Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1904)
The Joy of Llvtf.». t>b! I »m happy hi the morning; ttfcsn the sun begins to peep. And the golden colors shoot up in tho •ky; And the little birds -are singing that they’re thankful for their sieep. And aw? tNliug how they’ll bieakfast by and bj. Oh! I am happy at the noontime when the sun is getting hot, • And the poplar leaves are rustling in the heat; The old dog is getting lazy and the din ner’* in the pot. And the longing and the stretching's awful sweet. Oh! I am happy in the evening when the sun hangs red and low. And promise for the morning's bright and clear; And the supper bell is ringing in a way that’s mighty slow. And I'm awful glad that bedtime's drawing near. —I^slie's Weekly. Snow-Proof Pontes. Dr. J. C. Ewart, in discussing the problem of the origin of horses, de scribes as one of the most distinct kinds now living the Celtic ponies, which are found in the most northern parts of Ireland. They reach a height of only four feet, and are so abundant ly furnished with hair that in winter storms they arc practically snow proof. Dr. Ewart observed the con duct of one of these ponies during a snowstorm. As soon as the storm be gan she turned her hind quarters to it, and in a short time the snow had formed a kind of shieid or disk upon the long hair growing about the root of the tail. Thus protected, the pony did not shift he.r position while the storm lasted, except to turn with a change of the wind.— Boston Globe. Draft Detector. How many times in the week do you hear your parents say. “I believe 1 feel a draft?” Doubtless a grea-‘ many, and then there is always an ar gument as to where the draft comes from, is there not? And sometimes it is not a draft at ail, but just imagina tion. Still, it is a very simple mat ter to make a little instrument which will find the draft if there is one and besides show you pretty nearly where it comes from. Get a knitting needle, three large corks and four small ones, eight hair pins, four bits of cardboard, and an ordinary button. The diagram snows you so plainly how to put them to gethei that there is no use describing how it is done. The top cork is the only thing which Is not perfectly sim ple. Make a hole all the way through the top cork from top to bottom. A ‘ hairpin will answer to drill this hole with. Now make two or three more holes beside this first one and verv near it. Run your hairpin brisklv through these holes until their sides are worn away and they form one hole. Now run a small tube of maca roni or a quill toothpick through hole. This is so that the knitting needle which pierces the top cork and acts as a pivot for it to turn upon wi’l have a loose socket and will permit the cork to move easily. When any one says “draft” get out this little draft finder and put near the place the draft is supposed to come from. The slightest breath of air will set the sails in motion and the direction in which they move will indicate pretty clearly where the cur rent of air comes from. Racing Drops of Water. This game can be readily made iu * few minutes by any boy or girl. As is well known, if a drop of water be placed on a piece of paper it will or jit once absorbed by the paper, but if ♦he paper is oiled the drop of water will remain intact and slide gracefully aver the paper. The first thing necessary is to get four or five books, one smaller than the other, and rest them on their edges ou the table. Then get a sheet of strong paper bold it over a lamp till it is thorough 1> blackened by the soot from the flame and then oil it. This done, you lay it over the tops of the hook covers, •having it down with a plate or oth.>r pifiw’.i vessel at the end. Take a spoon and let a few drops of water drip ->n the paper, and they will slide a’on? like so many living things until tny/ fall into the plate. The game is to see which drop of water gets there tirst. It can be played by any numt.e' of boys and girls, but a careful v/atch must be kept on the various drops of water, as they slide very quickly. By coloring the water ar.d having each player own a differently colored drop, they can be readily kept tiack oh The one who gets the greater numbei of drops in the plate first wins the game. Our Bath Sponges. Your bath sponges do not look much like the fingers and the vase we have been learning about. Bath sponges, you know, are soft and silky, yet they are skeletons, too. The sponge animals that lived In them were soft, jellylike and slimy, like those that lived In the fingers and the vases. There are many kinds of sponges, you see. Your bath sponges are full of holes; there are large holes and small holes. A!! these openings run down deep into the sponge, and are connected with each other. The fine holes are like little mouths that take in the sea water. They are so fine that they may serve for little sieves and keep harmful sub stances from entering. Floating in the sea water are very tiny animals upon which the sponge feeds. The water that flows through every channel of the sponge carries these little animals with it. It also uses fine particles of lime, which the sponge animal uses in mak ing its skeleton. After the water has gone through all the little channels in the sponge it passes out through the larger holes and back into the sea. Your bath sponge is made out of the skeleton of several sponge animals that grew close together. You may know how many sponge animals live in the piece you have by counting the largest holes that are in it. as each large hole with the small ones clustering about it makes one sponge animal. Sponges come from tiny eggs. Baby sponges at first swim about in the water. They live their free life only a little while. Then all that escape the hun gry mouths of their enemies fasten themselves to something and are soon sponges themselves. Another way in which sponge gar dens are started is to cut the living sponge to pieces and plant the pieces in f‘ther places on the sea bottom. When sponges are gathered for ma~ ket they are treated much as our bunch of “fingers” are treated. The animal matter is allowed to decay; then they are beaten and put in pens to be washed by the waves until thev are clean.—From “Sea Stories for Wonder Eyes,” by Mrs. A. S. Hardy. I Left and Right Hands. You boys and girls have already learned that your eye sees objects un side down, the head being downward, as it were, and the impression being reversed in the brain. This appears strange to you. doesn't it? But it is not more so than that about which 1 am going to tell you. i _ , i Take a soft pencil in your right hand and write a word upon your fore head; then look in a mirror to see v.hat your have produced. You know j that when writing is reflected in a mirror the characters read backward in the reflection. If you wonder why your playmates laugh when they see what you have i written, look at yourself in the mirror. You will find the word reflected so that the letters are produced toward the right, when they should read to the left, so it will be backwards upon vour forehead. Now write upon a piece of paper and place this on your forehead; this time the w riting, when reflected, will appear to be produced from right to left. Another amusing experiment con sists in taking a pencil in each harv; and in trying to write or draw a do sign with both at the same time. The movements of the two hands must he simultaneous/ ‘ The left hand will make exactly the same movements as the right, but in the opposite directions. You wi»‘ thea have two w-ords or designs, but aa'e will be just the reverse of the other. Reciting the Jabberwock. Two clever sisters at a recent party gave an entertainment that was well worth the labor and pains it took to prepare for it. One of the girls dressed in a full blue cheese cloth gown that cam® down just to her wrist®. Or. her hands were shots and stocking® and on her head was a very wide flar ing hat. She then stood behind • table, which had a cloth over it ex tending to the floor, and so concealed the lower part of her body. Standing thus she was a funny little woman, with big head and little feet, which rested on the table, but with no arms. The sister, however, supplied the arms. This sister s:ood just behind entirely covered with a dark cloak th* same color, almost, a.; the wall paper, so that she was not at all noticeable, and thrust her arms from behind through the sleeves tf the first girl's gown, the sleeves being made open behind for that purpose. The first girl then recited “The Jab berwock,’’ from “Alice in Wonder I land,” while the girl behind did the gesturing, which, of course, looked as if it were all done by the arms of the funny little woman. Hands, feet and head were kept constantly in motion, the hand of the second girl going to the ear of the girl in front as though listening, and performing other appro priate and graceful gestures all the time. As an encore the “funny little woman” danced a skirt dance to the music of the piano. This, of course, was more difficult and took a lot cf practice beforehand, but the surprise and delight occasioned by this unique entertainment were well worth the ! time spent in bringing it to perfec tion. — Rainfall at Seat of War. Ever since hostilities in the Far East have reached the stage where great guns and heavy ordnance play a leading part in the game, the in formation that the operations of the Russian and Japanese armies have practically come to a standstill owing to the “heavy rainfalls” and almost i impassable roads in consequence thereof, is regularly making its reap pearance in the daily papers at short intervals. Almost every dispatch from the seat of war bearing news of this ( character ascribes this "heavy down- ! pour” to the prevailing “rainy season.” i and predicts that at its close the ! campaign will be continued with re- j newed vigor. The war and navy departments a' j Washington are close observers^of j events at the front, and among other \ points which attract their particular i attention is that of the weather con- I ditions accompanying the operations j of the two forces. Official records show that almost every important ac tion since gun. cannon and mortat have become factors in warfare, was accompanied or followed by thunder storms or heavy rainfalls: that, in fact, the continuous discharge of fire arms and heavy ordnance was the di rect cause of this natural phenomenon, and that the time or season of the year had no. or at least little, bearing in the matter, since experiments and observations established the fact, that heavy bombardments have transform ed “dry seasons” into veritable “seas of rain aDd mud.” _ THE GAME OF BARN DOOR GOLF. While few of our boys are golfers, a great many of them are very expert ai the game of “cat,” or “two-old-cat,” as it is sometimes called. It takes at least two boys to play “cat” with any sort of fun, but a player can have a lot of sport going around the golf links by himself, for he can always try to beat his own score. There is a splendid combination of these two games which one fellow can play all alone, and enjoy it a lot, al though two players make it even more fun. All you need for the game is your "cat” and your bat and a barn door or — cat falls within the circle or lands in the hole. If the “cal” falls in the hole you score ten; if only in the circle you score five, but you subtract from these sums the number of drives you had to make before you succeeded. For in stance. if your eat should land in the circle the first drive you make you score five, but if you should make three drives before the one which lands the cat in the circle, then you subtract three from the five and score only two points. When two are playing, each one has an inning, just as in baseball. A player may have five tries at driving a side of a building against which you may knock it without any danger of breaking a window. Measure off ten feet from the barn door and dig a little hole as wide and deep as the length of your “cat.” Now draw a circle two feet in diameter around the hole and you are ready to play. Place the cat within in the circle, bounce up in the air as usual, and then bat it against the door, your ob ject being to have it bounce back and fall in the little hole, or at least in the circle, if it does not do either you bat it again against the door, using a little more judgment. If you miss this time, keep at it until the "■ ; . i** ' . I his cat against the door: then, if he has not landed in the hole or the cir cle, he is “out,” and the other player takes his turn. A player scores as many “runs” a.i the five or ten count ed by the cirrle or hole exceed the number of dri’ V he has made in that inning. When he han scored b;' land ing his cat in the circle he is “out,” and the other player is “in;” but if he scores by landing in the hole he has another “inning” in addition to the points he scores. One of the very best things about the game is that a boy can play it alone, and, as in real golf, get a lot of fun out of trying to beat his own best previous score. HINT?] WB;hl Newest Ideas in Yokes. Quite the newest thing in yoke i‘ the square outline, although many pre fer to cling to the pointed yoke, find ing it more becoming. The yokes an made of lace or eyelet embroider.* with stock attached. The square yoke has also made its appearance on the strictly tailor-made suits. Here, how ever, it is made up of starched chemi sette order, with upright collar, such as used to be worn exclusively with severe shirtwaists half a dozen years ago. At the front of the collar on each corner are embroidered beautiful mo tives. such as flowers, butterflies or a design in eyelet embroidery. This gives a truly feminine touch on so uncompromisingly stiff an affair. To state what colors are to be w'orn is impossible. There is a perfect craze for vivid shades of yellow and orange, which comes under the name of coque-de-roche. A touch of it is generally flattering to the face, its brilliant coloring often bringing out hidden charms of color in complexion, hair and eyes. Ribbon Cuffs. Ribbon cuffs are a novel feature of some fine evening coats. A lovely creation in biscuit broad cloth (it looks white in the evening) shows the very broad sleeves to be gathered into correspondingly broad cuffs. And these cuffs are of ribbon. Of the very broad ribbon but one width is required, the pretty, figured stuff being draped down to a width of five inches. In this way nearly three fourths of a yard would be required for each sleeve. The delicate greens and pinks are especially exploited on the ivory grounds of these lovely rib bons. Naturally, the striking novel ties here suggested do not exhaust the uses to which ribbon is put, though the others are not as surprising. Lovely Hats in Violet. The violet hats!—too definite for day wear, but at night they come out in soft, bewildering, beautiful shades and styles. Yet the violet refused to be pushed back for street wear entire ly, so those dark, rich “plums” have come to the fore. Made of velvet, and trimmed with roses of varying shades, that tone in perfectly, the “plum” hats have a certain beauty and suggestion of conservatism in their make-up. Pretty Fancy in Scarfs. There are new scarfs of soft, creepy stuffs, fringed, and printed with great shadow flowers, or with tiny groups sedately ranged along the borders. New Kind of Zibeline. Closely sheared zibeline, not the long-haired kind first introduced, is the madish stuff for the coming sea son. Dainty Little Frock. Giiimpe dresses always are attractive and this one is peculiarly so owing to its novel sleeves and square neck. The dress Itself is shown in blue mer cerized chambrav with bands of white embroidery, the gnimpe in dotted ba tiste. bnt many other combinations might be made. All the seasonable linens and cottons are desirable for the frock of immediate wear while all childish wools will be admirable for colder weather and the gtrimpe can properly be of any pretty washable white fabric. To make the dress for Design by May Man ton. t girl of 10 years of age will be re quired 4Vi'yards of material 27, 3Vfe yards 32 or 2% yards 44 inches wide with 16 yards of banding and 1*4 yards 32 inches wide for guimpe. Parisian Feature in Coats. In Paris long coats fitted in at the hack and sides, but made plaited nr /till, with the fullness shirred or belt ed, are in evidence. They are, as one importer expresses it, “a cross be tween a directoire redingote and a Russian raoujik,” and are slightly bloused. Cloth of Many Virtues. The silk-warp Henrietta cloth has been seen lately made up in modish gowms for afternoon wear, and very handsome it is, too. It has the lustre of silk, the warmth of wool and much body, while It drapes in graceful .olds. Bonnets for Little Girls. The most charming old-fashioned poke bonnets (the 1830 shapes) are shown for children. They art (or the most part done in ail white, *at pale blue and dainty pink shades ere also shown. The trimmings con (1st of silk rawn on cords, folded ribbons, fluted aces and ostrich tips. Nothing can >e more picturesque and lovely than '• little girl dimpling and smiling in me of these quaint bonnets. Novel Chair Back. Here is a charming design for a chair back, which can be strongly recommended, not only as a comfort* able head rest, but nso as a cover to disguise a shabby or faded chair. It may be made from odds and ends of cloth, silk, velvet or lengths of rib bon, and is composed of a series o seven divisions or rolls. Each of these is first made up separately, and filled with feathers, vegetable down, wad ding or any other stuffing that is available; then afterwards sew them together. Cloth and velvet placed al ternately of harmonious shades of sage green or terra cotta would have a pleasing effect—Montreal Herald. Bit of Unique Contrast. A white evening coat has a bit of color in its collar, which is of sky blue velvet. Another goes a step further and uses strong royal blue, in the prettiest of ways. SHE SQUARED THE ACCOUNT. Little Debt to Bank Wiped Out In Easy Manner. “I have a profound admiration for women,” remarked CoJ. John S. Fla herty, manager of the Majestic thea ter, New York, “but as business men they fail to impress roe. One of m> friends recently deposited $100 in a bank to his wife’s credit, introduced her to the cashier and paying-teller gave her a check book, and started : her on a financial career. “Within a week she received a no tice by mail saying that her accoun was overdrawn and asking her to call She took the notice and went to the bank and asked what it meant. “It took some time for the casbie to explain, but he finally told th« woman plainly that she bad no mor* i money in the bank. “ ‘How can that be?” she demanded T still have a lot of checks left.’ “ ‘That may be,' replied the cashier ! 'but you owe us eight dollars.’ “‘Is that all?' she asked. ’I will fi: that.’ And she took a pen, wrote » check for the amount, and handed i to the cashier.”—New York Tele graph. STORY TOLD BY EZRA KENDALL Actor Relates a Comical Experienc* in a Pennsylvania Town. “I have had discouragements,” ad mitted Ezra Kendall the other day “Once, just once, years ago, I was ar rested. It was in a little Pennsylvania town which we sought to elevate. But it refused to be elevated. We rented the hall for $20, and there was just $19.40 gross in the house. The man ager, or janitor, or sexton—I forget which—was a kindly looking old gen tleman, and we had it all framed up to ask him to help us out of town. He came around after the show. “ ‘Boys,’ he said, ‘you're shy on the rent. What are you going to do about it?’ “We explained the situation, and he seemed deeply touched. ‘Well, boys, it’s too bad,’ he said. ‘You just wait here about twenty minutes.’ About three-quarters of an hour later he came back. •“It’s all right, boys,’ he exclaimed. ‘I've fixed it. You see, I ain’t got ail the say. and I had to consult the trus tees. It’s all rignt. They’ll trust you for the sixty cents.’ ” Was He Vain? In one of the big stores the other day a woman stood in a little booth demonstrating the value of somebody’s complexion lotion and face powder A long line of women, with complex ions of every degree of beauty, were waiting in line to ‘‘get a try” at it. After thirty or forty women had been "beautified” a fat little bald-headed man stepped up to the demonstrator. “Do you mind fixin’ me up, too?” he asked. “Certainly not,” said the demon strator. “Well, I shaved myself this morn ing and I did a had job of it. I wish you'd paint me.” The demonstrator grabbed up c cloth dipped it in carmine, and smeared it over the little man's fat face. Then she smeared on the white lotior. When she was through with him ha looked like a beauty mask. “He looks real purty, don't he?” said the woman just behind him. “Oh. what a lufly complexions/' said the little German woman whc came next. “Say. are you kiddin’ me?” ask*d the little fat man as he turned to walk away. “Who says men aren’t vain?” asked the demonstrator as she made a quick swipe at a woman's face who was waiting to be made lovely in appear ance.—Chicago Inter Ocean. In Memory of Shakespeare. A slip from Shakespeare’s mulberry tree at Stratford-on-Avon is to be set out opposite the town hall of the bor ough of Southwark, London, which Is a stone's throw from the Old Newing ton theater, where Shakespeare icted In 1594-96. * Inoculating for Texas Fever. Bulletin 90 of the South Carolina Experiment Station says: Inoculation is a process by which northern cattle are rendered immune to Texas fever by injecting hypo dermically into each about one cubic centimeter (15 drops) of fresh blood drawn from immune southern cattle. The death rate among northern cat tie exposed to ticks in the South with out inoculation is from 60 to 90 per cent. Tuis rate has been reduced to V.6 per cent In 4.750 head by inocula tion, and it is highly probable that hereafter the death rate among inoc ulated cattle will not exceed 5 per cent. The term “northern cattle” as used in this bulletin refers to cattle raised north of the government quarantine line, and always free from ticks. The term might be applied to southern cat tle raised south of this line if they have never carried ticks, as they are just as susceptible to Texas fever as if they had been raised in the North. If either northern or southern cat i tie raised free from ticks are to be | exposed to them they should be inoc ulated before exposure. If suscep | tible cattle are never going to be ex ; posed to ticks inoculation is not neces sary. Only young cattle for breeding pur poses should be inoculated, generally after calves are weaned and up to about eighteen months old. The best time of year is in the fall and winter | —from October to March. Inoculation has a slight dwarfiing : effect by depleting the system and j hiudering growth for two to six months, but does not produce such bad results as Texas fever. It some times causes abortion and prevents cows from breeding for a limited time i but does not permanently injure the breeding powers of cattle. It is not practicable to inoculate I cattle in the North, and after being shipped South they should be pro j tected from ticks before inoculation and for at least sixty days afterwards. During the reactions the principal i symptoms to be overcome are con stipation and high fever. Do not feed I cotton seed meal and hulls as an ex i elusive diet, keep bowels open with green feeds, roots or occasional dose f of salts, and reduce the fever with quinine. I They should be exposed to gradual tick infestation within six months af ter inoculation, and it is best to put them out to pasture in early spring 1 and keep them with native immune cattle. They should never be kept J free from ticks until midsummer and then put into badly infested pastures. Inoculation gradually loses its power to protect cattle against Texas fever, and if the animals are not exposed the first year after inoculation they should be reinoculated before being put on infested pastures the second : ear. This bulletin contains the records ot 388 head of cattle inoculated by the veterinary division of the South Caro lina Experiment station. Of these 256 were northern and 132 southern raised. One died from inocalation and two from subsequent exposure to ticks, making the total loss three, or a little over three-fourths of one per cent. At the time this work was begun there were only two or three herds of pure bred beef cattle in the state. They can be found now in almost ev ery county. In five years more South Carolina will have a good supply of steers for her feed pens, and can pos sibly spare a few to feeders in neigh boring states. More Milk for the Hen*. Too little care is taken in seeing that the hens have a good supply of milk. The hens are made to drink mostly water, and now and then a pan of milk is taken out to them. Some times the busy housewife forgets to do this and sometimes it is a week or a month between drinks. The skim milk will not be given regularly unless some arrangement is made to that effect. It is best to have the fowls consume as much milk as possible, tor the reason that on most of our farms corn is the great grain feed and the milk is a good balancer for this. The milk is rich in protein and the corn in carbohydrates. The two offset each other. When more souY milk accumu lates than can be disposed of in any way while it is in bulk, it should be made into a soft curd and given the hens in that way. The fowls will not then be compelled to consume a large amount of water to get a little casein. The testimony of those that have fed milk largely is that it has stimulated laying, especially in the winter when the fowls are generally shut up to a corn ration. In the summer when green grass and other vegetables and insects are obtainable the milk is very much less of a factor than in the win ter time. On very many of our farms sklm milk is very abunadnt, and could be fed to the fowls daily so far as the material itself is concerned. The only question is that of labor. Skimmilk freezes, apd this makes it necessary to renew the supply often in the cold est weather. There is no other way of doing than to warm the milk to about 100 degrees. At that tempera ture it will not be too hot for the fowls to drink, but will be some time in cooling off. It should, of course, be removed to the house before it con geals, as it is deteriorated by the process of freezing. Irish potatoes vary considerably in their analysis, as is the case with every other plant. There is an aver age, however, that may be considered to represent the composition. It is: Water, $79.75 per cent; ash, 0.99 per cent; nitrogen, 0.21 per cent: phos phoric acid, 0.07 per ctiat; potash, 0.29 per cent. Nitrogen and potash play a large part in the development of the potato. The demand for improvement in the milk supply and miik service ha* led to much better practices on the part of many of those connected with different pliases of the business. Two Ideas of Farming. In the United States there are two opposite ideas of farming. One is to farm on the extensive scale. The oth er is to farm on the intensive scale The western idea of farming is to own great tracts of land, and this idea becomes more extensive as one goes west. Even in Western Canada a farmer thinks himself poor unless he owns several sections of land The idea is one that had its birth in the days when land was cheap, it has lived on in spite of the changed con ditions. In the day of cheap land the great farm was a necessity, as intensive operations were not pos sible. Labor was scarce ami live stock abundant, and the animals could be made to do most of the gather.ng of the crops, eating them as they gathered them. With the increase of population the interests of the country lie in the possession of small farms. Reduce the size of the farms and young men will find it possible to purchase them At present prices it is practically im possible for a young man to buy a farm of average size. The old proc esses of thin farming still remain on the big farms and are likely to remain as the price of land goes up, on ac count of the ever-increasing price of labor. In the eastern part of the country the intensive farming idea is in the ascendency. As a result the farms are largely owned without mortgages The intensive idea is making itself felt to some extent in the West, but it *s except near the great cities, where farming takes on the character more of gardening. Could we but induce the men that own more land than they can cultivate to sell what they have little use for the ben efit would be threefold: The man that sold tne land would be benefitted; the landless man that purchased it would be benefitted; and the general public would be benefitted. We are coming to the time when our farmers will realize the fact that it is possible to farm downwards as well as laterally. They will find that it is not necessary to pay taxes on a thousand acres of land farmed three inches deep when they can get the same results from five hundred acres farmed six inches deep. They will also find that smaller farms mean a better social condition of the people. Protection Against Weeds. Iowa had a unique case which was carried to the Supreme Court and which involved the interests of farm ers. It grew out of an injunction sought by one farmer to restrain a neighboring farmer from allow ing his farm to run to cockle burrs, which would seed themselves on the adjoin ing land, as he had been doing for four years previous. The Supreme Court held that a suit for damages offered the only remedy open to the plaintiff. The suit would appear to make plain the urgent need of a noxious weed law in Iowa, by which good farmers could punish the sins of slovenly farmers from which they suffered. The common good has fur nished reason enough for strong re straining legislation in many of the states. For instance, in California, orchardists are required by law to spray with insecticides or use other methods of keeping down fruit ene mies, because otherwise there is no protection, the spraying of the few be ing ineffective. Iowa farmers need to wake up to their interests and have a weed law passed that will safeguard Ihe fields of careful husbandmen. Hairy Vetch. One of the best cover crops knowt is hairy vetch. It has. however, been little used on account of the high price of the seed, much of which had to be imported from abroad. There seems no satisfactory reason, however, why this seed should not be raised on this side of the water in sufficient quantities to supply all demands. The Ontario station imported seed from Germany, and, sown in the fall, it produced the next year 8.6 bushels of seed. Seed produced frcni this crop was sown side by side with new seed from Germany and gave a yield of 3.4 bushels above that of the German seed. As the price of seed is five dollars per bushel, this was a fairly good return for the acre planted to vetch. Of course the price can be reduced by a number of farmers grow ing the seed, but even then the re turns will be better than from some of the cereals. For sweet potatoes the ground should be plowed shallow. There should be a hard bottom under the ridges in which the sweet potato tu bers grow, that the tubers may grow short and stout. Cheap Seed. ^ From now on till planting time in the spring farmers will be purchasing seeds for their various crops next year. It is a lamentable fact that the ordinary farmer does not purchase the best seed he can obtain, but chooses a ^ow grade seed at a low price. It would be false economy to use poor seed even if it were a gift. Worse still is it to take chances on old seed, that which was left over from last year. Some of this loses its germinating power very quickly. It is claimed that the amount of imperfectly cleaned seed on the mar ket is very great, and this proportion is very much greater than usual after bad years. Not only is the question of germinability at stake, but, what is worse, the presence of weed seeds mat, once sown, will cost the farmer dearly in the efforts he must put forth to get rid of them. It will pay the farmer to scrutinize his seed pur chased very closely. The Fancier. The fancier Is the man that is try ing to breed to the perfect type or fowl he carries in his fancy. He is therefore almost always an amateer, that Is, he is breeding fowls ror the love of It To the fanciers Is due largely the improvement in the qual ity of our flocks.
