tbatrfoon 3ournaL
BO. D. CAaTUW, rdltor mmd Fran.
HARRISON, . . . NEB.
la Scotlana four persons out of every
thousand are Insane. This probably
accounts for the dialect stories.
A contemporary lias figured out the
fact that Turkey has thirteen times as
many inhabitants as Greece has. That's
very unlucky.
A novel Maypole dance, with ribbons
Intertwining, in performed by any num
ber of bicycle riders between six and
fifteen, though eight Is preferred. The
evolution are varied and swift, and
form a beautiful spectacle.
AH the small mountain Btreanis all
over the American continent will soon
be used to generate power. This means
a considerable change in social condi
tions. The advantages of city life can
be bad then in remote places.
A Chicago bicycling journal contains
the advertisement of a firm which of
fers "a nrst-class wheel for a lady
with deep frame for $65." j Ladies who
have that kind of frames will do well
to bear this offer in mind.
There can lie no doubt tha t Old Man
Kruger is the best tighter with hi head
kn the old world, and before he Is
crushed by military force he will tie
European diplomacy into a hard knot
rwhich it will take more than one power
(to untie.
The London Xews says that "Du
Maurier used to keep a vase on his
mantelpiece for his friends to- drop
Jokes Into, - which he then used for
Punch." We suspect that Du Maurier
must have had on his calling list sev
eral secret enemies.
A new invention tests the density a
well as size of the body. It is willed
the volumetric bath tub, and registers
;the comparative solidity or flubhimvss
of the tissues with remorseless precis
ion. This looks like fresh trouble for
persons who live by ri'-rid rule.
A prominent member of the English
Royal Botanic Porduty proposes to de
vote the Sahara" Desert to the raising
of esparto grass, which fe almost as
useful as wood pulp. Paper-makers
have forgotten that they were once
concerned about the scarcity of rags.
A Washington paper dismisses the
rumor that Lillian Uusseil is again en
gaged to be married by the statement
that she has not been divorced from
Perogind. Well, young ladies nowa
days often are engaged for the next
waltz before the quadrille is finished. ,
Mention is made of the launching of
the largest merchant vessel at Belfast,
Ireland. Her name is Pennsylvania. A
man would take 2.10 steps to walk from
bow to stern. She will carry 14,000
tons of cargo or what 700 freight cars
would hold. Another just as big is be
ing built at Hamburg.
Military men claim to have made the
curious discovery that the most pow
erful modern guns do not send a shot
through an embankment of sand thirty
feet thick. The projectile, following
the Hne of leawt resistance, curves up
ward through the sand and is rendered
harmless. If the theory is confirmed
coast defense will be cheap and easy,
' t
An alarm clock is not usually an ob
ject of affection, but one set for 4 a. in.
saved the life of a whole family in
New York last week. When it sound
ed the head of the family was inclined
to swear, then he smelled smoke, and
found retreat by the stairway cut off.
Every one in the house was rescued by
fire ladders.-
A church in a London suburb in the
course of a few years has added $(Sm)
to Its treasury by the sale of a three
leaved plant called Calvary clover.
The leaves have a red blotch which
gradually disappears with their
growth, and the id Is spirally wound
with , interlacing points, . resembling,
when removed, a crown of thorns. It
Is customary to sow the seeds on Good,
Friday. ,..,.,.,
It took a Boston jury to discover that
"Yankee Doodle" Is not sacred. A Bos
ton manager was recently arrested and
fined for giving a concert on Sunday
night that was not "sacred," according
to law. A brass band had played "My
Old Kentucky Home," "Au Revolr,"
"King Cotton," "Yankee Doodle," Gou
nod's "Ave Maria," and the "Red,
White, and Blue." ' The Gounod num
ber passed, but the Jury held the other
works secular.
Miss Clara Evans and a moose, the
one a teacher In a Baltimore public
school and the other a resident of the
wane building, collided while trav
ersing their respective orbits, and so
startling were the noises which ensued
that a panic among the children present
iras the result. ... They rushed for the
Mar and 4owu-atatrs la wildest terror,
ad a oHi-con who saw them emerge
taaralfoouftlr ioto the street promptly
la an alarm of Are from the
box. e : . . - .
The Windsor Magasine the other day
tatl Its readers what Mr. Balfour does
kef ore and after breakfast, and what
t aeoeltr eats at that meal, and gives
cac?j tsOSi 9i kl daily ride oft bis
ra. Levi Ceilsbarr la described as
rrrtr3 fcrowftd his hoove, though
. : 1 Ciii la tzj st Is not disclosed.
v 'ttfzzzS tumtur p
i a valuable Journalistic find, and Mr. '
Chamberlain's method of mine up-1
stairs to bed Is faithfully described.
Yet the Saturday Review maintains
that trivial Journalism exists only la
this country.
There are about 2,000 persona In
France who are set down is anarchist
and are under the constant watch of ,
the police of the various European
countries. They are of many nation,
alltles, nearly three-fourths being for
eigners and the remainder of native
birth. Italy has the largest number.
Switzerland next, with Germany and 1
Rush La following. Austria and Belgium
are lowest on the list, their joint tribute j
to it being only a little over 100.
What is wanted in a real war corre-1
spondent is the nose for real news and j
the courage and industry that never !
tire nor quail when In pursuit of news.
At the battle of Plevna Forbes crept up
right to the Russian lines on an eleva
tion that commanded both armies.
There he lay for hours, using one eye
to take in the fighting and one on his ;
notebook. And as night was falling
and the roar of the guns was dying
away his description of the battle was
being edited for the London (News.-
A strange fad that is gaining ground
in England is the playing of the bag
pi ie by ladies after dinner. It was
introduced in London a few weeks ago
by Iyudy EUipeth Campbell, grand
daughter of the Duke of Argyll, and
now she has several imitators. It is
brought from the Highland, of course,
where the playing of the piies by the
piper of the house has long been the
accepted ceremonial or the conclusion
of dinner among the great families.
The pipes that ladies play in England
are richly decorated and, it may be as
well to add, specially toned down for
drawing-room use.
The German naval authorities have
decided to partially heat the boilers of
their men-of-war with olL . This new
oil is called "neasut." It is strictly a
tar oil, a product of the distillation of
lignite, and is dark brown In color. Spe
cial tanks will be constructed for It on
fnoh vfxiutA And f mm thpp tntr n!ne !
will lead to the fnmaces, and the oil
will be conducted thereto through these
pipes. From the pipes It will be ejected
by steam in a spray, and the resulting
flame is very bright and absolutely
smokeless. So far as its heating power
is concerned, It is declared to be greatly
superior to coaL Another feature which
has served to recommend It is its
cheapness. The duties of the stokers
are also greatly lightened by its use.
Washington Star: The death of an
Iowa man as a result of Injuries re
ceived in the course of his Initiation as
a member of a secret society Is not the
first known instance of fatalities con
sequent upon the useless and brutal
practices of many organizations which
make entry into membership a physi
cal ordeaL The nr&ctice comes, doubt-1
less, from olden times, when endurance
was highly prized and praised, and the
esteem in which a cavalier was held
depended upon his ability to suffer Un
complainingly. The same tendency i3
met In penetrating into the inner life
of savages, notably the Indians, of
North America, who torture themselves
and each other as a part of their se
cret rites. But the latter-day Initiations
have apparently degenerated Into
horseplay In many cases, and. serving
no useful purpose and tending in no
sense to preserve any desirable stand
ard of membership, the question arises
whetlier the time has come to abolish
them altogether. The Iowa case Is es
pecially shocking and will doubtless
meet with general condemnation from
the outside public, as well as from a
great majority of the members of all
secret orders indulging to severe initia
tion rites. .
It is a pity that Lord Salisbury's ref
erence to the Eastern question in his
recent speech should present such a j
painful eontrajit to his hopejf ul and sen- j
slble words on the Venezuelan proposi- j
tion. Regarding the Turkish outrage)
thA Prp.mtar tuiH Knt rwna ttiWor trt hv '
England will do nothing. In spite of
her boasted power, Lord Salisbury does
not think she could by her own unaided
efforts subdue the barbarous oppres
sor, and the other foreign powers have
shown no disposition to undertake the
work Jointly. Besides, if England
should lay hand on Turkey, Europe
might begin to fight, which is just what
a gixid 'part of Europe, wlaeu med
iating maneuvers against the Turk,
has thought about England. The whole
speech was She frank announcement
that England will allow the brutalities
committed by the Turk to pass unno
ticed. The demands of Christianity
and the tortures of the Christians are
to be ignored, without even a persist
ent effort to arouse 'to action tliose
European powers of which Lord Salis
bury seems so witch In awe. Such an
effort at least might have been prom
ised in the Premier's speech, but be
speaks only of helplessness and inac
tion. The one thing upon which be Is
eloquently decisive Is that the propo
sition to abandon Egypt and Cyprus In
order to conciliate "the powers" Is
"pretty and Idyllic," and that England
win not "relinquish a single acre of
the land she bow occtrplest.''
Pasture-Fed Cows,
Anxious mother, looking for stmuner
board (to farmer) I suppose, of course,
you Pasteurise your ml ski
Pnssled Fann Oh, yes, marmi
leastwise we pastmitee one t nr. Mew
York Tribune. ,
Tee little.
Ferry-If you will take a baa in
(Its too ft doHar.
Warworn Watson A doHar? A dot
Iar wonMsft fey for m fuBerail-Ca-etaamti
Eatclm.
For Better Rod.
In some of the counties of the State
t plah is licing adopted which promises
Setter roads. The matter Is submitted
to the people to vote upon, and. If car
ried, the trustees propose to do away
with district road tax In the township,
rhis official is to be selected lecause
f his especial qualifications, and will
have in his charge all the road work
(n the township, collect poll taxes, and
itteiid to all the work now looked after
by the several district supervisors.
Spirit Lake Reason.
How to Get Good Hmdi.
If the Legislature of Illinois is really
(o enact- legislation that will at once
solve the convict-labor question and
begin the work of giving this common
wealth a system of good roads. It
should study the good-roads bill now
pending before the Legislature of New
York. The New York bill provides for
a State highway commission of three,
one of whom shall be a civil engineer,
and the duty of the commission shall
be to compile statistics, make surveys
ami maps, and pass upon material for
certain localities and methods of con
struction, decide where State aid is de
sirable, advise and co-operate with lo
cal officials, and In general superintend
the construction of roads throughout
the State.
The need of good roads, though gen
erally admitted, and in most of the
States now urged uimiii the Legisla
tures, is not so commonly recognized in
the United States as in Europe, though
some of the States are fully. awake as
to value of good roads to the prosper
ity and happiness of the people, and
also to the fact that by employing con
vict labor in the construction of these
roads a vexing problem can be solved.
As related in the Record's correspond
ence from Jacksonville, Fla., the other
day, that State Is moving with com
mendable industry and foresight in the
matter of good roads. Jacksonville, ac
cording to Gen. Stone of the agricultur
al department at Washington, now has
the best road in the world, extending a
distance of six miles and with a width
of thirty feet. It was built at a cost of
$;,000 a mile, and all the work done
uion it was done by convicts. Gen.
Stone's account of the progress of the
good-roads movement, as given by the
Record's com-sinident. Is exceedingly
interesting and suggestive:
"There Is more progress in the direc-1
tion of good road in the South than in
any other part of the Union, except
Massachusetts and New Jersey, find
most of the work is done by couvi-.-t
lalsir. It would not he practicable to
work chain gangs on roads In the
Northern States, as is done In the
South, but convict labor might be mil-4
ized in the preparation of the mnteriril,
and prisoners in the county jails thus
be made self -supporting, without com
ing Into competition with honest labor.
This is done in California in camps and
quarries with great success. . All the
States are showing signs of interest ill
the good-roads movement, but no prac
tical work is done west of Ohio, except
In California, where Mr. C. P. Hunt
ington has Inaugurated a great work
and stimulated public spirit in this til.
rectiori. The State furnishes the coun
ties with crushed trap rock, which is
the best kind of road material, and It Is
prepared by State prisoners at 25 cents
a ton about one-fourth the market
price, Mr. Huntington hauls It to any
part of the State that Is reached by his
railways for the actual cost of hauling,'
and the highway commissioners of the
several counties put it down. There
ought to be a highway commission in
every State and a local commission In
everj' county of the Union. I am go-;
ing out to Illinois in a few weeks to see
If I cannot interest your Legislature in
the subject." ;
Gen. Stone may or may not be cor
rect In his statement that It would not
be practicable to work chain gangs oh
the roatls in Northern States, as is done
In the South. However that may bo;
his other suggestion, that convicts can
be employed in preparing material for
roads. Is eminently practicable and,
would go far toward solving the 'oi
vlct labor .-problem, in this State for
many years to come. Chicago Hecord.
.Odd Facta About Madagascar.
Probably the sleepiest policemen In
the world are those of Madagascar. At
Antananarivo, the capital, there Is lit
tle evidence of the force by day, for Its
members are all iacefully wrapped In
slumber. At night, too, the guardian
of properly is seldom to be seen, nnd
that he Is actually guarding is only to
be told by the half-hourly cry that Is
sent up to police post No. 1 alongside
the royal palace. ' v i
"Watchman, what of the night 1" t
"We are wide awake, keeping s
sharp lookout, and all's well."
. Antananarivo has no lamps and no
streets. It Is simply s great collection
of houses tumbled together. There Is
a big force of night police, known as
the "watch." . The men gather them
srives together in groups, nud choosing
snug corners, wrapping theiuselres in
straw mats, they drop into loo&and
profound slumber. Ooe member of
each group remains awake to respond
to the half-hourly call from the palace.
As he calls back, the others, V1"'
awake, mechanically shout back the
response. , It makes little difference,
however, that the police continually
sleep, for robbery Is rare.
Curfew, tboufb popularly supposed
to be purely sn early English and Norman-French
custom, has been estab
lished In Madagascar for centuries. In
erery town tod village between nine
sudden the watchmen go around hout-
ing out J the Malagasy dialed, -Lights
out!" and they see that all is In dark
ness In every house. After these hours
no one Is allowed to travel around with-,
out a special pass.
There is no criminal code of any ac
count, and when a man is taught In
the act of stealing the impulace Is apt
to Ignore the iolice and surround him
and 6tot:e him to death. The Madagas
car have no "swear words" in their
language, and when their feelings are
overwrought against a man the ouly
thiug tuey can do is to execute sum
mary vengeance on him.
A New View of the Hird Question.
"The Bird on a Woman's Hat" bthe
subject of au editorial by Edward W.
Bok. In the Ladles' Home Journal,
which presents the live, practical side
of the movement against the slaughter
of bird for their plumage. The cru
sade, Mr. Bok considers, ban been car
ried oji upon unwise Hues, and over
zoaiously. "There U a practical ele
ment In this desired reform," he writes,
"and It Is this: Anybody who has
give even the most cursory attention
or study to Isitany knows that all
forms of life have their origin in plant i
life. Every animal which exists either j
lives directly on some plants, or on
insects which destroy plants. The
birds find their sustenance mainly In j
the insects that injure vegetation and!
ofttimes kill It entirely. A sufficiently j
large number of insects will kill a crop.
If there aw no birds, naturally the in
sects have everything their own way.
I have recently gene to considerable i
pains to tiud out from fanners to wluit '
extent the decrease of birds hi affecting j
their crops, ami 1 find that the co'idl-,
tion 1 more alarming than we, .who'
live in the cities
have any idea of.
ami large centers, j
All the fanners to ,
whom I spoke or wrote agreed that hist
vcar th; Increase of instnita was uinisi
4
uaily great, while the decrt-ase of birds '
was even greater. For every hundred j
birds killed, alsjiit sixty are lorn. I
Hence It Is easy to sec that the greatei
the number of birds killed the more j
exposed become the crops of tile farm- j
er to the Insect. The same may li
said of our trees, for the bird is really
the lmlanct of nature. To what extent :
this balance Is ls-ing upset by fashion'
Is easy to realize from the statement j
that during 1 S'MS the plumage of over!
3.tHK).ti('Ni of birds was rwclvcd In New ;
York.' It is these things which j
I -would like women to think abnit'
when they purchase birds for Un'it j
hats. Naturally a supply depends upon
a demand. If women would woderatti
t licit buying of lints adorned witli birds ,
or their plumage fewer birds would lt i
slaughtered. Those who kill the bird!
cannot Ito rightly attacked. They sini-l
ply supply a demand. ; The reform in!
tliis matter lies wlIli the women who
have adopted this fashion." , ;
The Way to Itoast Ducks and frcese
Triine ducks umsi! 1 fat aiid young, j
the lower part of the legs and web- j
biug of the feet soft. aiv the under Kl ,
surhciently soft to break easily." write.))
Mrs. S. T. Rorer, in L.tr cooking hs-j
sou on "The Cooking .f Poultry. 1 bi l
the Ladies' 1 1 w Journal. "The usual
rule, for roasting ami baking will op-j
ply to ducks an-1 geese. They contain,:
however, much more fat than either;
turkeys or chickens: t his, melting while '
they are roasting, may be aafed for'
frying purposes a ad used In' place of '
butter. Instead of using breadcrumbs;
as dressing for ducks or geese use po-J
tato. For a ined!uin-!.wl duck allow j
four good-sized potatoes or two cupful i
of mashed potato'. While the iKtatoe.4
are hot and light odd to them one,cupj
of cIiohsmI KogliKh walmuia, a lea.
kkjomu1 of salt, half it cup of chopped ;
celery, find a sartapoouful of pepper.-;
When thoroughly mixed put the dress-!
ing Into the duck or goose, sew up the'
vent, and It hi reedy to roast.' The pe j
cultar flavor Imparted by the celery in
the roasting gives a tame duck much !
the flavor of a wild oaio. One of thej
choice dishes among icnn(in-Amerk jiu i
people Lsgoow stuffed with sauerkraut.
The sauerkraut Is washed thoroughly!
and -soaked over night in cold waiter,!
then stuffed kino the goose, the goowj
trussed and cis'ketl slowly." .
Novel Poppet Khows.
The latest toy from Paris Is an In
gen Ions ojrtloal illusion. Two iin-sj
of glass make the front and rear walls
of a reservoir which is tilled with d ai
water. The front s made of corru-j
gated but clear glass. Tlw rear one !'
nmdo of smooth plate. A figure of a'
tnnn cut out of cardboard Is attached'
to a wire that passes uudr the rescr-j
voir. As the picture Is drawn toward
the operator, who is looking at It
through the corrugated glass, the flgurs
appears to be walking In a most nat
ural manner. A clown with his point
ed cap balanced on his nose, seeme to
be exerting nil his cunning to preserve
Its equilibrium- s well as his own.
Morses move, dons d.iiu-e. umho vnil.
die, all in a manner to produce much!
amusement. Any colored pictures cut
from newspapers or magazines may be
used with this simple but Ingenious!
toy, thereby prolonging its novelty and
entertaining favor indefinitely. An In
genious youth will And this a new and
amusing way to produce puppet shows
and toy theatricals.
Overdone.
"That's Hlmpklns, the poet, over
there."
Is It?"
"Yes. He halls from Boston, where
they have so much culture."
"I I'm! I guess he got cultivated a
little too much. He looks seedy."
Roston Ideas.
' Two Views.'" '
"Plunks Is all torn up about thai
burglary."
"Yes; and Mrs. Plunk Is tickled to
death because now everybody knowt
that she had seres doten atlrer spoons
to be stolcn.'VDetrolt Free
AGRICULTURAL NEWS
THINGS PERTAINING TO
FARM AND HOME.
THE
Treatment of Horcn Afflicted with
Hcbvcs-I is 6-houlil Me l ed Heqru-larly-A1
vantage of Hlra't'bt Hows
for CultlTate't Crc p Note.
Heaves in Horsfn.
Heaves Is not so common a disease
among horses as it w as In for: Her years.
It may be described its a chronic dis
ease of the breathing organs, without
Inflammation, characterized by a pe
culiar ; breathing, the -breath belug
drawn in with ease, but breathed out
with difficulty, ul.tl by two distinct ef
forts. The immediate cause is the rup
ture or debility of the small cells in the
lungs, so the animal canont expel the
air he has drawn in without tin extra
and double effort. It is obvious,' there
fore, that the symptoms are readily de
tected. Authorities say that when the disease
Is established It is incurable, though It
can be alleviated materially. If the
disease is not too intense some relief
may be obtained by giving one-half to
one grain of arsenic In form of Fow
ler's solution daily for several weeks.
One authority recommends the follow
ing prescription: "Thirty grains each
of calomel, digitalis, opium and cam
phor: make Into a ball and give once
or twice a day." After tin- first week
the calomel should 1m omitted. Hut
more valuable than any medicine is the
food and treatment of the animal. The
diet should he of the best quality and
small quantity. Coarse foods should be
avoided. Mouldy or dusty hay or fod
der is especially injurious. Let him run
on a clean, short pasture and the feed
given lie In a concentrate) form, slight
ly damixMied to allay any d ist. Keep
bowels loose.
' ' Kre-'Ilnsr Pin I'ciintnrly.
MtK-h depends in fccd'ng pig on giv
ing tin Srf.Kwl at rc.Ailr.r intervals.
Thou tin; pig will very s ton Income
usid to this, and will not. expect his
food until the next regular feeding
time co:ws. The old saying that a
s jueal'ng pig loses a ouiid of fat every
time p, squeals has this much of truth
in !f. tr-f !je iJTe.-ii.i'- !':m-- for feed
ii.g . 1: .-u occa.-Jous moot oi the squeal
ing is I'ui' surest way to destroy diges
tion, . This in 1 ig Is not so strong as
is often supjMiscd. The pig Is greedy
by nature. Others must see to if that
It does not cat more nor oftoitor than
is good for it.
Straight Hows for Hoe-1 Crops,
fo much of the work of cultivation is
now done witli horse power that It Is
more than ever iuiKrtaut that all rows
(if hoed croM shall be as nearly on a
straight line as jmssihle. 1'nless tills
Is done it is Impossible to guide the
cultivator so to avoid destroying
more or less plants. lslde leaving
seeds that cannot be thereafter uproot
ed except with great difficulty. When
a weed Is not kilhil by cultivation It Is
made all the. more thrifty, for the prun
ing of the roots which cultivation gives
makes new roots put forth just as it
d es for the crop. It is for this reason
that after burrowing !otti ways over
corn ground before the grain Is tip, the
Cultivator should lie set to work be
tween the rows Just so soon as the
rows can lie seen. This will desjroy
"fly, weeds that the borrowings may
have missed.
Kirttine Cow.
A 'A'estern agricultural writer says
that there arc Just as good milkers
among cows that do not kick as there
are among those that do. This, we
think, is hardly the fuct. It Is the ten
derness la the udder, caused by the
presence of a large amount of milk,
tint iiipkes careless handling of. the
teats very painful. The repult is that
the cow become a kicker. frd soon
this grows into a habit not easily brok
en. It is usually the fault of the man
who bmik the heifer to being milked
who is responsible for her character as
n milker. If the llrst operations on the
teals are gentle, drawing milk slowly
until the bag Is somewhat cased, milk
ing Is a soothing and pleasure-giving
process for the cow. Kor the first few
times the heifer is ndlked she Kbotild
have some appetizing feed set before
her, which she can eat whilt the milk
Is lielng drawn. This should always
be given when there Is danger that the
cow will hold up her milk. The cow Is
a one idea animal. When she Is eating
heartily she cannot easily think of any
thing else. American Cultivator.
. Frnlt b Hondsldc.
Probably the best nsc that can le
made of roadsides Is to pliint fruit trees
beside thorn, especially of those that
nre somewhat hard to gather In quan
tity. We hare In mind a farmer who,
mnuy years ago, planted a long row of
cheny trees ou the roadside, and far
enough from the fence so that the trees
did not Injure the crops Inside the fields.
These trees never failed to furnish a
paying crop.andsomcyears the cherries
were sold on the tree for four to five
dollars per tree, and still paid a good
protlt to the man who bought the fruit.
Very few cherries were taken by pass
ersby. though the tree were lieeide a
well-traveled rond. Most people while
going along a highway are too busy to
stop, nnd the trntttps wno were ot too
busy were generally too lasy. Probably
If peaches or pears had been thus ei
posed the result would have been differ
ent Even then a few roadside trees
for the public would be apt to lessen
depredations on the neighboring or
chards, which' near cities or large vil
lages are the causes of much loss to
fruit growers. Exchange.
Mnskmalons by the Acre.
Cheap as muskmelons are at times,
they pay better than do most staple
farm crops for those who are willing
to give them the care which all garden
crops require. To get the beat prices
plsnt as early a the land la warmed
at the surface. Frequent cultivation,
leaving the land s light as possible,
will do much to make It warm. Ho will
planting on a newly turned two year
old clover sod. The very earliest mel
ons are planted In a comiact space,
with a box 10x12 over the hill to keep
off winds through the daytime and to
be covered at night. Ten or more seeds
are placed In each hill, which are later
reduced to two plants by the time the
vines liegln to run. Oue of the worst
enemies of all melon plants Is the white
grub, the larva of the May or June bug.
It will travel on the surface soil at
night and cat the plants Just at fhe sur
face. Wheat bran through which Psris
green has been mixed and scattered
around the steins of the plants will
make short work of these pests. The
grubs are very fond of the bran, and In
eating It will get enough poison to kill
them. This method of getting rid of
grubs will not be practicable If fowls
are allowed to come near the patch, as
they arc also very fond of the bran.-
Agricultural Exchange.
Alkali In Wentern Lands.
In an liLstna'tJve pster'rece,ntly read
Iieforv a California farmers' Institute
by Prof. K. W. Hilgard, this subject
was broadly considered, and It was
shown that alkali Is the result of disin
tegration of rocks and found only
where rainfall is too little to rry It
off in solution. The more common salt
are (JIauts-r's sHs, common salt awl
sal stsla. The last mimed otn-asioiis
the principal Injury by girdling plants
at the surface. In connection (with
these salts sre found others whUih are
among the most valuable dements of
fertility, mainly salts of potash and
lime, and found ki greater proportion
In arid than In humid lands. Theso
salts frequently appear ou the surface
only after irrigation. In such cases it
will be found that they existed below
the surface and wore carried In solu
tion by water used lu Irrigation anil
left on the surface by evaporation. A
remedy is deep cultivation with thor
ough pulverization of the surface In
orchard cultivation, to reduce evaisira
tion to a minimum; or shading tho
gnuind with smii crops as alfalfa. The
more important discoveries are that
the Australian salt bush will tlirtvo
on strong alkali lands and that thoy
have also produced large yields and a
tine quality of sugar beets.
Rossini; l!u-k.
In raising ducks set tlw eggs under
her.; when hatched ri-move to n box
l!ud with ptiper find kept In n warm
place with all th nunshinc ,ih!.
When two days eld put In a bxird pen
during day time. Feed bread soaked lu
water and pressed dry. Io nrt give
them w.itr to 'swim in until three
wcks old. Dust with Persian lusw-t
powder oiu i: a week; when four week
old feed on corn broad soaked in sweet
milk; young onkti tops irt flue and
mixed with their feed aTC healthful.
After four weeks old they wll thrive
(n almost any dht :nii will grow with .
h water to swim la than Is generally
supposed. Always keep water for
drink lot; as pure hjkI clean as possible,
changing often mid putting gravcJ In
the dish where waW Is kept.
ronttrr Pick Hun.
Don't have the flocks of bens too
large. If you have more than scvenly
flve. or eighty, they ought to lie sep
arated Into smaller flocks.
An egg contair.ssfroui 25 to 27 per
cent, solid matter, nearly 1-1 per cent.
slLunieii. That means that laying hens
mid fissl rich In albuminous mutter
meat, oatmeal, milk, bran, .etc.
While poultry will not thrive on neg
lect, it is well to remember that over
feeding and hick of exercise nre also
fruitful source of loss In the iultry
yard. .
If we would keep up the vigor and
fecundity of our nocks we must Infuse
new blood Into tbetn. It- wrvlee or
protlt or vigorous growth Is desired,
there must lie a frequent change of
cockerels In the fhv'ks.
Weed out the flocks, disposing of
really old stock and the undesirable
young. A few good Inns, well cared
for, will raise more chickens this sum
mer than If a great Hock Is crowded
together In unhealthy coojis.
A ltostjon commission merchant says
that If farmers would market all the
chlckntw and eggs they cati spare each
week, 'hey would be surprised at the
regular incoine-tlint they were receiv
ing, and they would 11 ud more profit In
poultry. "
A' writer say that crop bound is
nothing more than Indigestion, and
that charcoal fed fowls rarely ever
have this trouble. Then prevent it by
every now and thou charring several
ears of corn and allowing the Inns to
pick 1 off. ' ;
farm Notra.
, Loan the tree at planting towuids the
direction of prevailing winds.
lieew need iiiul care lu early spriug
If profitable returns are secured.
Xyrup made of granulated sugar Is
the beet end chcapost feed that can bo
given to bee)-. '
A nearly eight fold Increase In the
export of oats Is noted the past nine
months compared with a year ago, the
flgurca boLiig reispectlvely I'O.OOO.OtJO
i and 3,500,000 bushels.
A cross between the Brown Ixghorn
and Huff Cochin Is an excel!, tut egg
producer and an Ideal table fowl. Kggs
will be had the year round and the
bens make excellent mothers.
Just before frutt blossom open U
the time tosgway thoroughly to dewtro
bud moth, cigar and pistol cast; bear
er. These three Insects do thHr most
dontnxitlve work before blossoms ojsn.
To make grafting wa. im-lt together
and pour Into a pail of cold wa .'cr rosin
four parts by weight, ls-eawnx two
parts and tallow one part. Then grease
the haada and pull the wax until it ia
nearly white.
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