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.
