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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (July 5, 1906)
P XV | StGECJJGE' gftSTHBOWEJ d c&cr ( '•xxm.tJOZV jWjS/i7zz<Az&r \ 2&.~t4cArj7r CHAPTER XXI.—Continued. “What is it?” she says, innocently, and then something in the ardent gaze he bends upon her, causes Paul- ; ine to blush, the blood leaping to neck and forehead instantly. Dick never saw her look so distractingly lovely. “They have a good padre in the set- j tlenfent here, capable of doing his j duty; become my darling wife. Hea ven knows I don't deserve you. Paul ine, but you love me even as I do you; I have even gained your consent to naming an early day. Let us be mar ried at the mine. His daring proposal almost takes her breath away. “But—it is so very sadden—we have j not known each other much more than a month,” she gasps. "I feel as though 1 had known you for years—that life was nothing be- j fore you crossed my path. Our com paratively brief acquaintance is no j valid objection, my dear girl.” With a wooer’s determination he : pushes the question, and the woman I who deliberates is lost. "I have no trousseau; I must make ; preparations, for you know the ordi- j nary person only gets married once in a life time, and then it is an event | -of considerable importance,” she of fers as a last excuse, which Dick, see ing victory near at hand, brushes iaside as a mere bagatelle. 'Hang the preparations—begging iyour pardon, my dear Pauline; but | you understand that we are not like other people; we de-sire no show, and j (yet our love will last to the grave. It j will assist your cause, your power ' 'here, to have a husband, and the man you have promised to wed will he only too delighted to assume the position of husband and guardian to the dearest girl on earth.” “Not so loud. Oh, Dick, if they I should hear?” “What of it?’ he demands) stoutly. | •‘No doubt honest Bob would only too 1 willingly drop into line and follow a good example. Promise me. Pauline." "What are the terms?" she asks, de murely. “Unconditional surrender. Let us j be married to-morrow—it will be a gala time at the mine, and I'm sure all will rejoice with me. Do not say no. I entreat you.” She loves him, and after all, what essential difference does it make j whether she becomes his wife in twenty hours or as many days? Be sides, as Dick has said the knowledge ' that she has a legal protector may 1 tend to calm the rage of the Senor Lopez, and cause him to bring to a close his strategic movements for gaining a possible control of the El Dorado mine. "I consent,” she whispers shyly, but love's ears are keen, and Dick hears; his face shows the great pleasure he feels, but the moment is hardly au spicious for what he would like to do. so he simply squeezes her hand. “Then to-morrow shall be a gala day, if we get through the night," he says. “You look for trouble?” she asks, quickly. * “Well, it w-ou!d be useless trying to disguise the fact ‘rom you. Pauline, useless and without reason, since you j are so brave, and have so deep an in- i ierest in the matter. W’e do expect trouble, for they are all here, bag and baggage, from the greatest to the ! least, even little Professor John.” She smiles at mention of the name, hnd then her face becomes grave : again, for she feels that the danger hovering over them is great. Dick is asked many questions and succeeds in giving quite a succinct account of how matters stand. They are glad to have the assistance of the brave men who came with them on *he trip, for, according to the way things look they will need every hand they can raise. A woman looks at things in a dif ferent light from a man. and then Pauline is enabled to offer suggestions ihat strike Dick as something worth remembering, and he consequently makes a note of them in his memory. He has grown rather uneasy while talking, for the recapitulation of the dangers attending their presence at ,‘he mine has made him more than ever alive to the emergency. “You will pardon us. Pauline, if we leave your agreeable company now. There is no need of saying we tear ourselves away, since you already know the fact.” "Go, and Heaven watch over you, Dick, my darling," she murmurs, turn ing away to hide the tears that spring unbidden to her eyes. Bob understands what is wanted when his name is called, and faat the summons is one to danger. He does not possess the same delicacy or bash fulness that prevents Dick from salut ing his lady love with a farewell kiss, but catching the inimitable Dora in his arms, he gives her a sudden re sounding smack that rather aston ishes the girl and brings out a smal< scream. “Oh, you wicked Bob!” she cries, trying to hide her blushing face, while the wretch actually laughs to witness her discomfiture. Thus two bold warriors march out to meet the wily and unscrupulous foe, inspired to deeds of valor by the smiles of those they love. It Is fated to be a great night at the mine, one never to be forgotten. Senor Lopez has marshaled his forces for one last des perate endeavor to gain possession. Perhaps he relies upon his influence with the Diaz administration to pro tect him, if the engagement gets to the press of the States. Only a gar bled account of it will ever be allow ed to go forth, at any rate, so that those across the border will never ,know the truth. The soldiers are there only to pro tect the mine and Its rich products from mauraders; they have no orders to take sides in any dispute that may come up between the owners of the ^J?S!STt:sz7sj El Dorado; let them manage their amilv disputes to suit themselves, rhe Mexican soldiers will look on with unconcern, although in reality, 10 doubt, secretly sympathizing with :heir fellow countrymen. Dick and his faithful comrade, good latured Bob Harlan, who is as ready Lo fight as he is to make love or eat i good meal, which is saying a deal 'or the man, leave the house of the ihief engineer. The mine is just at band, and no doubt the stirring events about to take place will center around this particular section. It can be readily seen that there is something entirely out of the common In prospect. Fires burn here and there, men move briskly to and fro. and loud voices ring out at intervals as knots of miners discuss the situa tion. Dick looks around for Alexander, knowing that the chief engineer has been at work while they enjoyed the society of the ladies, getting his men in trim for the coming struggle, which promises to be a tug of war. He fails to see the other, but notices that the groups of men are strictly divided, with a few exceptions—Mexicans on one side, Americans and foreigners on the other. This looks like war, to a veteran of the Mexican struggle in 1846-47, who is present, it revives old memories of the time when under Taylor and Scott the Yankee troops marched from Monterey and Buena Vista to the capital. One thing is significant, liquor has appeared on the grounds in defiance of the mandate issued by the company against its importation on their lands, and already a number of the Ameri cans show plain evidence of having imbibed too freely. "You notice it. I see," says the voice of Alexander just at his elbow—“the greasers are becoming insolent—I ex pect an outbreak at any moment, and when it comes, look out for a scorchej. We’re all prepared. I've carried out your orders, sir. for all the signs speak of bad business; there's blood on the moon at El Dorado Mine.” CHAPTER XXII. “Stand Firm, Boys, and 3e Ready!” The very atmosphere has grown heavy and oppressive, as though Death broods over the camp, taking time by the forelock, and guessing what a rich harvest awaits him. One can hear the far away mutter of rumbling thunder, and occasionally a distant electric flash is seen over the rough peaks of the Sierra Madres, speaking of a storm that is passing that way. perhaps heading toward El Dorado. At any rate, it seems a fitting ac companiment to the hurricane of hu Louder grow the shouts and whoops as the Mexicans, with a sprinkling of foreigners among them—the tough element that has crept on to the pay roll of the mine through Lopez's in fluence—rush forward. doubtless thinking to take the few faithful henchmen of John Alexander by sur prise, and at any rate carry them off their feet by the impetuosity of their advance. “Ready!” Here and there a gun-lock is heard to click, but the noise made by the advancing host effectually deadens all other sounds. Dick has to a great extent managed to conceal the majority of his men. so that when the rioters advance, waving their torches and lanterns, and pre pared to sweep the feeble resisting force from their path, as chaff before the wind, they will open a magazine that may astonish them. The light grows apace—a peculiar glare it is. made by the smoking pine knots which many of the advancing men wave above their heads. It could not suit the purpose of Dick Denver better—his men can see the enemy al most as well as in the daylight, while at the same time they themselves will only be dimly perceived. Now this excited rabble has pushed forward until its van is only some thirty feet from the spot where Dick and the chief engineer stand. The moment lor action has come, and the same lusty voice that broke over Ala meda on the occasion of the concert which ended in a duel between Bar celona and Dick, now rings out like a clarion above the noise of the rabble. Again Dick speaks in Spanish, for he knows that those whom he ad dresses are Mexicans with but few ex j ceptions, and hence he delivers his , message in the tongue they under stand best, so there can be no miscon struction of his words. “Halt: men of the El Dorado. You must go into this business with open eyes. When all is over let ncit one of you dare say he did not understand what it was about. This mine is con trolled by a majority of shares, and the minority wish to illegally gain control. We are in the right, backed by the law, while you are trespassers and subject to legal vengeance. Once for all I warn you that we are pre pared to defend our own—if you ad vance upon us it is at the peril of your lives—we shall fire upon you, and it is known how Americans can shoot. Disperse and save yourselves.” His brave voice, his confident man ner, combined with the words to which he gave utterance, strike con sternation to the hearts of many among the advancing groups: but others are rendered furious and reck less by aguardiente and hatred; be sides, the bull-like roar of the only and original Barcelona is now heard: “Mind him not, men of the Lopez group: his words are mere vaporings. , braggadocio. Onward—forward, and , strike a blow for Mexico! Push the ; gringo hounds back! We will see how they control our railroads and mines. Push on. I say! Muertas los Americanos!” A Flash of Fire Buns Along the Line. man passions that is about to break forth in the camp. Gradually Dick has gathered his men at the most important points in his estimation; they guard the only entrance to the now deserted mine, and cluster around the house of the chief engineer and his lieutenants, where the whole work will undoubt edly center. A couple of men have been placed in readiness just inside the passage, and as soon as the affair begins they have orders to proceed at once to a certain passage, and shoot down the Mexicans whom they wiil End there engaged with laying a mine with which Lopez intends to wreck the mine in case his forces are defeated. Knowing every foot of tae route, these two miners will be able to tra verse it in the darkness, anc! the ras cally conspirators will he apt. to meet a speedy doom. This is only one of the enemy's plans of which Dick has managed to learn; he has shrewdly employed a man who Is in the confidence of the Mexican senor. and yet at heart in sympathy with the Americans. El Dorado has been growing more noisy with the passage of each min ute; sounds never before heard here come to the ear with the rising of the human tide. “It comes!" says Alexander, when the babel of tongues seems to be sud denly concentrated into a great roar, that sweeps toward the spot where he and Dick are standing. The other knows that what the chief engineer says is true; the dis cordant elements against which they are pitted have now combined to take the camp by storm. Lopez in tends to rule or ruin. He Las played every card in his hand but this last trump, which he hopes will sweep the board. “Pass the word along—stand firm, boys, and be ready to give 'em a warm reception,” the ex-horse-tamer says, quickly. Now comes the benefit or their or ganization—every man knows his place, and Immediately occupies it When the hosts that fight under the rule or ruin banner sweep up against this line, they are apt to find it a solid rock. The cry. "Death to the Americans!" is their slogan—twoscore of voices roar it forth with all the vindictive ness of hatred, until the very atmos phere, heavy from the coming storm, seems to be filled with the cry: “He has gone!" "They flee!" “Push on, comrades!" “The mine is ours!” Such are some of the wild shouts that break from the gang when Dick vanishes. They do not seem to under stand that he has ducked out of sight because a gun sounds, and a bullet clips by within an inch of his head. Dick may be bold at times, but he does not care to remain there and let ; his enemies make a target out of him. At any rate, the shouts encourage those who are more timid, and with a mighty rush the Lopez contingent hurls itself forward—there is a babel of rushing feet, loud shouts, strange Mexican oaths, and on they come, pell mell. Dick has given explicit directions to his men. and not one fires a shot while the Mexicans are thus rushing down upon them, waiting for a sign. Nor do those who. under Colonel Bob, hide behind an adjoining house, move so much as a hand to disclose their I position. Like Prescott at Bunker Hill, j the Americans hold their fire until they can see the whites of their foe : men's eyes. It is a stirring scene—the surging, straggling crowd of fierce men. swarthy of face and dressed in the fancy costume such as Mexicans de light to disport; the flaming torches, the line of rude intrenchments behind which crouch determined men who are there to meet the on-rushing tide and hurl it back—a picture that will speed ily have another setting, for in five seconds Dick Denver must give the signal that launches forth the dogs of war. The roll of thunder is heard in the distance; it sounds louder now, as though the storm might be coming in the direction of the El Dorado. Per haps it will burst upon them while the two factions are engaged with each other. (To Be Continued.) pr—• - ■ ■ SIMPLE TESTS FOR CERTAIN FORMS OF FOOD ADULTERATION. The Housewife May Determine th« Purity of Various Articles ■ o Common Use—Carefully Observe Precautions Given We all hear a great deal about the poisons with which our daily food is adulterated. Simple methods for the detection of some forms of food adul teration are presented by two govern ment officials belonging to the bureau of chemistry, United States depart ment of agriculture: W. D. Bigelow, chief division of foods: Burton J. How ard, chief microchemical laboratory. Many manufacturers and dealers in foods have the ordinary senses so highly developed that by their aid alone they can form an intelligent opinion of the nature of a product, or of the character, and sometimes even of the proportion, of adulterants pres ent. This is especially true of such articles as coffee, wine, salad oils, j flavoring extracts, butter and milk. TESTING MILK. The housewife finds herself constant ly submitting her purchases to this test. Her broad experience develops her senses of taste and smell to a high degree, and her discrimination is oft^n sharper and more accurate than she herself realizes. The manufac turer who has developed his natural senses most highly appreciates best the assistance or collaboration of the chemist, who can often come to his relief when his own powers do not avail. So the housewife, by a few simple chemical tests, can broaden her field of vision and detect many im purities that are not evident to the senses. DETECTION OF SALICYLIC ACID. The determination of salicylic acid can best be made with liquids. Solid and semi-solid foods, such as jelly, j should be dissolved, when soluble, in sufficient water to make them thinly liquid. Foods containing insoluble matter, such as jam. marmalade and sausage, may be macerated with wa ter and strained through a piece of white cotton cloth. The maceration may be performed by rubbing in a i teacup or other convenient vessel with ! a heavy spoon. Salicylic acid is used for preserving fruit products of all kinds, including beverages. It is frequently sold by \ drug stores as fruit acid. Preserving ; powders consisitng entirely of sali- ; cylic acid are often carried from house to house by agents. It may be detect ed as follows: Between two and three ounces of the liquid obtained from the fruit products, as described above, are placed in a uarrow bottle holding five ounces, about a quarter of a teaspoon ful of cream of tartar (or, better, a few drops of sulphuric acid) is added, the mixture shaken for two or three minutes, and filtered into a second small bottle. Three or four table-1 spoonfuls of chloroform are added to i the clear liquid in the second bottle 1 and the liquids mised by a somewhat vigorous rotary motion, poured into an ordinary glass tumbler and allowed to stand till the chloroform settles out in the bottom. Shaking is avoided, as it causes an emulsion which is difficult to break up. As much as possible of the chloroform layer (which now con tains the salicylic acid) is removed (without any admixture of the aque ous liquid) by means of a medicine dropper and placed in a test tube or small bottle with about an equal amount of water and a small fragment —a little larger than a pinhead—of iron alum. The mixture is thoroughly shaken and allowed to stand till the chloroform again settles to the bot tom. The presence of salicylic acid is then indicated by the purple color of the upper layer of liquid. DETECTION OF BENZOIC ACID. Benzoic acid also is used for pre serving fruit products. Extract the sample with chloroform as in the case DETECTED BT THE SMELL. of salicylic acid; remove the chloro form layer and place It In a white Baucer, or, better, in a plain glass dish. Set a basin of water—as warm as the hand can bear—on the outside window ledge and place the dish con taining the chloroform extract in it, closing the window until the chloro form has completely evaporated. In this manner the operation may be con ducted with safety even by one who is not accustomed to handling chloro form. In warm weather the vessel of warm water may, of course, be omit ted. Benzoic acid, if present in con siderable amount, will now appear in the dish in chracateristsic flat crys tals. On warming the dish the un mistakable irritating odor of benzoic acid may be obtained. This method will detect benzoic acid in tomato catsup or other articles in which it is used in larg“ quantities. DETECTION OF BORIC ACID ANT BORAX. Boric acid (also called boracic acid) and its compound with sodium (borax) are often used to preserve animal products, such as sausage, butter and sometimes milk. For the detection of boric acid and borax, solids should be macerated with a small amount of water and strained through a white cotton cloth. The liquid obtained by treating solids in this manner is clari fied somewhat by thoroughly chilling and filtering through filter paper. In testing butter place a heaping teaspoonfui of the sample in a teacup, add a couple of teaspoonfuls of hot water, and stand the cup In a vessel containing a little hot water until the butter is thoroughly melted. Mix the contents of the cup well by stirring with a teaspoon and set the cup with the spoon in it in a cold place until the butter is solid. The spoon with the butter (which adheres to it) is now removed from the cup and the turbid liquid remaining strained through a white cotton cloth, or bet ter, through filter paper. The liquid will not all pass through the cloth or filter paper, but a sufficient amount for the test may be secured readily. In testing milk for boric acid two or three tablespoonfuls of milk are placed in a bottle with twice that amount of a solution of a teaspoonful of alum in a pint of water, shaken vigorously, and filtered through filter paper. Here again a clear or only slightly turbid liquid passes through the paper. About a teaspoonful of the liquid obtained by any one of the methods mentioned above is placed in any dish, not metal, and five drops of hydro chloric (muriatic) acid added. A strip of turmeric paper is now dipped into the liquid and then held in a warm place—near a stove or lamp—till dry If boric acid or borax was present in the sample the turmeric paper be comes bright cherry red when dry. A drop of household ammonia changes the red color to dark green or green DETECTING BORIC ACID. ish black. If too much hydrochloric acid is useu the turmeric paper may take on a brownish red color even in the absence of boric acid. In this case, however, ammonia changes the color to brown just as it does turmeric paper which has not been dipped into the acid solution. • DETECTION OF FORMALDEHYDE Formaldehyde is the substance most commonly used for preserving milk and is rarely, if ever, added to any other food. Its use is inexcusable and especially objectionable in milk served to infants and invalids . To detect formaldehyde in milk three or four tablespoonfuls of the sample are placed in a teacup with at least an equal amount of strong hydro chloric acid and a piece of ferric alum about as large as a pinhead, the liquids being mixed by a gentle rotary motion. The cup is then placed in a vessel of boiling water, no further heat being applied, and left for- five minutes. At the end of this time, if formaldehyde be present, the mixture will be distinctly purple. If too much heat is applied, a muddy appearance is imparted to the contents of the cup Caution.—Great care must be exercised in working with hydrochloric acid, as it is strongly corrosive. It must not comr in contact writh the flesh or clothes of the operator nor with any metallic vessel* and must be greatly diluted with wate: before it Is poured into the sink. POETRY TO PREVENT CRIME Reading of “Casabianca” in Cleve land Workhouse Creates Fearful Scene. Cleveland.—Will poetry deter crime' and vagabondage? Parole Officer Crane, of the Cleveland workhouse, has every reason to think it will. He is experimenting with poetry as a deterrent. Sunday he locked 100 in mates of the workhouse in the assem bly-room and read “Casabianca” to them. The scene was heart-rending. Several men. in frantic efforts to es cape, threw themselves against the door only to fall, bruised and pant ing, but still faintly praying: "Let me out, let me out!” Other persons, who have had no visible means of support for 20 years, aged, decrepit, crawled to Crane, and with tears streaming down theii wrinkled cheeks, sobbed: "Take, oh—take—me to the wood yard—I—will work. Anything rather than this.” Words fail to describe what hap pened when Mr. Crane recited “The Burial of Sir John Moore.” Shrieks of agony rent the air while the probation officer proudly mused. "Torquemada, Geronimo, what were your tortures compared to this.” Mr. Crane will read “I’m to Be Queen of the May” to the vagrants and hobos next Sunday. He is very confident that those in the workhouse will never make themselves liable to be sent there again and he hopes to drive all the criminal and lazy out of town with poetry's lash. FARM^GARPEW MARKETING LIMA BEANS. Some of the Things to Bemember in Order to Best Dispose of 1:4:-, the Crop. August is the month for heavy pro Juction of lima beans. They continue to bear, however, till the first hari tilling frost. The amount and length jf profitable bearing depends largely upon keeping the vines picked clean ind not allowing pods to get dead ripe, j [or the ripened seed of any kind takes most vital substance out of the plant and causes it to die. Besides the beans when not quite ripe bring the highest prices. The time to pick the pods is when they show faint traces of light green to yellow. After the pod be TRAY OF LIMA BEANS READY FOR MARKET. comes yellow, the beans Inside are ripe, turn white and are then consid ered “dry” beans. White ones mixed with the green damage the selling price from a few cents to half their value per quart. On the market lima beans are sold by the quart, hence the best pack is the ordinary 16 or 24 quart berry crate. Real early beans often sell better in pint boxes, as the price is so high that customers of the retail stores do not want as many as a full quart. The peck market basket is another package used, six to ten quarts being put in each basket with a covering of green netting to enhance the greenness of the beans. Many beans cannot be shipped in bulk, because they heat the easiest of all vegetables, and heating results in souring, sprouting, mildew, spotting and decay. Although itself green and full of water, the lima bean must be absolutely free from outside moisture when packed for shipment, says Farm, Field and Fireside. Nor must the package In any way get wet, or a total loss will result inside of 12 hours. A novice in the business often blames the express company or commission merchant for the spoiling of his goods and consequent bad returns, when it is his own fault in allowing the beans to be packed in a damp condition. Shelling, as well as picking, must be done by hand. Shelling is the more tedious process. A good shelter can shell eight to 12 quarts per hour. One and a half to two cents per quart is usually the price for shelling, children most often doing the work, although the supervision of a competent grown person is necessary at all times. If for any reason the beans after being shelled are damp, they should be placed for an hour or more before packing on a clean cloth, or some other clean, absorbing substance, in the open air—but not in the sun. This is to dry the outer surfaces. They should be spread not more than an inch deep and rolled from side to side every few minutes to secure even dry ing. The cloth will absorb a part of the moisture and the air the rest. Usually, however, no such drying process is necessary. SEEDING PASTURES. How One Man Handled His Land After Prairie Grasses Had Been Fed Out. My experience is not very exten sive, but I will say that 1 seeded a prairie pasture after the prairie grasses had been fed out, with one part timothy, one part red top and one part blue grass. I found that the timothy and blue grass took good on the high ground and the red top took lyst on the low ground. I found, too, that after about three years the blue grass had crowded everything else out, even the weeds to a cerain ex tent. It takes blue grass about two years to get a good start But the red top did fine on low ground the first year. If I were going to seed a pasture for cattle, horses and sheep, especially if the land had been under cultivation, I should sow two parts red clover, one part timothy and one part blue grass, and on low lands I would put one part timothy and one part red top, for the reason red top does best pn low ground. I find in my pastures on the high, dry knolls that in June and July, when the weather is dry and the sun is hot, these knolls dry out and give little or no feed, hence my reason for sowing red top on the for stock during the dryest part of the season, and, too. there is always a heavy growth around the sloughs or low places that make fine grazing dur ing the winter months when It is not covered with snow. Now. continues the correspondent of Farmers’ Re view, my reason for sowing timothy and clover Is that the clover helps to shade the timothy and blue grass after the harvest has been taken off. and it also helps to fill out the stand until the timothy and blue grass get a good ■tart Keep the Lawn Cut A well-kept lawn, no matter if it Is nor large, with ample‘shade, clumps of hydrangeas and other shrubbery, and well-kept flower beds, with a modest but attractive dwelling intelligently placed in tbe midst thereof, and the bam and hog house set well out of view, not only adds dollars to the value of the farm, but satisfy the in nate yearning of the wife, and compel the school-bred boy and girl to consid er home the finest place on earth.— Farm Journal. TILE DRAINAGE. Six Distinct Benefits to Be Derived When Dealing with Clayey Soils. The benefits of tile drainage, or til ing, as it is commonly called, are most' pronounced in clay or clay loam soils, and especially so when these lands are nearly level, although clay lands if rolling enough to quickly run off all water falling on them, are neverthe less greatly helped by tiling. Let us confine our thoughts to these rolling clay soils. If there are six dis tinct benefits in tiling these, there can not be less on level lands. First—If these rolling lands are well tiled they may be worked quickly aftei a hard rain, much time saved and bet ter crops secured. The land will never bake, but will be pliable and easily tended. Second—In seasons of drought the crops do not suffer when properly cul tivated. as the moisture rising from the lowered water table is sufficient. Third—In seasons of excessive rain the fertility is not washed off the land, but enters at once into the loose, open soil, where the fertility is left while all surplus water descends to the tile. Fourth—As the water finds a quick way to the tile anywhere on properly drained land, the air will follow, and this means that various elements in the soil will be oxygenized and fitted for plant food. In other words, it fer tilizes the soil, and puts the fertility where we can so well put it, just where the roots of the plant can best find it. Fifth—Tiled soil is much warmer and the surface is some ten degrees warmer during the growing season This lengthens the season at both ends and makes intensive farming easy. Sixth—The fertility you put on tiled land is more productive. You never need fail in getting a good seeding of clover on such land, and we all ’anow what this means. These are positive benefits, and I have not named all. SMUT GRASS. Species Which Originated in India, and Which Is Evidently Valu able for Forage. This grass originated in India, but has now been carried to many other lands. It is found quite abundantly in the southern states. It is called smut SMUT GRASS (SPOROBULUS 1ND1 CUS.) grass from the fact that its heads be come covered with a blackish smut after flowering. It grows luxuriantly on uncultivated lands, and cattle and horses eat it with evident relish. To all appearances, says the Farmers' Re view, it is a valuable grass. All parts of the plant are pliant and succulent. If it is closely pastured it sprouts again quickly and has a long growing season, lasting from May till the com ing of heavy frosts. It usually grows in low and small tufts. As yet it has not been largely cultivated, but scientists express the belief that it may become very valuable under cultiva tion. FOR PULLING OLD POSTS. Simple, But Effective Device Which Can Be Rigged Up in a Few Minutes. A simple, yet effective, device for pulling old fence posts is shown in ine EKetch. By hitching one or two horses to the chain and placing a brace solidly in the ground, al most any post may be drawn with little diffi culty. Place a stone or stake un der the lower end of the brace if the ground is soft This may be re placed by a tim Der 11 many posts are to oe drawn, i The Farm and Home cautions the | user to be sure to hitch the horse far J enough away so that the po6t will not j strike him as it is drawn from the j ground. BITS ABOUT THINGS. Time to decide whether you will use Bordeaux on the potatoes. Honestly grade your berries and you can make your own price. Didst ever notice that the corn plants are tougher in the afternoon than in the morning? Safer to culti vate then. Fact. If your grocer won’t pay a fancy price for fancy berries send them t« some other market where they will be appreciated. Plant early and late varieties so a* to have them at different times-' bunch beans for early use and pole beans for late. Many people think that the tip ajc butt kernels must be planted to insure the filling out of the ears, but such is not the case. There is no need of having hard hoing if the ground was properly pre> pared before planting, and the hoeing is not put off too long after the plant* come up.
