IMMENSE AMOUNT DAMAGE DONE BY PEAR SLUG O i Pw (tune M(t(g! Ctj&t cn Tcpics of fany l&Ms, by z Leaves of Cherry and Pear Tree6 Attacked by this Insect In Iowa and Plant Is Often Left Entirely Bare. Amusements for Summer Parties. This in the season of outdoor enter talnincntn, for most of our readers, if not sojourners by the sea or on the mountain top. may arrange for novel entertainments in the open air by uti lizing what is near the parks, the reaches of Inland lake or rivers, the bhndy lawn of the home place or some adjacent country side reached by the ever-present trolley car. A fagot party Is not new, but this way of conducting one has new fea tures: A circle of pine trees was the netting for a little fireplace made of stones, on which paper and dry twigs were ready to be touched off. Each guest was presented with a bundle of fagots to which was at tached a number; a duplicate number was given out. The hostess re quested the guest who drew No. 1 to look at the fagota; if ho had No. 1 the bundle was laid on the blaze, and he bad to tell a story, sing a song or danco a Jig while the fagots burned. It really was another way of conduct ing a "stunt" party. Ono guest re cited some clever negro dialect, bits she had collected while In tho (south; a man gave some collego ntorlcs; a sweet singer rendered some Hawaiian love songs which she learned from tho natives whllo on tho l.sland. The result was very good Thero were 12 guests and 12 bundles of fagots burned undornoath the tall pines. Refreshments were served on the Inclosed porch of the summer cot- tago. A candle was at each plate beld by a drop of melted wax onto a wooden picnic plate; by At was a wooden fckewer; with It marnhmallows wcro toasted over the candle and eaten with Ice cream and small cakes. There was Impromptu singing of col logo songs to the accompaniment of tho hostess' guitar. All tho girlB wore tub suits and tho men came with neg ligee shirts with duck or flannel trusers And serge coats. "In Darkest Africa." A club of 14 young girls has chosen "Africa" for their study next year; with this In mind, the president Is to glvo a luncheon having decorations and symbols pertaluing to the "dark continent." The table centerpiece Is to be unique, having threo black dolls, each with a pennant bearing the words "Do-ltghted." Toy lions, monkeys and tigers will be the favors, and the place cards are in shape of pyramids and sphinxes, nr. wide a miniature figure is scanning the horizon with a spyglass. Every one shouts "Koose veil." Then there will be cablegrams, post cards and letters brought in at inter vals during tho luncheon addressed to One-Piece ONI? piece slipover nightdress is easily made and laundered. Measure from shoulder to floor and add your hem. For the model It takes 3 Mi yards. Fold cloth In middle, running halves together to hold securely Find middle point of this fold and lay a dinner plate on the cloth so that the center of it comos over this point Mark around the edge of plate and cut out to make neck of gown. On the edges of the cloth measure down nine Inches from the fold, then eight inches in from this point, for the place where tho kimono sleevo Jc'.ns the body. From this point cut through both thicknesses of cloth diagonally to the raw edge. Also cut a diagonal line to the selvage,' at a point Just one foot from the fold, to make the sleeve. The long triangular plcco that has been cut out must now be stitched together along their selvage edges, turned upside down, and set into the body of the gown under tho arms, to give an added fulness to the 6klrt. 1 have Just finished one, using 40lnch muslin, taking up two tucks on each shoulder Ihreo-quarters of an inch deep and Btltched them down front and back five-Inches. I bad fulness enough without Inserting the tri angular plocoa. I used beading at neck, but this foundation Is capablo ol either almple or elaborate treatment. Embroider a scallop at neck and hot loin of sleeves or finish with hamburg. This gown Is very pretty on. The ahouldors can be reinforced by cutting a circular piece a little larger than the dinner plate and feather-stltchlng In to form a yoke which also makei tho edffo to be embroidered stronger. Boston Globo. tho various members assigning them their special topic for the year's work. Tho Egyptian flag Is to be on each missive In lieu of a stamp. A friend of the hostess who has lived in Africa for eight years will be an honored guest and will make the affair most Interesting by her account of life on an ostrich farm and her experiences with native servants. A Progressive Picnic. The guests were children from eight to ten; the hostess was a fa vored lass, who went to tho country every summer. A regular nayracK wagon met them at the station; It had boards across the side so no one could spill out and was gayly decorated with sunflowers, boughs of trees and cattails. The unique feature of this picnic was In the serving of refreshments Each child was given a wooden plate and a paper napkin. Then over the grounds were Interesting booths, shaded by large green and white um brellas. They were also placarded No. 1, No. 2, etc. There was a grown. person to lead at tho head of tho pro cession. The first atop was No. 1 which proved to be "lemonade," with a big porcelain cup for each child No. 2 was Bandwiches, cold meats, po tato salad and olives. Here the guests sat in a semicircle on n big rug. Then thoy progressed to No."' 3 and had Ice cream; then to No. 4, where the booth had bonbons and fruit. No. 5 had piles of little hags. and was the starting point for a pea nut; some were gilded, some sllyered, and some tied with blue ribbon. The gold nuts scored 20, silver 10 and blue ribbons were 5. The one who had the highest score won a prize, tho next highest and the lowest also had rewards. Altogether it was a most successful affair. For a Clnerella Dance. The Cinderella club la. an organiza tion of some 20 couples,, their one law being to close all festivities at mid night proptly. Each season they give a dance to which two guests may be bidden by each couple. The Invita tions are always Issued on slipper shaped cards, the table centerpiece is formed of a white slipper filled with flowers, placceards are slipper shaped and sometimes If the "Ger man" is danced a figure Is worked out bringing In the magic pumpkin coach; candy mice favors, fairy wands, etc. At 12 o'clock a gong clangs out the strokes very slowly and the lights are extinguished. MADAME MERRl. Never wero linen suits more pop ular than now. Nightdress Off BfHG HAULED TO fiAlLROAD foTsb ' sMS (jh MAR WiO CAV, KY Kentucky, which Is one of the chief hardwood producing states In the union, and the first state in the pro duction of yellow poplar, Is making good progress In the movement for the preservation of its forests. In 1906 the legislature enacted the law providing for the state board of agri culture, forestry and Immigration. During the following winter the board asked and received the co-operation of the United States Forest Bervlce In a study of tho forest conditions of the state. This work was begun two years ago and an examination of half the area of forest land In the state has been completed. The result of tho first year's work, covering the 11 most eastern counties of the state Is published In the Kentucky handbook, 1906-1907. The second report, now In the hands of the state board of agri culture, covers 48 counties, in the coal mining reglonj of the state. WlK-n this Investigation Is completed Ken tucky will have an excellent Inventory of its lumber resources. The manner In which the forestry problem has been approached Indi cates that the people of the state realize that tho ultimate solution of the Impending timber scarcity must, for the farmer, depend largely on how he handles his Individual timber re sources, and that there Is no better wa than for him to consider the wood lot as a bank account, using the Interest which Is constantly nc crulng, but leaving tho capital undi minished. Much educational work however, will be needed to secure this desirable end. The second report of the Forest Service suggests a forest law. Among Its most Important features Is a pro vision for the appointment of a state forester. The wisdom of this Is evi dent since only by the appointment of a state forester can the work In co-operation with Forest Service he maintained and carried to a success ful conclusion. Until such time, how ever, as the sate of Kentucky Is ready to assume the management of its own forest problems, the National Service is willing and anxious to cooperato In every way possible for the further ance of forestry among private own ers In Kentucky. In the cooperative Investigations of forest resources now in progress, tne government spent over $4,000 to duplicate a similar amount appropriated by the state. Kentucky has always been rich In forest resources, but like many oth er states has reached the point where the timber will l.ereafter be produced on a continually decreasing scale, and it Is necessary to protect and use carefully the forests which' remain. In 1899 Kentucky cut 734.000,000 board feet of hardwood lumber. In 1907 the cut was 854,903,000 board feet, an Increase of only 16 per cent in tne nine years. in tne same period tho cut of yellow poplar has fallen off over 20 per cent. During the same time the prices of lumber at the mill have advanced on an nv erage of 65 per cent., and the demand has Increased accordingly. The forest of the United States Is threatened by many enemies, of which Are and reckless lumbering ore the worst Sheep grazing and wind come next. Cattle and horses do much Isr damage than sheep, and snow break Is less costly than windfall. Land slides, floods, Insects, and fungi are sometimes very harmful. In certain altuatlona numbers of trees are killed by lightning, which has also been known to set the woods on Are, and the forest Is attacked In many other ways. For example, birds and squir rels often prevent young growth by devouring great quantities of nuts and other seeds, while porcupines and mice frequently kill young trees by gnawing away their bark. Most of these foes may be called natural enemies, for they would Injure the forest to a greater or less extent if the action of man were altogethet removed. Wild animals would take the place of domestic sheep and cattltj to some degree, and Ore, wind, ami Insects would still attack the forest But many of the most serious dangcrt to the forest are of human origin Such are destructive lumbering, and excessive taxation on forest lands, tc which much bad lumbering Is directly due. So high are these taxes In some states for In many cases they amount to 5 or even 6 per cent, yearly on the market value of the forests, that the owners cannot afford to pay them and hold their lands. Consequently they are forced to cut or sell their timber in haste and without regard to the future. When tho timber Is gone the owners refuse to pay taxes any longer, and the devastated lands revert to tho state. Many thousand square miles of forest have been ruined by reckless lumbering because heavy taxes forced the owners to real ize quickly and once for all uponthelr forest land, Instead of cutting It In a way to Insure valuable future crops. For the same reason many countries aro now poor that might otherwise have been flourishing and rich. Trains Ducks to Eat Pests. Joseph Junette, who farms one of the Job ranches on the Alton bluffs. Is enjoying an income of $15 a day from 15 ducks which he trained tj clear potato patches of bugs. Ho put the ducks In a pen and fed them on potato bugs exclusively after starv ing them until they were glad to get the bug diet Junette tried them first on his own patch, which comprised several acres. The ducks went through the patch like neighborhood scandal. After the per formance Junette shut up his brigade in the bug pen so they would not ac quire a taste for other diet. The ducks ore In great demand on the farms In Junette's neighborhood. Farmers are glad to pay $1.50 an hour for the services of the brigade. Chi cago Record-Herald. Silence Got on Her Nerves. In the silence room of one of the bis New York department stores a woman visitor from out of town was deposit ed for recuperation of her tired nerves and muscles and deserted by her hostess. The unaccustomed dark ness and stillness among so many women first surprised and then made her uncomfortable. After having Bat out her growing restlessness as long as she could she turned to the glum vlsaged attendant and asked In a sub dued but strained voice: "My, how do you stand it?" "1 can't hardly," said the other, with evident relict at the sound of her own whisper. "It gets on my nerves. I'm sick to death of it. I wish I could get another Job." Corn the Greatest of American Crops. Corn la our greatest crop, that of 1908 being valued at $1,616,000,000. Last summer many cherry trees In various parts of Iowa were stripped of their leaves by a dull Blimy slug. Pear trees also are attacked by this pest, perhaps even more than cherry trees, hence the common name of tho Insect. This sluy feeds on the upper surface of the leaves, not eating holes through them, but taking only the up per portion and leaving the veins bare. Leaves thus eaten by the slugs dry and fall from the tree and frequently leave the trees entirely bare of follagi?. In Iowa these slugs appear twice during the season. The first brood appears in Juno and the slugs be come full grown early in July, white A Pear Slug Enlarged. a, aduU saw-fly, female; b, slug with slime removed; c, slug in normal state; d, leaves with slugs, natural size; a, b, c, much enlarged. tho oecond brood comes on during the month of August. It would be beat, then, to kill off the elugs when they first appear in June, and so prevent the defoliation of the trees by the second brood in August. When the slugs first appear on the Vaves the trees should be given a thorough treatment with parls green or some other arsenical poison. Since tho slugs feed openly on the upper sides of the leaves there need be lit tle difficulty in combatting them. For only a few trees the paris green may be applied dry, mixed with air slaked lime, or even flour; 1 part of the paris green to 20 or more parts of the other material. For a liquid spray, paris Kveen at tho rate of 1-3 or 1-4 pound tn Kn eaiinna of water will do the work, adding about a pound of quick lame to each barrel of water to pro vent any burning of the leaves. Ar SILAGE PROPERLY HANDLED HELPFUL Incorrectly Put Up and Fed May Be Expensive. It Silos have been abaudoned In many cases becauso the milk became so badly tainted as to become unsalable. If the creameries and cheese factories were as particular as they should be they would condemn a great deal of milk that is now accepted from silage fed herds. This is not the fault of the silage; it Is the fault of the man who handles It Silage has a very penetrative odor, which Is taken up very quickly by milk. If slltige Is fed before milking the milk Is quite certain to become tainted. If the milk is allowed to stand a few minutes In the barn after milk lug and silage Is fed whllo the cans are standing around, the milk will be tainted. If the stable Is not ventilated or is poorly ventilated the silage odors will linger in the stable and taint the milk. In an unventllated stable the stable It self will In time become saturated or permeated with the silage odor and will taint the milk, no matter how the silage is handled. The corn Is frequently cut Into the silo too green, which makes very sour silage, with a strong odor. The silage is frequently carelessly handled In the stable; it Is scattered through the alleys and allowed to remain on the floors. In such Instances the stable will be scented with the silage and the milk will be tainted. If good results are expected from eilago it must be properly handled in the stable. First, silage must be fed only after milking. Second, tha floors must be kept clean and no silage allowed to accumulate in the alleys. Third, there should not be more silage fed than the stock will clear up at once. Fourth, the stable must be well ventilated. Fifth, corn should not be cut In too green. Sixth, don't feed moldy silage. From the foregoing It will be Been that silage must be more carefully handled than ordinary roughage. One cannot throw silage around ts he might straw or hay and get satisfac tory results. Silage properly put up and preprly fed is a very ) eap and most i noel lent feed. JProf. O. V. Knupp. senate of lead, 2 or 3 pounds to 59 gallons of water, will do tho work even better than paris green, and is preferable where It can be obtained easily. Hellebore, applied dry, or in a small quantity of water. Is also very effective in killing the slugs. The first brood of tho slugs is rather short lived. It requires only about a month from the egg stage to tho time the slus matufuj. During most of tho time while It is feeding tho slug is covered with a Blimy sub stance, but at the last change of skin the slime Is thrown off, and the slug becomes a light orange color, clean, and dry. After' this molt the slug goes Into the ground. Here It forms a cell in the earth, within which it changes to the pupa, or resting stage. ana the adult fly emerges in about: 12 to 15 days after the slug has en tered the soil. The files which lay the egg3 for the next brood of slugs are rather small black Insects, about a fifth of an inch long nnd'with four wings The eggs are laid In tiny pockets made by the flies in the under sides of the leaves. These eggs hatch and the second brood of the Blugs work on the trees during August and when they become full grown go to the ground. During the winter the slugs of this second brood may be found in' their cells beneath the trees which were infested by them In the summer time. The pear, cherry, plum and quince are the trees which are most attacked by these slugs. SOIL BENEFITED BY ALFALFA CROP Three oir Four Cuttings During Season Enriches It. When a plant furnishes an abundant crop, such as alfalfa, with three or four cutting during a single season, it Is but natural to think that it will greatly exhaust, the soli. Nothing Is more erroneous. Instead of taking ctrength away from the soil it puts more into It; instead of exhausting it, the fertility is increased. The pene trating powers of alfalfa roots are well known. The roots are constantly growing tnd decaying, thus adding to the "humus" of the soil. Tho strongest point in iavor of alfalfa ns a soil im prover It its remarkable nitrogen gathering ability. The roots of al falfa are full of the small nitrogen tubercles -which represent bottled up vitality to plant life and It has been proven by frequent experiments that Increased yields were the rule when plantings of any kind of crops had been made on ground infected with ni trogen bacteria. Under these circumstances the "spread of Alfalfa fever" Is no wonder. With splendid crops of highest priced hay on top of the ground, with the roots working as perfectly natural fer- tllizers under the ground, farmers can do nothing better than to plant alfalfa. The truth of this statement muy be realized ond verified if one but takes time to look up statistics and reads about the marvelous Increase In the acreage of alfalfa. In Kansas alone the acres sown to nlfaira increased from approximately 35,000 acres In 1891 to more than 743,000 acres In 1907. It Is safe to say that since then the acreage has Increased In propor tion, and other states are falling In line. A. Kruhm. There Is Profit In Sage. Twenty five cents' worth of snge Pe,i will furnish about 1.000 plants. L'nouith sage can be picked the Qrct year to pay for all the labor of sowing ,ind picking the sage. Hnrly in the sprint tho plant:i should be removed set In rows three feet apart one way and half that dlstanco the other. If ij,e plants are planted In good soil and properly cultivated they can be pick.4 imru luuco f.im year lor years. semi