tr r . .--
CHAPTER IX (Continued.)
"The whole business will come out to
night if mother's been down here nurf seen
Minnie." he said to himself, thoughtfully.
"'Well, I'm almost glad of it Sooner or
later it mast be known, and I shau't feel
like a sneak any longer when It in."
Still, though he said this, be felt very
much inclined to send an excuse, and
stay away from Moor Royal this night,
when he pictured the sorrow that would
hade his mother's eyes when she looked
at him and knew the truth.
"I have been a fool." he said passion
ately; "but I will be the only sufferer by
iy folly; poor Minnie shall never feel it.
even if she does cost me the love of niy
' mother and sister."
Jenifer was standing in the hall when
be went in, and he knew by the way in
which she came forward and linked her
arm within his, and drew him into the li
brary, that the climax was rapidly ap
. proaching.
"Mother went to your house to-day,
- Jack, and now she knows what I have
-been afraid of for a long time."
"Jenny, darling," he blurted out, lean
ing hi head down on his sister's shoulder.
"Oh. Jenny, don't bres me down com
pletely till I've been man enough, to tell
" on all the truth. It's too late, dear, for
anything to be mid or done. I married
Minnie in Exeter yesterday, and, I sup
pose! mojhef and you'll cut me'"
For answer she laid her band on his
and led him to his mother's room,
I knew you would come, my boy; I
Inew. I knew," the widow said, trying her
hardest and'beavest to speak calmly and
fcright'.y; "and I know yon will listen to
your mother, and give up this terrible
folly that wi'.l.poiso:j the happiness of us
all if yon carry it " .
"Wait, mother. diir," Jenifers voice
lDternipted; '"Jack lias come to tell you
everything, and. you will hear it patient
ly, awon't your
She looked from her, son to her daugh
ter in bewilderment.
"Mother, forgive ine! 1 married Min
aic yesterday1." , .
He was .so excited and agitated as tie
poke last he was acim-ely conscious that
his mother recoiled from him, and cried
. oat, in the. bitterness of her grief and an
ger that she "would rather have seen him
in his coffin than have heard this truth."
But Jenifer saw mid'heard it all, and
' knew how little it was meant in reality,
and was gratefully glad that Jack's mind
was too preoccupied to take in the full
force of it.
. "Dear Jack," she whispered, soothing
ly, "go to the drawing room now. Ieave
Bother, like a good boy, and yon shall see
- k ...in nnuuHitlv. r.a to Hum-rt and
mK n"'" K " ' " -
Kmc; hare do concealment from them.
Aa she spoke, the last dinner hell rang,
and Jack went out to meet Hubert and
hi Wife with Ilia heavy secret unknown.
There, was no opportunity of telling
them, for dinner wii served, and they
, were nnder the vigilant eyes of the ser
vants. Presently, Jenifer came in, and
took her place opposite to J act, witn an
apobtf-y for Ser mother's absence from
" the dinner table,'
jn naa oera nrrnxiK uiniseu koi uir
waaly performance of a task that was
axlkss to him daring the whole of dinner;
4jmI m aooa aa they were left alone be be
jaa cracking Slberts industriously, and
'n'portd hisBsetf for action.
?J3t," he begs rather hoarsely, and
irfc Mi taw Dors face looking strangely
4tVVm and nsta-lined, "you are vexed
Kh aaarthaT tar not dining with as to-
: bt' yoa shoaki rather be vexed
-, m a." '
trZi W ace toward him. and
fa fcg', t ataOa that lashed oat from
k1 "salt, gleasnlng
tf-i it .J Wf mother to-aigbt aotse
' T 1 t krt Cttrttmi her dreadfolly
' " t tlat eefkaas sha will aerer
trt tT- be said. wMh a galp
. J ' ti ' "mt ap4 yea to tell yon
i I t X jraa'S ataW by M and
- :ii,mmM '-Mt TTyir
V riar, Mi- rem treat
": vuiau with
' sar i t f tMJ-
"1 Vatflurof-
' jz; v tm
, ' - kVfV
i t f,V i t Uw
. jr.- 'J
was going to take np his precious wife
Wause 1 fooled him to the top of his
bent about her. I w ish Edgceuiiib would
take the plunge, then 1 should be rid of the
lot of them. I do wonder that old Mrs.
Kay is mean-spirited enough to stay on
here when she must see that I want her
to go."
"Won't yon go and say a word to
mother, Elbe? She's feeling this about
Jack awfully," her husband said, coining
in to her presently.
She shrugged her pretty, slender shoul
ders, and told him "No; family bothers
were things she did not mean to take to
herself."
CHAPTER X.
"Mother, you're not as happy here now
as you would be in a little house of your
own, are you V Jenifer said, coming in
and casting her arms round her mother's
neck that night as soon as she could es
cape after dinner.
"Happy! that I can never be anywhere
again, Jenny; my day is done."
"No, no, you shan't say anch things
such futile, untrue things. Mother, dar
ling, you're our own mother still, and you
have your work to do for us, though we
have disappointed yoo," Jenifer cried ont,
weeping as bitterly as if she and not Jack
ha1 married beneath her, and degraded
the family.
"Jenifer," Mrs. Ilay said, solemnly,
"what does this mean that you're going
to marry, and offer me a home with you
and your husband? Jenny, I won't have
you throw yourself away for my sake! I
want but little here below, and shall not
want that little long. You shall not sacri
fice fourself to Mr. Boldero. good, excel
lent man as he is, for my sake."
"Mother!" Jenifer cried out, "are we all
going mad because of this trouble about
Jack? Mr. Boldero! Stars above me, I
should as soon have thought of you as of
him! Why, mother, he's not 'a good, ex
cellent man' only iu my eyes, he's ever so
much more, and more like what a man
ought to be than than any other man I
know. He would as soon think of the
harness bouse cat for a wife as he would
think of me; don't speak of him in that
way to me. I can't bear it"
Old Mrs. Ray thought very desperately
for several minutes. In her pocket she
had a letter from this Mr. Boldero, ask
ing her consent to his wooing her daugh
ter. The letter had reached her just an
hour or two ago just an hour before
Jack had come to her with his bitter con
fession. And she bad put it aside aa un
important as comparatively nnimpor
tant, at least because her heart and
mind were full of the imminent peril of
her son Jack.
But now she was compelled to think
of it.
"Jenny, my child," she began, very gen
tly, "forgive my forget fulness of you.
Something that concerns you nearly and
dearly has come to my knowledge to
day," and with this she fumbled in her
pocket and brought Mr. Boldero's letter
out of it.
Jenny read it, and understood It at once.
There it was, an offer, a plain and dis
tinct offer of marriage from the most hon
orable and fastidious gentleman whom it
had ever been her lot to meet.
, And this offer of marriage was made to
her, Jenifer Hay, a girl who was just dis
graced by the folly of her brother! A
folly of which Mr. Boldero knew nothing,
of which he conld take no cognizance, but
which would bitterly aggrieve and dis
gust him when he came to know It
"He shall never smart through me; he's
as "the atari above me," the girl aaid to
herself in the one brief minute in which
ah held the letter in her hand trying to
read It, and failing by reason of the tears
of pity for herself that were half blind
ing her. And this not liecause of any
strong sentiment of love for Mr. Boldero,
for in these days of which I am writing
J cattle. Ray had bold of her own heart
still. .JLaA though she thought of Mr.
BoWero aaef a man whom any woman
atlxat she did not know that she
lored kWberae.
M, after holding bis letter in her hand
tar sv MiMfe after she had rend it. she
kaaeM It back to her mother with these
f4a:
Tr'a owe of the thing that might have
tens l( everything had been different.
ris it la wea I wish with all my
rrtst Kr. Boldero bad never thought
ttr-lfgtM way."
, U frt rm hU wife yoo'4 bare no
1 0&ar uythlog that your broth-
t J i r Wrr ," mM old Mrs.
- Cr 'itrf la order to
T V f Ia8 traable,
' l X J tiMiUi fjntoi Mr.
i.jf f totaling
Va 1 or am rho b-
ject, but urging the girl to accept the
offer as a happy and safe release from all
the bout danger and dillu-ult.es.
And at last her argument prevailed to
a certain extent. At lust Jeuifer Ugan
to remind herself that not oiily would Ur
herself be lifted out of the donn-siic mire
which was stitling them Dun, but I hut her
mother also would be once more honora
bly placed, and treated with the defer
ence and consideration that was her d::e.
But she would not accept the off'-r
which Mr. Boldero had made in ignorance
of Jack's culminating follv till she had
given him an opportunity of retracting it.
He must have gone straight borne from
the "meet," anj written to her mother
with the memory of the unavailing prayer
she had made to him for her brother fresh
in his mind. When be knew bow fully
all her worst fears for Jack were realited,
would he still want her to be his wife?
"May I come in?" Jack's voice, broken
by so!, asked at the door.
"Oh, not to-night not to-night!" poor
old Mrs. Ray whispered. "Jenny, tell
him. It would kill me to see him to-night
my own boy! And to think of bis going
away from me to such a wife!"
So Jenifer went out, and, with her arms
round poor, unhappy, miserable, awak
ened Jack's neck, .broke his mother's de
cision to him as gently as she could.
"lit? strong, and bear your punishment
like a man. Jack." she murmured. "In
time we shall all be happy again. Mean
time don't get to think hardly of our
mother, even if she does seem a little hard
to you now; it has come upon her so sud
denly." It was a sad going away from the old
home for the poor, misguided boy, whose
own willful infatuation had marred his
prospects in life. His mother lifted up
her voice and wept as she listened to his
receding footsteps along the corridor. B'lt
she would not recall him to say one pity
ing, tender word. The thought of the dis
grace and sorrow he had brought upon
them all was too new to her for her to
take him back to her heart, though bcr
heart was bleeding for him.
"Well, Jenny, this is a pretty business
of Master Jack's! Ton my word, I think
I shall sell the place, and get away le
yond the reach of the rumor of it," Hu
liert said, impatiently, when Jeuifer went
back to the drawing room to say g'tod
uight "Running away from the rumor won't
do any good to either you or Jack," Jeni
fer said, curtly, for Hubert's absorbing
selfishness jarred harshly on her this
night.
"It's just like the charitable Jenifer to
uphold evil-doers." Mrs. Itay said, with
her faintest smiling sneer. "Now, I can't
pretend to w ant to do good to Jack, or to
wish to see any one else do good to him;
he has behaved like a fool, and I hope
he'll have the fool's reward. Hut I do
like to see good done to myself; and the
best good Hubert can do me is to take
me away out of reach of ever hearing
anything of his extremely obnoxious
brother and sister-in-law. To do that he
must sell Moor Royal; and so I hojH
Moor Royal will come to the bauimer
without delay."
"Hubert, you won't?" Jenifer cried.
"When a fellow's worried as I have
been to-night he hardly knows what he'll
do." Mr. Ray replied. -
"Moor Roysl has been ours for so many
generations," Jenifer said, sorrowfully.
Then they went on discussing their
plans of pleasure, and shaking of possi
ble purchasers of the property aa uncon
cernedly as if Jenifer had not been pres
ent "I'll marry Mr. Boldero and pat mother
on a throne again, and love him better
than a man was ever loved before for en
abling me to do it," the daughter thoifght,
with a swelling heart, aa she wended her
way back to her mother's room, leaving
the light and airy yonng couple in undis
puted Kssession of the situation.
The following day, long before Mr. Bol
dero received an answer from bis letter
to old Mrs. Ray, he hail a visit from Hu
bert Ray.
Briefly, and not at all bitterly, the elder
brother told the tale of the younger one's
delinquencies to the family lawrer. Then
he added:
"This crowning act of Idiocy on .j nek's
part has naturally upset my wife terri
bly." "How about your mother and sister?"
Mr. Boldero interiwmed, quickly.
"Oh, my mother is a good deal cut up,
of course, partly because Jack was always
a pet, and partly been use it may affect
Jenifer's prospects of marriage. Now, I
don't distress myself alout that for a
moment because I happen to know that
Edgeciimb will marry her to-morrow If
she'll have him, and Etlie and I both think
she is ready to do so."
Mr. Boldero rang for coals and when
the little interruption caused by their be
ing put on the fire was over it was he
who took up the ball of conversation.
"Jack has had plenty of advice against
this crowning act of madness. I know
his sister stood like an angel of mercy
In his path, and warned him against fol
lowing. And Mrs. Ray and you can't
have leen ignorant of his being in jeop
ardy. You have surely tried to save your
brother?"
"To tell the trntb," Hubert said. In
some embarrassment, "my wife always
urged me to let Jack alone. She had an
idea he was so pig-headed that opposition
would only urge bim on. Poor girl! she
would have done anything to stop it
anything. Iu fict, she's so distressed
about It that nothing will induce her to
live at Moor Royal any longer. She
couldn't have any of her own people down
to stay with her after this; she's awfully
sensitive, In fact, and I may as well tell
you at once that I've come to speak to
yon abont selling Moor Royal."
"There's one clause in your father's
will which you seem to have forgotten,
and that Is, that for three years after
coming into possession of the proierty you
are Hound to reside st Moor Royal; yon
can neither let nor sell It."
"Meantime, as I can't sell It, I'll cut
down timber," Mubert said, recklessly.
"It's all very well, Boldero, but a man
ought not to he hampered and fettered
lg another man's whim. The sale of
Moor Royal would be the making of me;
and it shall be sold the day the three
years are up."
"You forget that your father's latest
wishes are st'll unknown to you," Mr.
Boldero reminded his client.
"Ah, the sealed letter which yoti hold!
Its contents can lie of no Importance;
they can only concern trifles compared
to the Moor Hoynl property, and that's In
disputably mine."
After his guest departed. Mr. Boldero
sat alone, thinking mournfully that all
the sorrowful prognostications about bis
two sons which hnd darkened the squire's
last days were being fast fulfilled.
"He slwsrs had the notion that Hubert
would wreck b i bark against the rock of
exiravcgaiice, anj that Jack would fsll
inu 1w r.impuny and dtsnipaU-d ways
through bis overweening fondness for
Sn; yet h:s lore fur Moor Royal was so
much stronger than his luve for anything
else on rLr;b that he Las protected it ss
jealously as if it hud I cell a cherished
child. And. through flo act or deed of
hers, and without my aid, Jenifer will be
a rich woman, heaven bles her! and able
to endow this man Edgecumb, w hom she
loves, with as good a property as there is
iu the neighliorhood."
Then he went oo to accuse himself of
having indulged in self-coufi lent vanity
in having supposed for an hour that fair
young Jeuifer Ray might have preferred
him, the sober, middle-aged lawyer, to
the handsome young soldier officer, who
(according to her brother Hubert) was
her bean's real choice.
He felt manfully and generously that
as things were going now, and with his
knowledge of how these things would act
and react upon the future of Jenifer and
her brothers, he could resign all thoughts
of her far more readily than lie con.d
have done had she l-eu likely to remaiu
dependent Jenifer Ray at Moor Royal
dee!ide!it on the capricious ler.mty of her
sister-in-law. Had this bitter Ix-eu the
only fate before her, he would hne used
his utmost eloquence, and brought his
most urgent claims to bear um her. con
vinced as he was that he had the power
in him to make her a happy and contented
woman. But now now it would be well
for him to resign her "in the interim" to
what she would think the brighter fair,
if she loved Edgecumb.
"In the interim" it would soon pss
away, and then the contents of the scaled
letter would ie made known to Hubert
liny and whomsoever else it concerned.
And then? Why, then. (Hwsibly Jenifer
w ould !' another man's happy w ife. and
it would never 1 known what fortune,
hope ami love the family lawyer had lei
slide through his grasp in renouncing her
as he meant to renounce her now. even it
she thought herself able and willing ti
complete the sacrifice he had propose',
lo her mother the previous day.
Old Mrs. Kay's letter readied him it,
due time. Jenifer whs grateful and lion
orcd this Inst word was old Mrs. Ray's
interpolation, and bad not U-en dictated
by Jenifer but Ix-forc she could answer
him she must si-e hiui and tell him some
thing tii.lt hnd happened which might
alter his views materially. Would he,
therefore, come to Moor Royal that after
noon at four o'clock? He rode up lo
Moor Royal, knowing that Is'fore he left
it be would have Hung away bis heart's
l-st hopes and happiness.
His knowledge of the contents of that
sealed letter was costing him dear indeed.
(To be continued.)
Crows Make I. Ife Miserable.
The village of Miilleinicli Iftlniul. off
the con! of North Carolina. In I'mnlic"
Sound, is suffering; from u pest In rlie
Hhape of an immense Hock of crows,
which for some unknown reawm sj'tticd
down upon It two weeks tw. One
night the villngerM beard a great coin
motion, as of thousands of flapping
wings, mingling with the familiar
hoaine noles of the crow. Morning
broke tijwm hordes of them, coterlng
the liouKe tops, fences anl 111 l.iiiny
places the ground.
Since then they have proved singu
larly persistent ami destructive. Noth
ing that Is edible can lie left otilKide 'he
houses, and In many instances the
feathered pirates have entered build
in jjh when a door or window wan left
open, seeking what they ivuhl devoid.
Clothing that lias been left excised,
washing on the lines and otli'-r valua
bles have lieen torn to pieces or other
wise ruined. Numberless chickens,
pigeons, and lu some ca"s small dog
have Im-cii attacked and killed.
Many expedients have Ixeti r-soiteil
to by the villagers to rid thcuiwlvc s of
the plague, but only tenipo.nrj relief
lias resulled. The negroes and w hiles
who inhabit the island are of tin- tnot
ignorant class, ami their stipi-i-stltl'iii-regard
for the crow prevenls tlielr turn
ing; to any measures which involve in
jury lo the bliils.-Philad.'lpU ft l lcsx.
Ilooster as a Witness.
When the case of Ohio vs. Joel Iecg.
charged wlib stealing chickens, cnine
up for preliminary hearing In Justice
Chapman's court at Elgin. Ohio, the
prisoner strenuously denied bis guilt.
A coop of chickens was offered in evi
dence, but leeg claimed be lsnight
tliem of a peddler, and bis lawyer
claimed they could Hot be idetitltlcd.
Their owner, Mr. Ray of Sheffield, was
present, and taking a rooster from the
coop, set him on the floor, calling It by
name and the bird answered with a
flap of his wings and crowed. He then
shook hands with the doctor and the
Identification was complete. recg was
iHMind over under $.TiO lsnd.
At the Present Day.
The ancient city of Jerusalem, which
has flgued so largely In scriptural his
tory, is seldom considered In secular
affairs. Yet It has a considerable com
merce, milling being among Its promi
nent Industries. From the 1804 reisirt
of the Austro-Hnngarlan consul st
Jerusalem It appears that Palestine Is
iilie a milling section, and that Jeru
salem alone has Are steam mills, lu
1S!M these mills made 28,0"0 to ft.ouo
sacks of flour, of 08 pounds each. They
have capacity to make twice as much
If the conditions of the trade demand
ed It
As to Pearls.
The beauty and value of pearls do- j
pend on tbelr color, forj. texture i
(skin), transparency (water), and Ins-j
tre, A pearl to be perfect must possess
the following qualifications: It must,
be terfectly round or drop shaped, and
havo a perfectly pure white color, '
must be slightly transparent, free '
from specks, spots or blemishes, and
must possess the peculiar lustre char-'
acterlstlc of a gem. Round pearls '
bore the weight of 80 grains are so ,
rare that they command exceptional
prices, depending on the circumstances
of toe sals to bring almost any flgnre.
I'm older a man become the more
hill be It compelled to climb.
TOriCS FOR FARMERS
A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR
OUR RURAL FRIENDS.
Fosesllon fur Urighteninic Farm
Life How to Seenre'Kegular Salting
of tattle-ThorouiihCu tivatlon W 111
Kill Canada Thiatles.
To Make Life Ilrighter.
We want to si-e more bertuty and
greater abundance- in fruits alsmt the
farm house. We want to see more con
tentment and pleasure there. We urg-
the cu'tlvatiou of (lowers for the pleas
ure It affords, and the raising of more
fruits and ltctter gardens for the In
creased vigor and health such tiling
Impart.
We have a vineyard that lx-gins to
ripen Its fruit about the first of August,
w lieu there Is a certain amount of lan
guor and listlcssncsa In the atmosphere,
a time w hen fevers are apt to take root
in the system, and w hen every one-feels
more or less run down. Hut since our
Vineyard has Im-cii Is-.yhig. and we can
go to it of an curly morn, Isfure break
fast, ami cat tin- fresh, sweet, rip.'
grajM-s, there comes a revived feeling,
breakfast t:::c lx tter, and the system
is toned up for the day. It is one of the
wise provisions of nature to ripen
grapes just at the time of the year when
theyjire bc.t suited to the licit 1 1 li and
appetite.
We urge the planting of vineyards
and other small fruits. A fruit garden
Is of greater necessity, in so far as the
health ami happiness of the family are
concerned, than the corn Held. The
jx-asaiils of Spain, it Is said, cat fruit
more than anything else, jet they aiv
noted for their strength am! vigor.
Fresh fruit Is tilbil with the very es
sence of the life-giving principle, it Is
nature's storehouse of the must li -autl-f
ill and pleasant elements of the soil
and th" air. such as are 1k)!iih1 to Im
part renewed strength to the itisumcr.
It Is 1 M-ji tit y and vitality combined and
condensed.
How much inure of happiui ss and
pleasur- there is sure to be in the home
that is surrounded by beautiful flowers,
and fresh, sweet fruits! How superior
In every npcct Is such a home iu
which to raise our children. Compared
to the barren home of the thought hs
and shiftless, that give no heed to the
Ix'tter and more elevated system of liv
ing that comes of cultivating nature In
her higher branches. Think this mat
ter over. Column's Rural World.
Fait Boxes for Cattle
in order lo secure a regular salting
with a large herd of cattle It Is neces
sary to have salt continually before
them for use at their leisure. Many
fanners use. rock salt, scattering It
tilxiut. over the pasture, but even with
this there Is waste In wet weather, and
some danger that cattle will lick out
large lumps iu such a way as to make
a cavity, which sometimes will fill with
water and become brine, and tis much
of this will produce more or less disor
der. Where barrel salt Is used there Is
much waste in wet times from melting.
The "Denver Field and Farm" sug
gests a salt box for cattle where barrel
salt is used that seems to meet the case.
as follows:
"In salt Imixcs for cattle In pasture
the writer likes the kind resembling
In appearance an ordinary school desk.
It Is entirely home-made, and the stock
will soon learn to lift the lid and help
themselves. In order to tench them
how It Is done cut a ocml-clrcular open
ing lu the top part of the front side.
Just In-low the lid. and till with salt
so as It can be licked without raising
the lid. They will come and taste the
salt and keep helping themselves right
along, lifting the lid to get to It. The
lid protects the salt from rains and
saves from waste ami from getting
packed In a hard lump. Fasten the box
at the height that will Is- convenient
for the stock, making fast to a post
or a tree."
A box of tins kind Is easily made and
Is worth trying.
Ashes for fandy Soil.
Almost all sandy soils lack potash.
Even when It Is present, unless thet;
is also some vegetable matter In the
soil to furnish carbonic acid gas, the
potash forms a union with the sand,
and thenceforward can only lx releas
ed as It Is some way made soluble. Th,
benefit from applications of jHitash t i
sandy soil Is direct. They supply the
kind of plant food In which It Is dell
dent. But the use of potash In the
form of ashes Is not restricted to sandy
soils. Most heavy soils have more or
lee potash In insoluble form. As the
caustic potash lu the asli changes it
makes the potnsb and phosphate In the
soil near It soluble also, and thus lxit-
ash will sometimes oblige the soil to
supply to the plants the phosphates
they require to make a grain crop. But
In such cases the potash does not take
the place of the mineral. Jt slniplv
enables the plant to get phosphate that
was Iu the soil but not lu soluble form.
Kllllns- Thistles with Hoed Crops.
One year's thorough cultivation will
entirely eradicate not merely Cannd.i
thistle, but all kinds of iwrennlal
weeds. But the cultivation must Hot let
up even for a single week. If any
sprout reaches the surface and gets to
thp daylight, It relnvlgoratea the root,
and such half cultivation may be kept
up for years without greatly lessening
the s'st Wherever attempts are made
to kill thistles by growing a crop of
corn or potatoes on the land, the month
of August will be found a very critical
time. It will be necessary to examine
th hills closely so that no shoot creepa
ln with the corn or potato crop In the
hllla. The cultivator alone cannot be
depended upon to do this work. Hand
labor, either literally with the thumb
and finger or with the boe, will be nec-
j essary several times in August ann Sep-
teinlwr. if the win-k of destroying U
thUtli-s is to lie completed. A littl
nail applied to the latet apariii
shiN.ts will set them to rotting, and that
Is tx'tt-r than cutting tbetu off at tin
surface of the ground.
Karlr 1 atteninii of fork.
Corn Is not so exclusively the feed
of hogs at any age as It tisi-d to be
Instead of growing pigs on their swll
with pasture, and thus stunting theit
early growth. It is the practice of thf
lx-st farmers to Ix'giu the bih feeding
from birth, keeping the pig always In
condition for the butcher, arid topping
on the last few weeks with a deal
corn diet. Many farmers prefer thai
pork for their owu use shall not lx- thus
topxil off. It is sweeter but less HrnJ
In texture, containing more moisture.
This, however, only means that the pig
killed after being fed so as to waste
iu cooking Is by that fact shown to 1x5
In healthy eomliiloii. All animals Id
js-rfect health are composed largely of
water. This Is evaporated when Inter
nal fevers evajHirute the internal mois
ture, and the meat Is then said to Ixt
Brm. solid and w ill waste little iu cook
ing. Whenever pork of this kind Is not
wanted, it should be fattened with lioil
in! vegetables or fruit mixed with w heat
middlings and bran to tinike the right
proportion of nitrogeneoiis matter. We
have often more than half fattened
hugs on boiled pumpkins and windfall
apples, and never bad pork that tasted
Ix'tter than that thus fattened. Even
lx-fore we knew that it was unwhole
some, we never much liked the jsirk
fattened on corn alone. American Cul
tivator. Mexican Sheep.
The old Mexican sheep are the direct
descendants of the original Spanish
Merino brought over two hundred yean
ago by Spaniards to Old Mexico. They
have been bred with scarcely any ou'
cross, and are a very distinctly marked
breed. They have long legs, a long,
thin body, not very deep, small, rather
long neck, ami a long, thin bead, carried
high. The wool Is flue and thin. Tj
the eye they appear almost worthies
as nun ton. ami of still less value for
wool. Their gisxl points arc that they
are hardy, excellent travelers, will keep
In good condition on the poorest and
driest of ranges, are fairly prolific, and
can !' herded In bunches of almost tiny
size. They fatten easily, though never
getting plump and fat like the Northern
sheep. When they reach the Chicago
market. If lu god condition, they out
sell all other sheep, for they shrink
;ery llrtie In dressing, the meat has an
excellent flavor, and the hide Is so thin,
linn ami soft as to command the high
est price.
The Ihilry.
A gallon of milk weighs eleven
M)tllldS.
When the cows have leen long In
milk, the churning liecoiiiea more dl'H
cult. IMvlde the pasture Into two or more
lots and you will gain In food and milk.
The rate of consumption of cheese In
America Is alsmt three pounds per
capita per annum.
A gixxl dairy cow should be trained
to stand (pilet lu milking, so that tlia
in'lker can readily use lsith hands.
It Is less work to wash the butter
milk out of the butter when In a gran
ular form, and It can lx- done more ef
fectively. Once in a full year should be consid
ered oftPii enough for a milker to bear
n calf and for younger cows once In
fourteen to sixteen months.
How haveyoti got thebest results from
your milk sending to the factory,
making butter at home or peddling to
bxnl customers?
Let one person do the milking, If pos
sible. Cows get used to a milker, and
almost Invariably "hold up" their milk
when n new milker comes. Too fre
quent changing, of milkers bus ruined
many a cow.
Hon't hire at any price a man who has
a bad temper; he will ruin your cows.
Don't hire one w ho Is not a good milk
er; he w ill dry off your cows, lioti't em
ploy a man or Ixiy who Is not willing
to learn to carry out your Instructions.
Odda and Knits,
Sandpaper will whiten Ivory handled
kulves 'which have become jellow from
age or usage.
A persou broken out with prickly
beat will find groat relief If the parts
affected are dusted over several times
a day with rye flour.
If hot meats and soups are covered
lx-fore they are perfectly cold they will
surely sjxill; the hot air must have a
place to escae or the tneiit will be af
fected.
Bread that has lx-cn cut In slices ami
lecome stale may be freshened by lay
lug the slices together and folding a
damp napkin around them; put the
napkin lu a paper bag and place the
bag In a hot oven for fifteen minutes.
The most w holcsomc way of cooking
a potato, says the New York Hun. la
to bake It. A small piece of the skin
should be cut from the ends la-fore put
ting the potntoea In to bake. If a baked
isitato stands after It Is cooked It la
likely to Womo soggy. To avoid this, '
when the potato Is done fold It In a nap
kin and roll the potato between the,
palm of the hands until It cracks omii.
Treated In that way, I be potato will al
ways be mealy.
For a apraln use hot fomentations or
a very hot bandage, and rest the hurt
limb until It la knit together well. In
all cases of sprains and broken bones
the patient should be. kept perfectly
quiet until a physician arrive. Burn
are painful and hard to heal If not well
cared for, If the akin la off, rreosota
la a good remedy. Do not remove an
dreaalng tiDtll a akin la formed nnder
It. If nothing elae Is available, flour or
cornstarch are good, aa they keep the
air from the skin and allow It to !