosa.
Ail rtgbtaaaaarrad.
CHAPTER IX.—(Continued.)
“Why have you lived so long In
Alaska?”
“I could not get away,” was the
answer. “Yours is the only face I
have seen since I left my friends, the
Indians, save those who held me
captive.”
“And you have escaped?”
“Yes.”
“Then come with us to the camp
on the Klondyke.”
“Klondyke—I’ve heard of it; they
often talk about It when they think
me asleep, but I do not always sleep
when I seem to.”
Paul was filled with delight, for
here was a chance to unravel the
mystery in which he was Involved.
Another silence fell on the group,
broken by Paul asking;
“Do you know a miner named
tilum?"
“Glum—Glum—no.”
“Glum Ralston.”
The old man again shook his head,
declaring he had never Known such a
person. Paul was disappointed. From
what Glum Ralston had told him he
was confident that this mysterious
hermit of the woods was the long
lost captain who had followed the
Indians to the place where they said
gold in great quantities was found.
But when the mysterious hermit
disclaimed any knowledge of him at
all he was quite as far away from
the solution of the problem as he
had been before.
Next morning the party resumed
their march guided by the sun, which
shone a portion of the day. Paul
and the hermit were constantly to
gether, and hourly grew more and
more friendly, until, as the noble
nature of the hermit unfolded itself,
Paul came to love him. He was
known to the hermit by his sobriquet
of Crack-lash, for he had been called
by no other name since his arrival
in Alaska.
Paul was hourly entwining him
self about the rugged heart of the old
m&n. One night when they had
halted aDd the Indians were building
a fire for the night the hermit said:
“Crack-lash, you impress me
strangely. I don’t know why, but I
have grown to love you as if you
were my nearest relative. When my
own dear boy grows up to manhood
- I could only wish that he would make
' as noble a man.”
Paul, deeply impressed with the
old man’s sad story, expressed a hope
that he would soon be able to leave
Alaska and reach his home, and that
his wife and child might yet be alive
to welcome him.
Their stock of provisions were run
ning short. One day the Indians
came on the trail of a moose and
were anxious to start on its trail.
Paul gave them permission to go,
while he and the hermit kindled the
fire and prepared to make themselves
comfortable for the night.
The prisoner as usual sat in sullen
silence, with his back against a tree
and his eyes fixed on the fire. Paul
and the hermit sat engaged in earn
est conversation. The former was
talking in a low tone, telling how he
had been robbed by the prisoner and
three others, and followed them into
tno forest. He was in the midst of
, his narrative when two objects sud
> denly appeared before them, each
with a Winchester rifle and said:
“Surrender or you are dead men.”
• Resistance was useless; they were
prisoners almost before they knew it.
CHAPTER X.
Paul Learns That Laura Is In Alaska.
"He, he, he!” chuckled Ned Padgett,
rubbing his hands gleefully at seeing
the tables turned. "You hove in
sight, mates, in good time. Must ‘a’
had fair winds.”
Paul had no difficulty in making
out the two men, companions of the
third, whom he had met on other oc
casions. As these were the men who
had robbed him and whom he and
old Glum had chased in the forest,
. there was little mercy to expect from
them. With thongs of seal-skin Paul
and the hermit were quickly tied hard
and fast, and told they must move on
before the Indians returned.
As it was dark and the snow falling
rapidly, there was little danger of
even the Indians following on their
trail, shrewd as they were in such
experiences.
The night was dark and the snow
falling, so it was difficult traveling. A
atrip of walnus hide was tied about
the arms of each above their elbows
and fastened about their backs. They
were heavily loaded, and threatened
with the knotted stick which Ned car
ried in his hand when they staggered
under their heavy loads.
On, on and on they staggered
through the darkness and over the
uneven ground. At last Paul, utterly
exhausted, sank down at the root of
a tree.
“Get up! Go on!” cried one is! their
captors.
“I cannot.”
“Ye lie!” cried Padgett and raised
his club.
But one of his companions quickly
Interposed with:
"Hold on, Ned. Don’t be a fool,
now, and throw away every chance
we have.”
"What ye goin’ t’ do?” asked Ned.
“We’re too far away for the Met
lakahtlans to overtake us. so we will
go into camp and wait till mornin’.”
y A roaring fire was built against the
side of a great stone which reared its
snow-capped head a hundred feet into
the air.
Paul's pack was removed from his
back and he laid on a blanket in
front of the Are witn the hermit by
his side.
The rascal named Morris came to
the old man’s side and said:
“You said you could not give up
that secret if you wished.”
“I did."
“What do you mean?”
“It is lost.”
Morris stared at him for a moment
with wide open eyes and gasped:
“I don’t understand you, (lap; you
are talkin’ in riddles.”
"I care very little whether you un
derstand ma or not,” the old man de
fiantly answered. “The secret is lost.
It was written in cipher on a walrus
hide and the walrus hide is lost.”
It was some time before the idea
could get through the thick skulls of
the ex-sailors, but when they came
to fully comprehend the loss they
roared like madmen. Ned seized his
knotted stick and swore he would
brain them both, but his more cool
companion interfered, saying:
“It may all be a trick. After all it
may be only a trick to throw us off
the trail. If we decide for the old
cu38 to pass in his checks, let it be
done deliberately and give him time
to reflect”
So Padgett decided to let them live
and trust to some chance to reveal
the hiding place of the money. Paul
had heard the above conversation be
tween their captors and waiting for
an opportunity to speak with the her
mit when he would not be overheard
by them, whispered:
“Is the walrus hide you referred to
the one left In the cavern where you
took me?”
“Yes.”
"I took it.”
“You?” There was an expression
on the old man’s face almost fierce
as he asked the question.
“Yes, I took it.”
“What did you do with it?”
“Gave it to the miner who was with
me before I fell from the precipice and
whom I found after leaving the cav
ern. He said he had seen it before.”
"Where?"
“The Indians who had enticed his
captain away in search of gold had
some such hide, only there had been
painting added to it since.”
The hermit turned, and fixing his
great, earnest eyes on him in aston
ishment, asked:
"His captain—had he been a sail
or?”
“Yes, sir.”
“In what seas?”
‘’Almost all over the world, but hiS
last voyage was in a sealing schooner
to St. Paul Island, Alaska, and this
coast."
“What was this sailor’s name?”
“He is called old Glum.”
"No other name?”
“I believe Glum Ralston is his
name, but after all his real name, I
don’t think, is known. In this coun
try nearly everybody goes by some
nickname, and I fancy that Glum Ral
ston wa3 only a nickname.”
“Might have been Jack Ralston.”
“Well, since you mention it, I be
lieve I once heard him say his real
name was Jack Ralston; however, I
will not be sure.”
The hermit was very calm. Paul
waited a long time for him to answer,
but the old man was silent as the
grave. Then two of their captors came
near where they were sitting, and
they dared not talk anymore.
Their journey was very painful and
difficult. Grown desperate, Paul had
determined to escape from their cap
tors even if he had to kill them.
One day they reached a great,
gloomy cavern which extended to an
unfathomable depth in the earth.
Their captors had pine knots on the
wall about the cavern, and lighting
two of these went back to where
there were piles of dead grass and
a table of stone on which lay a pack
of greasy cards. Here they took up
their abode.
Several days passed, and then Mor
ris and Padgett left the cavern in
charge of Tom Ambrose, who tied
the prisoners every night, established
a deadline in the cavern in daytime,
and swore he would shoot the first
one who attempted to cross it.
Two or three weeks had elapsed, for
in that dungeon night and day were
one, when the two men came back
and with them another -whom Morris
seemed to have known. He intro
duced the newcomer to Tom Ambrose
as a friend fresh from San Francisco.
Padgett took Paul to where the
stranger sat on a musk ox hide and
the latter asked:
“Is your name Paul Miller.”
“It is.”
“Are you from Fresno, California?"
“I am.”
“Do you know Laura Kean?”
“I do; what of her? His whole
frame was trembling with anxiety and
emotion.”
“She is in Alaska. Just landed a
few days ago at Juneau in company
with Mr. Theodore Lackland.”
“It is a lie—a lie!” roared Paul, be
side hiipself with rage and mortifica
tion. “It’s a lie and I will crowd it
down your throat!”
Before anyone knew what he in
tended he had his informant by the
throat and hurled him to the ground.
The guards came to the relief of
their companion. Paul was quickly
torn away from him and his hands
bound. He lay upon the dead grass
piled in the cavern. His mind was in
a whirl and he kept saying to him
self:
“Can it be possible? No, no, It is
not possible. The whole world may
be false, but Laura is not. Come to
Alaska in company with that man—
no, it is not true.”
A thousand tumultuous emotions
were stirring his breast as he lay
on the dried grass, striving to per
suade himself that after all this was
some horrible dream. The man whom
he had assaulted in company with
Padgett and Morris approached him.
Morris handed Paul a letter in the
well-known handwriting of Laura
Kean. It was dated at Juneau and
addressed to Paul's mother in Fresno.
The letter was brief, saying she had
just arrived, and would rest a day or
two before proceeding farther.
“Isn’t that evidence?” asked Morris.
“Yes; but she did not come with
him.”
“,Oh no; he came on another ship.”
Then he lied when he said they
came together.”
Morris laughed a cold, sardonic
laugh, and in a voice that seemed to
have all the evil of a demon in it,
answered:
"Though they came on different
ships from America, there is but one
train going to the Klondyke and both
will be in that train. The chances are
she knows no one but him, and you
know Lackland’s feelings towards the
girl. When he starts to win he wins;
he’s got millions to work with, and if
it’s necessary to buy the entire pack
train off he can do it.”
Paul Miller groaned aloud, but
made no answer. He realized how
great her danger and how uterly hope
less he was to aid her.
"Now you san save her," said Mor
ris.
"Save her? My Heaven, how?
What other infernal scheme have you
on hand?"
"You were overheard talking with
the old man about a walrus hide. From
what you said it was understood you
knew something about it. If you will
give us information that will lead to
finding it, you shall be given your lib
erty and be taken to this young lady,
Laura Kean."
“I cannot,” groaned Paul.
“Why.”
"I don’t know where it is.”
“What did you do with it?” asked
Morris, his face expressing the deep
est concern.
“I gave it to another. Where he is
or what he has done with it I do not
know.”
A look of disappointment swept
over the faces of the captors at this
announcement. They retired to near
the entrance of the cavern and there
held a consultation.
“It’s all a pack of lies,” cried Pad
gett. “We’ve been twenty years in
these woods waitin’ t’ grab that pile,
an’ no nearer to it now than before
Knock out their brains an’ go away
is what I say.”
Tom Ambrose, though equally as
much a villain as his companion,
urged moderation. During all the
years the unprincipled rascals had
struggled to get possession of their
captive’s secret, Tom had acted as a
brake to fiery Ned's temper.
“We have a hold on the old man,”
one of the plotters at last declared.
“He can be made to tell where the
gold is cached.”
“But he don’t know.”
“He does know. He must know.”
"Well, what good’ll that do? Hain’t
we been the last eighteen or twenty
years tryin’ to open the hatches o'
the old capen, who’s as close-mouthed
as a clam? We’ve threatened t’ hang
him—done everything any one kin, but
it’s all no use.”
“We got a stronger pull now than
ever.”
“What is it?”
“Come here.”
His companions gathered about him
and he spread his arms around their
shoulders and began to reveal the
plan which emanated from his won
derful brain—a plan that was diabol
ical, but promised success.
(To be continued.)
RACIAL FEUDS IN EUROPE.
Antagonism Engendered Between
Prussians and Poles.
Hardly a day passes but the news
papers contain striking evidence of
the antagonistic spirit which is being
engendered between the Poles and
the Prussians. Last week it came to
the ears of the publishers of a Polish
paper circulating in Westphalia that
one of their compositors was about
to marry a German girl. They con
sidered that this stamped him as a
traitor to Poland, and although he
had served them faithfully for many
years they dismised him on the spot.
A large number of Poles work in the
Westphalia coal mines, and in order
to further the amalgamation of the
races the authorities have issued
regulations to the effect that no per
son shall be employed underground
who is not proficient in the German
language. The Poles obstinately re
fuse to know a word of German when
they happen to be called up to make
statements in public.
A few days ago a Polish miner had
to give evidence in a Westphalia
police court. He was, of course, as
innocent as a newly-born babe of any
knowledge of German until the magis
trate threatened to report the case
to his employers, who would have
been compelled to dismiss him.
Thereupon his German came back,
and he replied fluently to all the
questions put to him. His wife had
been present during the hearing of
the case, and was waiting for him Id
the passage just outside the court
room door. As soon as he appeared
she bitterly reproached him for hav
ing given way, and to render her
arguments more forcible, soundly
boxed his ears. She then kicked him
with such vigor that he had to race
down the corridor into the street tc
escape the attentions of his ‘‘patri
otic” better half.—London Leader.
Novels Read by Statesmen.
The yearly bill for novels supplied
to the library of the French Chambej
of Deputies is usually between $4,000
and $4,500.
TASK IS A HARD ONE
CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS A
DIFFICULT MATTER.
President Roosevelt Realizes the
Gravity of the Situation—Amend
ment to the Constitution Necessary
to Effect Desired Results.
The president says: *‘I believe
firmly that In the end there will have
to be an amendment to the constitu
tion of the nation conferring addi
tional power upon the federal govern
ment to deal with corporations. To
get that will be a matter of difficulty
and a matter of time.”
The last sentence shows that the
president Is aware of the fact that to
amend the constitution, even to reach
an end desired by a considerable
majority of the people, is no light
task. It will be necessary for the ad
vocates of the amendment the presi
dent believes necessary to overcome
the resistance of corporate Interests
which prefer state to federal rule; to
overcome the state pride which will
bid the states retain Jurisdiction over
the corporations which are their own
creatures; and to reconcile conserva
tive slow moving elements in the
community to a new departure—to a
greater centralization of the powers
of government. John Adams said of
the national constitution that it waB
extorted from "the grinding necessi
ties of a reluctant people.” It may
require a similar pressure to extort
an amendment giving to the general
government the control over corpora
tions it is proposed to bestow upon it.
If congress were this year, through
a sudden Impulse, to submit to the
states an amendment transferring
from them to the federal govern
ment the Jurisdiction over corpora
tions the amendment would fall far
short of the necessary three-fourths
vote. There are states where no trust
has a home and where trusts are
most unpopular which, influenced by
the habits of thought of a century,
would refuse to give additional power
to the general government. There
are states whose legislatures are so
far subject to corporate influences
that they would refuse ratification
peremptorily. It would take some
thing in the nature of a revolution
to get the assent of states like New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The general reason assigned for
nonconcurrence in the amendment at
this moment would be that the reme
dies which congress can administer
with the constitution as It is have
not been given a sufficient trial. This
is a reason which will appeal strong
ly to many. In all human probability
no amendment can be adopted until
all other measures have been tried
faithfully and tht r failure is beyond
dispute.
The president does not exaggerate
when he says it will be “a matter of
difficulty and a matter of time” to get
the constitutional amendment he de
sires. Many difficulties will be en
countered and much time will be
needed. Federal control of corpora
tions is not a thing of the immediate
future. Probably that is the view
President Roosevelt takes of the mat
ter.—Chicago Tribune.
The West and the Tariff.
Frank M. Eddy, a Republican con
gressman for the seventh Minnesota
district, confirms what the Record
Herald has said as to the sentiment
of western Republicans on the tariff.
He testifies that in his section of the
country there is a very strong feeling
In favor of revision, and he describes
the western idea of a protective tariff
as follows:
"It should not afford protection to
monopoly, that is, to an industry ab
solutely controlled by an individual, a
partnership, a corporation, or a trust,
nor to those industries that reduce
their employes to the conditions they
are protected against, but all inde
pendent industries should receive suf
ficient protection to enable them to
compete on more than even terms
with similar ones in foreign countries.
Where our present tariff law fails in
any of these particulars, and it does
in many, it should be altered or
amended.”
The idea, it will be observed, is in
no sense destructive of the protective
system, and the congressman adds
that what the western Republicans
want is not a general revision but a
readjustment of those schedules
which give a premium over and above
a reasonable protection. This, we
believe, is commonly desired among
them, and the desire has found ex
pression, as Mr. Eddy notes, in the
declaration of their state conventions.
Construing his just analysis of the
tariff situation with his very san
guine predictions of Republican suc
cess next fall, there is this to be said:
Success if it is attained will be due
in no small degree to the platform
utterances to which he refers. They
have been the only effective answer
to the Democratic demand for revis
ion, and they are everywhere treated
as a party pledge that the tariff will
actually be revised by its friends for
the correction of its abuses, while the
principle of protection is kept invio
late.
The Republican congressmen who
are elected on this pledge will take
their seats a year from next Decem
ber. It would be excellent policy for
the present congress to anticipate
revision, but if it does not a year of
grace is pretty certain to be the limit
of indulgence which the Republican
party will enjoy. For the promises
now made are seriously interrupted,
and the revision sentiment is grow
ing so steadily that the people are
likely to become thoroughly impatient
and to revolt if they are disappointed.
To prevent a secession to the enemies
of protection f.ts friends must give
the ope convincing proof of their
sincerity that Is required by changing
the now unreasonable schedules of
the Dingley law.—Chicago Record
Herald.
Foreign and Domestic Prices.
Volume XIII. of the report of the
Industrial commission tabulates 416
replies received by the commission
bearing on the question of foreign
and domestic prices. The report
says: "The great majority of the
answers Indicated that prices are no
lower abroad than they are for domes
tic consumers, and a considerable
number indicate that foreign prices
are higher.” A few, however, state
that they sell a portion of their goods
abroad lower than at home and the
rensons are as follows:
"Cash payments and large pur
chases In the foreign trade, whereas
the domestic trade is based on credits
and small purchases.
"The drawback or rebate of the
tariff on imported raw material of
goods manufactured for export
“To overcome the tariff of other
countries.
“To secure new markets.
"To hold a market against new
competitors.
“To clear out surplus stock or to
prevent a shut down and increased
cost of production, by keeping mills
running and men employed.
“To get rid of samples and out-of
date goods.
"Because the expense of selling and
advertising is less abroad than at
home.”
These are the reasons attributed
by manufacturers of all countries for
sometimes selling a part of their
stock at a lower price abroad than
at home. It causes no injury to the
domestic consumers and gives added
employment and wages to laborers,
besides keeping the home market
firm and stable and preventing ruin
ous competition in cutting prices.
There is another reason why some
American manufacturers sometimes
sell a portion of their goods at a low
er price abroad, and perhaps the
chief reason. Most of our machinery
or articles produced by machinery are
covered by patents which are exclu
sively controlled and operated in this
country. For example, take agricul
tural implements. It can be shown
that where such articles are sold
more cheaply abroad than at home it
is because of patents. If not covered
by foreign patents it is obviously the
policy to sell in foreign countries at a
price that will discourage production
in those countries.
And yet of the manufacturers of
agricultural Implements reporting to
the Industrial commission, all, with
only one exception, stated that prices
to foreign purchasers are either high
er or no lower than those for domes
tic purchasers. Not one per cent of
our output is sold at a lower price
abroad and only for some special rea
son connected with that particular
consignment.
The Butchers and the Tariff.
“A few days ago the butchers. In
convention assembled, declared In
favor of abolishing the tariff on cattle
and meat to the end that this sup
posed shelter for the alleged meat
trust might be removed; but I am dis
posed to think the good farmers of
my state would vote unanimously
against such an experiment. By the
trend of the speeches made at the
butchers’ convention I discover a
sentiment well nigh universally ex
pressed there that meat Is being
monopolized by the great packers.
But I happen to have a tenant out in
Iowa who has a fine bunch of cattle,
on which no packer holds a lien of
any kind, and he writes me that he
is willing to sell them to butchers if
they will pay as much as the pack
ers offer. I am quite sure the people
would as soon buy this meat of the
butchers as of the packers. Thus
there Is afforded a splendid oppor
tunity for any one to make all kinds
of money If he will but give the
farmer as much money for his beeves
and give the people as much beef for
their money.”—Secretary Shaw, at
Morrlsvllle, Vt., Aug. 19, 1902.
Trouble with the Democrats.
On the 29th of July, talking at Bar
Harbor to a New York World man,
William C. Whitney, for many years
one of the most conspicuous members
of the Democratic party, declared his
intention of staying out of politics
forever, and added:
"The trouble is that the Democrats
have no issue and no man."
That is the exact situation of the
Democratic party to-day, simply and
solely because of the five years of un
equaled prosperity that have followed
the restoration of the Republican
party to the control of national af
fairs. No man knows this better
than does President Cleveland's sec
retary of the navy.
Few men have better reason for
knowing it, for few indeed have
profited more sumptuously than Wil
liam C. Whitney has in these five
years of protection prosperity. It is
because of the splendid issue—Pros
perity—upon which the Republicans
stand before the country that Mr.
Whitney says "the Democrats have
no issue.” ,
A Better Reason Needed.
“There ought to be some more
tangible reason for such a dangerous
expedient than the existence of a
sentiment in certain localities, now
as always, that demands a reduction
of the tariff on articles there consum
ed and not produced, while it stands
ready to fight to a finish any reduc
tion on the things there produced.”
—Secretary Shaw at Morrlsville, Vt.,
Aug. 19, 1902.
Onion Crop of the United States.
We have no full statistics of the
>n!on crop In the United States later
;han 1899, the year covered by the
"welfth census. In that year the
»ield was over 11,000,000, and the
tcreage was In excess of 47,000. The
'arm value of this crop amounted to
>6,637,418. New York leads as a pro
lucer of onions, the yield that year
5elng 2,177,271 bushels. Ohio followed
with 1,671,442 bushels. Almost one
:hlrd of the entire crop of the coun
try In 1899 was produced In these two
states, their combined output amount
*ng to 3,848,713 bushels, valued at 31.
392,254.
The five states which rank next,
and together produce about one
fourth of the entire crop, are, in the
order of their Importance as produc
ers, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois,
California and Indiana. The combined
product of these five states In 1899
amounted to 3,098,807 bushels, valued
at $1,528,776. No state other than
those mentioned above produced as
much as a half million bushels. Con
necticut Is credited with over 400,000
bushels; Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and
Wisconsin each raised upwards of
300.000 bushels; Iowa, Missouri, Min
nesota, Oregon, Vlrgii.la and Colorado
each produced a crop of upwards of
200.000 bushels, and the combined
product of the group of the ten states
last enumerated amounted to 2,814,
320 bushels, or almost 24 per cent of
the entire crop of the country. It is
thus seen that about 82 per cent of
the onion crop of the United States
In 1899 was the product of 17 states,
the remaining 18 per cent being dis
tributed among 32 states and terri
tories.
I i
Rich Land.
The man that dreams of farming
always imagines himself owning rich
land. There Is no other kind thal
It 1b a pleasure to till. There is no
other kind that will yield a profli
from the operation of tillage. The
richness of land regulates the value
of the farm both In the market and
In the operation of farming. Yet In
♦he face of this well-known fact, mil
lions of acres of our most valuable
and productive land have been al
lowed to deteriorate In fertility. The
great problem of how to bring them
back to their former state of fertility
Is one with which the best of scien
tists are working. It Is not practical
for a man to buy enough stable ma
nure or commercial fertilizers to at
once bring back his land to Its origin
al state. A few facts In relation to
the composition of the soil helps us
In determining the best course to
pursue. One of these facts Is thal
the poverty of the land comes prin
cipally from the exhaustion of avail
able plant food and not from the ex
haustion of the plant food that is not
at once available. In the process of
years the new unavailable plant food
becomes available, some each year,
We have but to put back on the soil
year by year as much as we take oft
In the way of fertilizer to gradually
bring back the land to a rich condi
tion, by the annual increase of avail
able plant food from natural causes.
This is a slow process, but It Is far
better than no process of recupera
tion.
Seed Wheat. ?
Much of the trouble with raising
wheat comes with the quality and
condition of the wheat we sow. Some
forget that In varieties there has dur
lng the past few years been great Im
provement. At various experiment
stations Investigations have been car
ried on that have shown that soma
varieties are worth double what
others are. A few varieties have
given large yields year after year on
various kinds of soils and under all
conditions. Yet this Information Is
being taken advantage of but slowly.
It will pay to have good seed and the
proper amount per acre. Care must
be exercised to keep out the impuri
ties, which are frequently the cause
of great crops of weeds In the wheat
field. Well-cleaned seed only should
be used. Seed containing weed seeds
should not be purchased at any price,
as the weed seeds will take more
nourishment away from the growing
wheat than the whole cost of the seed
will amount to. Every farmer should
know how to clean his own seed and
should do It where necessary.
Harrowing Wet Ground.
Ground should not be harrowed
when It Is too wet. Only the Skillful
farmer can tell when It Is too wet.
One farmer follows the practice of
taking a handful of soil and work
ing it into a ball. If the ball holds
together he considers the soil too wet
to be worked. The harrowing should
be done when there is sufficient mois
ture In it to keep it from being very
hard on the surface but should also
be dry enough so that when harrowed
the particles of soil will fall away
from each other. The time during
which ground is just right for har
rowing is of short duration. This is
especially true of clayey land. On
sandy soil there is little trouble in
harrowing at any time, especially if
the soil be very sandy.
It Is estimated by experts that It
:osts about $30 per acre to raise sugar
beets. This is on account of the large
iinount of handwork that must be
jivon to grow beets of proper site and
shape. _. ■
