Road in Missouri.
According to the statement of the
President of the Missouri Good Honda
Association the people of that State
spout $490,000 during IMXi for road im
provement, while It cost them Just
00,000 for road supervisors. In other
words. It cost the State $1,000,000 dur
ing the year for $490,000 worth of road
Improvement
Broad Tread Wagona.
A law lias been prepared in Rhode
Island forbidding the use of wngoiw
with narrow tires on the public roads
of that State. This Is an excellent re
quirement, and while in the beginning
It may Work hardship upon individuals
it will iu the end be to the advantage of
all. A heavily loaded wagon with nar
row tires is bud for roads at any time,
but In tbe 'springtime, when the frost in
coming out of the ground, it Is ruinous.
These narrow wheels cut through the
"metal" on the macadam road and
necessitate constant and expensive re
pairs. There Is no law in Maryland
against uarrow tires, but In some of
the counties they huve been driven out
by a better method. After the war the
State was filled with army wagons
which the farmers had bought at gov
ernment' auctions. They had narrow
tires, and In Washington, and perhaps
other counties, it was found they were
ruining the turnpike roads. Rates of
toll were so adjusted that the narrow
tires had to pay much more and farm
ers soon found that It was too expen
sive to own them. It was also found
that the wide tires on ordinary roads
are much lighter draft and in that re
spect, also are more economical. It Is
said that at this time a wagon tire less
than four or six Inches wide la rarely
seen In Washington County.
The Good Koada Movement.
A review of the progress of the good
roads movement in this country which
comprises part of the paer on the sub
ject read by S. T. K. Prime before
county farmers' institutes In Illinois
shows a hearty, co-operation of all In
eresfs towards making the desired Im
provement. Hut Mr. Prime has found,
after extended Investigation, that most
communities do not take advantage of
the opportt.ultles they possess for per
manently remedying the bad road evil,
but content themselves with "make
shifts" In the way of work to make
roads passable after storms and waste
In discussion time and energy that
should be devoted to action. This Is
especially the case In Illinois, In tin;
opinion of Mr. Prime, and there is no
reason why the roads of the State
should not 1h nearly jKirfect, since
cheap brick, stone, and gravel can be
obtained In abundance.
Mr. Prime points out that the first re
quisite, of any good road is thorough
drainage. This principle, which has
leen used to reclaim thousands of acres
of UimJ, liaa latterly leen applied also
to roads with the same licneflcent re
sult. Hut next to tile drainage ns a
neeessury adjunct of tlio good roads,
Mr. Prime places the road'seraper. lie
says:
"If your road Is tile drained, after the
rain is over Just as soon as you are
able to get on the road scrape your road
and till up the ruts and you will have
no trouble alwut Impassable roads.
The more you scrape the roads the
harder they get, and when the rain
falls and beats upon them they shed the
water almost as easily and quickly as a
duck."
Mr. Prime treats the subject from a
Jwoad standpoint and recognizes that
farmers are not the only persons who
have suffered and do suffer from bad
roads. He has learned that the resi
dents of vllluges and the cities are
equally concerned in the Improvement
of the highways, but with that appre
ciation af the broadened scope of the
subject he makes a plea for a more
equitable division of the burden of ob
taining the good roads. He urges a
general State tax, with the counties and
villages both contributing their propor
tions and the farmers being the last to
1) levied upon. The changes of tlio
last dozen years, he shows, have made
the farmer really less dependent on the
good roads than the dwellers In the
thickly settled communities. The
fanner now sells his grain for "future
delivery," and "all he has to do is to go
to his warehouse, sell his grain for
whatever month he wishes It to be de
livered In, and he has from sixty to
ninety days iu which to make the de
livery." Referring to this custom, Mr.
.Prime says:
. "Before this new rder of things was
In general use, constant grain traffic,
when (he roads were bad, cut them up,
almost destroyed them, and made our
roads Impassable; this is almost now
practically done away with. Ten or
fifteen years ago, any one, who would
have made such a statement ns this,
and prophesied that In the near future
we should market our grain under such
conditions, would have been laughed at
and ridiculed. Tbla new order of
things, In my mind, altera almost en
tirely the waya and means to which,
and through which, we must ultimately
reach the general Improvement of our
country muds. The burdens which In
Um Urn referred to were put upon tin
farmer ought now to be divided up and
spread over the entire State."
.Mr. Prime does not forget the cyclists
when be allots the credit for the work
that has Is-cn dune Iu obtaining good
roads. He pays them this well-deserved
tribute:
"I firmly believe there Is no class of
the community to-day to whom the
country at large Is more Indebted for
the educational, legislative, and prac
timl progress which has been made
during the last four or five years along
the line of good roads than to the
cyclists. It does not make any differ
ence what they want good roads for,
they have a laudable, commendable,
public - splriteduess which prompts
them In all their work, and there is
every prospect to-day that the oldest of
them will live to see their fondest hopes
more than realized."
In speaking of the work that has been
done In this State Mr. Prime asserts
that "Illinois owes Its thanks very
largely If not exclusively to the rail
roads of this State, which twenty years
ago came forward and encouraged tile
drainage, and when tile factories were
scarce hauled tile to nearly every por
tion of the State at the bare cost of
transjortation." It Is reassuring to
find an expert like Mr. Prime taking
such a hopeful view of the future of
the good road movement. He makes
plain, however, that It will be neces
sary for all to lend a helping hand.
Chicago Tribune.
A Fortune In Any of the Following.
A perfect and cheap Insulator for
electric wires for one thing.
Iu a nailless horsewhoe that will not
contract the hoof.
Iu a hand seed planter, adjustable
Ibr all kinds of seed.
A safety mailing envelope that costs
no more than the ordinary one.
Iu a street car fender of such merit
as to induce general adoption.
A device for opening and lighting
street lamps from the ground.
In a snow melting device for clear
ing sidewalks and street air tracks.
A cheap bat holder, both of men and
women from blowing off.
An artificial building or paving block,
equal to and cheaper than dressed
stone.
An effective fog signal to prevent
ships running aground or coming In
collision.
An effective tire tightener, to be op
erated without removing the tire from
the wheel.
In a cheap and effective carpet
stretcher and nailer combined, that
will not tear the carpet
A collar fastener In place of the col
lar button that w.ll allow of different
sized collars being worn.
Iu a perfect device for sharpening
calks of horseshoes without removing
the shoe from the hoof. .
In a cheap thermal fire alarm, to be
'placed In dwellings, that will uner
ringly give an alarm at any abnormal
Increase of beat.
A device for cooling the atmosphere
of railway cars by fans operated by
wind-wheels extending through the
roof of the car.
In a coal wagon that will deliver the
coal from the side of Hie wagon, and
thus avoid the blocking of narrow
streets while unloading.
In an adjustable rack or device for
displaying different classes of good In
"show windows." "Window dressing"
is now a recognized profession, and
there are a lot of show racks, but
none seem to quite fill the bill for all
purposes.
Not Long k)noagh.
' People who expect persons of brain
to be willing to serve them ui a menial
capacity continue to have trouble with
their servants. A certain man hired a
valet and the very next morning sent
Mm to a closet to fetch a pair of shos.
Tlie valet returned presently with
two shoes.
"Stupid!" said the master. "Thesa
are two rights!"
The valet took the shoes and went
liack to the closet. After a few mo
ments he canto back with the same
shoos and said:
"I'm sorry, sir, but the other pair In
there are both lefts."
This Is matched by the experience of
the lady with her new makl.
"Mary," she said to the girl, "take
this tape line and measure the width
of your room. I am going to give you a '
new carpet." .
In a few minutes the girl came down
looking perplexed. j
"I'm sorry, mum," she said, "but I
can't measure the room."
"Why not?"
"The tape Isn't hung enough."
Too Kelt nod and Too Late.
She kissed the old man, says an ex
change; she showered upon him kisses
11 nd tears. She told all the people how
good be was. I thought If she had only
given two of those kisses a quarter for
the la ten years how the tender-hearted
old gentleman would have smiled
through his tears. But now he took it
all very coolly. He was dead. He wu
old and poor, and she was young and
rich. Hhe had ten rooms, but no roora
for father. Yet he had made room
for her when he had only two. Tha
"old mflTi" was not educated. Hhe warn,
at his exjs'nse. He had fed and clott
ed her for twenty years at home and
at college, until she had risen Into roora
"refined aud cultured society," and
married among them, The old people's
dress and dialect were too coarse. Sha
kissed him, and burled him in a beau
tiful coffin. "Hear father" Is to have
a costly marblo monument A warm
kiss while living Is better than cold
marble when d;ad.
Without a Contaat.
Preacher The meek shall Inherit the
earth.
Bcoffer Yea; the graveyards are full
of them. Brooklyn Life.
We would rather be a fat man than
a fat woman.
Cnltivator Follower.
Cultivating the growing crops Is high
ly conducive to growth, but In times of
dry weather there is an enormous evap
oration from the soil that has Just been
stirred by the broad teeth of a cultiva
tor, the land being left In loose ridges.
Some advocate hanging a board be
hind to drag the surface of the earth
down smooth. This has a tendency to
pack the surface, which Is not deslr-
able. Hang the lxmrd as shown in the
cut and insert in the lower edge a row
of forty-penny wire nails, removing the
heads. This will leave the surface
smooth and level, but loose, so that the
air and sunshine can enter, while at
night the moisture-lnden air will enter,
the moisture will condense as it is
cooled by the ground, and so will re
main In the soil. -Orange Judd Farmer.
Fair Farmer.
Well, why shouldn't fanners' girls
study agriculture? Is there any good
reason why the State should provide
for the education of the fanners' boys
and allow the girls to get their training
wherever they can? Wouldn't it be a
good thing to Introduce coeducation at
the agricultural colleges? TheseHies
tlons may have been raised before now,
but we do not think they have been
adequately discussed. Perhaps there
has not been sufficient demand on the
part of the country girls for an agricul
tural education. It may be that they
are too desirous to leave the farm to
think of preparing themselves for wo
man's work on the farm.
Minnesota lias a girl's school of agri
culture, said to be the only one in the'
country. It has been 'established for
many years, and the results are men
tioned with pride by the Minnesota pa
pers. The students receive instruc
tions iu cooking, canning, fruit and
flower culture, dairying, household
chemistry, entomology and sewing, and
the farmer who gets one of these well
trained girls for a wife Is very fortun
ate. Any one can see how a woman
educated in agricultural pursuits to
which she Is adapted may make herself
very useful and very contented on the
farm. Exelia nge.
l-hcd for a Silo.
In building a silo outside of a barn in
some localities it will be necessary to
provide some means of protecting It
from the extreme cold. This may
cheaply be done by means of a cover
shed, an outline of which is shown in
an illustration from Country Gentlo
man. The space lietween its walls and
the walls of the silo could be filled with
straw or leaves, and thus be made to
servo a double purpose, furnishing
storage room and also protecting en
silage. Rye Km porta.
While rye Is always prone to follow
wlwiit In Its fluctuations, the pvlco
has be at a much greater discount
than an average, one year with an
other. To this must be accorded the
sharp Increase In the export business,
which iimountwd to nearly (1,000,000
bushels during the pant nine months
compared with wily ,'$:?:i,0H bushels the
sa.me period a ywir earlier. Were there
any adequate outlet, however, we could
spare much liuice of our annual croji,
which approximates 30,000,000 bushels.
It Is here seeii hat low prices help rye
exports.
RFatemitlze the Work.
S.VKtcmatisi!in the farm work more
thoroughly wl( give good result In
both time and amount of work done.
Ten hours a d In the Held, keeping
steadily at It, except occasional storm
of a minute or two to ret the hormw,
with a little xrajn work will accom
pllwh more In th sun of the season than
fourteen hours ort aimless toll.
Prunes Are Profitable.
Thre ought to be much more exten
sive planting of the Herman prune, We
found It years ago the most paying
fruit we could gnaw. It was always in
good demand and at Imtter price than
plums. The pruoe Is also a surer bear
er than the plum, unless we may ex
cept some of the new Japanese varie
ties Yet, though the prune may he
(Town nearly everywhere, M has been
FOLI.OWKK FOK THE CLLTI VATOK.
j COVKR SHED FOR SILO.
planted so sparingly In the East that a
large part of our supply of drti-d prun-s
comes from the Pacific const States,
where Its cultivation, to market 3,000
mill's east, has lieen found very prof
itable. American Cultivator.
Fweet Corn for Feeding.
There are a good many fanners who
grow sweet corn for market who do not
care to grow any other kind, because
having only sir.all places. If the two
kinds are grown, there will be more or
less mixed grains in the ear 4. What
corn they cannot sell green they grind
and feed to stock. The sweet corn dries
down harder than will the corn whose
carlsm Is starch rather than sugar. It
Is also much lighter than the field com
after Its surplus of water has dried out
of it. Sweet corn ground with the cob
makes a meal that cattle and horses
are very fond of when fed with cut
feed. But as its w-eight is less than the
field corn meal, more must be fed to
secure the same results. It is not more
nutritious thitn common corn meal, If
so much so, but it may be used some
times to tempt the apietite of an ani
mal that has bten cloyed and thus re
store digestion to its normal activity.
White Clover for Pasture.
It is one of the advantages of rough,
rocky land tluit as It cannot often be
'cultivated nor eve.r very thoroughly,
the surface soil is pretty, sure to be
filled with white clover seed. It is
said to le natural to such land, which,
means that it has so long occupied the!
soli that there is plenty of seed to growj
whenever It has a fair chance. It is an!
excellent pasture gra.ss, as Its roots runl
nesir the surface and quickly respond
even to light rains, which will not re-:
vlve other grasses. It is greatly helped
by a dressing of gyisum. On long-cul-tlvjrted
ground, especially where no
clover has been thickly seeded, there
will be little white clover visible. But
even there It Is often ready when It
gets the chance.
A New Kgg Plant.
While the egg plant is grown yery
extensively as a market garden crop, It
Is seen far too little in home gardens,
and yet there is no
difficulty in raising
it. The main point
to be olserved is
that the plant is a
very tender annual
and has to be start
ed in a hotbed or
greenhouse. Many
fail with it because
they set out the
vkarl kqg plant, plants too early.
There Is no use to plant them outdoors
so long as there Is any danger from
frost or even so long ns the nights aire
very cool, although actual frost does
not occur. One-half dozen plants will
be sufficient for a moderate sized fam
ily. Where potted plants can be pro
cured from the florist or plnnt. grower,
they are far preferable to those taken
up direct from the seed bed. Until re
cently there has been but very little
choice in varieties, the New York Im
proved Purple baring leen almost the
only variety raised, but now there
comes the "Pearl," a white-fruited egg
plant equal in size and quality to the
New York Improved. The plant Is
stated to be remarkably prod ictive and
the fruit of the finest quality, either
baked or frlod. Amoriotu Agricultur
ist. Bone Hints.
Being gentle with a horse will help
him to be gentle.
Keep the colt fat and he will make an
easy-going horse.
Sores on horses' shoulders are large
ly the result of ill-fittlug collars.
An excess of food weakens a working
animal ami disables it from work.
Blood, fowl, care and training are
the essentials necessary for producing
a first-class horse.
To a very considerable extent the
most costly farming Is that done with
poor teams.
There are few diseases to which
horses are subject but are easier pre
vented than cured.
flood grooming does not only add to
the animal's comfort, but to Its health
fulness as well.
Feeding a little wheat bran with the
other grain will help to make the
horse's hair sleek and glossy.
The lcst farm horse Is the one with
a kind and tractable disposition, well
broken and serviceable.
The farmers will always be poor who
continue to raise $50 horses at an ex
cuse of $100.
The feed and cure necessary to raise
a ptsir horse costs as much in every
wny as It does for one of the best.
A horse needs exercise every .day to
keep his system properly regulated and
make his hair to be bright and sleek.
When the horse Is brought in from
work he should be given a good drink;
If too warm to drink he Is too jrm to
eat.
Knrm Notes.
Changing pasturage maintain better
thrift.
Cultivate thoroughly whether the
weeds grow or not.
It Is mistaken economy not to feed
young, growing pigs well.
A supply of salt should Is; keit where
the stock iin help themselves.
Keep the teams In a good coudVtlon
by feeding and grooming reguiaily.
An onimal must have a good appetite
If you expect stamina and constitution.
The more rapidly an animal la fat
toed the less quantity of food is need
ed io maintain vHnllty.
A thrifty fruit tree is like an animal
It requires good feeding If It. makes a
vigorous, steady growth.
During the summer especially, aaw
dust Is one of the ls-st materials that
can be used for betiding for the stock
In the stables. Fa rniera' Union.
m www a km
RECENTLY the Cuban Junta,
located In New York, placed a
large order for dynamite, vari
ously estimated at from 50,000 to 500,
900 pounds. It was probably nearer the
former than the latter figure, but even
If it were the minimum amount, It
would lie sufficient to tear some pretty
big holes in the Spanish ranks if prop
erly applied.
The concern that secured this order
has made lots of dynamite for the
Cubans; it also supplies the needs of
L'ncle Sam whenever be is in want of
anything In this line. For a long time
It was kept busy turning out 20,000
pounds of the stuff a day for the con
tractors at the work on the Chicago
Canal. In a year It turns out enough
of the explosive to almost blow the
earth Into smithereens.
It would seem that a concern which
does all this would be an imposing af
fair, with a factory or series of fac
tories, with numberless acres of floor
space. But it is just tne reverse, auu
a stranger could stand In the very cen
ter of the dynamite factory and not
recognize It as such.
Dynamite is a peculiar commodity
and it is manufactured under peculiar
conditions. Uncertainty is the ruling
thing about dynamite, and this domi
nating feature permeates the whole es
tablishment. The factory Is located at
Gibbstown, N. J., a place so small and
in a section of the State so sparsely set
tled that the outside world would never
have heard of Its existence, perhaps,
were it not for the dynamite.
WW
1'
HUMBLE ABODE OF THE BIGGEST DYNAMITE FACTORY
Its remoteness from everything was
the reason of the factory being located
there. A branch railroad runs into the
property connecting with the principal
railroads and the Delaware River. By
these means the commodity Is shipped
through the country aud to the sea
ports. The factory spreads over a mile of
j swamp laud and Is nothing more than
i three-score of wooden buildings, one
'story in height and not very securely
built. For the most part they look for
j till the world like the run-down negro
cabins of the South and are Just about
1 as handsome. They have one modern
appli.lice, however, and that Is an at
tnchniTnt for depriving lightning of its
powers.
None of these shanties Is very close
to the other. Plenty of open space is
a necessity when tens of thousands of
pounds of dynamite are always lying
around. Commercial prudence- ac
counts for the cheap and scattering
look of the factory. Experience has
taught the owners that a single big
building would lie a rash enterprise.
Explosions occur once In a while, no
matter liow carefully they are guarded
against, and It Is an easy matter to
replace the shanty,
A more isitent reason is the protec
tion it affords to the work people,
Were all the business concentrated In
one building and an explosion: occur In
any one department,' the shock would
cause Instantaneous upheavals through
out the building, killing or maiming
every one 1n the place.
Several hundred people are employed
In the factory. Including a doaen o
men. Each and every one of them fully
realb.ee the danger of their calling,
and they exercise the greatest caution
In performing their work. There are
certain rules formulated by the com
pany which' they must obey, and this
m
OF
15 X
they are only too glad to do. One la
that no matches, firearms or explosivea
of any kind must le carried on the .per
son. Another is that no iron or steel 1
pegs-eau le worn in the shoes. Wooden!
pegs are permissible, because they are'
safe.
This latter rule was formulated wme
years ago after one of the workmen
bad stepped on a tiny piece of dyna
mite, the nails of his shoe causing it1
to explode. The shock caused quite a
quantity of the stuff on one of the work
tables to go off, the shanty was blown
up and there were some fatalitlea
among the workmen.
There is no need of employing special
men to see that the precautionary
rules are observed, as every workman
is a spy upon his neighbors, for he
knows that his safety depends quite aa
much upon the others as upon him
self. Dynamite is principally a mixture of
sulphuric acid, chili saltpeter and box
wood sawdust. There are a good many;
other things which enter Into Its com-;
position, and before it takes the shape j
of the finished cartridge It paasea;
through a variety of hands. There la
one thing that the dynamite worker Is,
thankful for, and that is that his Job;
will never be usurped by machinery. ;
Nearly a dozen of the shanties are;
chemical houses. They are called!
"safety buildings" and are used fori
the storage of the many acids which.
help to make dynamite what It is.
One of the initiatory stages of the
cartridge Is "cooking" of the dynamite
gelatine. The product of the cook is
nitro-glycerine. Many 'acids are poured
into a big leaden tub, the most con-1
spicuous feature of which is a ther-
nioinenter. One man watches the ther
mometer like a hawk and adds chilled
water from time to time to keep the
temperature of the mixture down.
Should it evince a sudden desire to rise
there is nothing for all hands to do but
run. '
After all the acids have been added
the mixture Is allowed to stand, and
.then the nitro-glycerine comes to the1
top like cream In milk. It Is skimmedl
off and carried to another house, where!
It Is mixed with the prepared raw ma-!
terial, principally sawdust.
When the coalition has lsen effected!
the result, is loose dynamite, looking forj
all the world like brown sugar. It Is
conveyed to another, building, called
the packhouse, where it is stuffed into,
the cartridges. The loose dynamite ls
placed In a dampened trough on a damp!
table and the men fill the long narrow'
tubes with the stuff, using wooden;
scoops. Great care is taken that none
of It, drops on the floor, as a happening1
of that kind might be the preliminary'
of a big disaster. - In this room the cart
ridges are packed for shipment.
The women in the factory are em-i
ployed In a little house given over to
making the -pa per caps, for the cart
ridges. As there Is no danger about tbla'
work, machinery Is employed to some
extent, and os a result only a dosen
women are employed.
As little finished dynamite la kept on
the ground as possible. STock la never
maintained. The dynamite la shipped
off as rapidly aa It la made Into cart
ridges and the burden of watching Hi
passes on to otbera.
What use haa a nan with walakaca
for a napkin? ' ' ;
:;. ,
