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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1915)
me am spy * * The Mystery of a Silent love * • ^TwvalkrWILLIAIUE QIJEUX c 0 author of “the closed book,” etc ILLUSTRATIONS /% C D RHODES COPrft/GtfT BY THC SMART SET PUBLISH/YG CO Y7*\ SYNOPSIS. —13— Gordon Gr?g^ dining aboard with Horn by. tii. yacht Lola’s owner, accidentally •ees a torn photograph of a young girl. That night the consul’s safe is robbed. The police find that Hornby is a fraud •mi tlie Lola's name a false one. In ; IAindon Gregg is trapped nearly to his j death by a former servant. Olinto. Visit- 1 Ing in Dumfries Gregg meets Muriel Leithcourt. Hornby appears and Muriel Introduces him as Martin VVoodroffe. her father s friend. Gregg sees a copy of the torn photograph on the Lola and finds that the young girl is Muriel’s friend. WoodrofTe disappears. Gregg discovers the body of a murdered woman In Ran noch wood. The body disappears and in Its place is found the body of Olinto. Muriel and Gregg search Rannoch wood together, and find the body of Arinida, Olinto’s wife. When the police go to the wood the body has disappeared. In Lon don Gregg meets Olinto, alive and well. Gregg traces the young girl of the torn ©holograph. and finds that she is Elma Heath, niece of Baron Oberg. who has taken her to Abo. Finland, and that she holds a secret affecting Woodroffe. On his return to Rannoch Gregg finds the l*eitheourts lied from Hylton Chater. who bad called there. He goes to Abo, and after a tilt with the police chief, is con flicted to Kajana, where he finds Elma In prison A surgical operation has made her deaf and dumb. He escapes with her. Pursuers overtaking them. Elma escapes Into the forest and Gregg is taken to Abo, where he is released and finds that the baron is using every effort to arrest Elma. He calls on Baron Oberg and ac cuses him of silencing and imprisoning Klma to prevent her from telling of his nt:vet misdeeds. CHAPTER XIII—Continued. A long silence had fallen between ns. and it now occurred to me to take advantage of his hesitation. I said In a firm voice, In French: "I think, baron, our interview is at an end. is It not? Therefore I wish rou good-day." He turned upon ine suddenly with in evil flash in his dark eyes, and a snarling imprecation In Russian upon his lips. His hand still held the order committing me to the fortress. "But before I leave you will destroy that document. It may fall into other hands, you know,” and I walked toward him with quick determination. “I shall do nothing of the kind!" he snapped. Without further word I snatched the paper from his thin, white fingers and tore it up before his face. His coun tenance went livid. 1 do not think I have ever seen a man’s face assume Without Further Words I Snatched the Paper From His Thin, White Fingers. such an expression of fiendish vindic tiveness. It was as though at that instant hell had been let loose within his heart. Cut I turned upon my heel and went out. I had escaped by means of my own Jiploniacy and firmness. The czar’s representative—the man who ruled that country—feared me. and for that reason did not hold me prisoner. Yet when I recalled that evil look of re venge on my departure. 1 could not help certain feelings of grave appre hension arising within me. I took the midnight train back to (kbo, arriving at the hotel next morn ing. After an hour’s rest I set out jnxiously in search of Felix, the dros kv driver. I found him in his log built house in the Ludno quarter, and PUTS BLAME ON PARENTS Writer in Eastern Magazine Criticizes Behavior of the Pupils of the High School. It used to be that the college stu dent was the target of criticism tor all manner of excesses; now it is the students of our high schools. Pre sumably the high schools contain our choicest boys and girls, yet every once in a while a principal or local educa tional board has to speak against the way the girls dress or the question able social. habits between the two sexes. Principal Jackson of the Lynn (Mass.) English High school, in ad dressing the 1,000 girls and boys un der his care, charged them with "cigarette smoking, immorality and Immodesty.” Complaints had been made by the school committee of the way things were going, and the princi pal was authorized to make wholesale expulsions unless there was an irome diate improvement in conduct. Smok »ng, flirting and improper conduct gen erally were referred to. Principal lackson pictured a boy of the schoo walking down the street between twc when he asked me in I saw, from his face, that he had news to impart. "Well?" I inquired. “And what of the lady? Has she been found?” ^ “Ah! your excellency. It is a pity you were not here yesterday,” lie said with a sigh. “Why? Tell me quickly. What has happened?” “I have been assisting the police as spy, excellency, as I often do, and I have seen her.” “Seen her! Where?” I cried in quick anxiety. “Here, in Abo. She arrived yester day morning from Tammerfors accom panied by an Englishman. She had changed her dress, and was all in black. They lunched together at the Restaurant du Nord opposite the land ing stage, and an hour later left by steamer for Petersburg.” “An Englishman!” I cried. “Did you not inform the chief of police. Bo ra nski ?” “Yes, your excellency. But he said that their passports being in order, it was better to allow the lady to pro ceed. To delay her might mean her rearrest in Finland,” he added. “Then their passports were viseed here on embarking?” I exclaimed. “What was the name upon that of the Englishman ?” “I have it here written down, excel lency. I cannot pronounce your diffi cult English names.” And he pro duced a scrap of dirty paper whereon was written in a Russian hand the name— "Martin Woodroffe.” CHAPTER XIV. Spoiling the Spoiler. I went to the railway station, and from the time-table gathered that if I left Abo by rail at noon I could be in Petersburg an hour before noon on the morrow, or about four hours be fore the arrival of the steamer by which the silent girl and her compan ion were passengers. This I decided upon doing, but before leaving I paid a visit to my friend, Boranski, who. to my surprise and delight, handed me my wallet with the czar's letter intact, saying that it had been found upon a German thief who had been ar il rested at the harbor on the previous : night. The fellow had, no doubt, | stolen it from my pocket believing I carried my paper money in a flap. "The affair of the English lady is a ; most extraordinary one,” remarked the chief of police, toying with his pen i as he sat at his big table. "She seems j to have met this Englishman up at I Tammerfors, or at some place farther north, yet it is curious that her pass port should be in order even though she fled so precipitately from Kajana. There is a mystery connected with her disappearance from tile wood cut ter's hut that I confess I cannot fathom." “Neither can I,” I said. “I know the man who is with her, and cannot help fearing that he is her bitterest enemy—that he is acting in concert w'ith the baron.” “Then why is he taking her to the capital—beyond the jurisdiction of the governor general?” “I a in going straight to Petersburg to ascertain,” I said. “I have only come to thank you for your kindness in this matter. Truth to tell, I have been somewhat surprised that you should have interested yourself on m> behalf,” I added, looking straight al the uniformed official. “It is not on yours, but on hers,’ he answered, somewhat enigmatically "I know something of the affair, bul it was my duty as a man to help the poor girl to escape from that terrible place. She has, 1 know, been unjustly condemned for the attempted assassi nation- of the wife of a general—con demned with a purpose, of course Such a thing is not unusual in Fin land.” “Abominable!” I cried. “Oberg is a veritable fiend.” But the man only shrugged his shoulders, saying— "The orders of his excellency the governor general have to be obeyed whatever they are. We often regret but we dare not refuse to carry them out.” "Russian rule is a disgrace to oui modern civilization," I declared hotly “I have every sympathy with those who are fighting for freedom.” "Ah, you are not alone in that,” he sighed, speaking in a low whisper, and glancing around. “His majesty would order reforms and ameliorate the con Kiris, each dressed like a fashior plate, and he puffing a cigarette. He told the girls they should considei every puff an insult. He referred, too to the immodest custom of girls call ing up boys on the telephone and mak ing •'dates" for the evening. Yet we marvel at the lack of re finement that pervades our social lift today. If this sort of thing continues among our high school students, ir the next generation there will be nc respect for social conventions, or pos sibly no conventions to respect. What can mothers be thinking about when they dress their sixteen or seventeen year old daughters like a "fashior j plate?" Or what has become of the | feminine modesty when . oung girls ; who ought to be spending their eve nings at home with their books, take the initiative and make "dates" witfc boys? Oh what about the home train ing of the boy v ho parades the streets with a girl on either side of him, puf fing cigarette smoke into their faces' It is about time we got back to some old-fashioned standards for our boy; and girls, both in the high schools and the homes.—Leslie’s. dition of his people, If only it were possible. But he, like his officials, is powerless. Here we speak of the great uprising with bated breath, but we, alas! know that it must come one day—very soon—and Finland will be first to endeavor to break her bonds— and the Baron Oberg first to fall.” For nearly an hour I sat with him. surprised to find how, although his ex terior was so harsh and uncouth, yet his heart really bled for the poor, starving people he was so constantly forced to oppress. “I have ruined this town of Abo,” he declared, quite frankly. “To my own knowledge five hundred innocent per sons have gone to prison, and another two hundred have been exiled to Si beria. Yet what I have done is only at direct orders from Helsingfors— orders that are stern, pitiless and un just. Men have been torn from their families and sent to the mines, women have been arrested for no offense and shipped off to Saghalien, and mere children have been cast into prison on charges of political conspiracy with their elders—in order to russify the province! Only,” he added anxiously, “I trust you will never repeat what I tell you. You have asked me why I assisted the English mademoiselle to escape from Kajana, and I have ex plained the reason.” We ate a hearty meal in company at the Sampalinna, a restaurant built like a Swiss chalet, and at noon I en tered the train on the first stage of my slow, tedious journey through the great, silent forests and along the shores of the lakes of southern Fin land, bv way of Tavestehus and Vi borg, to Petersburg. At four o’clock next day I was out upon the quay in that city, straining my eyes seaward for any sign of smoke, but could see nothing. It was after ten o’clock when a light shone afar off, and the movement of the police and porters on the quay told me that it was the vessel. Then after a further anxious quarter of an hour It came, amid great shouting and mutual imprecations, slowly alongside the quay, and the passengers at last began to disembark in the pelting rain. Suddenly I caught sight of two fig ures—one a man in a big tweed trav eling coat and a golf cap, and the other the slight figure of a woman in a long, dark cloak and a woolen tam o’-shanter. The electric rays fell upon them as they came up the wet gangway together, and there once again I saw the sweet face of the silent woman whom I had grown to love with such fervent desperation. The man behind her was the same who had entertained me on board the Lola—the man who was said to be the lover of the fugitive Muriel Leltb court. Without betraying my presence, 1 watched them pass through the pass port office and custom house, and then, overhearing the address which Martin Woodroffe gave the ishvost chik, I stood aside, wet to the skin, and saw them drive away. At eleven o’clock on the following day I found myself ’installed in the Hotel de Paris, a comfortable hostelry in the Little Morskaya. I was beneath the same roof as Elma, although she was in ignorance of my presence. Anxious to commu nicate with her without Woodroffe's knowledge, I was now awaiting my op portunity. He had, it appeared, taken for her a pleasant front room with sit ting room adjoining, on the first floor, while he himself occupied a room on the third floor. As far as I could gather from the French waiter whom 1 judiciously tipped, he appeared to treat her with every consideration and kindness. "Has the Englishman received any visitors?” I asked. "One man—a Russian—an official of police, 1 think.” "If he receives anyone else, let me know,” I said. “And I want you to give mademoiselle a letter from me in secret.” “Bien, m'sieur.” 1 turned to the little writing table and scribbled a few hasty lines to my love, announcing my presence, and asking her to grant me an interview in secret as soon as Woodroffe was absent. I also warned her of the search for her instigated by the baron, and urged her to send me a line in reply. The note was delivered into her hand, but although I waited in sus pense nearly all day she sent no reply. While Woodroffe was in the hotel I dared not show myself lest he should recognize me, therefore I was com pelled to sham indisposition and to eat my meals alone in my room. For several hours I sat at my win daw watching the life and movement down in the street below, my mind full of wonder and dark forebodings. Was Martin Woodroffe playing her false? Just after half-past six o'clock the waiter entered, and handing me a note on a salver, said: “Mademoiselle has, I believe, only this moment been able to write in secret.” HOME HAS BIG ENDOWMENT Institution That Cares for Naval Vet erans Not Worrying Over Keeping Wolf From the Door. One of the richest and most honor able institutions in Plihadelphia is one of the least well known. I speak of that eighty-nine-year-old veteran— the United States Naval home. Ninety-nine persons out of one hun dred think this is a charitable affair. Oifthe contrary, not only does It sup port itself, but as a self-supporter It is right up in the Stotesbury-Widener Morgan-Camegie class. The naval home has over $14,000, 000 invested in bonds. It has never cost the government one cent. Of its income" of $420,000 last year, only $77, 000 was expended for maintenance, so you can see that keeping the wolf from the door Is not a strenuous occu pation at those somber-looking build ings at Gray's Ferry. The great $14,000,000 fund was col lected by the turning over of prize money received by sailors and offi cers during our various wars. More I tore it open and read as follows: Dear Friend—I am so surprised. I thought you were still in Abo. Woodroffe has an appointment at eight o'clock on the other side of the city, therefore come to me at 8:15. I must see you. and at once. I am in peril. ELMA HEATH. My love was in peril! It was just as I had feared. I thanked Providence that I had been sent to help her and extricate her from that awful fate to which “The Strangler of Finland’’ had consigned her. At the hour she named, after the waiter had come to me and announced the Englishman’s departure, I de scended to her sitt'ng room and en tered without rapping, for if I had rapped she could not, alas! have heard. The apartment was spacious and comfortable, thickly carpeted, witn heavy furniture and gilding. From her low lounge chair a slim, wan figure sprang up quickly and came forward to greet me, holding out both her hands and smiling happily. I took her hands in mine, and held them tightly in silence for some mo ments, as I looked earnestly into those wonderfully brilliant eyes of hers. She turned away laughing, a slight flush rising to her cheeks in her confusion. Then she led me to a chair, and mo tioned me to be seated. Ours was a silent meeting, but her gestures and the expression of her eyes were surely more eloquent than She Touched Her Red Lips With the Tip of Her Forefinger. mere words. I knew well what pleas ure that re-encounter caused her— equal pleasure with that it gave to me. Until that moment 1 had never really loved. I had admired and flirted with women. What man has not? Indeed, I had admired Muriel Leithcourt. But never until now had I experienced in my heart the real flame of true, burn ing affection. The sweetness of her expression, the tender caress of those soft, tapering hands, the deep, mys terious ipok in those magnificent eyes, and the incomparable grace of all her movements, combined to render her the most perfect woman I had ever met—perfect in all, alas! save speech and hearing, of which, with such das tard wantonness, she had been de prived. She touched her red lips with the tip of her forefinger, opened her hands and shrugged her shoulders with a sad gesture of regret. Then turning quickly to some paper on the table at her side she wrote something with a gold pencil and handed it to me. It read: “Surely Providence has sent you here! Mr. Woodroffe must have fol lowed you from England. He is my enemy. You must take me from here and hide me. They intend to send me into exile. Have you ever been in Petersburg before? Do you know any one here?” Then when I had read, she handed me her pencil and below I wrote: ‘T will do my best, dear friend. 1 have been once in Petersburg. But is it not best that we should escape at once from Russia?” “Impossible at present,” she wrote. “We should both be arrested at the frontier. It would be best to go into hiding here in Petersburg. I believed Woodroffe to be my friend, but I have found only this day that he is my en emy. He knew that I was in Kajana. and was in Abo when he learned ot‘ my escape. He went with two other men in search of us, and discovered us that night when we sought shelter at the wood cutter’s hut. Without making his presence known, he waited outside until you were asleep, and then he came and looked in at my window At tirst 1 was alarmed, but quickly 1 saw that he was a friend. He told me that the police were in the vicinity over, every officer pays twenty cents a month, and sailors also contribute General Forney of the Marine corps told me yesterday he had paid his twenty cents every month for fifty years. “No difficulty," I suggested to Com mander F. R. Payne, executive officer of the home, "to support your one hun dred or so occupants.” “Scarcely,” he replied. “We could support all the sailors In all the naval homes in the United States and still not exhaust our yearly income.” Commander Payne was one of those who received prize money during the Spanish-American war for capturing Spanish ships. “Got my check framed as a sou venir,” said he, “because our govern ment has by law abolished prize money.” In future no sailor in this country will profit financially by the capture of an enemy’s ships. Next to Girard college the Naval home Is the most heavily endowed in stitution In Pennsylvania. Were this fund invested in high-class municipal bonds it might increase its yearly In* i come by >140,000, or nearly twice the and Intended to raid the hut, therefore I fled with him, first down to Tammer fors and then to Abo, and on here. At that time I did not see the dastardly trap he had laid in order to get me out of the baron's clutches and wring from me my secret. If 1 confess, he intends to give me up to the police, who will send me to the mines." “Does your secret concern him?" 1 asked ih writing. “Yes,*’ she wrote in response. “It would be equally in his interests as well as those of Baron Oberg if I were sent to Saghaiien and my iden tity effaced. I am a Russian subject, as I have already told you, therefore with a ministerial order against me I am in deadliest peril.” “Trust in me,” I scribbled quickly “I will act upon any suggestion you make. Have you any female friend in whom you could trust to hide you until this danger is past?” “There is one friend—a true friend. Will you take a note to her?” she wrote, to which I instantly nodded in the affirmative. Then rising, she obtained some ink and pen and wrote a letter, the con tents of which she did not show me before she sealed it. I watched her write the superscrip tion upon the envelope: “Madame Olga Stassulevitch, modiste, Scredni Pros pect, 231, Vasili Ostroff.” I knew that the district was on the opposite side of the city, close to the Little Neva “Take a drosky at once, see her. and await a reply. In the meantime. I will prepare to be ready when you return.” she wrote. “If Olga is not at home, ask to see the Red Priest—in Russian,' Krasny-pastor.’ Return quick lv, as I fear Woodroffe may come back If so. I am lost.” I assured her I would not lose a single instant, and five minutes later I was tearing down the Morskaya in a drosky along the canal and across the Nicholas bridge to the address upon the envelope. The house was, I found, somewhat smaller than its neighbors, but not let out in flats as the others. Upon the door was a large brass plate bear ing the name, "Olga Stassulevitch: Modes.” I pressed the electric button, and in answer a tall, clean-shaven Russian servant opened the door. "Madame is not home," was his brief reply to my inquiry. “Then I will see the Red Priest,” 1 said in a lower tone. "I come from Elma Heath.” Thereupon, without further word, the man admitted me into the long, dark hall and closed the door with an apology that the ga? was not lighted. But, striking a match, he led me up the broad staircase and into a small, cosy, well-furnished room on the second floor, evidently the sit ting room of some studious person, judging from the books and critical reviews lying about. For a few minutes 1 waited there, until the door reopened, and there en tered a man of medium height, with a shock of long, snow-white hair and almost patriarchal beard, whose dark eyes that age had dimmed flashed out at me with a look of curious inquiry, and whose movements were those of a person not quite at his ease. “1 have called on behalf of Mademoi selle Elma Heath, to give this letter to Madame Stassulevitch, or if she is absent to place it in the hands of the Red Priest,” I explained in my beat Russian. “Very well, sir,” the old man re sponded in quite good English. “I &tu the person you seek,” and taking the letter he opened it and read it through 1 saw by the expression on his for rowed face that its contents caused him the utmost consternation. His countenance, already pale, blanchv'd to the lips, while in his eyes there shot a fire of quick apprehension. The thin, almost transparent hand holding the letter trembled visibl* “You know mademoiselle—eh?” he asked in a hoarse, strained voice as he turned to me. “You will help her to escape?" ”1 will risk my own life in order to save hers,” 1 declared. “And your devotion to her is prompt, ed by what?” he inquired suspiciously. I was silent for a moment. Th«>t» 1 confessed the truth. “My affection.” “Ah!” he sighed deeply. “Po-'l young lady! She, who has enemies oh every hand, sadly needs a friend. Br.t can we trust you—have you no fear?” “Of what?” “Of being implicated in the comti'f revolution in Russia? Remember, 1 am the Red Priest. Have you never heard of me? My name is Otrc Kampf.” Otto Kampf! (TO BE CONTINUED.) No Nice Editor Would. A young woman in the journalhsn class at K. U. was asked how sue would go about it to get the news rf a fire in a distant part of town, !a e at night, after the street cars aid stopped running. “Well." she replied. “1 suppose I'd have to call a taxi mod go to the thing, but personally I don t think any editor who is a gentler.aa would make a girl go to a fire at su< 1 a time in the night"—Kansas City Star. amount required to support all ill occupants.—“Girard." in Philadelphia I-edger. Well of Hot Mineral Water. In the Flathead Indian reservation near Camas. Mont., is an artesian well containing hot mineral water, said to be the only one in the world. Around it, within a mile, are other artesiia wells in which the water is clear and cool. A few years ago the govern niei.t threw open the Flathead reservation, and those who were successful in the drawing now own fine ranches in e fertile valley. Artesian wells have been struck there at a depth ranging from 90 to 363 feet. In the sum mer of 1913, on a ranch within a mil® of one of these cold wells, drillers were at work when, at the depth of 344 feet, hot water gushed upward with such force that the drillers were forced to flee. In a few days the rush of hot water had washed a large hole, with the drill still in, though incapaci tated. The well was finally curbed so that it could be used. The water U 120 Fahrenheit, flowing at the rate of sixty barrels a minute. j GOOD POINTS IN MAKE-UP OF BROOD SOvT] Feeding, But Not Fattening. (By H. M. COTTREEL.) A young sow should be selected whose mother and grandmother have eight or more good pigs at a time, are heavy milkers and quiet, good mothers. The strain should be suffi ciently active to thrive on pasture. The young sow should be thick, deep and lengthy and should have not less than ten good teats. The sow pig intended for a breeder Should be pushed for the first year and given feeds that will make rapid growth, but that will not fatten. Such feeds as milk, alfalfa or clover pas ture, or hay. and moderate quantities of grain, such as wheat, peas, barley, milo maize, and shorts. She should weigh from 300 to 375 pounds at twelve months of age when in thrifty condition, but not fat. Ample exercise every day is necessary for health and to develop muscles and lungs. If the sow has made good growth, she may be bred to drop her first litter when she becomes twelve months old. She should be in perfect health and in good flesh when bred. The gestation period for the sow is about 112 days. As soon as the pigs have been SAVE ALL OF GOOD BREEDING ANIMALS Desirable Pigs, Lambs, Caives and Colts Should Receive Best of Attention. TJie importance of saving all of the breeding animal3 that would make de Blrable sires and dams will certainly be apparent to those who think of the subject seriously. There seems to be a strong demand for breeding animals to place at the head of herd9. Many who hav^ never given animals a place an their farms are now beginning herds or wish to get breeding stock for the purpose of making a beginning with animals. Let every man who has desirable pigs, lambs, calves and colts take care of the animals so they may be of use to the people who need them. The man who raises breeding stock for those who need them deserves credit. He is making it possible for his neighbors to raise better stock. By hit diligence in breeding live stock he helps his neighbors and is making it possible for farms to produce more wealth. Every breeder who has animals that are desirable for breeders owes it to his neighbors and friends as well as to the country to advertise his animals bo others who need breeding stock may buy. Poor animals should not be used and it is useless to advertise them. Successful breeders recognize this and cull out the undesirable and offer only those that are valuable for breeders. Every registered animal is not suitable for breeding stock. Many are not. These undesirables should be slaughtered. It takes more than regis tration papers to make a desirable sire or dam. The animals must have type and conformation, with pure blood.—Farm and Ranch. VENTILATION AND LIGHT IN STABLES Filth and Darkness Almost In variably Go Together—Put in More Windows. Provide plenty of light. A dark stable is an abomination, regardless of what kind of stock it contains. Filth and darkness almost invariably go to gether. Procure some sash (old ones are just as good for this purpose) and fit with glass. When there is ordi narily one window there should be two or three. Three square feet of sash is none too much for each ten linear feet of siding. The windows may be made to slide, or be hinged at the lower edge, and held in place with a catch, providing for a method of ventilation which, while crude, is better than none. VISIT SHEEPFOLD DURING THE NIGHT No Better Way of Judging Needs of Animals—Do Not Let Dogs Bother the Lambs, Did you ever go to your sheepfold ftt night? If not, you have missed one of the treats of your life. In no other way can you come so near judging the real needs of your sheep. If one Is a little thin or in discomfort it is easy to diagnose their case. Better watch that the dogs do not toother your sheep. Many a fine lamb has been lost by the ewe being fright ened at a dog. An actual bite is not necessary. A bad scare is enough. Summer Pruning. It pays to summer prune young fruit trees. Rub off misplaced shoots. Thin them out where they are too crowded and pinch back the tips of those that you wish to make branch. Attention of this kind will give you a stouter and more nicely shaped tree. Do the work now while the branches are small and tender. Don’t Lika Rye. Chickens will not eat rye unless they have to, and it is not an egg producing food. ~ *** weaned the sows should be culled and those that are cross or nervous or have produced small litters or are Inclined to be poor sucklers, should be discarded. Good sows Improve for several years In the number and size of the pigs they have at a litter. The United States department of agriculture com piled the records of over six thousand sows and found yearling sows aver aged 6.65 pigs per litter, and flve-year old sows averaged 8.4 pigs per litter. At the Wisconsin experiment station the year-old sows averaged 7.8 pigs per litter, with an average weight per litter of 14.2 pounds, while sows from' four to five years old averaged nine pigs per litter with an average weight per litter of 26 pounds. The common practice of farmers selling their old brood sows each year and reserving immature ones for breeding is a bad practice, as the older sows are much better mothers and their pigs have a strong advantage in greater vitality at the start. One of the most profitable sows the writer ever bandied had a choice lit ter when she was nine years old. PREVENT SERIOUS LOSS FROM SMUT Formalin Treatment Is Wholly Effective and Economical— How to Apply Liquid. Growers who wish to prevent seri ous loss from smut will find the for malin treatment wholly effective and economical. The formalin may be bought at any drug store at from fifty cents to one dollar a pint and this amount will do for treating about forty bushels of seed. Add one pint of formalin, which should be bought in sealed bottles to Insure full strength, to forty gallons of water. Mix thoroughly and apply to the seed oats at once. Spread the grain on a floor, or in the bottom of a wagon-bed. Use a common garden sprinkler to put on the solution and sprinkle until wet, mix the grain with a shovel and sprinkle again. Every grain must be thoroughly wet with some of the mixture or the smut will not be killed. After sprinkling, put the grain in a pile and cover with blankets or sacks for ten or twelve hours, or over night This will kill some smut which other wise would not be touched. Spread the grain out and sow as soon as suffi ciently dry. SHEEP PARASITES ARE TROUBLESOME Scrawny, Unthrifty Animals Will Uusually Be Found Suffer ing With Worms. Next to dogs Internal parasites are the greatest detriment to the farm sheep business. The trouble seems to be aggravated by pasturing sheep year after year on the same ground. The best cure is prevention and the practical way of prevention is chang ing pastures as frequently as possible Scrawny, unthrifty lambs will usual ly be found suffering from intestinal worms, providing, of course, feed con ditions are such that they normally should be in good shape. Gasoline i? the best treatment. Mix well one-quarter ounce gasoline In three ounces sweet milk and drench each lamb for three mornings in suc cession. Before the first treatment put them in a pen and give them no feed nor water for 18 hours. Repeat the treatment again in three weeks. Be careful not to let the lamb strangle and draw the mixture Into the lungs. YOUNG PIGS NEED A GROWING RATION Feeding Must Be Tempered With Judgment—Avoid Too Much Fattening Materials. The hog grower of the future in pork production as a business proposi tion and not using hogs merely as scavengers in the feed lot, must take cognizance of the fact that the young pigs up to the age of six months need a growing and not a fattening ration, and that their feeding must be tem pered with judgment. Trouble With Peaches. It is not because peaches are not good nor a fine crop to grow, that wa sometimes hear it said. “There is no money in the business.” The trouble is to get the peaches to the right spot. Thousands of people never get their share. Prepare Vegetables Neatly. It pays to prepare vegetables as well as fruits neatly for market Clean, attractive packages do not cost much more than unattractive ones and bring much better prices. Try it. Late Hatchings. Have two or three late hatching* Pullets hatched late will begin laying In the winter. Don’t Overlook Rooster. Don’t keep the rooster from get ting his share of the feed.
