Woman in Snakeskins.
Wonders in dress never cease. The !
anaconda snake is to oust the beaver. I
This snakeskin is the newest novelty
in the dress of women motorists. At
present there is only one anaconda
skin coat in existence, and its in
ventor, Mr. Ganner, proudly showed it
to a reporter ta London, the other
day.
It was an elegant production, three
quarter length, in delicate shades of
cream color and brown, with cuffs, col
lar and revers of beaver fur, and lined
with brown satin.
“Although anaconda skin is not dif
ficult to obtain," said the inventor of
the coat, "the matching of 'sufficient
skins is the great difficulty. The coat
is made of four skins, and one of the
most attractive points in its favor is
in its extreme lightness.
“Anaconda skin is as flexible and
soft as broadtail, and its durability is
practically everlasting. Its bright and
scaly surface is never duller, and will
never wear out.
“It is several degrees warmer than
any known fur, and as a trimming
anaconda skin is a novelty this sea
son.
"Collars, cuffs and revers of the
skin are all the rage, and toques and
even muffs are being made of it.”—
Montreal Herald.
For the Afternoon.
luswi _
n
Afternoon gown of mixed lavender
and heliotrope with plain darker cloth '
accessories edged with silver brain i
and fine plaitings of lavender silk.
Lavender hat with heliotrope plumes.
A Rose Jar' Without Roses.
A rose jar, properly cared for, is
an unending delight. Without the rose
petals a sweet-smelling jar can be
made of a quarter of an ounce each
of mace, allspice and cloves, all coarse
ly ground or pounded in a mortar;
half of a nutmeg grated; half an ounce
of cinnamon, broken fine; one ounce
of powdered oiris root and a quarter
of a pound of dried lavender flowers.
After these have been mixed in a bowd
a few drops of different essential oils i
are added—rose, geranium, neroli and j
bitter almond. perhaps—with an
ounce of good cologne.
It will need an addition, from time
to time, of one of its ingredients until
all have eventually been renewed,
for leaving the jar open, even for a
half hour each day, which is enough
for a pretty thorough scenting, takes
away something of its strength.
The All-Black Dress.
For some occult reason the all-black
dress has been “de mode” for several
years, but next winter we are told
that it is to be extremely smart. In j
or out of style a black gown must j
remain the most distinguished one a !
woman can wear. A black confection j
for evening wear, trimmed with bands i
of handsome jet, is always charming |
for a matron. Nothing for this pur
pose is more effective than one of the
new black nets. Speaking of net re
minds me that the net day frock of the
moment Is a more economical pur
chase than one would expect. In the
dark colors so quaintly modish nowa
days it is a charming contrast to the
light colors in which every one ap
pears on smart occasions.
For Street or Theater.
An ideal calling gown or one quite
appropriate for matinee wear is made
from very supple dark blue broad
cloth. The skirt is walking length, of
circular cut and flaring prettily from
knee depth at each seam. A most at
tractive jacket accompanies it. Wide
straps of the cloth form the revers
and extend around the bottom, two
points crossing where a closing is ef
fected. The flat collar and strappings
on sleeves are bordered by a narrow
plaiting of blue taffeta and dull gold
buttons trim sleeves and jacket.
Plenty of fur scarfs have appeared
in the street.
The new derby for woman’s dressy
wear is queer.
Velvet dome crowns with beaver
brims are novelties.
The deep pink felt hat promises to
be immensely fashionable.
Hand-embroidered blouses are like
ly to be worn throughout the entire
winter.
Linen shirt waists, tucked, and as
plain as a pipe stem, will be worn by
younger women.
The smartest waists are worn out
side the skirt and finished with a bias
fold of satin or velvet.
The chiffon veil has a new use. It
is tied into a big bow and tacked to
the back of the hat, with floating
ends.
A funny little round white hat of
corded silk, for a child, has ,the
straight brim, edged with a band of
mink fur.
Velvet Didn't Get Left.
Velveteen street costumes have put
in an appearance already and the
good qualities of chiffon velvet and
all silk mousseline velvet are in de
mand even at this early date. The
crushed velvet so parodied and abus
ed last season has mercifully disap
peared, but some of the new velvets
show a shadowy ripple almost like a
modified moire effect over their sur
faces.
The princess skirt with short bolero
is fancied by many designers for the
velvet gown, and where a princess
skirt is not liked a very deep pointed
girdle forming the greater part of the
bodice is used with the plain sweep
ing skirt and abbreviated bolero.
Modish and Popular.
Among the rewest in coats at the
New York horse show were the em
pire models. There is no reason to
doubt that the empire lines will be
extremely modish and popular among
the winter coats and the innovation
is not confined *.o picturesque carriage,
visiting and evening coats, but has in
vaded even the province of the tailor
ed street costume. One fanciful but
exquisite empire coat is of petunia
cloth. The collar is of a darker shade
of velvet and the sleeves and bodice
are draped and garnished with but
tons of taffeta.
Pretty Epaulets.
Women w-ho do not like the full
puffy sleeves that stick out from the
shoulders, and who, at the same time
do not find the sloping shoulder effect
becoming, are finding little epaulets
all that they desire. On many of the
pretty lace blouses little frills of lace
form a plastron of embroidery top
the sleeve. The dress of cloth, too,
has a shaped piece of embroidered
silk or velvet, or from the collar it
self will start an ornamentation that
widens out, and, falling over the arm.
is there edged with a frill of lace or
a silk fringe.
Velvet Trimmings.
It is an English fancy to use vel
vet trimmings on checks, many of
TWO SMART WALKING COSTUMES.
The costume at the left Is of green
cloth. The skirt is slightly gathered
at the top and is made with groups of
gathers at the bottom, headed with
motifs or velvet and shells of silk gal
loon with large flat buttons of the
cloth forming a most original trim
c* ’ The' draped blouse and the
I Sleeves are trimmed to correspond.
and the girdle is of velvet. The other
costume is of brown cloth. The skirt
is encircled with a band of the same.
The new gathered redingote is trim
med with bands and bretelles of taffe
ta to match, of which the girdle is also
made. The collar and cuffs are of em
broidered taffeta, edged with violet
velvet.
them being rich, dark plaids which
demand trimming of dark colored vel
vets. Velvet tight fitting coats are
also worn with both checked and
plain cloth skirt, which revives a fash
ion of long ago, which always has
good possibilities. These checked
tweed skirts already are worn abroad
with plain cloth jackets, which, is a
forecast of what will be followed here
in another season.
Fur-Trimmed Gowns.
Fur-trimmed gowns are in fashion
once more, after a long retirement. At
present the trimming is mostly con
fined to coats, but a fewT fur-trimmed
skirts are seen. Short-haired fur is
used, the popular caracal being much
In evidence. This fur is so pliable
and so easily manipulated as to make
it valuable for trimming purposes
Collars, cuffs and jacket of fur appear
on some of the smartest of imported
street gowns. Sometimes the skirt
shows a few medallions of fur to
match the jacket, but more often it Is
quite untrimmed. Evening and recep
tion gowns are being trimmed with
sable, mink, eimine and other costly
furs.
Lady’s Morning Jacxet.
This charming design for a dressing
sack is adapted to a variety of mate
rials. although as here pictured it was
developed in pale blue China silk, ac
c 'dion pleated. The garment is
si ped by shoulder and underarm
si ms and gathers in the upper part
of the front afford sufficient fullness.
The mode is distinguished by a deep
cape collar, trimmed with lace inser
tion and finished by a frill of lace. The
elbow sleeves are trimmed with two
deep ruffles of the silk, further elabo
rated by bands of insertion and lace
frills, as Is also the lower edge of the
jacket. If accordion pleated material
is not desired, other fabrics such as
cashmere, flannel, silk, dimity and
lawn could be used.
Empire Coats.
Empire coats of three-quarter length
are among the many cloth coat and
skirt models, and though these cos
tumes are tailored great originalltt is
shown in the little details of collars,
buttons, etc. One seen recently was
in dark blue, with strappings of cloth
set on in design. There is an invis
ible closing and the collar is sealskin
It is lined throughout with pearl gray
satin.
Do not lea.e scrubbing brushes
with the bristles turned up, or the
dampness from them will run into the
body of the brusn and loosen the bris
tles in their sockets.
A glass decanter may be cleaned
by breaking up eggshells Into small
pieces, putting them into the decan
ter, which is half filled with water,
and thoroughly shaken.
When housecleaning the bedroom
wash the toilet ware with soap and
water, and then fill the vessels with
boiling hot soda water; put them in
the air and leave them filled for half
a day until thoroughly disinfected.
Never put summer clothes away In
a soiled condition. They may be
needed in a hurry when the first
warm days of spring occur, and then
there is much discomfort. Linen and
muslins should be packed away un
starched, however, to prevent their
becoming yellow.
The Latest in Stocks.
Many of the newest gowns are fit
ted with a stock that is especially
created for the wearer who, perhaps,
disdains the use of ready-made neck
arrangements. Some of the newest
stocks are graduated in size, and are
shaped behind the ears and come
down low in front. Many, of them are
transparent, and are invisibly boned.
The high, stiff stock, by the way, is
distinctly growing out of favor.
To Clean a Mackintosh.
Spread the cloak out on a deal
table and go over it carefully with a
small scrubbing brush and some soap
suds moistened with rain water. Rinse
in plenty of clear cold water and hang
out in the shade to dry. Stains which
will not yield to soap and water will
probably be easily removed by rub
bing them with a little ammonia.
Novelty in Gloves.
Among the newest gloves are the
piques. The kid pique Is quite a nov
elty. It has two large pearl buttons.
The top of the glove has a smart fin
ish of two edges, pinked, one below
the other, and contrasting in color
with the shade of the glove.
Linings for Wraps.
Satin brocade has been used bv
Paouln for the lining of some of hi®
three-miarter and long costs, tnn
pypr nlwnnlen o1 ***♦<• *n OtnV
Old Age.
It Is too late! Ah! nothing is too late
Till the tired heart shall cease to palpi
tate.
Cato learned Greek at eighty; Sophocles
Wrote his grand Oedipus, and Simonides
Bore off the prize of verse from his com
neers,
Whenleach had numbered more than four
score years;
And Theophrastus at four-score and ten.
Had but begun his "Characters of Men.”
Chaucer, at Woodstock, with the night
ingales.
At sixty wrote the "Canterbury Tales.”
Goethe, at Weimar, toiling to the last.
Completed "Faust” when eighty years
were past.
What, then? Shall we sit idly down and
say
The night hath come; it is no longer
day?
The night hath not yet come; we are not
quite
Cut off from labor by the failing light;
Something remains for us to do or dare,
Even the oldest trees some fruit may
bear.
For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another
dress;
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by
day.
—Henry W. Longfellow.
Bouton’s Battery.
At an artillery review in St. Louis
in February, 1862, Gen. Halleck stated
that he considered Bouton’s Battery
the finest battery he had ever seen in
any service either in Europe or Ameri
ca. At a review of troops at College
Hill, Miss., in December, 1862, Gen.
Sherman stated that, at the com
mencement of the war he had felt
great concern regarding what we
should do for field artillery, as It had
always been considered in the old
regular army that the three years’
service was necessary to make good
and efficient artillerymen, but in Eu
rope five to seven years, but that Bou
ton’s Battery, though hardly yet a
year in the service, he considered
equal in efficiency to any battery In
any service.
Although Bouton’s Battery was or
ganized in Chicago, it had men from
several of the Northwestern states,
quite a number from Ohio and from
the sawmills and lumber regions of
Wisconsin, and it is likely that a
finer body of men from an athletic
and physical point of view were never
embraced in an organization of the
same number.
Capt. Edward Bouton recruited this
battery largely at bi3 own expense,
so that even when it was mustered
into the United States service it had
cost the state of Illinois but $13.53
per man, at a time when it was cost
ing the state an average of $154 per
capita to put soldiers in the field. The
battery consisting of an aggregate of
154 men, proceeded to St. Louis in
January, 1862, where it procured six
fine new James rifles, caliber 3.80,
throwing projectiles weighing four
teen pounds.
At this time the government was
purchasing from 500 to 1,200 horses
per day, at St. Louis, and was getting
splendid animals from Missouri, Kan
sas, Iowa, Illinois a:vi Indiana. Bou
ton obtained permission from Capt.
Parsons, the purchasing quartermas
ter, to take his pick from these horses
as they were inspected and accepted,
and he selected from three to ten a
day, until he had procured 128 ani
mals. Four guns and their caissons,
requiring eight teams of six horses
each, were supplied with bright bays,
and the remaining two guns and their
caissons with jet black horses. These
teams were perfectly matched, and
any pair of them would be likely to
attract attention if driven through
any city attached to a carriage. The
battery wagon, forge, ambulances
and baggage wagons were furnished
with equally fine animals.
From the first organization of the
battery, the officers, under Capt. Bou
ton's direction, applied themselves
diligently to drilling the men, so that
when the battery was brought into ac
tive service in the field, the men had
acquired a great degree of perfection
in drill and discipline, and were well
prepared to attain the high reputation
for efficiency for wh.ch they became
noted. In over foul years’ service,
this battery never faded to win favor
able mention on ma-iv a hard-fought
field, particularly distinguishing itself
at Shiloh, Nashville and Franklin.
At the battle of Nashville Bouton's
Battery was attacned to Hatch’s
division of cavalry, which constituted
the extreme right of the Union
forces. In the night some 600 men
hoisted one of the guns up the almost
perpendicular face of a high hill well
in the rear of the left of the rebel
army, and at daylight fired the signal
shot for the commencement of the
attack on the rebel position.
This battery participated in seven
teen great battles and forty-six im
portant skirmishes that were officially
ronnrtpH anri nrnhfl'i’v a hunrirpr!
minor skirmishes that were never re
ported. They were with the extreme
advance in the pursuit of Hood’s
army, after Nashville, and in that pur
suit went into action on an average
of six times a day for ten days.
Among which was a very hard fight
at Duck river, lasting several hours.
There was a flood rise of fourteen
feet in this river and Hood had to
abandon nearly all of his wagons and
artillery, and supposed he was clear
of the Union batteiies as well, but
Bouton’s Battery took their ammuni
tion chests across tne river on rafts
hastily constructed, principally from
the beds of abandoned rebel army
wagons, swam their horses across
and, splicing their prolongs, dragged
the guns through fourteen to eighteen
feet of water, and in two hours were
pounding away at Hood’s forces again.
This battery not only never lost a
gun, but with the exception of Shiloh,
and perhaps two other instances,
where the entire line fell back, they
never receded from a position they
had taken. Their guns were especi
ally adapted to throwing canister:
each charge of canister weighed four
teen pounds, contained 240 projectiles
and when- hard-pressed they would
double-shot, and for a short time
could fire six rounds per minute, o
•’.880' missiles from each gun, 17,28r
'rom the entire six guns per minute
which no force could withstand. Bon
'on’s Battery was noted throughon
the army for rapidity of fire and ar
curacy of aim. Gen. Hatch used t'
say that Bouton’s Battery could shoo*
piairie chickens on the wing.
On one occasion during the Nash
ville campaign, in a hard fight be
tween Nashville and Duck river, Bou
ton's Battery not only silenced a rebel
battery, but drove the man entirely
away from it, and went with their
own limbers and took the guns and
carried them off. Two of the guns
proved to be James rifles that had
been captured from Waterhouse's Bat
tery at Shiloh. So far as known, this
was the only instance during the war
of one battery capturing another's
battery and actually carrying off its
guns.
A high testimonial of the character
of the men composing Bouton’s Bat
tery is the fact that fifty-three of the
enlisted men were promoted to be
commissioned officers during their
terms of enlistment.—Los Angeles
Times.
To Department Commanders.
Allan C. Bakewell, national patri
otic instructor of the Grand Army of
the Republic, has issued the following
letter to the department commanders:
Dear Sir and Comradf—As you are
undoubtedly aware, the National En
campment assembled at Denver adop
ted amendments to rules and regula
tions whereby patriotic education is
to be governed.
The rules now provide for the ap
pointment by the commander in chief
of a national patriotic instructor, and
by department commanders of depart
ment patriotic instructors, who, by
virtue of their office, will be members
of the Council of Administration.
In view of the importance of this
department of Grand Army work, its
acknowledged benefit to the country
in whose interests every soldier and
patriot deems it his duty and privi
lege to serve, and which, through the
grand results attained, reflects credit
and renown upon the order, it is ur
gently requested of you that the ap
! pointment for your department be
| promptly made and that the appointee
i be instructed to report his acceptance
I to these headquarters.
It will be of great benefit to the
! cause of which we are all so justly
| proud if the comrade appointed shall
be of those who have ability and phys
ical strength to take up this service
with deep interest and energy, and it
is earnestly requested that the ap
pointments shall be made only of
those who will accept the same for
the sole purpose of aiding patriotic
instruction.
The rank of the department patri
otic instructor will be designated by
an official badge with a silver eagle
upon the strap, and he will be entitled
to a commission issued from your
headquarters.
These instructors will be privileged,
when advised from the headquarters
of the method, to appoint, with your
approval, district aides, whose rank
will be designated by one gilt bar on
the badge strap.
Full instructions to department in
structors will be issued from these
headquarters, and blank forms for re
ports, etc., to be made annually, will'
be furnished from national headquar
ters.
Gen. Grant’s Pilot Dead.
Capt. Charles Powers, a noted Mis
sissippi river pilot who distinguished
himself in the civil war, died recently
at Chicago. He was 72 years old and
was born in Charleston, Clark county,
Ind.
In his boyhood days Capt. Powers'
ambition was to be a pilot, and when
he was 18 years old he left home with
the announced intention of becoming
a steamboat official. He began as a
knife-scourer in the cook house and
ended as owner of several large boats.
When the civil war broke out the
steamer W. F. Curtis, owned by Capt.
Powers and run between PiPsUi”—
and St. Louis, was chartered by the
government. At one time L was cap
tured by the southerners, but Powers
wrapped the government papers in oil
cloth and sunk them in the river.
Later he recovered them.
When the federal government was
handicapped in search for pilots to
conduct boats up the Tennessee river
to Forts Donelson and Henry, Capt.
Powers responded, despite the confed
erate threat to kill any river pilot that
aided the northern troops. After he
had safely brought the boats before
the forts a reward was offered for his
capture, dead or alive.
At one time Capt. Powers was cap
tured and taken before Gen. Pillar.
He escaped to Cincinnati and enlisted
as a first-class pilot in the Mississippi
sauadron.
At the battle of Shiloh, when the
gunboats were ordered up the Ten
nessee river to Pittsburg landing,
Capt. Powers was the only man in the
fleet who knew where the landiBg
was. Gen. Grant sent for him to
thank him, and after their meeting
the two became close friends. At
Johnsonville Capt. Powers was se
verely wounded.
As a pilot Capt. Powers knew the
Ohio river from Pittsburg to its
mouth, the Missippi from St. Louis to
New Orleans and the navigable por
tions of the Tennessee and Cumber
land rivers.
Naval Veterans at Denver.
There was a large attendance of the
'■’aval Veterans at a reunion held at
Denver during the G. A. R. encamp
ment. All the different squadron
were represented, and nearly ever
■•essel in the Western flotilla. The
oral committee provided headquar
“rs .and also a band for the parade
>nd extended other courtesies to theP
isitors. The reunion was held unde1
he auspices of the Flying Squadro’
f Naval Veterans, and to which a’
laval veterans are eligible for mem
■ership. The officers elected were
ommander, William Simmons, Phile
alph.a; lieutenant commander, Job
~r. Don. Morocco, Ind.; secretar
ihn Black, Cincinnati, Ohio; treae
r?r, W. F. Comstock, Denver, Co’
Mef of staff, W. L. Palmer, Carthage
*. D. Headquarters will remain i
biladelphia, where arrangements w"
-> made for a reunion at Minneapol'
->vt year during the G. A. R. enc"m
The Ben Davis Apple.
The tree that to-day is receiving the
greatest amount of attention from fruit
growers is the Ben Davis. Its increase
in popularity has been unusual. The
Ben Davis apple to-day has innumer
able enemies among the fruit growers
who have fought its progress step by
step. The apple does not stand high
in quality and sells low on the mar
ket; sometimes it sells $2 per barrel
less than the Jonathans, Grimes Gol
den or Kings. Yet for all this, the
Ben Davis apple trees are being num
erously planted and are exceptionally
favored by great commercial growers.
There are fruit growers in all of our
western states who are putting in Ben
Davis orchards consisting of thousands
of trees. Not only in the West, but in
the Middle and New England states
the Ben Davis apple trees are being
extensively planted. The tree is cer
tainly remarkable, in that it thrives
well on the prairies in the West and
on the clay hills in the East.
Having originated in Kentucky one
would hardly expect to find it a fruit
adapted to Wisconsin, yet such is the
case. While the Ben Davis is only
medium in quality it has a rich red
color when it is allowed to fully ma
ture on the trees. Tbis often has been
its greatest help in selling. People
will buy fruit on its looks even if they
know that its quality is not as great
as the quality of some other fruit.
This is illustrated in the experience of
the fruit exporters. At the Paris Ex
position in 1900 among other fruit
Ben Davis was shown there in consid
erable quantities. The fruit after a
few days’ showing was each time auc
tioned off to the Parisians to make
way for new consignments of fruit
coming from the United States. It
was a surprise to the men that had
opposed the Ben Davis apple to find it
selling under the hammer of the auc
tioneer at 35 franc or about $7 per
barrel. No other American apple
brought the same price. The Parisians
were not deceived in the quality of
the fruit for they continued to buy the
Ben Davis apple even after they had
tested their quality. The bright red
color caught the eye of the Parisians
who were said to have a longing and
a prejudice in favor of the yellow ap
ple.
The fact is that the Ben Davis ap
ples vary In quality according to the
place where they are grown. The
Ben Davis apple grown in Kentucky,
southern Illinois, Missouri and in oth
er localities having a humid atmos
phere and a long season, reach a large
size and bright color and have quite a
good flavor. We have seen these ap
ples in Missouri so highly flavored
that they were considered a delicacy
upon hotel tables. We have also seen
some good Ben Davis apples as far
north as Wisconsin, but in most cases
the Ben Davis apples in Wisconsin,
Northern Illinois, and adjacent regions
are lacking in size, flavor and color.
This is due to the fact that the sea
son begins late in the Spring and
closes early in the Fall.
Make Cuttings Now.
Few people realize how simple a
matter it is to propagate one's own
grape vines, currants, gooseberries and
most ornamental shrubs. If the work
is properly done these plants may be
readily propagated by means of cut
tings made late in autumn after the
leaves are off of the plants, but prefer
ably before cold weather comes on.
Only well ripened mature wood that
has grown during the preceding sum
mer should be selected for the pur
pose, all soft or immature parts being
discarded. The cuttings themselves
should be made six to ten inches long
and the base of each should be cut
squarely just below a bud, so the bud
is retained at the lower end. They
should be tied up in bundles of con
venient size, say, one hundred in a
bundle, their butts, or basal ends, ah
one way, well shaken down, so as to
stand level on a flat table. They may,
then, be packed in fresh, moist saw
dust and be kept through the winter in
a cellar or callus pit.
Upon the approach of spring, as ear
ly as the soil can be worked and be
fore the buds have begun to grow on
them, they should be planted out in
good garden soil. The rows should be
about four feet apart, to admit of easy
cultivation, and the cuttings should
be set very firmly in the soil, so as to
leave no air spaces about them, and
set deep enough so only the uppermost
bud is above the ground. They should
then be given clean cultivation and
hoed to keep down all weeds during
the summer, when usually an excel
lent growth of plants will be secured.
Currants, gooseberries, the Marian
na and Golden Beauty plums, some
varieties of quinces, the barberry,
spirea, mockorange, privet, most var
ieties of shrubs, willows, poplars anu
some other varieties of forest trees,
root readily from cuttings handled in
this manner. J. C. Whitten.
Professor of Horticulture, Missouri
Agricultural College.
Lime in Garden Soil.
I heard one man the other day as
Bert that as he was not trying to
grow legumes there was no reason for
liming his land. Now he may be
badly mistaken and may be paying for
that mistake by losing annually on
ibout all of the garden crops he grows
[f the land is sour from any cause
lime will sweeten it and allow the
yeasty ferments in the soil to grow
rhese ferments do a work that must
be done if we are to have good crops
[f there is a good supply of this vege
table matter, a part of the organic
matter is changed by the nitric fer
ment organisms into nitrates which
make the nitrogen of organic matter
ivallable for plants.
The lime also aids to break up som
it the insoluble compounds of potash
md renders that element available for
the completion of the work of the nl
trie ferments. Especially for land*
levoted to truck gardening and tha
ire constantly heavily fertilized th
bse of lime everv few h„s
rery beneficial e^ec* - Knleh*
""iierry Co., in
Sweet Clover.
We have in this country what is
known as sweet clover, which is
purely a local name. There are two
varieties of this plant, known locally
as white sweet clover and yellow
sweet clover. The name by which
this plant is known throughout the
world is malilotus. The white clover
is known as malilotus alba, and the
yellow clover is known as malilotus
officinalis. This plant was introduced
from Europe a great many years ago.
One would think, to see it growing
along the roadsides of Northern Illi
nois, that it had taken possession of
the entire state. He would be the
more sure of this if he followed the
Illinois Central railroad from Chicago
to Cairo; for he would And this plant
growing luxuriantly all the way. But
if, a short distance below Chicago, he
should strike off into, the country, he
would find people who had never seen
a sample of this plant. If he went
200 miles south of Chicago he would
find vast stretches of territory where
as yet the malilotus has not come. It
is evident, therefore, that the plant has
followed the railroad. One reason for
this has been the tearing up of the
soil in the making of the tracks.
The seed of the ma'ilotus never
takes root in a field already covered
with grass. It is able only to get a
foothold on bare ground and hard
ground. It does not usually grow well
in the plowed field. It has even been
said that it never grows in a culti
vated field, but this is a mistake. We
have regarded this plant as a weed,
but now it is coming to be looked
upon as one of the greatest benefac
tors to our agriculture. Instead oi
fighting it, our best agriculturists are
planting its seeds in their fields and
are encouraging its growth. They
have found that it is a wonderful col
lector of nitrogen from the air—that
by means of the root tubercles it 1?
continually collecting nitrogen from
the air and adding it to the soil. The
writer, this summer, visited one oi
the experiments in Southern Illinois
that is being conducted by the Illinois
Experiment Station. On one end ol
the field had been sown the seed ol
the malilotus. These plants had de
veloped into a forest. A photograph
was taken of the field with men and
horses standing in it and all were
nearly hidden by the plants, which
went above their heads. The same
day the photograph was taken the
crop was mowed down and plowed
under to further enricn the soil. The
ease with which this plant may be
grown and the wonderful amount 01
substance it produces makes It one
of the best possible plants for the
improvement of the soil. In some
parts of the south this p’ant is being
grown for hay, but anyone who has
tasted of malilotus will understand
why the cattle refuse to eat it until
they have been starved to it.
Eventually the time will come when
some man will produce a variety ol
malilotus that will lack the bittei
taste now so characteristic of it
When that time comes we will have
discovered a plant which will be in
calculably valuable to the farmers ol
this country. One of the greatesi
benefits coming from the presence ol
this plant is the fact that the bac
terium which grows upon its roots if
the same variety that grows upon the
roots of the alfalfa. If a man plants
alfalfa on a field where the malilotus
has grown he is certain of obtaining
a thrifty growth of his alfalfa. Alsc
a man who wishes to plant alfaira
on a field where neither the alfalfa
nor the malilotus has grown before
can tak the soil from around the
malilotus plants and scatter it in the
field where the alfalfa is to grow, and
by the second year he will have a
strong growth of alfalfa. The germ?
thus placed in the soil will remaiD
there for all future years, providing
that alfalfa or malilotus are grown
upon that field.
Manures on Truck Gardens.
Truck gardeners can use to advan
tage much more manure than can the
general farmer. For instance, it hard
Iy pays the general farmer to buy ni
trogenous manures because he can
grow leguminous crops and turn under
the stubble. But in the case of the
market gardener it is different. He
cannot do that. He must buy his ni
trogenous manure if he needs it, for
his land must bring him in hundred?
of dollars a year per acre. The far
mer that raises on an acre of land a
crop that sells for twenty dollars and
under cannot afford to put very many
dollars into fertilizers. But the truck
gardener that grows two hundred dol
lars worth of crops on an acre can af
ford to put into fertilizers more than
the crop of the farmer would bring.
He must buy some nitrogen, for he
needs a big growth of plant with
most of the things he supplies the
market. So we see the truck garden
ers hauling out for use on their land
vast quantities of barnyard manure.
We also see whole trainloads of ma
nure from the stockyards brought into
requisition. I have observed that the
‘ruck gardener farms more intensive
ly than the general farmer. I have
also sometimes thought that it would
pay the general farmer to farm more
ntensively and let part of the land lie
idle, if need be
DuPage Co., 111. Albert Bates.
Learn About Fertilizer*.
Every farmer that has to use
commercial fertilizers should make
a study of them. There is noth
ing more essential in his farm
work. He should understand what
are the elements of plant food
~nd why he needs to buy certain fer
il zers and not certain others This
'aution is needed badly, as among tbe
nultitudes of retail venders of fertil
zers are many that are selling farm
7s fertilizers that are of no vliueTo
’er". lh°ugh those same fertilizers
would be of value on other farms. Tbe
rs r:stheprofit °° *£
aie. This is not true of all. but is
'UP of so*
• **r must hira
needs in
