Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1906)
r ~ The Return of Sherlock Holmes j BY A. CONAN DOYLE. Copyright. 1903, Copyri|ht. 1905, by A, Conan »»oylo and Collier'■ Weekly. ^^^^^^^iiyMtClure^’killip^aCo^^^ Ill—THE ADVENTURE OF THE DANCING MAN.—Continued. “Yes, I saw him at his work. Hut I will tell you everything in order. When I got back after my visit to you. the very first thing I saw next morning was a fresh crop of dancing men. They had been drawn in chalk upon the black wooden door of the tool house, which stands beside the lawn In full view of the front windows. I took an exact copy, and here it Is." He un folded a paper and laid it upon the table. Here is a copy of the heiro glyphlcs: tvm ty case to add to your collection, Wat son,” said he. I expect that we shall be able to go down to Norfolk tomor row, and to take our friend some very definite news as to the secret of his annoyance.” I confess that I was filled with curi osity, but I was aware that Holmes liked to make his disclosures at hts own time and In his own way, so I waited until It should suit him to take me Into his confidence. Hut there was a delay In that an swering telegram, and two days of Im patience followed, during which Holmes ji i j i a y\*i ' Excellent!" said Holmes. "Excel- pricked up his ears at every ring of the lent! Pray continue." bell. On the evening of the second “When I had taken the copy. I there came a letler from Hilton ('ubitt. rubbed out the marks, but, two morn- All was quiet with him, save that a Ings later, a fresh Inscription had ap- long Inscription had appeared that peared. I have a copy of It here:" morning upon the pedestal of the sun Holmes rubbed his hands and chuck led .with delight. "Our material Is rapidly accumulat ing," said he. “Three days later a message was left scrawled upon paper and placed under a pebble upon the sun dial. Here It Is. The characters are, as you see, exactly the same as the Inst one. After that I determined to lie In wait, so I got out my revolver and I sat up In my study, which overlooks the lawn and garden. About two In the morning I waB seated by the window, all being dark save for the moonlight outside, when I heard steps behind me, and there was my wife In her dressing gown. She Implored me to come to bed. I told her frankly that I wished to see who It was who played such ab surd tricks upon us. She answered that It was some senseless practical Joke, and that I should not take any notice of It. “ 'If It really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and I, and so avoid this nuisance.’ “ 'What, be driven out of our own house by a practical Joker?' said I. 'Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.’ “ ‘Well, come to bed,’ said she, 'and we can discuss It In the morning.’ "Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her face grow whiter yet In the moonlight, and her hand tightened upon my shoul der. Something was moving In the shadow of the tool house. I saw a dark, creeping figure which crawled around the corner and squatted In front of the door. Seizing my pistol, I was rushing out, when my wife threw her arms around me and held me with convul sive strength. I tried to throw her off, but she clung to me most desperately. At last I got clear, but by the time I had opened the door and reached the house the creature was gone. Ho had left a trace of his presence, however, for there on the door was the very same arrangement of dancing men which had already twice appeared, and which I have copied on that paper. There was no other sign of the fellow anywhere, though I ran all over the grounds. And yet the amazing thing Is that he must have been there all the time, for when I examined the door again In the morning he had scrawled somo more of his pictures under the line which I had already seen." “Have you that fresh drawing?" "Yes, It Is very short, but I made a •copy of It, and here It Is.” Again he produced a paper. The new <lance was In this form: •rrj tt >2J\ IAJ ■"Tell me.” said Holmes—and I could ■see by his eyes that he was much ex cited—"was this a mere addition to the first, or did It appear to be entirely separate?” "It was on a different panel of the ■door.” "Excellent! This Is far the most Important of all for our purpose. It fills me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton C'ubltt, please continue your most In teresting statement.” "I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry with my wife that night for having held me back when I might have caught the skulking rascal. She said that she feared that I might come to harm. For an Instant It had crossed my mind that perhaps what she really feared was that he might come to harm, for I could not doubt that she knew who this man was, and what he meant by these strange signals. But there is a tone In my wife’s voice, Mr. Holmes, and a look In her eyes which forbid doubt, and I am sure that It was Indeed my own safety that was In her mind. There’s the whole case, and now I want yoM- advice as to what I ought to do. My own Inclination Is to put half a dozen of my farm lads in the shrubbery, and when this fellow comes again to give him such a hiding that he will letive us In peace for the fu ture.” “I fear It Is too deep a case for such simple remedies,” said Holmes. "How long can you stay In Iondon?” ”1 must go back today. I wou < 1 not leave my wife alone at night for any thing. She Is very nervous and begged me to come back.” ”1 dare say you are right. But if you could have stopped. I might pos sibly have been able to return with you In a day or two. Meanwhile you will leave me these papers, and 1 think that it is very likely that I shall be able to pay you a visit shortly and to throw some light upon your case.” Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm professional manner until our visitor had left us, althdugh It was easy for me, who knew him so well, to see that he ,was profoundly excited. The mo ment that Hilton Cubit t's broad back had disappeared through the door my comrade rushed to the table, laid out all the slips of paper containing danc ing men in front of him, and threw himself into an intricate and elaborate calculation. For two hours l watched him as he covered sheet after sheet of paper with figures and letters, so completely absorbed in his task that he had evidently forgetten my pres ence. Sometimes he was making progress and whistled and sang at his work: sometimes tie was puzzled, and would sit for long spells with a fur vowed brow and a vacant eye. Finally he sprang from his chair with a cry of satisfaction, and walked up and down the room rubbing his hands to gether. Then he wrote a long telegram upon a cable form. “If my answer to this is as I hope, you will have a pret / l J V dial. He enclosed a copy of it, which is Ik .v reproduced: Holmes bent over this grotesque frieze for some minutes, and then sud denly sprang to his feet with an ex clamation of surprise and dismay. His face was haggard with anxiety. "We have let this affair go far enough." said he. “Is there a train to North Wnisham tonight?" I turned up the time table. The last had Just gone. "Then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in the morning,’' said Holmes. “Our presence is most urgently needed. Ah! here is our ex pected cablegram. One moment, Mrs. Hudson, there may be an answer. No, that is quite as I expected. This mes 'V Lu ^ 'f/ f ' /S\ L i /Ss sage makes It even more essential that we should not lose an hour In letting Hilton Cubitt know now matters stand, for it a singular and a dangerous web in which out simple Norfolk squire is entangled." So, indeed it proved, and ns I come to the dark conclusion of u story which had seemed to me to be only childish and bizarre, I experience once again the dismay and horror with which I was filled. Would that I had some brighter ending t.> communicate to my readers, hut these are the chronicles of fact, and I must follow to their dark crisis the strange chain of events which for some days made Riding Thorpe Manor a household word through the length and breadth of England. We had hardly alighted at North Walsham, and mentioned the name of our destination, when the station mas ter hurried towards us. "I suppose that you are detectives from Rondon?” said he. A look of annoyance passed over Holmes’ face. “What makes you think such a thing?" "Because Inspector Martin from Nor wich lias just passed through. But maybe you are the surgeons. She’s not dead—or wasn’t by last accounts. You may be in time to save her yet— though it may be for the gallows.” Holmes’ brow was dark with anxiety. "We are gojpg to Riding Thorpe Manor,” said he. “but we have heard nothing of what has passed there.” “It’s a terrible business,’’ said the station master. “They are shot, both Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She shot him and then herself—so the ser vants say. He’s dead and her life is despaired of. Dear, dear, one of the oldest families In the county or Nor folk. and one of the most honored." Without a word Holmes hurried to a carriage, und during the long seven miles' drive he never opened his mouth. Seldom have I seen him so utterly de spondent. He had been uneusy during all our journey from town, and I had observed that he turned over the morn ing papers witli anxious attention, but now this sudden realization of his worst fears left him in a blank melan choly. He leaned back in his seat lost in gloomy speculation. Y'et there was much around to Interest us. for we were passing through as singular a country side as any In England, where a few scattered cottages represented the population of today, whtleon every hand enormous square towered churches bristled up from the flat, green landscape and told of the glory and prosperity of old East Anglia. At last the violet rim of the German ocean appeared over the green edge of the Norfolk coast, and the driver pointed with his whip to two old brick and timber gables which projected from a grove of trees. "That’s Riding Thorpe Manor,” said he. As we drove up to the portlcoed front door, I observed in front of it, be side the tennis lawn, the black tool house and the pedestalled sun dial with which we had such strange asso ciations. A dapper little man. with a quick, alert manner and a waxed mus tache. had just descended from a high dog cart. He introduced himself as Inspector Martin, of the Norfolk con • c , a. Needed One. Manager—We have got to get another i understudy. I Star—What for? i Manager—For the audience. It didn't j show up at all last night. •I [ stabulary, and he was considerably as ! tonlshed when he heard the name of tny companion. i “Why. Mr. Holmes, the crime was only committed at three this morning. How could you hear of it in London and get to the spot as soon as I?” “I anticipated it. I came in the hop; of preventing it." "Then you have Important evidence, of which we are ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple.” “I have only the evidence of the | dancing men,” said Holmes. "I will explain 'he matter to you later. Mean while, since It is too late to prevent this tragedy, I am very- anxious that T should use the knowledge which J possess in order to Insure that Justice be done. Will you associate me In your investigations, or will you prefei that I should act Independently?" "I should be prouu to feel that we were acting together, Mr. Holmes," said the inspector, earnestly. “In that case I should be glad tc hear the evidence and to examine the premises without an instant of un necessary del iy.” Inspector Martin had the good sense to allow my friend to do things in hie own fashion, and contented himseit with carefully noting the results. The local surgeon, an old, white haired man, had Just com£ down from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt’s room, and he reported that her Injuries were serious, but not necessarily fatal. The bullet had passed through the front of her brain, and It would probably be some time before she could regain consciousness. On the question of whether she had been shot or had shot herself, he would not venture to express any decided opinion. Certainly the bullet had been discharged at very close quarters. There was only the one pistol found in the room, two barrels of which had been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubltt had been shot through the heart. It was equally conceivaiile that he had shot her and then himself, or that she had been the criminal, for the revolver lay upon the floor midway between them. “Has he been moved?” asked Holmes. I “We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her lying wounded upon the floor.” “How long have you been her doctor?” “Since four o'clock." "Anyone else?” "Yes. the constable here." “And you have touched nothing?” "Not hing.” “You have acted with great discre« tlon. Who sent for you?” "The housemaid. Saunders.” "Was it she who gave the alarm?” “She and Mrs. King, the cook.” V ^ r N*/- \v A < /• C « ' “Where are they now?" “In the kitchen, I believe.” "Then I think we had better hear their story at once.” The old hall, oak paneled, and high ' windowed, had been turned into a court of investigation. Holmes sat In a great, ! old fashioned chair, his inexorable eyes gleaming out of ills haggard face. I could read in them a set purpose to de- i vote his life to this quest until the client whom he had failed to save , should at last be avenged. The trim Inspector Martin, the old, grey headed country doctor, myself, and a stolid village policeman made up the rest of 1 that strange company. The two women told their stfltfy • clearly enough. They had been aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed a ! minute later by a second one. They I slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs. King ! had rushed in to Saunders. Together they had descended the stairs. The door of the study was open, and a candle was burning on the table. Their master lay upon his face in the center of the room. He was quite dead. Near the window his wife was crouching, her head leaning against the wall. She was horribly wounded, and the side of her face was red with blood. She breathed heavily, but was incapable of saying anything. The passage, as well as the room, was full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was certainly shut and fastened upon the inside. Both women were positive upon the point. They had at once sent for the doctor and for the constable. Then, with the aid of the groom and the stable bov they had conveyed their Injured mistress to her room. Both she and her husband had occupied the bed. She was clad in her dress—he in his dressing grown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in the study. So far as they knew there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife. They had always looked upon them as a very united couple. These were the main points of the servants' evidence. In answer to In- ! spector Martin, they were clear that ! every door was fastened upon the in- | side, and that no one could have es- 1 caped from the house. In answer to Holmes, they both remembered that they were conscious of the smell of powder from the moment that they ! ran out of the rooms upon the top ' floor. “I commend that fact very care fully to your attention," said Holmes to his professional colleague. "And now I think we are in a position to undertake a thorough examination of the room.” I The study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three sides with books, and with a writing table facing an ordinal • window, which looked out upon the garden. Our first at tention was given to the body of the unfortunate squire, whose huge frame lay stretched across the room. Ills disordered dress showed that he had been hastily aroused from sleep. The bullet bad been fired at him from the front, and had remained in his body after penetrating the heart. His death had certainly been instantaneous and painless. There was no powder marking either upon his dressing gown or on his hands. According to the country surgeon, the lady had stains upon her face, but none upon her hand. (Continued Next Week) Good Recipes. Fine Frosting Without Eggs—To make frosting or filling for cakes with out eggs boil a cup of sugar and & cup of milk together until it will make a soft ball in water, remove from the stove, flavor, and stir until it thickens, then spread on the cake or layers. For chocolate filing, use brown sugar. Two cups of sugar and a half cup of milk should be used for both frosting and filling. This makes a beautiful soft frosting when just right.—Aunt Han nah. Sponge Cake—Two >'ups of sugar. 7 eggs. 1 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of bak ing powder, pinch of salt and 1 tea spoon of lemon extract. Whip sugar and eggs together until thick and white, add flour, sifted with powder and salt, then the extract. Mix together quickly, linke in tin, lined with buttered paper, in hot oven, 35 mlnutts. Very good.— A Lassie, i RIFAT HUSSEIN BEY. By Anatole Heurteau*. It was Rifat Hussein Bey’s third day In office as chief of the sultan's secret service at Stair*bul. He sat In his mag nificent office and looked at an Imposing stack of papers plied up on his large mahogany desk. He did not feel like working and stepped over to the window, lit a clgur et and looked out Into the courtyard, where soldiers and zapthics walked lolemrily up and down awaiting his or lers. Rifat sighed as the memory of the Beautiful rose garden which he had looked into from his modest office in Aleppo came back. There were no roses here, he thought, though plenty sf thorns in his new position. All, the old secretary, opened the Soor, made a deep, respectful salaam and handed his chief a card. "Bet her come in,” Rifat ordered gruilly. With the languid, slow movements which become a man of his high dig nity he arose to meet his visitor. But Duddenly his eye3 sparkled, the color shot up into his cheeks as he looked upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She sank gracefully down in the low, :omfortable chair which he politely of fered her and seemed very much at ease, not the least perturbed or bash ful. ”Oh, these Frankish women,” Hussein Bey thought. He looked at her intently as she sat there smiling, and Inhaled with rapture the odor of Beau d’Bspcgne which em anated from her elegant dress. How poor the rose garden at Aleppo seemed now. "You wish to speak to me, madame?" he asked In faultless French. It was a mere bagatelle, a most com monplace and uninteresting story she had to tell, but she told it in the most charming manner, which suggested to him a promenade In the woods In moonlight. "I wonder If I dare,” he asked him self. He thought of his 45 years, his em bonpoint, his red whiskers, his llttla near-sighted eyes, his bald head and last of all—of his wife, Schefika Fannur, who was still at Aleppo, and never sus pected the temptations which surround ed lord and master at Stamboul. "I am sure that this beautiful woman will laugh at me—but I do not care. I will risk it anyway." And he did. An expression of disdain In the beau tiful face of his visitor. A few indig nant words—but ten minutes later Rifat Hussein Bey had her promise to meet him the same evening at 6 in the garden of the Brasserie Romontl Freres. "Not a bad office after all." he said to himself as she had left him with a pressure of her hand, which prom ised moro than many words. "I am sure I shall like Stamboul very much.” | Once more he opened the window, but j he did not sigh for his rose garden any j longer. The cold fresh air from the Bosporus, however, sobered him some what and he began to regret his rash ness. “-n It," he muttered, "I must be more careful about tliis woman, who may be nothing but the tool of my ene mies who are jealous because of my promotion,” He took oft his eyeglasses and pol- | Ished them carefully with his silk hand- j kerchief. "Oh, the devil," he said, have not I all the detectives of Stamboul to find out for me who this woman Is and , whether I run any risk by having any- j thing to do with her.” He pressed a button on his desk and gave orders to tell Mulaslm Munir, Ef fendi to look up the record of Mine. Madeline Cocotte, living at Rue Vene tlk, 26 Pera, and report to him In per son before 5 o’clock the same after noon. Mulaslm (lieutenant) Munir Effendi was famous for his abilities as a detec tive, but as he was poor and lacked the necessary baksehish to convince his su periors of his right to promotion he had now for years in vain been waiting to be made a juesbaschl (captain). After luncheon Rifat Hussein Bey came Into his office with a smiling face. The work seemed like play to him as he went through the immense stack of mall and official reports, but he fin ished without finding any from Munir Effendi. He consoled himself, however, with th« thought that it would arrive In the 2 o’clock mall. Two o’clock came, but no report. Three, 4 and 5 o’clock brought the same disappointment. Hussein Bey chewed his penholder Into shreds in fury. A quarter past 5 he said to himself: "I will not go.” Half past he said: “She Is too beau tiful.” He rushed from the office, called a cab and told the driver to drive as fast as the horses would run to Brasserie Bomontl Freres. When Rifat Hussein Tley came to his office the next morning he found Mula sim Munir EfCendi waiting for him, and when he had admitted him into his private sanctum he found himself list ening to the following official report: "Mine. Madeline Cocotte is the wife of an employe of the firm of Stefanides & Galtanopaulas and mother of a girl of 2 years. Yesterday evening at 6 o’clock sharp Mine. Cocotte arrived at the Brasserie Bomontl Freres, where she seemed to be waiting for somebody. Five minutes after 0 she was Joined by a rather stout gentleman of about 40, baldheaded, with red whiskers and evidently near-sighted, dressed In black Prince Albert coat and wearing the red ribbon of a Turkish order, with whom she left the garden. Together they en tered cab No. 13,186 and were driven to Pera Palace, where they engaged a privato dining room and partook of a dinner, consisting of oysters, en nat urel, potage bisque, ragout a la Riche lieu, poulard de la bresse, salade, aux trulTes and Ice. with one bottle of Chamberttno and two bottles of Clt quot. At half past 11 she left the res taurant alone. The gentleman followed ten minutes later, after having paid the bill of 82 francs.” During the reading of this report by Munir Effendl In the most matter of fact manner the chief of police turned very pale, and when H was over he turned to the Mulaslm with the words: •Y fully recognize your unusual abil ity and will personally see that you are promoted to jues-baschl Immediately. But you will remain silent my .lea; fel low, won't you?” Bible Against Tattooing. At t mariners' bethel a missionary at tacked tatiaoliie. "You sailors disgust is e,” ho said. 1th | your ships ani ladies and anchors and fiaits tattooed all over your arms and hands atm breasts. It Is not only silly to tattoo, it is positively v. lclted and Impious." "Avast there, sky pilot," sel.t an ayed shellback. "Ys can't prove them word* by the Log o' Grace." "But I can though,” said the missionary, quick as u Hash, and ha read from Leviti cus xix, 28: "'Ye shall not make any cuttings In your flesh to: the dead, nor print any ma rks upon you.’ " Good women wotting cn a charity table have a happy way of concealing their hunger. STRAW AND HAY CARRIER. It Is often necessary In some branch of farm work to carry straw or hay or even leaves and chaff for some distance out doors and there Is always the annoyance of Its blowing about. A simple carrier may be easily made with a piece of stout unbleached muslin and two 2x2 scantlings or even lighter material. Have the muslin six feet wide and any convenient length then tack it to the scantling on cither side J All but a space in the middle which is left for the hands. The material to be carried may be loaded on this then the whole thing folded together and easily carried. The appliance is easily made, costs but a trifle and will save much labor and the loss of material. The illustration shows the Idea plainly and portions market A. A., being the spaces left for the hands to carry it by. WORKING POULTRY AND STRAW BERRIES. When one speaks of poultry In connec tion with any low-growing plant most peo ple can see only the scratching birds and the ruined plants but the combination has been and is being profitably carried .out. If one selects one of the larger breeds of hens for this combination the scratching part of the proposition will be reduced to a minimum and if the fowls are not re quired to obtain their entire living from the patch of strawberry plants, they will do comparatively little damage. It is, of course, understood that the fowls are not allowed on the patch until after the fruit has been gathered but from that time until they go into winter quarters they will be \ exceedingly useful for they will take caro ; of all the insects, do little damage in the , way of scratching which can be readily , repaired by going over the plat each day, j and their droppings will add materially to i the richness of the plot. If the plantation j covers a considerable area it will be a good ; plan to have several small colony houses , on the plot so that the hens may have their own quarters and thus work over a | smaller area. The profit from this com- j bination is good and neither will interfere with the other especially if the fowls are raised for egg production. Try it on a ! small scale and increase as experience proves it pays. COSTLY STABLE MANURE. Unquestionably if one can raise the. food i on the farm which is fed to the stock that supplies the manure, stable manure is the most profitable fertilizer to use, but if the manure must be bought and carted a con siderable distance then it is a question if one can afford to use it entirely or even in considerable quantity. Indeed, in the j event of one raising truck in considerable j quantity the commercial fertilizers will | give the best returns. While it is not 1 advised to do away with stable manure entirely, by any means, there are truckers who use little of it relying upon the high grade commercial fertilizers entirely and keeping up the humus in the soil by green manuring. Local conditions must deter mine if this is the most profitable plan but it is true In any case that If a high grade of commercial fertilizer is used and it is suited to the crop it is generally profitable; stable manure to be equally profitable should be from grain fed animals and be raised on the farm or bought at a low price with a short haul. The combination of stable manure at a low price and of high grade fertilizers is probably to be pre ferred to the commercial fertilizer and the green Manuring though this can be only worked out by trying it under local condi tions. The experiments along this line will not, of necessity, be costly and it will cer tainly prove interesting and likely profit able in the end. USING TOO MUCH LIME. Experience has shown that too much 1 lime is often used through the impression that it contains, of itself, considerable I fertilizing value. If, as explained several | weeks ago, It is used with an idea of set- I ting free some of the plant foods in the I soil that is one thing but if the idea is to use it largely for soil acidity then a little will often suffice. Especially on sandy soils is the lime overdone for if used to cor rect soil acidity 01 such soils 25 bushels per acre of slaked lime is generally suffici ent and on htfivy soils double that quan tity or 75 bushels at most is ample. It should be remembered that while the litmus paper test Is generally reliable there are chemicals in the soil which has the same effect on the litmus paper as the acidity of the soil so that the surest way is to test a portion of the plot If the soil is thought to be sour by using lime on it at the rate of 50 bushels per acre and com paring the result in the crop with an equal area not limed. Another season one will know' exactly what to do. PREPARING THE POTATO GROUND All potato growers admit that a soil that is mellow and well-drained is absolutely essential for the best success in potato growing; this is more than half the battle and in this age of insects and bacterial diseases one cannot afford to grow pota toes for market unless he can supply the soli and the soil condition mentioned. The thorough preparation of the seed bed is also Important and the best growers pre pare the soil as thoroughly as they would for wheat. First grade tubers for seed and then constant cultivation to keep the weeds down are the rest of the essentials In successful potato culture. In almost all sections near large markets ptoiato grow ing Is exceedingly profitable and the man with the soil and equipment to raise pota toes will find It profitable to thoroughly study the situation particularly the de mands of the markets nearest him and then go at the work in earnest. RAISING THE EARLY CHICKS. Many pouitrymen experts as well ns novices do well with the incubator but fail to raise a fair proportion of the chicks; to say the least this is discouraging but a little study of the situation should convlne one ttiat the trouble is largely due to too much heat In the brooders. In our expert- i cnee the best way to overcome this is to locate the brooders indoors where they will | not require to be heated to such a degree as they do when the brooders are in an open shed or a not-too-warm poultry house. The cool and damp shed or house together with the practice of permitting the chicks to run out of doors too soon has ' much to do with the groat mortality which exists among chicks raised in brooders. I Then too, many brooders are so con- i structed that much of the heat is at one end while the other portion of the brooder | is nearly cold; as a consequence the chicks . crowd to the warm end and some of them aro smothered while others are literally J roasted. Look well to the temperature of y tho brooder and If It Is faulty In construe- ‘ tlon remedy It at once. OPEN THE STABLE WINDOWS. If the cows have been stabled all winter they aro likely to become uneasy as spring advances and long for out doors. It is an excellent plan to turn them out into shel tered barn yards that are clean and so ar ranged that tho cold spring winds will not blow over them. Givo them some rough age to munch over while they are out. If It is not feasible to turn them out yet then arango the stable so they may have all the fresh air possible without causing the air to blow over them a» they are likely to catch cold. The window arranged so that it may be opened and the opening I covered by the muslin will furnish this air without draught better than anything else. Especially givo the cows sun if it can be done. If there is an open shed on the place facing the sun into which the cows may be turned they will enjoy immensely. This little care Just a few weeks beforo they are turned out to grass will help af fairs wonderfully especially with the cows that aro pregnant. Try it. WEANING CALVES TOO SOON. If the calf is to go to the butcher as soon as possible to market it after it is born the sooner it is weaned the sooner the milk can be used, but even with such a calf a week at nursing is none too much for the good of the cow, if nothing is cared for the calf. This Is especially true if the mother is a heifer for the nursing will greatly allay the fever which the young cow in variably has. If the calf Is to be raised it should nurse for two weeks and have ft's mother's milk for a month or more after it is weaned. Some dairymen furnish the milk of the mother to the calf for as long as three months, being very slow to pro vide anything else In the way of food, and, without doubt, the calf la all the better for this sort of feeding. The weaning time Is a period of trouble for the dairyman for a calf Is quite as hard to wean as a hu man baby, but the job can be accom plished by patience and by patience only. Above all things do not try to force the calf to drink, but get the milk Into Its mouth by some more gentle process. One dairyman we know has a large nipple of rubber arranged so that it will be in the same relative position to tho mouth of the calf as would the nipple of tho mother. This is fastened to a large bag containing tho milk. The head of the calf is placed gently in position, the nipple warmed by rubbing with the hands and gently urged In the mouth of the calf; once It feels the familiar form It is quite likely to begin sucking at once. A half feed Is given It in this way then the nipple Is withdrawn and the fingers dipped in tho milk from a pail are placed in the mouth of the mouth of the calf and thus her attention is gradu ally drawn to the larger supply in the pail and she soon gets tho trick; the plan is well worth trying. THE SPRING POOR STpCK. The man who would get all from his live stock it is possible for them to givo him is the man who feeds and cares for them intelligently. There aro thousands of ani mals that will be turned onto the range this spring that have been half starved during the winter. This is particularly true of horses, that have had little work to do. Their owner has worked on tho plan that if there was no work for the horse it should have only just enough food to sustain life; he forgets that stored up vitality is necessary for the animal to do the heavy spring work of the farm. The poorly fed horse cannot give the ser vices ho would have given had he been properly nourished, so after all it is poor economy to feed too lightly during winter. When this poorly fed stock is turned out to grass it takes them half the summer to get in shape again and, if they be cows, the milk supply is correspondingly light. Here again is where it does not pay to feed too stingily. If the stock on your place have not been well fed go at it now; give them grain and fod.ler until time to turn them to grass and, unless the pasture is good from the beginning feed them for somo weeks. You will need to do this if you expect to get proper returns soon. THE SIMPLE TASK OF GRAFTING. Cleft grafting, which is mainly used foi top-working trees is one of the mo3t sue cessful methods, provided it is carefully done and if so done few grafts will fall tc. unite. It is assumed that tho worker knows that only well grown shoots of thi previous year's growth should be selected and lhat they should have plump buds Cut these shoots some days beforo thej arc to be used and keep packed in sand in a cool cellar. The branches selected for grafting, the stocks, should be locates near the top of the tree and should be, preferably, not more than one and one half inches in diameter. Cut the selected stock straight across with a clean smooth cut then, with the grafting chisel make a A ' r i clean cut across the middle of the stock and extending down about two inches. See figure B in the cut. The scion, or shoot from the fruiting tine, should be cut so that not less than three buds are above the point where it is inserted into tho stock. Trim this scion to a wedgo shape point at one end, see figure A In cut, a little the thickest on the outside edge, and after spreading the cut in the stock apart insert the scion being careful that the layers just beneath the bark ,(techni cally called the cambium layers) of both stock and scion come In close contact. Cover the end of the stock and the open ing or cleft well with the grafting^wrax to exclude air and the w*ork Is done. "Figuit C shows the scion and stock adjusted.