FARM AND GARDEN. MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRICULTURISTS. if 1 Rome t'p-to-4at* Hint* About OultJ.u tlou of the Roll and Yield* Thereof ■ Horticulture, Viticulture and Florl | culture. UNDRED9 of arti cles have been written on the ad visabllty of farmers raising small fruit for their own use, but there Is room for hundreds more of artifice If they will In any way tend to bring about this desirable end, says As a rule, farmers live well, but their tables show little variety, and they rarely have any of those delightfully wholesome subucld fruits, even during the hot summer months when such fruits are most craved. In the fall and winter they have apples; and occasionally there Is a farm that has a few pear trees; but where one farmer has straw berries and currants and gooseberries, there are ten that do not. If the chll* ■ dren are too small to be of much use on the farm, they are sent after huckle berries and blackberries, und the older members of the family eat them with a relish that ought to be an Inducement for them to have fruit of their own. But as soon as the berries are gone they go back apathetically to their diet of bread, and meat and milk, In its va rious combinations. I am convinced thatit Isriot from a distaste of the work or expense Involved that they neglect the small fruits so systematically. But the farmer, perhaps more than any oth er person, is a creature of habit. He *■ seldom complains of bin own work, but finds It almost Impossible to step be yond certain accustomed limits. He will work from early morning till late night day after day and year after year, and not feel it any special grievance; but If he is brought face to face with a half-hour's work "out of his line," In the house, or the flower-garden, or any where, be will pay ten prices to have it done rather than do it himself, "it is easy to raise strawberries and other small fruit,” you tell him, and he agrees with you, but says that "he don't know much about ’em," and is "too old to learn.” And that Is all there Is to it. You may talk to him until the end of time, and he will agree with you in everything, but he does not set any fiuit. Just the same. I have known a farmer leave his work and tramp all day over the fields, and return at night with a quart or two ai wild strawber ries that a fruit dealer would have re jected with scorn, He exhibits them triumphantly, and It Is scarcely worth while to tell him that one-half his labor would have set out a strawberry bed that would have furnished him with fine berries every day for weeks. Now and then a farmer Is induced to give them a trial, hut the chances are that his interest will not go beyond the set ting, and that the vines will become choked with grass and weeds and he Y plowed up at the end of a year or two, with the remark that they turned out Just as he expected. And here lies one of the great' difficulties. To a certain Extent the apple trees and pear trees pnd peach trees take care of themselves, but the small fruit is not quite so ac commodating. It is ready to yield an abundant return, but must be under stood and have some care. Perhaps the best method Is to let the strawberries bear once, and then plow them up. I have tried most of the methods advo cated. and like this best. Set the vine., in the spring, and keep them hoed the first year, going over them three or four times if necessary. It will not IUU1 V »« »» I vs nuv »s bod large enough to raise fifteen or twenty bushels. The next spring take gome of the fresh runners and set a new bed. and after the old one is through bearing plow it u;j. It is easier than keeping the grass and weeds out, and I am convinced gives better results. A half day’s work in preparing ground and setting plants, and another half day lu hoeing, anti the compensation Is all the delicious strawberries your fatn 1 lly can possibly eat, and a generous quantity for your neighbors or to sell, it you so wish. T« in*nl I As the population of the country ltt Vreuses so does the number of farmers who own no laud, but depend ou rent v lug from ethers lu order to make a liv ing. write* S. H, Pile In Hurnl World. All through this section land for leu*e i* scarce, and competition ha* grown .imoitg renters for what available land there Is, until It lias gotten to that point l.at hi man' Instance* a man t ail umku more out of his land by renting it than by faruuug it himself, especially If ho depend* upon hired help largely, la many caae* * farmer who own* a good ly number of acre* will mow hi* family to th» nearest town, and only oversee, renting out everything to the tenaut. , lainilng that It la more agreeable and pruhtable to do thte than to live on *nd cultivate kla own land. This meth od ts wot the heat la toy opinion, be cause It wetks a karcWbtp on tke powr tenter to pay such htgk reals, sad la many eases these renters try tv see. It would appear, ksw muck damage they van do the farm la Ike time they hove It. If seme slight repairing ts seeded, they let It alone thinking they pey mere than the worth nf tke place anyway; and by Ike lime the year U a ended tke alight breaks that ears hate become quite serious 1 ken the ew net of the farm comes around, and seeing h«w everything has keen pun down. re fwaen t* rent t« tke insn again can eminently be at net bunt aim* her Iwm the time that be then devotee rMtag Huts on* place to another If spent in progiahte work, weoh! sonnet* hint l»f many months; while as It Is. It Is vir tually thrown away. 1 know one man who once waa nearly every day from October till the following March look ing for a place, and after he found one that suited him he only lived there two weeks, when he got tired and moved again. All this time spent looking and moving around could have been em ployed at good wages, and he need not have moved at all had he been willing to do his part. There are few that are as hard to please as this man. yet nine out of every ten renters move at. least once every year, and many are thrown clear out some years, and have to move to town and there try to eke out a scanty living until they can find an other place. This, the poorest class of farmers, Is the one that needs help the most. The renter may have a fortu nate year or two, and get a little ahead, but then should he miss a year or pay too high, he loses what little he has, and must begin all over again. It la not my fault, neither Is It yours, that this man In as poor as he Is. Perhaps It Is largely his own fault, but It matters not how he became that way, we should each of us try legitimately to Improve this man's condition. If be rents your land, encourage and help him as much as you can; try to make him contented, to do his part, and want to remain with you year after year, or until he can buy land of his own. You will be profited, for he will grow better and larger crops as his condition improves, and It Is so much more satisfactory to deal with a man you know can be trusted to do as he agrees. Kvery man who owns land, or depends for a living from the soil, should try to Improve agriculture, and If the tenant farmer be made to do so there will be no trouble about the bal ance. Home Grown anil Ini|>orl<*il Urn ISeeil. There is not a great deal of differ ence in the composition of the ash of Imported and home grown samples. The Imported seeds are no richer in their stored-up food for the young plants than are our own seeds; If any thing the Minnesota seeds are a little richer in phosphoric acid while the im ported seeds are richer in potash. The difference between the imported and the home grown seeds, if indeed there Is any difference whatever, Is more a physiological difference, such as the vi tality of the germ, etc., rather than a difference in the chemical composition of the seeds. The homo grown seeds were richer both in oil and total nitro g< n—particularly so In total nitrogen. The total nitrogenous matter in the foreign seeds amounted to 23.12 per sent, while in the home grown seed;) the amount was 27.08 per cent. In stead of the extensive importation of foreign grown seeds, an exchange and improvement of our home grown seeds should first be tried.—Uulletin. Winter fare of Hour*. How do you put away your roses to prevent them from winter killing?— P. A. Our rose bed is long and narrow, con taining two rows of bushes, says the Farmers’ Guide. Hast winter a board was put up each side of the bed and fastened with stakes. The hushes were bent over all in one direction and cov ered with straw, and this held down with boards. This year we have made coverings out of wide boards by nail ing them together V-shaped. These will be Inverted over the hushes after they have been bent over and covered with straw. We find It a good plan after bending the bush over to bill up i some dirt around the roots. With the I Email bushes this is especially bene ficial. We do not cover our roses tinti’ j we think settled cold weather is with us. This year we wilt cover them after the ground is frozen. We have the ! covering in readiness so that i . will not \ take long to do the work at the proper i I time. | - Commercial Fertilizers.—Most form- 1 ! era in purchasing commercial fertill- ! zers buy only what are needed for ini- . mediate use. This is partly to escape ; | losing the interest on investments not j in use, but mainly because there Is a I popular idea that fertilizers d( teriorate ! by exposure to the air. If they are kept I i from becoming wet they will be as j ;;ood the neeoud year as tho lirat. ox- | ropt that absorption of moisture from j 1 damp air will make tho mineral harden : j into lumps, which will make It difficult j i to drill. The heat way to keep any • ' surplus of mineral fertilizer is to scut- I \ ter it from time to time over the stable j manure heaps, and apply it with that. ' noth tho stable manure and phosphate I will ho made more . filelent by this , combination, a* each kind of fertiliser will supplement tho Uettcienciea of the other. Kx. Sorghum for Sheep Sorghum fori- : tier Is not a M food for sheep, unless It Is cut when quite young. after which the next growth*, also cut when young, muy be used. The leaves are sharp edged and lough and the sic Iks ex ceed.ugly hard and tllnty. These qual- > It tea make this plaut unfit for the Rock I ! Corn of the Rrsi early kinds Is ex- | cellent In every way. and If II Is mown ; | || will make a new growth, but the | I rest way Is te cut II dean as you go I ami then replant, so having n sucres- I stun of plantings during the whole **•>> | Mm |t is well to mlx the corn with 1 some other crops to he fed between ' i the corn feedings Sheep love change. ! n,e»Ull> of teed Am Ulleep Ilf wed - ! •* ! At the annual cattle snow at Norwich Knglaud. the exhibitors Included the queen, the I'rtnew of \Xslea and the I hike «l \*’»k Tho I’Hnco of tta'.e ] | , aptured the flrst prise for steers of any brood with n shorthorn Tho holt apparent also won frit and mMi puns In the fioothdow* x other tlrt* , and the ltd IMdr l*t ilrtl iiMlrd | swea It i# inhuman* to lo*a on# » temper • tih animats, Mkrt they ars kelpie** t la resist IS IOWA'S DAUGHTER.1 LUCIA B. CltlFFIN A NATIVE OF HAWKEYE STATE. the H»> Attained Well Merited Fame •• an Kiitertalner Aa an K.ssaylst Nhe llaa Shown Ureal Ability In jured Keren! ly. IS8 LUCIA B. Griffin wbo ban gained merited fame all over the country an public entertainer watt born In Knoxville, Iowa. She laugh ingly tell* her friends nhe began her travels early, as she left that village four weeks old, and went with hpr parents to Albla, her present home. The trip was made over land on a beautiful April day. In a big lumber wagon, as railroad accommoda tions In Iowa at thnt particular time were limited. In early girlhood she gave promise of an eventful career. A born mimic, she was always willing and anxious to do more than her share of "speakln' pieces" at school. Hid a sul len, gawky hoy say. on Friday after noon. "hnlnt. prepared," up would go "Lute” Griffin's little hand. "Teacher, I’ve got a new piece; I know all of It. I kin speak lots of pieces.” She be longs to a class of girls but little under stood. endowed by nature with an ut ter disregard for conventionalities and customs, yet among whom Is found many a genius. Purely a western girl, fearless and faithful In all she under takes, simple and unassuming In man ner, both on and off the stage. Miss Griffin has a host of friends, and It is aald of her, "She Is a genuine little gome of the most distinguished writers commoner, and not an aristocrat.” She numbers among her Intimate friends MISS GRIFFIN AS DAY DHKAM. anil lecturers of the age, and, like them, is deeply Interested In affairs of state, and In the betterment of humanity. As might be expected of an extensive traveler, she la broad In her views and progressive In her ideas. Being an ardent admirer of Helen Potter, she chose for her life work that of char acter Impersonation, and has spent much lime and money In studying the underlying principles of her art. She has had instruction from some of the best tutors of Boston, New York and Chicago. For nearly ten years she has been adding to the world's sum of lightheartedness by delighting her audiences with cost time sketches of re fined comedy, pathos and an ocea Iona I burst of tragedy, all in harmoniou blending. She has given entertain ments In almost every state of the union, and lias he a warmly wdeomeil in other than her native land. "Bob" Burdette says of her: "She 1: as ready with hi r pen as with her voice. When other authors' sketch's do not suit her she writes her own. Her talents havi a wide and vailed range." Hesiil“3 writing for sevi ral eastern. mannulnoa * i it«I tuUl'gni iln.ru VI ' < u flii lias published several books which have been extensively read. Atnor.g the latest and most popular books o' recitation, Is "The Star Sp aker, ’ pub lished in New York, containing pcrhap fifty h alf-toi i portrai.s of .Miss (i.illin. In "many ntlinie moods." The book Is handsomely bound, contains six hun dred pages of excellent recitations, selected and arranged by Miss (irlfttn, and especially adapted for parltf platforms and ttchuiyl rooms. She would still be delighting uudlem.es but for at) unforiiinate accident which occurred a Madison WIs , In the rummer of 1 .«*•• I, seriously impairing her health and iiiakinc test an Imperative necessity. Slit* hopes, howevtr, In time, to tic able to resume her work, In u limited way, giving an occasional short program, VrllllHul Ills lunmb. Whatever may be the origin of the gems of commerce, whether terrestrial or meteoric, it Is certain that at least one method of their formation i< known Iron at a temperature of 3,0M centigrade saturated with car butt and cooled under high pressure yields a portion of Its carbon, whb h crystallise* as diamond The knowledge uf this fact has led to experiment# with hard ft til «li-«l alii h 1# In i i I .min whai similar eondltbun The metal was dissolved la hydrochloric weld, an t the solution was treated sU'iesaivetv With iunccMtrated ultrb a nt fused poiasstum chlorate, hvdrufluiirU arid sod sulphuric add k'rout lit* treat* uo if very ntlaule c r v st * I* are oh* Mined which exhibit alt the physical and i lu mbal ysslttlo of arid la feat are, true diamond* The largest flower la (he world grows la Must tt ra It la call” I the Hott «n If Mobil, asd wist uf the apWfiW«M thirty ala* laches )a 4l«at*>er Th* veairal top wlU hold six i net is of wa ter THINGS TO REMEMBER. A I.It tie Sound l'l»ll«M»o|»h.r Thnf Every itudy Should Have. If we are going to censure our fel lows let us at least blame them onfy for what in them Is Justly censurable, says Scribner’s. People are born Into this world with vastly different outfits of intelligence, eomellness and health, and they are born into vastly different environments. We should not blame them for the absence of qualities or instincts which they had no means of Inheriting, nor for the lack of knowl edge or manners or dispositions which their environments gave them no op portunity to acquire. If we are to blame them at all we ought to limit our censure to such faults as they might reasonably have avoided. Some folk try very hard to be good and to make (be very most and best of what they have, but have such distorted ma terials to work with that they never win more than a very moderate suc cess. Other people don't seem to try half as hard, but, being born sounder, sweeter and more sane, with better wits and better instinct, work out what Is In them under advantageous conditions and find the best things In life fairly tumbling Into their laps. They are not really so deserving as their brethren, who started witfc less and made more effort, tint we applaud them a great deal more and like them a great deal better. It Is the law of this world that to him that hath shall be given. The man with five talents who makes the most of them g«ts five cities; the man with two talents, two cities; the poor creature with only one talent very likely has not sense enough to list? that and will probably lose what he has and come on the county. Hut II*' 1,1 l/ill l/l >11 11*1 , l»/i/, All' ' w nimi at him and Insist that In- Is worthless, and eontrast him, to his detriment, with the five-talent man whom w<> are glad to call our friend? We shall pay for It If we do. It Is our affair to help the one-talent man, If we can, to get Ills poor talent out at usury. It may not he possible for us to accomplish It, hut If we avoid him altogether we shall avoid all chance of helping him and III will It tic with us when our fastid iousness has finally done Its perfect work and we have no companions at all except five-talent people who do not need our help. WOODCOCK'S WHISTLE. That Mu.teal Hiiui.iI I. Made t»y ttie ItirtlH Wingtx At various times during the last few years I have read with Interest dis co-, ions as to how tie woodcock makes hi, whistle, that delicious ripple of melody so fascinating to the ear of the sportsman who hunts the shy and handsome game bird, says Forest and Stream, While shooting woodcock re cently in company with a friend this question was discussed, my friend at once asserting that the whistle was made by the bird's wings and not through the hill by the aid of the throat, al the same time saying to me: "When next yon shoot a woodcock without Injurylng Its wings and with out killing It, simply making a body shot sufficiently hard to bring the bird to the ground, call your dog to heel, retrieve the bird yourself, hold hint by the bill suspended In the air at. arm's length, arid In a fluttering to escape from your hand the whistle will he made by tin bird's wings." While shooting a few days later with another friend I was fortunate enough to make a body shot on a woodcock, which came to the ground w ith the wings unbroken, j Tin dog caught the bird, which had at | tempted to fly after it struck the I ground. I took It from the log’s mouth | and, seeing Its wings were unbroken I determined to make the test then ... .1 Aft. H.lllnr/ mo feion.l u * l •» • I was about to do, t hold the bird by it1 bill at urn's length and the result w.i. that it made the whistle three times each time by executing a rotary move ment of the wings and body while 11 ut tiring. If any sportsman doubts th!f> statement I wish he would do as I have dene and all doubt will be dispelled from bis mind as to how this enchant ing whistle is produced. I'.tltc* S. t rl I'rr-tlirt<*if• Predictions of a sensational charac ter in regard to the weather may dc ■ little harm. The self-eons United I Ophet outside the regular meteoru I-ghel bureau. Is. however, always a ' hand Hut the man who fore, ces an earthquake may do a great deal of nils chief. The llullctln of the American i ideographical society prints this: "Pro feesor" Kalb of Vienna inllltted grift >>u- injury upon Athens In ls:n by predicting that the city would suffer j : verely Irom the earthquake on May i Nearly every one who could do mi i ilrd front the city, and there was, In deed. great suffering, mused, however entirely by Kalb, for there »a» uc earthquake, tilolsus 1V0I. l,XX„ No. II j say* that another of hU mitehtevoio prophf > tea threw Valparaiso. Pblll, In to a sad state of terror In March last III iimlli tel one of lit* critical days fut Mar h itt, and for several days pr* . ioIIai all the train* were crowded with fugitive* hound for the luoun ! tain* The number of fugitives to ' alaatt ) There was no earthquake | w trouble of any out ev ept that { caused by iteta irrepressible prophet IV.• to «u i VtivS At Hot* two. In i th amputated leg of a draw man who had chilblain* and t n,m* la to be dU.a'vited uad*i t*t* ilw tnt • snbn an t hurled U.!a* th* ' ffttil ttttc ttt vifvlef tl letleVe the uvatt's pteeettl suffeilhg* ftc*m th* obi ,tttu I ** *‘|Im ft* Milk ill - Imp* &*»*#, mi *ft# I big tftt&jr* i »4»# |«* il*»* t) |i4 t*> 4** iH| t# ft# ttiMM* * |#)i4 ft IS »*!ft«l i *f ft THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ■ ■■ ■■ - — LESSON III. JAN. 17 THE CON VERTS ACTS. 2: 32-47. (•olden T>it: "Tlie Promise Is I nto Yon and to Your Children and to All That Are Afar Off" Arts %: .'19 A Multi tude of Christlaus enrolled. IMK Hnme day as last lesson: Hunday. May 2*. A. I). 30. ac cording to the usual computation. Place. - Hame plac e- as last lesson: the neigh borhood of the up per room lu Jerusa lem where the disci ples met. (Head (elt from the lllhle.l What Does Rapt Ism Mean?—1. It means, on the side of the candidate, Con fession ihat he needs cleansing from sin (se« Mat. 3. tip, (hi that Jesus can cleanse hlm( see Ads 22. Id), (c) Purpose to lead a new life- (see Horn. H. 4) (d) Avowal of all this publicly (see Luke 12. N Horn. 10. it. 10; Tim. H. 12). 2. It means, on Cod s side, the two things Peter promised. It Is a token to him (a) that Ills sin Is washed away, not by the water, hut by Christ’s blood; (h) that the Spirit Is given to him he Is baptized, not only with water, hut with tin- Holy (Jhost, too (Acts I 6). The Dally Life* of the Churc h. Take the four things named in the summary of the* Infant Church's life in verse- 42 I "The apostles' doctrine." Literally. “In the teaching of the- apostles." Christ’s command was, after baptizing converts, to "teac h them lo observe all tilings com manded" (Matt. 2M 20), The phrase* here used seems to Imply a systematic course of Instruction, and the teachableness of the new converts Is shown by tlidr "con tinuing steadfast In It.'' 2. "Fellowship.'' They regarded themselves as one body, as closely and Inseparably connected to gether am the various organs and limits of a man's Imdy. Hee I Cor. 12. 14-2'. They were* the body of Christ; he the Head (Kph. I. 22. 23. I I'. H, Col. I D; 2. H»> i they the* members (Horn 12. 4. I Cof. 12. 2tif. Ry tip. solemn act on the day of Pen tecost they had been "all baptized Into one nouy u » or Iz. i mu n so. n-'" should they live? They must he unit'd (Kph. 4. 3-f»), live in fellowship (1'hll. 2. I 4t. not spilt up Into parties (I for. 1. 10-13), • Hte fur one another (ICoifi. 12. 12t. love one another (1 John 4. 7-111. And ho they did as our passage shows. They habitually met "together" (verse 44) liter ally, "in one place' (same Oreek words as In verse 1), and the rich shared their property with the poor. 3. "Breaking of bread," Another command of Christ * obeyed, "Bo this It) remembrance of me." The words "from house to house" should he 'at home," that 1. , at their headquar ters. 4. "Prayers." Not merely private prayer, hut the regular stated devotions of the whole body. They learned to call Cod not merely "my Father," hut "our Father." Thus was the visible Church horn, and its work begun of saving the world. How beautiful Its love! How glorious lt>- pow er! It should have gone on Increasing till now. What mighty results would follow If all Church members and Bunds v *< hoo| teachers were tilled with the spirit of the Pentecost! The criticisms with which our last les son ended were tremendously answerer! by Peter whom Chrysostom aptly calls "The mouth of all the disciples." His quick cyo promptly divided his hearers Into two classes, and his address made special appeals to each—to the home-bred natives of the Holy Hand and to those foreign Hebrews who had eomo from "every nation under heaven" to make Jerusalem their home. That he spoke in Greek we assume. At the outset he sets aside the charge of drunkenness as ab surd, for It was now "only the third hour of the day" (loosely speaking, about eight or nine o'clock), the hour of morning prayer, before which no Jew would eat or drink; and. Indeed, at their great festi vals, such as the Pentecost, the Jews ab stained from food, and especially from wine, until the "twelfth hour" noon. Bather, argues Peter, this Is the fulfill ment of ancient prophecy, and he quotes extensively from Joel (who was, with the exception of Jonah, the earliest of the prophets whose writings have been pre served for us), to show that this was one of many signs that the climax of Hebrew history had come. He directly charges upon his hearers the murder of Jesus, whom he Identities by the very words used In the Inscription on the cross "of Nazareth." He declares that Jesus had been directly approved of tbs! by miracle* and signs, and that his murder • rn knew this, and, to crown all, that he had been raised from the dead; and this icBurr.-cipin wa- also a runioiii.-in oi hi» rial prophecy. Then, artfully avoiding the off. line likely to tie taken from the n|> plieatlon or the uuoleil p«iilin to itnolhei than I»«vM, ho