Nebraska Newspapers

    Loup City Northwestern
J. W. BURLEIGH, Publisher.
LOUP CITY, - - NEBRASKA.
“Is Herbert Spencer outgrown?’’
asks a magazine writer. Well, not by
most of us.
* The man who went crazy over wire
less telegraphy should have tackled
;omething tangible.
Like the poor, the man who insists
on eating thirty quail in thirty days
we have always with us.
“God save the young men from sty
tish women!” exclaims a New Jersey
preacher. No power less mighty can.
A Providence church has been
turned into a bowling alley, and the
increase in attendance was marked at
once.
Baltimore serves notice that those
who wish to see its burned district,
or any considerable part of it, will
have to hurry.
Out in San Francisco the lawyers
are trying to reduce the expenses of
litigation. Want to give it a sort of
bargain counter air.
Six thousand tons of American
chopped apples have been shipped to
France in the last few months. Ap
ple jacques, we suspect.
A college professor tells us that the
word for mean is spelled m-a-n in
Sanskrit. Evidently the word hasn’t
changed so much after all.
Now is the time for the inventor to
bring to public notice his recipe for
making artificial eggs that can’t be
distinguished from the genuine.
Gleam of a bald head served as a
signal to stop a train near Norris
town, Pa., and saved a man’s life.
Score o”e for the hairless brother
-*■ V
persistently rumored that there
\ * a change in the style of even
othes. Nightshirts and pajamas
are still correct for the latter part of
the evening.
A cat that formerly belonged to
Gen. Kuroki will be sold at a fair at
the Waldorf-Astoria. The fact that
the feline has no tail will not detract
from its value.
A Chicago woman is seeking a di
vorce from a man who deserted her
forty years ago. She either has a
very sweet disposition or believes in
taking her time.
Word comes from Constantinople
that Turkey has arranged to borrow
$15,000,000 from a foreign financial
gi"\jp. The sultan must have a Mrs.
Chadwick on his staff.
Mgr. Fox says that by her extrava
gance in dress woman “destroys" man.
Surely not when the money she pays
for dress is her own money. When
it is his, why does he 1st her?
’ If Daniel had called ’n handwriting
experts to help him read what was
written on the wall, Belshazzar, the
king, would still be vondering how
his case was going to turn out.
A writer in a New York paper says:
“Hall Caine is the homeliest man I
ever saw.” We suspect this is anoth
er covert attack upon William Shake
speare by one of the Baconians.
* A rich man of Bay Ridge, Mass., is
spending $3,000 to build a wall to keep
an ancient beech tree on his grounds
from falling. “Woodman, spare that
tree!” must be his favorite poem.
Members of the Rothschild expedi
tion who have spent four years in the
arctic region making a collection of
fleas are said to be preparing to par
ticipate in racing contests as scratch
men.
The mayor of Atlanta returned the
call of the German consul wearing a
frock coat and a Fedora hat. That
was right. It would have been awful
had he gone in a pea-jacket and a
beaver.
Mariners assert that the gulf stream
is flowing with an unusually swift cur
rent this year. Unless it is doing mis
chief, however, the case does not ap
pear to be one that calls for an in
junction.
Mme. Patti has been having trouble
with her cook, and the London papers
are printing columns about it. Over
here such affairs are so common that
they are not even talked about in so
ciety any more.
Cuba still insists that she hasn’t
any yellow fever, but she is going to
spend $190,000 for the sanitation of
the streets in several of her largest
cities, which is one of the best ways
of keeping out disease.
A botanical wizard out in California,
after ten years’ patient work, has just
produced a spineless cactus which is
half as nutritious as alfalfa and will
yield mere forage to the acre. The
question now is whether the burro will
find it sufficiently ticklish to his pal
ate.
In modern war, of course, there is
nothing inconsistent in two generals
exchanging polite compliments and
begging each other to make arrange
ments so that they may do each
other up more conveniently.
Some surprise is expressed that a
new York man was pursued by his
wife for three years before she caught
him. There are a number of unmar
ried women who can make this record
look like 30 cents when their talent in
the pursuit line I3 considered.—Bir
mingham News.
A man In New York has just bought
a building lot 2 inches wide and 94
feet deep. It was worth about $30,
the price of a bicycle. And a bicycle
is the only vehicle on which the buyer
will be able to ride over his property.
FARM ORCHARD **»» GARDEN
COW/CTED ET "
* M.JlJVJ&tGG
(Mr. Wrag* Invites contribution* of
•ny new idea* that readers of this de
partment may wish to present, and
would be pleased to answer correspond
ents desiring information on subject*
discussed. Address M. J. Wragg, Wa®
kee. Iowa.]
BULBS FOR THE HOUSE.
For blooming in the house there are
no bulbs more reliable than those o(
Roman Hyacinth or Polyanthus Nar
cissus, states Park’s Magazine. They
may be grown in glasses or dishes of
water or in pots of earth, and in either
way can be depended upon for a fine
display of flowers during the winter
months.
Get large, well matured bulbs, even
if you have to pay a little more for
them, for there is no economy in
growing the small-sized bulbs in the
house. The larger bulbs will not only
be sure to bloom, but each bulb will
produce more and larger flowers. A
large bulb of Roman Hyacinth will oft
en produce several fine trusses, while
one of the Narcissus will throw up a
number of thrifty flower scapes.
To grow the bulbs in water place
them so that the base of the bulb will
barely touch the water, and after the
roots push out the bulb may be raised
a trifle above the water. This is im
portant, as the water sometimes
causes the bulb to decay when partly
immersed. Secure them to their po
sition by twine or pebbles. Some
pieces of charcoal in the water will
promote its purity. After the bulbs
are placed set the vessels in a dark
place till the roots are well developed,
when light and moderate heat should
be given to develop the flowers.
To grow in earth use a compost of
rich garden soil, sand and leaf-mould,
well firmed in the pot. Maye a hole
large enough to sink the bulb half its
length, and press the earth well about
the bulb after placing, then water
freely. Set the pot away in a dark,
rather warm closet, till roots form,
then bring gradually to the light. If
you wish flowers to develop quickly
give more heat and sunshine. The
flowers are mostly finer, however, if
brought out slowly, in a cool atmos
phere and with not much direct sun
light. There is more danger from
heat than cold. Start the bulbs in
December, if not already started. The
later plantings are not always suc
cessful.
Would you get the best possible re
sults from the farm? Then never lose
sight of the necessity of closely iden
tifying yourself with your business in
all its principal details. There are oc
casional accidental successes with
which the person most benefited
seems connected only by proxy. But
these are only occasional and only ac
cidental. Close personal application
is essential to success in all lines of
business, and to the farmer this
means, as much as to any other man,
that it is his own hand that must
guide if he would achieve the most
good.
EVERGREEN TREES.
Evergreens are a class of indis
pensable trees which fill a very im
portant place in landscape work. What
tree can take the place of an ever
green in the winter, when all other
trees are leafless and stand out naked
and cheerless against the cold ele
ments? In reply to a question some
times asked, “Are evergreens going
out of fashion?” I say most assured
ly, no, and I do not think they ever
will as long as mankind is capable of
appreciating the useful and beautiful
in nature. From the time these trees
are several inches high in the nursery
row they are attractive and beauti
ful, and when they reach their full
growth they are magnificent. Nothing
gives a home a more cheerful and
trim appearance than well planted
hedges and groups of evergreens, and
the value of a ^farm is greatly en
hanced by the location of belts, groves
and hedges. The steady demand for
these trees proves conclusively that
their popularity is not decreasing and
that they are wanted not only on
farms, but on public grounds and
large private estates where the best
things are needed. Evergreens were
created ever green for a pur
pose, and no other tree or invention
can supplement them. They are a
beautiful tree, and animals and fowls
will seek their shelter in winter or
summer. Let every farmer arrange to
plant out a windbreak of these if he
has not already. Plant Scotch pine,
white pine, Norway spruce, etc.
Eighteen by twenty-four inch trees
are best, and ones that have been
grown in a nursery.
If potatoes are stored where the
sun can shine upon them they should
be covered with old sackings, straw or
something that will keep the light oft
them, for green potatoes are not sal
able.
A BUTCHERING PLACE.
Every farmer needs a building
where there can be a fire to do the
butchering work. It is a cold and
disagreeable task to cut the lard and
sausage and do other work outside,
and It makes a muss to take such
work Into the kitchen.
Some farmers use the washhouse
for this purpose. We know of one
farmer who neglected to put windows
in the room used for work of this
kind, and the door must be kept op#n
to give light. This is not much better
than outdoors.
Try to have everything warm, com
fortable and handy as possible when
yon call In the neighbors to help you
with yourr butchering work.
Satan’* hands are seldom idle, but be
likes to catch yours out of a Job.
KEEPING SEED POTATOES.
The success of the potato crop de
pends upon the vigor and condition of
the seed potatoes. Some growers
have adopted the following practice
with excellent results: When the pota
toes are dug, those which are to be
used for seed are stored in a dry, dark
shed or barn until about the 10th of
November. Just before freezing
weather sets in the potatoes are care
fully sorted, and those which show
the slightest signs of decay are re
jected. A layer of straw from eight
to ten inches thick is spread on the
ground and the tubers placed upon
this straw. The piles should not be
made too large. The best results are
usually obtained from mounds three
feet wide at the base and piled up in
ridges as high as convenient. A cov
ering of straw is placed over the pota
toes, and this is followed by a layer
of soil from six to eight inches thick,
but before severe weather sets in
more soil is added, and when the
severest weather Is at hand more
straw or strawy barn manure is added.
The aim is to cover gradually as the
cold increases. This method of stor
ing potatoes seems to winter them
much better for seed than when they
are placed in root cellars or when they
are stored in mounds immediately
after they are dug.
All vegetables keep better at a low
temperature and, excepting in the se
verest weather, the cellar window
may be kept open during the day, at
least, if it is on the south side. It
also helps to keep the cellar sweet
and fresh. We know there is no need
of an ill-smelling cellar. Vegetables
properly buried and an open window
in all suitable weather will prevent
unsavory odors. Have a regular time
for closing the window, as you do for
ary other “chore,” and all will be
well.
COMFORT ME WITH APPLES.
Comfort me with apples!
Bring the ripe, mellow fruit from the
early Sweet Bough.
(Is the tree that we used to climb grow
ing there now?)
And Russets, whose cheeks are as freckled
and dun
As the cheeks of the children that play
in the sun.
Comfort me with apples!
Comfort me with apples!
Gather those streaked with red that we
named Morning Light.
Our good father set, when his hair had
grown white.
The tree, though he said, when he planted
the root.
"The hante of another shall gather the
fruit.
Comfort me with apples!
Comfort me with apples!
Go down to the end of the orchard, and
bring
The fair Lady Fingers that grew by the
spring;
Pale Eell-flowers and Pippins all burn
ished with gold,
Like the fruit of the Hesperus guarded
of old.
Comfort me with apples!
Comfort me with apples!
Get the sweet Junietta so loved by the
bees.
And the Pearmain that grew on the queen
of the trees;
And, close by the brook, where they hang
ripe and lush.
Go shake down the best of them all.
Maiden's Blush.
Comfort me with apples!
Comfort me with apples!
For lo. I am sick, I am sad and opprest;
I come back to the place where, a child.
I was blest,
Hope is false, love is vain, for the old
sights I sigh;
And if these cannot comfort me. then
I must die!
Comfort me with apples!
—Phoebe Cary.
“It would make an army mule laugh
over his oats to hear some people tell
how they do not believe there is any
money in keeping chickens, or else
tell how this or that breed js the best,
and then go on and tell of the superior
merits of the Shanghais or Cochin
Chinas of years ago. Surely the world
does move and some people get left
behind.”
LINE FENCES.
It is now the time of year to start
up the line-fence war, causing law
suits, profanity, hard feelings, and
probably bloodshed. The most bitter
feuds start in just this way.
Now, in view of all this, isn’t it
cheaper and easier to say, “Oh, well
what are a few inches of land, any
how? Sooner than cause trouble and
worry I’ll let it go at that. Of course.
I'm right and Jones is imposing on
me, but I simply will not worry and
rage and fret over that miserable lit
tle strip of land. Let Jones put the
old fence where he will, for a hundred
years from now neither of us will
care.
Isn’t this better than using your
heads for corner stones for lawyers’
houses?
The soil settles around the roots of
fall-set trees during the winter, and
will be full of moisture in the spring,
and the trees will be ready to start
into a full and rapid growth as soon
as warm weather comes.
RAISE THINGS.
One way to keep up an interest in
farming is to be constantly producing
new generations of animals and
plants. Do not depend on buying all
the animals needed, but learn to raise
them on the farm. So. too, of orchard
trees and the small fruits;, buy a few
to get a start and then increase by
propagation. The animals and plants
of most value are those raised and
watched while they are growing.
Of flowering plants and shrubs, too,
we should be on the lookout to have
some new ones started, by division or
otherwise, to give to friends or to ex
change with neighbors.
Open the front cellar windows, on
cold nights; keep shut on warm days;
this advice will be worth while, if
heeded.
SWINE NOTES.
It Is best to bring the pigs up rath
er slowly until six to seven months
old, then if designed for the butcher
crowd them forward for forty to sixty
days.
Many farmers boast of being good
feeders. There are other things bet
ter for stock than continual stuffing.
Uncomfortable quarters and filth will
develop disease.
Even the hog enjoys being clean.
The hog is the farmer’s friend and his
best money-making investment, there
fore deserves a clean feeding place
and more comfortable sleeping quar
ters than the warm side of a wire
fence.
When pigs are on a full grain ra
tion it is well to give what pumpkins
beets, cooked potatoes, etc., they will
eat after having received their full
ration of grain. These foods have
somewhat the same value as bran in
equalizing a concentrated ration and
in keeping the bowels free and the
system cool. If fed before the grain
to fattening animals, they will be un
able to take concentrates enough tc
make rapid gains, as foods of this
character do nor cause the rapid ac
cumulation of fat.
If bran is used in making slop for
hogs add a little oil meal.
The pens should be cleaned every
day and plenty of litter furnished foi
a warm bed.
The floors should be tight so no
drafts of cold air can creep in.
The house should be well ventilated
and still be kept above the freezing
point.
Use corn sparingly for brood sows.
Depend on peas, oats, shorts, barley,
roots and clover. Give them exer
cise.
Feed the soft and imperfect corn
first. There must be a gradual in
crease in the quality and quantity of
the foods, rather than the reverse.
The season for holding annual hor
ticultural meetings is at hand and
within the next three or four months
there will be scores of such gather
ings in the western states. Such
meetings should be inspired with the
spirit of progre|f. While it may be
admitted that many of the old and
primary principles have never beeD
properly learned, still there should
be new developments and fresh in
centives to spur the horticulturist on
to higher advantage grounds, which
give substantial encauragement oi
reaching more satisfactory results.
WINTER SPRAYING.
The spraying of fruit trees during
the winter should not be neglected,
says American Cultivator. Before the
leaves start the trunk and every
branch of the tree should be well
sprayed with a solution of one pound
of copper sulphate in twenty-five gal
lons of water to check scab, coddling
moth, bird moth, tent caterpillar, can
ker worm, plum cureulic and San Jose
scale on apple trees, to be followed
up after the blossoms fall by the regu
lar bordeaux mixture of four pounds
each of sulphate of copper and lime
to fifty gallons of water. Some prefer
to use six pounds sulphate of copper
instead of four pounds, but we are n t
sure that this is any better than the
other, while for peach trees that have
put out their leaves the use of three
pounds of sulphate of copper to six
or nine pounds of lime is thought
strong enough for fifty gallons of
water. But we are now speaking of
a winter spray before the leaves come
out. The mixture of fifty pounds
each of lime, salt and flowers of sul
phur is used on the Pacific coast for
San Jose scale, but in our Eastern
climate it does not seem to be as ef
fectual, as the frequent rains wash it
off. A mixture of pure limq made as
a thin whitewash and used on peach
trees two or three times in the winter
has been recommended as a spray
that will keep the leaves and buds
from starting early enough to be kill
ed by the spring frosts.
The first winter is a trying time for
the colt. Don't neglect him and don’t
forget liberal feeding is necessary to
growth and development. And in
feeding don’t forget that bone and
muscle forming foods, as oats, bran
and perhaps a little alfalfa hay, should
predominate, indeed this should be
the rule up to the time he is two
years old. If you want a measly, cat
hammed colt turn him in the stalk
field to hustle for himself, and you
will get what you are after. There is
not much development in old, dried
up corn stalks.
DAIRY AND STOCK
Shelter your manure.
There’s more money for the farmer
in fast walkers than In fast trotters.
The worst thing for the training of
any animal, human or other, is a
stick.
All who breed horses are not quali
fied to train them. The trainer re
quires a large degree of good sense
and natural tact.
We just suspect that some people
have stable floors that are not com
fortable for their horses at night and
not good for their health at any time
If your neighbor is of the kind that
always volunteers advice, just treat
him kindly, and accept or reject it
after he is gone.] Ten chances to one
it is the advice he badly needs him
self.
Where cold storage cannot be had
one of the best ways to keep apples
from rotting is to place them in open
barrels in a cool cellar that is of free
access to a troop of growing boys—
nr trlrln
mm
MISCUlIlANX
Loss of Soil Nitrogen.
The nitrogen of the soil is one of its
most important constituents and a fer
tilizing element that quickly disap
pears. It volatizes rapidly and one of
the chief agents of holding it in the
soil is the humus. When the humus
becomes exhausted the nitrogen es
capes with increased rapidity. Ex
periments with continuous wheat
growing on the same soil have shown
that the animal and vegetable matter
in the soil disappears very rapidly.
This causes the liberation of the nitro
gen. As long as the nitrogen is in
combination with and forms a part of
the humus, or decaying animal and
vegetable matter of the soil, it is in a
stable form; but as soon as the humus
decays the nitrogen is liberated in
various gases and soluble forms,
which are easily lost from the soil. It
is the statement of scientists that
there is no element that is so readily
lost as nitrogen. It is not possible for
the mineral forms of plant food, such
as potash and phosphoric acid, to be
converted into gaseous and soluble
forms by the ordinary chemical
changes that take place in the soil,
as in the case of nitrogen. With
them the principal loss is in their
removal from the soil as plant food.
But with humus it is different. There
is a loss of course of the plant food
by its being used by the crops, but
much additional is leached downward
by the soil water and some is sent
off in the form of gas when the humus
decays. We have an illustration of
this in the decay of piles of manure
and vegetable matter. We say that
we can smell the ammonia rising
from them; but that ammonia is the
gas into which the nitrogen in the
decaying mass is being changed.
The loss of soil nitrogen can only
be prevented by keeping up the hu
mus in the soil. In most countries
rotation of crops alone is able
to do this. Some men brag that they
have grown wheat year after year on
the same soil for a generation with
out loss, but it will be found that such
soil was in the beginning very rich
in humus. By all means rotate, and
include in the rotation some of the
legumes.
Fall Sown Onions.
A correspondent for the Farm Jour
nal disposes of the onion question in
the following manner:
“Here is the way I plant my onions:
Spade and thoroughly prepare the
ground about the tenth of November;
plant and then cover with straw or
other mulch for the winter. Remove
the mulch about the middle of March,
and top-dress liberally with manure.
Cultivate as soon as ground is dry
enough to work and you will have
onions fit for a queen.”
In absence of definite information
on this point, it may be inferred that
this applies to onions raised from
seed. Would this be a good plan to
follow in case of sets or “button”
onions? Perhaps it would be as well,
as to set them in the spring if the
mulch were thick enough, but the mid
dle of March would be early to re
move the covering in this climate.
Onions are tough and a little freeze
does not seriously injure the young
plants. If there is any seed on hand
the plan is a good one to try.
Cooling Milk in Winter.
Most milk producers now know that
milk must be quickly cooled in sum
mer to increase its keeping power,
but many do not know that the proc
ess is also necessary in winter. Men
that make a business of delivering
milk know that at certain times in
winter they have as much trouble
with milk souring as they do in the
summer. The cooling of milk in the
winter should be done in exactly
the same way as it is in summer;
namely, by placing the milk in cans
in tanks of cold water as soon as the
milk is drawn from the cows. In the
winter ice and snow may be easily
obtained for reducing the temperature
of the water in the tank. As this is
entirely without expense there is no
good reason why it should not be
done. Milk for all purposes will then
keep very much longer than if it is
not cooled after being drawn.
Wood Grouse.
“The wood grouse is sometimes
called the ‘cock of the woods.’ Early
in the spring when the breeding sea
son begins the male takes his post up
on some elevation, displays his plu
mage in the manner of a turkey cock
and utters a loud cry compared with
the words ‘peller-peller-peller’ fre
quently with increasing rapidity, ter
minating in a sort of a gulp and draw
ing in of breath. The singular call
brings the females together. The
cock birds are exceeding jealous, es
especially of the younger brethren,
whom they try to keep from calling
or displaying themselves.”—Wallace’s
Farmer.
Turnips for Ducks.
Grow a crop of turnips for ducks, if
you intend to raise a large number of
ducks. In the large establishments,
where hundreds of ducks are raised,
the principal food for them is cooked
turnips, with a small proportion of
ground grain. No crop can be grown
to better advantage than turnips, and
in no way can turnips be grown so
profitably as to feed them to ducks.
Ducks and turnips are adjuncts to
each other on the duck farms, for
without turnips the ducks could not
be made to lay so well.—Exchange.
Nitrogen Costly.
Nitrogen is the most costly element
in feeds for animals on the farm. The
nitrogenous or protein foods make
bone, muscle, hair, wool, eggs, milk,
etc., apd it is this class of foods that
is most lacking on most farms. Good
dairymen and breeders make up this
deficiency by supplying nitrogen and
have practically solved the question of
profitable agriculture which all the
scientists in the country have thus
far failed to do through the depart
ment of agriculture.—Barn urn’s Mid
land Farmer.
Crates for Fattening Fowls.
We herewith illustrate a foul-fatten
ing crate, used at the Ontario Agricul
tural College. This crate is six feet
six inches long, eighteen to twenty
inches high and sixteen inches wide.
It is divided into three compart
ments, each holding from four to five
birds, according to the size of the
chickens. The crate is made of slats,
except the ends. The slats are
usually one and a half inches wide
and five-eighths inches thick. The
slats in front are run up and down
and are two inches apart, to allow
the chickens to put their heads
through for feeding. The slats on the
bottom are three-fourths inches apart,
so as to admit of the droppings pass
ing through to the ground. Care
should be taken not to have the first
bottom slat at the back fit elosel>
against the back, as this will hold the
droppings. The feeding and water
ing are done by means of a trough
in front running the entire length of
the coop. This trough is from two
to three inches deep and is made oi
three-fourths-inch lumber.—Farmers
Review.
Colds and Roup.
Roup in fowls of all kinds is very
dangerous to the whole flock. The
hatchet is the best cure for it after
the fowl’s head becomes foully odor
ous. Roup starts from colds, damp
quarters, foul air, and other causes.
When a cold gets bad and runs into
a form of catarrh it is then almost
sure to go into roup. Burn or bury
all fowls that die or are kill of it.
Weak constitutional flocks are always
troubled with colds and roup. Kill
them off and try new blood. A cold
can be cured in a healthy fowl by an
application of three or four drops of
coal oil in the fowl’s nostrils. Never
get it in the eyes. Put enough per
manganate of potash in the drinking
water to color it. This is good for
throat infections of all kinds and will
prevent the spread of the trouble.—
Farm Life.
Evil in Surplus Male Birds.
Many people who raise pure blood
chickens forget that they are good foi
anything else than to sell for breed
ing purposes and keep themselves poor
feeding surplus male birds during the
winter. Many of them that if kept
until spring will not bring more than
$1 and sometimes less, if they had
been sold when they were tiny broil
ers would have brought at least forty
cents. Just consider the feed and the
room, not saying anything of the time
that would have been saved. A per
son who is well versed in the intrica
cies of the standard of excellency can
readily pick out the birds which have
glaring defects, so they are not likely
to kill the ones that will bring the big
money.
The Flock in Winter.
It is the height of foolishness to al
low male birds to run with the hens
during the fall and winter months un
less eggs are wanted for hatching. It
should be remembered that an unfer
tilized egg is dead matter, while a fer
tilized one contains a life-germ ready
to take on animal existence as soon as
proper conditions are furnished. Even
at a low temperature of sixty degrees
a fertilized egg will begin to decay
long before an unfertilized one shows
the least change. Keep the males and
females separate.
Wintering the Flock.
It is of no advantage to carry a lot
of fowls over into spring unless there
is some object in view, and the poul
tryman is confident that it will pay to
winter the birds. Before winter ar
rives there should be a reduction in
the number as close as possible in or
der to avoid crowding. Room on the
roosts and on the floor is a necessity
when the ground is covered with snow.
Select the best, and then select again
in order to avoid mistakes. It is bet
ter to have a few good fowls that pay
than to retain a large number that are
unprofitable.
Selling Eggs by Weight.
In France official agents are appoint
ed to inspect not only the number and
quality of all eggs marketed but all
eggs which pass through a hole of
certain size are rejected. If eggs were
sold by weight in this country with
twenty-four ounces to the dozen as the
legal standard what a relative differ
ence it would create among the
breeds. Everybody would be scram
bling to secure fowls which would
always lay eggs up to weight.
Sand for Chickens.
The New York experiment station at
Geneva has found that sand, both in
a ration without animal food and in
one containing animal food. with
bone enables poultry to make better
use of the food eaten. This is especi
ally the case with chicks. It was
found that chicks did much better
when sand alone was supplied for grit
than when oyster shells were supplied
either alone or in combination with
sand. There appeared to be some un
favorable action of the material in
the oyster shells upon the digestive
action.
Best Grain for Poultry.
Oats will prove more profitable than
other grain for feeding poultry, in
spite of the fact that some poultry
men are opposed to their use. They
are the best balanced of all the grains,
and if kept before poultry all the
time the birds will never eat more
than they should. The large propor
tion of hull seems to be a relief to the
digestive organs, which find solid
grain too compact for best handling.
Poultrymen that have fed oats for
tmm are loud in their praise
AWFUL DOSE CURES SULTAN.
Directions of the American Surgeon
Are Slightly Misunderstood.
This actually happened in Mindanao.
The story was told to me by the army
surgeon himself.
He was seated in his tent one morn
ing when a number of the follower- • f
the sultan of Pantar came hurrying >
him, saying the sultan was dying ..f
cholera. Aided by the slight know'
edge he then had of their language,
the surgeon diagnosed the case from
their reports as a well-nigh hopele-s
one. Still, anxious to show the skill
and friendliness of the American for
the Moro brother, he hastily made up ^
six powders, each containing one sixth
of a grain of morphine and thirty
grains of bismuth. These he gave to
the emissaries, telling them to give
the sultan one of them in a glass of
boiled water every three hours and to
report to him next morning how the
patient was getting along.
The next morning the surgeon was
more than surprised to see the sultan
himself walk into the tent. Wan and
weak as he was, he had come soim*
eight miles to thank the surgeon per
sonally for having saved his life, and
had brought with him one of his sub
jects who spoke Spanish well enough
to serve as an interpreter.
It was through the interpreter tha
the surgeon learned how his direc
tions had been followed. First, they
had given the entire six powder < ti
the sultan at one dose—a full grain
of morphine and 180 grains of bi>
muth—and then had poured a turn
bier full of boiling water into hint
every three hours afterward, scalding
his mouth and throat so that he could
scarcely speak.
But it cured him, and the surgeon
says the same treatment cured manv
another Moro who would probably
have died under lesser doses.—Brook
lyn Eagle.
AT AN ENGLISH CHRISTENING.
Elegance of Baptismal Robes and For
mality of the Occasion.
Much more in England is made of
christening than here. Nowadays our
English cousins make a social fun<
tion of what formerly was a purely
religious affair; and there is a large
gathering at the church where the
ceremony is performed, and this is
followed by a reception at the home of
the child’s parents. The number of
sponsors is no longer restricted to
two godfathers and one godmother, foi
a boy, and two godmothers and on*?
godfather for a girl, but four and
even six sponsors appear. Queen
Alexandra is often godmother, and h* i
gift to her godchild is generally a
pearl and diamond pendant. Othei
godmothers are giving valuable lao
or jewels, but sometimes give mom *
instead, the sum varying from $25t
to |25,000. The nurse always receive?
from them a note varying from $5 tc
$100, or a bit of handsome jewelry.
The reception following the cere
mony is a white function, so far a?
decorations and the gown of »he
child's mother go. The baby its* If >
always beautifully dressed in a slip
of white satin or silk, over which i
drawn a robe of rich lace. Bridal veil*
are often draped over the slip instead
of a regular robe. Lord and I^dy
Castlereagh’s children were christen
ed in an Irish lace robe, the work c>f
the lacemakers on their Irish es’ate.
Mount Stewart. I^ady Dudley had her
first child christened draped in th*«
bridal veil she wore at her wedding
The Song of the Blizzard.
In the Polar night, with its snows eterr
Of its cold and darkness I was horn.
To me came the knowledge of meadows
vernal.
And I left my lair accursed and fori
Swift were the wings that southward b»>i
me.
Wide and far spread my desolate tra< k
I found not the south, for it fled before
me.
And death and destrivction wege cl< -*
at my back.
Ah, how I laughed when the green in
the valley
Blackened and died 'neath my with*;
ing tread!
I laughed when I heard the south win■:
rally
His forces to hurl at my conquer mg
head.
But my strong wings lagged, and fear
assailed me;
My soul grew sick with the scent of
flowers;
I fled to the north, which ne'er i d
failed me.
Away from the weakening south bn
bowers.
Here I crouch in my desolate eyrie.
Till strength shall come to my wings
again.
Till the day when, no longer faint and
weary,
1 shall once more visit the homes «d
men. *
—Ninette M Lowater.
Same Old Feeling.
It was the morning after when th*
rnan met his Southern friend in th*
hotel cafe. He was about to try a
hair of the dog that bit him and h
made the usual inquiry:
“Yes, surf, I will. I was about to
older one when you appeared," sai<:
the Southerner.
They sat silent for a little and tier,
with an effort, the man asked: “How
do you feel this morning. Colonel?"
The Southerner straightened up a
bit and replied: ‘ How do I feel? Why.
suh. I feel as every true Southern
gentleman does in the morning. 1
feel like hell, suh.”—New York Sun.
True to the Key.
A physician and a druggist were
standing at a street crossing the oth* r
evening when a small fox terrier ran
around the corner and fairly bumpe
into a woman who was going along
with her head down to shield her face
from the heavy wind. As the dog
struck her it gave a shrill bark and
the woman gave vent to a scream.
'Notice that?” said the doctor to the
druggist. “Now, if you had a mus
cal ear you would have noticed om* \
thing. The scream the woman gave
was in exactly the same key and at
exactly the same pitch as the bark the
dog gave. I never have seen the
theory advanced, but I have learned
by experience that frightened persons
always scream in the same key and
at the same pitch aa the sound that
frightens them. If a person is caught
in a creaking machine, his outcries
will be in the tone of the no>ae ol #he
machine. If it is a cry of agony that
frightens a person the answering cry
of fright will merely be the echo 0f
the first cry.
“Just watch that and see if I'm not
right/’