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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1906)
French Fancies. A very dpep-pointed girdle of black panne velvet hooks in the back. At the top In the front, it is cut down and two shallow points at the top in the center. It is embroidered very light ly around both edges in silver, and silver medallions are appllqued on each side of the center front, there be ing three inches of the plain velvet between these silver appliques. In the back a single large meda’lion hooks over from side to side, concealing the joining of the belt at that point. Still anoiher girdle shows down the center front a row of tiny French bows of velvet, each having a tiny rhinestone buckle in its center. An other has little rosettes with silver buttons as centers. Tailor-Made Coat and Skirt. The tailor-made of coat and skirt, to be worn with differing fancy blouses and bodices, maintains all of its modish consideration to a remark able degree. One shows the short Eton with just self-strappings and a velvet collar for embellishment and a deep girdle of panne velvet adds to the smart effect. The skirt is one of those extreme patterns with Inverted and well-nigh invisible plaits on the hips and just overlapping rows of strapping on the hem for trimming. Girl's Dress of Red Cloth. The skirt is made with a narrow tablier, trimmed with straps and loops of black velvet, fastened with steel : ...-.in buckles. The blouse, opening over a lace chemisette, and the short bolero, with large bertha, are both trimmed with the black velvet, the ends fin ished with loops and steel buckles. The leg-o-mutton sleeves are fin ished with cuffs of lace headed by the velvet, and the belt is of velvet j - Colors In Harmony. Certain browns and pinks consort most harmoniously and with much dis tinction, but one must choose the right shades. A pink broadcloth frock of creamy tea-rose tint, trimmed in brown velvet, worn with brown furs and a big pink tulle hat trimmed with brown plumes and a touch of fur around the big crown, excited much enthusiasm at a recent tea and the color scheme should suggest charm ing possibilities to any clever artist In dress. The finish of skirt is three ! applied bias tucks. A vest and collar pf brown velvet, with a gold embroid ered line, fills in front of coat and the belt around sides and back of coat is Cloth piped with brown velvet. The deep-turned cuffs are similarly treat ed and fastened with two gold but tons. Chicken Mexican. One chicken, two small onions: one egg; half a green pepper; two tea spoons of salt; one teaspoon of spear mint; one small clove of garlic; one teaspoon of lard; three tablespoons of flour; one teaspoon of black pepper. Remove the meat from the bones and chop very fine with the garlic, one onion, and mint. Mix the other ingredients, and roll in balls about the size of a pigeon's egg. Mince the other onion, fry it brown in a sauce pan, add two quarts of boiling water, drop in, and let them boil for an hour. These may also be made of veal or lamb. Hats for Spring. As to colors of the hats which are being worn now and will be worn, the Millinery Trade Review's Paris correspondent says: “Variety in color is a particular feature of the new Straws and hair weaves. All the lead ing series of shades adapted for the season are represented, but particular prominence is given to the new moss and spring greens, and to the lower toned pinks, to the orchid mauves, sky and pale hyacinth colors, to the bright light wood browns and the lightest of terra cottas. “Individuality” in Dress. With the wide latitude which fash ion now allows in the various lines of dress, it is not a difficult matter for miladi to follow individual ideas in her gowns and dress accessories. In deed “individuality” has become the slogan of the well dressed. Some thing which is not only becoming, but expresses “her”—her taste, her indi viduality-original ideas adapted to her particular style. Sarah Bernhardt, with the authority of a great artist, who studies every point and with the inherent instinct of her country to please in appearance, dwells with emphasis upon the point of preserving and enhancing one’s in dividuality. That one can do this and submit to the doctrine of imperi ous fashion is a paradox. The extremes of styles are most marked at the present moment, not only In materials, but in mode of con struction as well. Simplicity walks hand In hand with an elaboration of trimming which quite bewilders the B3The short-waisted effect Is consplcu ous iu Baris. Exploited originally by Baquln, this model shows a draped belt having a round, slight dip in front. In this short-waisted class comes the new polo or pony coat, of which more anon. Directly in contrast with the short waisted styles are the long coats, closely fitted as a rule, and severe »nd revealing in their lines. A belt of peacock feathers, with a silver mounted bag to match, is novel. Have you seen those smart little braided loose coats, just reaching the hips? It takes a murderous array of hat pins to keep the modern chapeau In place. The traveling cloaks are smart enough to make any woman pine for a journey. Many of this year’s coats boast of a cozy high collar, often luxuriously lined with fur. Babies of six months old are shod in boots of buckskin with soles as soft as a glove. The steel-stu 1ded elastic belts are general favorites and by no means In significant in price. Auto hoods of rubber, lined with silk and provided with wide rain capes. are not really horrible. Scarfts of tinted liberty silk are worn again with street' suits, their long bright ends fluttering from the coat front. Care of Street Gowns. There’s nothing which tends to lengthen the life of a good street suit so definitely as taking it off as soon as you come in. brushing it and put ting it away on its hanger. Lounging, as you're bound to do in a measure in your home, plays havoc with tailor ed clothes. It’s rather a temptation to sink into an easy chair wrhen you come in. just tired enough to enjoy the j prospect of idling for a little while, but ! those very times take the life out of j the sort of cloth that tailors sell, and i probably lays fine little creases which ! result in incorrigible mussing. It's rather a temptation, too. to hang it up and postpone brushing and putting | away properly to a later time, when j you’re rested, hut it pays to do it at the time, for dust should be got rid of before it has time to settle into the cloth and give it that dingy look which mars so many otherwise good looking suits, and careful hanging pre vents forming of bad lines. Effective Street Costume. Rather showy, but in good taste and j delightfully effective, is a model in dark green broadcloth, and it is ad mirably appropriate for street cos tume for the debutante. Applied pieces of cloth trimmed with tiny gold buttons and set on bottom of skirt at stated intervals, making a unique foot finish. The short eton jacket is also trimmed with cloth bands and buttons, the former making the front lapels, which open over a vest of dark tan kid. The small revers at neck are green velvet. j jEgjofflodamis 1 Spar varnish is the liquid to use on all furniture for out-of-door use, as it is both weatherproof and lasting. A few pieces of glue tucked into the earth around house ferns and palms will furnish the soil fertilizer In an inoffensive manner. The southern laundress ties a lump of arrowroot in a thick cotton cloth and bolls it with the fine white pieces to give them a dainty odor more de lightful than from sachet powder. If there are no flowers for the table, break off a few of the finer sprays of the Boston fern, arrange loosely in a low glass bowl with water, and the delicate gr.een sprays will last for a week and make a dainty centerpiece. A glue which will resist the action of water is made by boiling half a pound of common glue in one quart of skimmed milk. Another method is to soak the glue till soft in cold water, and then to dissolve it on the stove in linseed oil. Dyed to Match Skirts. At one of the leading houses in Par is one of the strongest features is bod ices of lace or mousseline dyed to match skirts and tight-fitting bolero3 with which they are to be worn. These bodices are masses of dainty needle work and are caught in at the waist with wide belts. They are often cut open at the neck to show a small gimp of white lace. Parisian Skating Costumes. The costume at the left is of dark green cloth. The skirt is trimmed with bands of the material, forming loops at the ends fastened with but tons. The jacket, wTith yoke and bo lero fronts, is trimmed to correspond. The revers are of light cloth, orna mented with buttons and buttonholes. ^1 The turnover collar and cuffs are of caracul. The other costume is of ruby red cloth. The princess skirt, with narrow breadth or panel in front, is encircled at the bottom with two rows of braid. The short bolero is also trimmed with the braid and with but tons, and has little embroidered re vers. The waistcoat and collar are of velvet. Belts and Buckles. Eelts and buckles play an important part in the dress question this season, and certainly add greatly to the ap pearance of both indoor and outdoor gowns. With the princess style as popular as it is at present it might be thought belts were of no importance, but it is not the only style of gown; the empire and directorie are close ri vals. and as for street gowns, belts and buckles are almost a necessity. A broad fitted and embroidered belt is quite the feature of the newest fash ions, so cut as to give a long waisted effect without so exaggerated a point in front as was fashionable last year. Short at the sides and high in the back gives a better line to a short figure. Smart in the Extreme. A stunning gown was worn by a well known actress noted for her smart dressing. It is deep purple chif fon broadcloth with stitched pieces of same around bottom of skirt. The chic little jacket is prettily trimmed with heavily stitched bands of cloth and shaped pieces of embroidery vio let silk, which also make the chemi sette and stock. Long suede gloves in violet and ermine muff and turban of violet French felt with white wings complete a most striking costume. WINTER COSTUMES FROM PARIS. The first Illustration shows a tailor made costume of striped cloth. The skirt is made with a group of stitched plaits on each side of the front, and is trimmed at the bottom with a shaped band of the material, the ends turned up in front and fastened with buttons. The short, half-fitting jacket s also made with a group of plaits on each side of the front, and shaped bands from the border and the odd yoke. The collar and cuffs are of Per sian lamb, the latter finished at the top with little plaitings of silk match ing the gown. The muff is also of Per , sian lamb. The other is a calling cos tume of violet cloth. The new and odd skirt is made with 10 gores mount ed to a fitted hip-yoke, the gores or namented at the top with points of velvet of a little darker shade than the cloth The bolero is made and trimmed to correspond, and is orna mented in front with passementerie brandenburgs. The knot, edge and girdle are of velvet, the first orna mented with a gold buckle. The col lar and cravat are also of velvet, the chemisette of linen. The sleeves are plaited and draped and ornamented with points of velvet. They are fin ished with deep cuffs trimmed with bands of the material. FARMER HAT) QUEER 'RIDE Artemus Hope of Mentone had a strange, wild ride yesterday which he does not want to have repeated very soon, if ever. He was coming from several miles out In the country, riding in a platform huggy, and on top of this he was haul ing home a neighbor’s buggy that had been disabled in a runaway and was placed bottom-side up on Hope’s buggy, with the wheels uppermost and firmly tied in place. Hope was sitting on some blankets that were laid on the upturned bottom of the neighbor’s buggy and riding along quietly and peaceably when, just as he had got about half way down the long hill past the Hemerick farm, the horses became frightened, sprang to one side and tipped the buggy entirely over, bottom-side up. This maneuver brought Hope's buggy wrong-side up, but also brought the neighbor's vehicle right-side up, and, with Hope clinging like a bat beneath the combination of vehicles, the horses ran off down the road at a high rate of speed, paying no attention whatever to the frantic calls to “whoa” which Hope shouted to them from his peril ous position, with nothing but his clinging hands and feet to keep him iq place. It was hard work to hold on and his strength was just about spent when the rushing horses veered oft to near the side of the road near the poor farm and running into a shallow ditch there tipped the combination vehicle entire ly over again, this time with Hope's buggy right side up and the other in verted, and this placed the farmer in just the same shape he had been when he started. The lines were still within his reach, now that he could afford to use his hands to pull on them with, and he soon had the horses under control and drove into town all right. But here a new difficulty confronted him, for no one could believe his story, and after friends had smelled his breath and found he was not intoxi cated, he was in a fair way to have a court of inquiry sit on him to investi gate as to his sanity, but fortunately just as the matter was growing se rious indeed two farmers came into town who had seen the strange spec tacle as Hope rushed past beneath the rigs, his back scraping the ground and his voice shouting to the horses and their confirmation of his story restored his reputation for sanity at once and made him an object of pity instead of suspicion. The neighbor had agreed to pay $1 for having the buggy hauled in, but now he will not do so, for he claims that Hope used it to haul, his own buggy on.—Cincinnati Enquirer. EGGS WO'RTH MUCH MOftEy Rarest of all die eggs of a still ex istent family of birds is that laid by the condor. At the present moment there is not in existence one single dozen perfect specimens and the few there are can be seen solely in some of the wealthiest and richest collec tions. The condor, which is found in southern California and the Andes, is now hopelessly doomed to die out. It is also practically impossible to collect any fresh specimens of its eggs, as these rare and extremely shy birds nest thousands of feet above the plains, in the most rugged and inac cessible fastnesses of the San Ber nardino and San Jacinto mountains. Hence finding and plundering a con dor’s nest is regarded as a wonderful and sensational event. A prize of $500 would not tempt any sane man to start out on the hunt for a fresh condor egg. Still more costly are the eggs of the great auk, or garefowl, a flightless marine bird with large head, heavy body and compact plumage, the last two living specimens of which were discovered and killed in Iceland in 1S44. One of these eggs is now to be seen, carefully preserved under a glass case, in the National museum at Washington. The original owner sold it in London for £22 ($110) in 1851, whereas its present value is estimated at more than $10,000. «In 1853 two other auks’ eggs were sold in London for £85 ($425) apiece, while in 1869 Lord Caervagh paid £74 ($370) for a damaged specimen. A Scotchman of the name of Powell got two of these eggs in Edinburgh in 1879 for 32 shil lings. A few weeks afterward he sold them for £240 ($1,200) each. At the present time there are only from seventy to eighty specimens known to be still in existence. Twelve of these are in the British museum. This bird died out because of its in ability to fly and of the difficulty of its movements upon dry land. It used to nest in thousands on Funk island, a rocky islet opposite the coast of New foundland, which at one time was used as a kind of provisioning station by whalers, who used to kill these fat and palatable birds in hundreds. The birds were knocked on the head with clubs, plucked—the feathers used to fetch a good price—and salted for future con sumption. TE'RMS VSED Iff AVSTRALIA Cockatoo is a word of varied mean ings in Australia. It was originally a contemptuous nickname for the small Australian farmer, but was gradually accepted as a synonym for that class. “Cocky,” says Prof. Morris, “is a com mon abbreviation.” Anthony Trollope committed a good many blunders in his book describing his Australian tour. One of them was his definition of cockatoo: “It signifies that the man does not really till his land, but oftly scratches it as the bird does.” A critic gives this as the true explana tion: About 1860, when the great rush to the gold fields had ceased, immi grants turned to the land, swarmed all over the country, and ate up the sub stance of the squatters, who likened them to an invasion of devastating birds, and christened them "cocka toos.” By 1867 the word had traveled to New Zealand, for Lady Barker, au thor of “Station Life in New Zealand,” writing in that year, remarked: “I have heard a man say in answer to a question about his occupation, ‘I’m a cockatoo.’ ” “Bushranger”—another instance of Australian slang—is a curious case .of verbal degradation. From an etymo logical point of view there is no rea son why bushranger should not be as respectable a word as parkranger. In the early Australian newspapers such advertisements as “Wanted, a good bushranger,” were quite common. The word then meant an experienced bush man. But when the bush became the refuge of robbers of banks, mail coach es and lucky diggers, the word ac quired the sinister meaning that it now possesses—brigand, outlaw, desperado. A “swagman” or “swaggie” (so called from the “swag,” or personal luggage wrapped up in a blanket strapped to his back) is a genuine Australian traveler in search of work, but a “sundowner” is the antipodean professional tramp. The “sundowner" strolls from one squatter’s station to another, always taking care to ’arrive at sunset, for it is the traditional prac tice of Australian squatters to give food and shelter to all comers for the night. KEVT THE ‘RETAIJVIftG FEE When Daniel Webster was at the zenith of his career, a gentleman waited upon him one day to engage him for the defense in an important case at law, the amount at stake in the suit being $S0,000. The gentle man asked Webster what the retain ing fee would be. "A thousand dollars.” “A thousand dollars!” exclaimed the gentleman. “Yes. But think for a moment what I am engaged to do, sir. I do not only hold myself at your service in the mat ter, perhaps for a month or more, but I debar myself from accepting any ofTer, no matter -how large, from the plaintiff.” The applicant, being satisfied with the explanation, wrote out a check for the amount and gave it to the great advocate, who, after he had put it in his pocket, said: “I will now give you a bit of advice gratis. If you can compromise this business upon fair terms with the plaintiff, you had better do so.” The client expressed his thanks and took his leave. A few days after the gentleman called upon Webster again, and told him that a compromise had been effected and the matter satisfac torily settled. Webster duly congrat ulated his visitor on the result, and would have turned to other business, but the visitor seemed to have some thing further on his mind. “Of course,” he ventnred, after a pause, “I shall not require your serv ices, Mr. Webster.” "Certainly not, sir.” “And how about the $1,000 I paid you?” faintly asked the gentleman, who was not quite reconciled by pay ing such a sum for services which were never to be rendered. "Oh. ah!” responded Daniel, with a bland smile. “You don't seem to un derstand. It iS very simple. That was a retaining fee—called in law a ‘retainer.’ By virtue of the contract I also become a retainer. What should I retain, if not my fee?” THE SWO'R'D OF 1812 It has his name upon it. See, the let ters are not clear. For they are woi n and blured by hands that touched them year by year, But if we bend and trace them ^e may then decipher all. ., , _ „ You smile? The quaint old letters spell the name of “Cuthbert Small. A quaint old man he was—O, this was long, long years ago; His face was like the laces that the olden pictures show; A strong *and earnest one, with lips tnat met in sturdy line, . And eyes that sometimes could be stern, but always were benign. And he was tall and soldierly; at his three score and ten His step was quick, he set the pace for many younger men; His hair was white and long, and you would look to see a queue. And to see ruffles on his shirt and buckle on each shoe. But this old sword—we gave it him; his country, yours and mine. And set his name upon it for some sort of grateful sign That what brave deeds he did for us were cherished at their worth. That country love and courage were far more than wealth or birth. And how he used to tell of when the war of ’12 was on! His brave old eyes would glimmer with the fire of days agone; His old white head would be flung back, his shaking voice was clear. And those who heard and saw must know to him his land was dear. Ho, Cuthbert Small, this score of years and more have been dust. But this old sword is clean and keen and f^ir and free from rust— And all the fine old faith that you and your sword typified Is living now in every heart that beats with country pride. —W. D. N.. in Chicago Tribune. Just the Same. For days and weeks before his death it was remembered, the wealthy old foundryman pottered around In the molding room, over some task which he would not per mit any one to help him about. Chuckling and nodding his head he kept at his work, until finally he or dered the molten iron run into an immense flat mold. When the result had cooled off, it was seen to be a huge, thin, flat sheet of icon, bearing a lengthy inscription in raised letters, beginning: “I, John Pott Mettle, being of sound mind and body,” etc. “There,” murmured the old man, with the grim smile for which he was famous, “they will see that the iron will which is characteristic of me shall be in evidence even after I have passed away.” How vain are the hopes of man! Six months after the death of John Pott Mettle the lawyers had broken his will as easily as if it had been written on ice. Feeding and Watering Poultry. In regard to keeping water before the fowls In winter I use sanitary fountains. They can be hung up out of the dirt. On very cold days I use warm water and it will not freeie dur ing the day, and if it should freeze before I empty the fountains in the evening I pour a little hot water on the sides and pull off the bottoms and they are all ready for the next day. It must be understood the fountain is in two parts, top and bottom. I think this is the best fountain on the mar ket. I feed corn on all cold nights. If It comes off warm then I feed oats, wheat, buckwheat, sometimes one kind, then another, sometimes mix. In summer I feed corn about one feed a week. I go according to my own Judgment, when I think a change would do good. I never use skim milk. I feed oats in a litter of scratching material, of about three or four inches deep. I throw a handful or two in each pen in the morning, when they get their mash, so as to keep them busy. All grain is thrown into the litter. In regard to green food, I use cabbages as long as I can keep them profitably. If they are kept too long they will go to waste. So I put in enough to last until the first part of January. I hang them up in the middle of the pen, so all the fowls can get a chance at them. One small head will last twelve Wyan dottes a day. I think it Is the best winter green food there is. The birds seem to do well on it. Sugar beet is a food I never use. But I do use mangel wurzel and fowls do enjoy them very much. I have used some turnips, but not many. The birds don’t do so well on them as on man gels and the turnip is not so large. They both make* a good substitute for cabbages. I feed them raw. I put them in what I call my green food racks. They are made the same style as the old-fashioned hay rack for horses. The rods are one inch apart. The rack is six inches deep at the top and one inch deep at the bottom and can be made any width.—W. H. Shute, Middlesex Co., Conn., in Far mers’ Review. City ar.d Country Hens. It would probably be interesting both to the farmer and the city man, to compare results as to the produc tion of eggs in winter. It is difficult to make a comparison of the same sized flocks, as the city flocks are gen eral]}' very much the smaller, but fig uring on a percentage basis I believe the city man wins, and personally I think this is entirely due to the kind of feed whfch his hens get. One of my city friends has six Black Minorca hens and during the first part of Jan uary was getting two and three eggs a day. From a flock of about 125 Barred Plymouth Rock hens on a farm 50 miles from Chicago they were get ting at the same time nine and ten eggs a day, and these hens were well taken care of, too, with a good warm henhouse and a large scratching shed. I also know of a flock of about 180 hens, White Wvandottes, Barred Rocks and a.mixed lot, where, during Janu ary and February last year, they did not get sufficient eggs to use in cook ing and baking. I also know of a city flock of ten hens where during the same time they were getting six and eight eggs a day, and the feed that was bought for this latter flock did not amount to over 5 cents a week. They were fed principally on table scraps, and from my observation I think it is this feed that makes the eggs in win ter. I am not prepared to say just what there is to this feed that makes the eggs, but if the farmer could strike the same combination he would make a small fortune off his eggs in winter, as at 40 cents a dozen (whjich one of my neighbors is paying for strictly fresh eggs) the farmer ought to realize about $2 a day for eggs from a flock of 125 or 130 hens. It i would pay him to spend some money j for the right kind of feed.—Aaron Kline, in Farmers’ Review. Good and Bad Eggs. A reader asks us for some way to tell good eggs from bad ones. The method being followed in the commer cial world is the one that we recom: mend and the only one that we believe suitable to farm work. This is the candling process. Take a box and place in it a lamp, making a hole about the size of an egg. In this box put a light, so placing the light that the gleam will stream out of the hole mentioned. The candling is done by taking this box into the gloomiest part of the room and passing the eggs be tween the opening in the box and the eye. A good strong light will render the egg transparent or translucent. If an electric light can be obtained, so much the better, as the inside of the egg will be that much more illumi nated. The stronger the light the bet ter can one see what is inside the egg. The good eggs will show a translucent liquid. An egg that has begun to undergo the changes noticed in incuba tion will be cloudy at first and later will show veins. Later it will show dark clots at certain points, as the physical system of the unborn chick develops. For common use, it is nec essary only to find out the clear eggs from the cloudy ones. The cloudy ones are not fresh, while the others are if they have not been undergoing incubation. If the eggs are in an in cubator or under a hen and have been there some days, the fertile eggs will be showing a cloud or streaks. The in fertile eggs will still be clear and should be taken out and afterwards cooked as food for the young chicks. Poultry houses should be set on brick piers or on cement rather than cn posts; as the latter rot away in time. Don’t let mites attack the legs of the fowls. Prevent this by doctoring the legs of fowls that are affected. Unsympathetic. Boggs—I began at the bottom and worked up. Joggs—You don’t look like an ele vator boy. Planting Trees on Sod Land. I would say to the man that has just purchased a farm and wishes to set out apple trees in sod land this spring, that he can do so easily, as he would have to prepare his ground anyway be fore planting. If I had the planting to do I would plow the ground and pre pare it Just as I would for corn. Then I would plant my trees, which can be done as late as the 5th of May in Illi nois. I would plant between the rows of trees such crops as onions, peas, beans, cabbages, potatoes and sweet corn of the low growing variety. Mel ons and cucumbers also do very well on new land. I also recommend sweet potatoes. Field corn would Aoke the trees more or less, and while they per haps would grow Just as well with field corn planted among them, the next spring would show them badly frozen back, because the wood will not ripen as well when shaded by the corn as when they are free to receive the light and air. But as I do not know how many acres of land the cor respondent wishes to plant to trees I offer another Idea; Suppose that he wishes to plant an acre or two and that near the house. He would do a wise thing if he did not break up the sod at all. Every farmer has chickens and I assume that this farmer has. He could skim off the sod for about four feet square (oi round if he prefers) in the place where he is to set each tree. He can plant a tree in each place so prepared and afterwards allow the chickens to run there. If your correspondent will buy only trees that are dug fresh from the field next spring, I think the loss will be small. But if he buys trees that have been stored or heeled-in over winter his loss will be great. As to whether it would be possible to perfectly pre pare ground in so short a time, I will say that it depends on other things, including money and help, the latter being the most important—Henry Dant, Macon Co.. 111. AsHes for Fruit Trees. I have found out by experience that wood ashes is the best fertilizer that we can put around our fruit trees. Ashes should be placed closer to the trunks of the trees than other fertilizers. The quantity of ashes to be placed around a tree depends up on the size of the tree and the strength of the ashes. About a peck of good strong ashes is enough for a tree just set in the ground, but if the ashes are leached, about again as many may be used. Older trees need more; about two bushels will do for a tree five years old. I have found that wood ashes make a better fertil izer than barnyard manure. The ma nure causes a more rapid growth, be ing more apt to winter kill, while the growth produced by the ashes is more sound and therefore can better endure the winter than the other growth. Ap ple trees treated with ashes yield from one-half to one-third more sound ap ples. The trees and vines benefited by ashes are peach, pear, apple, cher ry, plum, grape, raspberry, blackberry and strawberry. Wood ashes are a common and ready source of potash. They improve the mechanical condi tion of most soils. The lime they con tain tends to correct •'sourness" and to promote the important chemical process of nitrification. Corncob ashes are the best for potash, as they sup ply from 15 to 20 per cent of pure potash. It has been estimated that every one thousand pounds of hard wood ashes will give about sixty pounds of potash, and when com pared with that in cobs they aic worth much more in the shape of ashes.— Geo. Van Gundy, Morgan Co., 111. Dust Spraying. Spraying by means of dust has been discussed in these columns quite oft en. So far as investigations have been made in the past the liquid spray would seem to be superior to the dust spray. Some experiments have been made in Delaware, however, that seem to show that the dust spray can be used profitably under some conditions. It was used there during the days when heavy dews prevailed, and it was estimated that the cost was about half that of the liquid spray. Apple, plum, peach, pear and cherry trees were sprayed. The codling moth and apple scab were successfully con trolled by this means. The only dust spray that seems to be effective, how ever, is pulverized copper sulphate and hydrated lime, to which paris green or some other poison has been added. The Hillside Orchard. In regard to our brother farmer who is thinking of setting his hillside grass land to ap ple trees, I would say: Plow the land and put it in good shape as early in the spring as the ground is friable. Set the trees and then for at least three years use an abundance of well rotted barnyard manure. Each year cultivate the trees well till near’ the middle of July. Then sow the land to cow peas and then turn them under after the frost has killed the vines. The vines will help to keep the land from washing and will furnish food • for the trees. Plenty of cultivation and food is what the trees want.—T. W. Griffith, Union Co., 111. Drags the Corn After Planting. In the preparation for my seed crop I pay most attention to the selecting of the seed and use the seed grown by myself. We begin to prepare the corn land just as soon as possible after the oats are sown. All of my land is a clay loam, but I think that sandy land is a little earlier as a rule, as the water dries out quicker from it and it can be worked without getting lumpy. My method for putting in the corn crop is to thoroughly prepare the ground. In my operation I vary ac cording to the seasons, but I try to have the soil as Bne as dust if possi ble. We plant in checks three feet six inches each way and put in the com 1% to 2 inches deep when the corn is moist and 2% to 3 inches deep when the corn is dry. We drag the corn once or twice as soon as it is planted. —W. L. Wells, Winnebago County, I1L *
