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,
e Enjoys the Comforts of Home
(Copyris'it. 190?. by V. G. Clispman.)
(Copyright In Great Britain.)
We have spent a couple of days at
Hie Michigan man's ranch in darkest
Africa, where ho has brought civiliza
tion right into the jmglc, and after
spending six months with negro sav
ages and wild animals, and menagerie
people, it has baen the mo:.', enjoyable
two days I ever knew.
It is gco.l sometimes to see our
selves as oihers nee us. and not hav
ing locked into a minor for half a
year, wo found that we were about the
most d'sreputable looking tourists
that ever came in sight of beds, with
linen sheets on, and pillows.
I noticed that the family of the
Michigan man and the servants looked
at us with suspicion, and turned up
their noses at us, but I never realized
what it was all about until they
showed us to our rooms that night,
and found that my face and hands
were black with dirt and smoke, and
my clothes were greasy and patched
with buckskin patches, sewed on with
strits of rawhide, and my torn coat
was. pinned together wi'h thorns. I
could see Pa and the cowboy all the
time, and knew that they looked like
tramps, but I thought I was all right.
The Michigan man showed us to our
rooms, after Pa and the cowboy had
drank a few quarts of highballs, and
they were go!ng to go to bed with
their clothes on. but I knew they
would ruin the beds if lhy did, so I
insisted that we all get in the bath
tubs and take our semi-annual bath,
and as the man left us he said we
could find clothes to put on in the
morning; in a closet, and to leave our
clothes put in the hall and he would
have a servant take them away with
the longs and burn them in the fur
nace. That sobered Pa and the cowboy a
little and they decided to try the
baths.
Well, we didn't do a thing to the
running water, and before we retired
we had washed ourselves so clean,
with real soap, the first we had seen
since we left Germany, that Pa and
the cowboy had to be introduced to
each other, and I was so clean that I
didn't know myself, and we put on pa
jamas that we found in the room,
and crawled into the clean beds and
slept till morning, after putting all our
clothes out of the room, to purify
the air.
In (he morning we dressed up in the
clothes the Michigan man told us we
would find in the closet, and such a
transformation was never seen be
fore. Pa found a pair of gray pants and
a frock coat "and a silk hat, and when
he was dressed and had on a white
shirt he looked like a senator from
South Carolina.
The cowboy found a golf suit, with
short pants, long socks, and puttee leg
gins, and a Tarn o Shanter cap, and
he looked like an escaped Scotchman,
while I found a Buster Brown suit that
fit me, and all I wanted was a dog to
be complete, and we went down to
breakfast, and made a hit, the family
acting as-cthough they were proud to
have us in their midst.
During breakfast the3r all drew Pa
out, and he told them of his experi
ences capturing wild animals in Af-
kept in his private forest outside of
the clearing. He had a race track in
the clearing .next to the forqst, and
told Pa that every morning his herd-1
crs' turned a lot of lions, giraffes,
rhinoceroses and zebras into the track,
and the family chased tfceai around
the track in automobiles, and Pa said
he would like to enter into such a
race, and the man ordered the herders
to turn in the animals.
The cowboy wanted a saddle horse
and a lariat rope, and they fixed him
cut, and when the herders announced
that the animals were on the track
all right, ws got into the waiting autos,
the man and pat sat on the front seat
with the chauffeur, and some of us got
ia the back seats and started out.
When the animals saw us coming
they started down the home stretch,
and the auto gave chase, and we'
yeiled and fired guns in the air, and
the chauSeur put a charge of bird
the saddle on, and climbed into it, and
then the trouble began. -
The giraffe didn't have any bridle
en, and no mane to hold on to, and he
was built so that the saddle slipped
down by his rump, and when the ani
mal turned around and saw he had
the cowboy where he wanted him.
he started off towards the forest
on a
up his heels like a bucking broncho,
and the 'last we saw of the expedition
the giraffe was jumping over a wire
fence and took to the woods, with
the cowboy dangling by one stirrup,
swearing in the Wyoming dialect.
Then we went back to the house to
play golf, and the Michigan man sent
some servants into the woods with
a stretcher to bring in the remains of
the cowboy-.
As we dismounted at the veranda Pa
lit a cigarette and said to the man:
"You certainly have all the comforts
of home here, and all the facilities for
enjoyment that anybody has outside
of a traveling menagerie, except draw
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Pa Swelled Up So I Thou ght He Might Bust.
The Giraffe Didn't Have Any Bridle
on and No Mant to Hold On To.
rica. and exploring the country, and
being made a king of a tribe, and they
called Pa "your highness," and Pa
lied enough about his adventures to
send him over the road for disorderly
conduct.
The women drew out the cowboy,
and he lied some on his own account,
and the children got me to going, and
you know how it is with me when I
get to going.
When the breakfast was over we
were all heroes, and Pa pulled out a
handful of uncut diamonds and spread
them on the table by his plate, and
gave each one a diamond as big as
a hickory nut. and left a lot of smaller
ones on the table with the bread
crumbs for the servants, and when we
left the table the whole family bowed
low to us. and stood back until the
king and the cowboy and I had passed
out on the veranda.
Gee. but they seemed to think King
Edward wouldn't be ace high to Pa,
and Pa swelled up so I thought he
might bust.
After smoking some 50 cigars. Pa
told of what cowards lions and tigers
were, and how he could take a riding
whip and chase a lion up a tree, and
the Michigan man proposed to have an
exhibit of his wild anmals. which he
shot into the hind hams of a lion
that didn't seem to be in much of a
hurry, and the lion turned on us, and
Pa told the chauffeur to stop, and he,
would settle with the lion.
Pa got out with a horse whip and
started for the lion, which gave a roar
liko distant thunder, and as I looked
at Pa with the frock coat and silk hat,
walking towards the lion, I thought
that was the last of Pa, and I begged
him to come back, but he said: "Never
you mind about me; I have seen lions
before," and Pa walked up to the lion
and gave him a cut with the whip,
and yelled: "Get back into the jungle,
you torn cat"
Well, really, that Hon ought to have
turned and put his tail between his
legs and galloped for the woods, but
Pa had made a mistake in his lion, for
the animal went up to Pa and took a
mouthful of his pants, and shook him
like a dog would shake a rat, and
Pa yelled for them to take away their
lion if they didn't want the animal
injured.
The animal rolled Pa over on the
ground in the dust, chewed his silk
hat, and Pa got loose and made a rush
for the auto and crawled under it to
fix something, and just then the cow
boy came along on a pony and threw
his lariat over the lion's head and
pulled him away across the track, and
Pa came out from under the machine
and took a big monkey wrench and
started again for the lion, bare-headed,
and so-mad he fairly frothed at the
mouth, after he saw that the lion was
choked nearly to death, and then
Pa mauled the apparently dead lion
until the cowboy dismounted from the
pony and got his lariat rope back.
Pa gave the lion a couple of kicks,
and got back into the auto, and the
Michigan man patted him on the back
and said: "Old man. you are a king
of beasts, sure enough," and Pa said:
"O, I don't know: I never did like a
cowardly lion, no how."
We chased some more animals
around the track, and the Michigan
man said he hoped the toothless old
lion would not die, as he was saving
him for Roosevelt to practice on when
he came to the ranch after the 4th of
March.
The cowoov went across the field
where a tame giraffe was grazing in a
tree top and took the saddle off his
pony and put it on the giraffe, and
we run up to where he was and the
Michigan man asked him what he was
going to do, and he said he was going
to ride the giraffe, as he had ridden
almost everything that walked on four
legs except a giraffe.
' The Michigan man told him he had
better leave the giraffe out of his
repertoire, because a giraffe was
mighty uncertain, but the cowboy got
start out by singing your baby to
sleep every night.
Many women do this because they
hop, skip and a jump, kicking ; like to do it. It is certainly a pretty
picture to see the young mother
crooning her first baby to sleep, and
one can hardly blame- her for giving
way to the fascination and charm'of
these idle moments when the baby
drops off to sleep to the sound of his
mother's soft voice. But a life of
martyrdom is certain to follow such
indulgences, and when baby grows'
older and is perfectly able to sleep
without accompaniment, he refuses to
do so. and demands to be sung to and
talked to and crooned to. and some
times gets so Interested and excited
that he stays awake just to hear the
grand finish of the story. And mean
while the evening is rapidly passing
and any pleasure it held in store is
losing its value. Provided a mother
is certain her baby is not sick, she
should put the child to bed and leave
it. not taking it up to induce It to
sleep. She should avoid sitting in
the same room, and if baby never
knows any other way than this of pass
ing into slumberland it will make no
unnecessary demands.
It is better for a newborn baby to
sleep in its bassinet. For one thing,
curtains may be fitted to shade Its
eyes, and a bassinet is apt to be warm
er than a crib, besides giving the child
more support at the sides. And by
the way. a good bassinet may be made
from a large oval clothes basket. If
a crib is used, the sides should be
carefully lined to keep off the draught.
It is most important that the baby's
bed be properly aired after it has been
slept in. But it is also important to
have the bed clothes warm before he
baby is laid between them to sleep. As
soon as the baby Is taken from the
room the bed clothes should be
stripped from the mattress and. with
the mattress, well aired at the open
windows for an hour or more. When
the child is put to bed. If the weather
is cold, the sheets should be warmed
before the fire. If this is done, there
is no reason for the child being placed
between blankets. Blankets used In
this way are not apt to be as fresh and
sweet as they should.
Tempting a Child to Eat
THE guardians of a finnicky child
know that meal time is often more
than a matter of table setting and
food buying. Theorists say: "Make
a child eat!" but mothers know that
this is often impossible until the little
one is reduced to sickness.
It will be found easier to tempt the
fitful appetite rather than to scold or
punish. Delicate children can often
be coaxed into a hearty meal when
force work would mean a scene. Make
the meal a play time. Serve bread
and butter cut into thin slices and
piled up log cabin wise into a house,
and pretend the child is an -ogre to
eat it up.
Name dishes for different rhymes,
as Jack Horner's pie for hollowed out
rolls cooked like croutons and filled
with the nourishing poached eggs. Po
tatoes can be molded into the form
of a wall with an egg perched on top
to represent Humpty Dumpty; the
child will quickly eat up the egg to
prevent "the great fall."
Boiled rice can be molded Into
snowballs, floating island can have
poker." "We can fix you all right on
the draw poker," said the Michigan
man.
"Boy, bring the chips and the cards,
and let me know when they find the
remains of Mr. Cowboy," and they be
gan to play poker, and I went out to
see the man milk a Jersey cow.
odd shapes, and nourishing custards,
if put in individual molds o animals,
will be eaten without a protest.
Beef juice usually causes a struggle,
but if the child pretends he is Jack
the Giant Killer, hurrying to get rid
of the delicious juice lest the giant
think it "the blood of an Englishman,"
it is swallowed without a murmur.
The game becomes of interest to
mother as well as child, as the neces
sity to invent new stories and fresh
forms to tempt the little one to eat
demands ingenuity. Insensibly the
child learns to eat, so that later the
practice can be discontinued.
A trouble? Yes, but not half so trou
blesome as to sit up half the night
with a child cross from back of food,
or as to see dear ones dwindling from
insufficient nourishment that a little
effort could supply.
Plants for Children.
MANY children, when quite young,
get interested in their school bot
any and nature study and want to
have flowers of their own. It is fool
ish to give them expensive plants.
They may tire of them at any mo
ment, or forget them and let them
die. They can have just as much fun
with a homely &weet potato or a hand
ful of mustard seed, with the added
pleasure cf "trying an experiment."
Take an ordinary quart jar and a
sweet potato of sufficient size that it
will not go more than part way into
the jar. Put enough water in to cover
the bottom end of the potato, and
keep the water at this height. Roots
will come out at the bottom and green
shoots at the top, and presently there
will be a pretty vine hanging out from
the jar.
The mustard seed is pretty, too, and
takes up less room. Put an old sponge
in a saucer, make it thoroughly moist,
and sprinkle it with a handful of mus-,
tard seed. Keep it wet. The seed'
will come out all green, and will look
like some fresh, growing ball. Do
not use a flower pot saucer. The moist
ure comes through that to the table, or
whatever the "plant" Is placed upon.
a
Give the
every day.
breeding mare exercise
Prune the vineyard at once if -you
have not already done so.
Muslin fronts for the chicken houses
sre winners. Try one.
Alfalfa or clover hay is good for the
brood sow. Give her all she will eat
up clean.
Sheep will feed together better and
fatten more evenly if they are uni
form in character.
During the winter months be sure
that your poultry have all the grits
they need.
Guess-work methods are the great
est curse to the farm, and explain
more failures than any one thing.
Better prices do not make better
butter, but better butter will always
tend to boost prices. Try it.
Spring is upon us. Get all the odd
jobs out of the way before the regular
spring rush begins.
Hens do not like to scratch in wet
litter. See that everything is dry
as a bone and snug as you can
make it.
iMkk
v . -m.
Put wheat bran and middlings in a
"aox where the calf can get at it. She
will soon learn to eat it and it will
be better for her to get it in this way
than to give it to her in the milk.
The increase in the average yield of
corn per acre last year amounted to
only three-tenths of a bushel per acre,
but in the aggregate it meant an in
crease of hundreds of thousands of
dollars to the farmers.
COUNTRY DRIVE IN RUSSIA.
Speed Prooortionate to Price Paid
"Through Village" Roads.
The Russian popular idea of driving
horses is to flog them along mile after
mile without a moment's breathing
space. The speed is proportionate,
within limits, to the price paid, but
the horses are never at any speed al
lowed to slacken.
The high road to Ruza runs in a
series of ups and downs like an end
less "switchback," yet the "jamshik"
(driver) never once allowed his horses
to rush the last of a declivity to carry
them up the next rise, but kept the
pace steady up hill or down, a regular
rate of one verst in five minutes. We
insisted several times on giving the
poor brutes a few yards at a walk, but
at last had to acquiesce in the custom
of the country, with the result that at
Ruza It seemed better to take an
other team for the remaining four
miles across country.
The way now lay over what are
called "through village" roads. These
are simply a tract of mother earth
bounded on one, sometimes on both
sides by a rough ditch, and only other
wise differentiated from the surround
ing arable land by the surface being
cut up by wheels instead of plows
and the Russian plow hardly cuts a
deeper furrow in the fields than
wheeled traffic on such a "road."
In order properly to understand
some of the conditions of rural life in
Russia it is necessary to travel in the
simplest manner of the native, our im
pressions of the same road when we
returned behind a pair of fine horses
in a properly balanced carriage with a
sufficiency of springs were wholly mis
leading, if more enjoyable.
New dresses show coat effects.
Artificial bouquets are a fad.
Hat brims are narrowing for day
time wear.
'Latest handbags are patterned after
mail bags.
Crows' wings trim some of the fully
felt hats.
Dark colors dominate in the spring
suggestions.
Some tiara-like ornaments are
mounted on combs.
A great many border linens appear
on. the counters.
Violets and gardenias are among the
favorite, flowers.
Fancy hosiery grows still more won
derful every day.
Guimpes are now made of cambric
as well as of net.
Side Closing in Skirts.
A marked feature of the new skirts
is the shifted position of the closing,
rhey almost invariably fasten on the
all sorts of delightful fancies woven left side of the back, though the nod
about it, vegetables can be cut into I ices continue to close 'in the center.
Handle the cream and do your but
ter making away from the odors of the
kitchen. Nothing absorbs the odors
so quickly as cream and" butter, and
the poorly flavored butter does not
sell well or bring a good price.
mmIbr(D)Mery
Maine's Fox Crop.
About 75,000 fox skins are sold out
of Maine every year. Very few of the
sly animals are shot. Many are killed
by the used of poisoned bait, while
hundreds of others are killed in drives,
known as the "New Hampshire meth
od." Fur News.
United States Leads in Cremation.
Trjj United States has the largest
number of crematories and incinerates
the largest number of bodies of any
nation in the world.
HIS GUESTS ALL VIDOWS
Spry Old Man Banqueted 76 of Them,
Young and Old.
Portland. Ore. W. C. Bjown,
known in the little town of Dallas,
Ore., as "Uncle Billy," entertained 76
widows at a banquet. The number In
cluded -all the widows in his town and
the immediate vicinity. It was strict
ly an invitation affair, and if any were
omlttedit was by inadvertence.
"Uncle Billy" Is a widower and Is
looking fota wife. He Is S4 years old,
and celebrated the event with Sne
widows' banquet. The oldest ot his
guests was 91 and the youngest 2f. He
presided at the', banquet and called
upon many of the guests for toasts.
Another feature of the celebration
was a shower of nickels he scattered
from the courthouse.steps.to the small
boys. He distributed $100 ia this way.
He announced that a similar banquet
will be an annual event the rest of his
life, providing he does not marry
meanwhile.
kikQlM
Embroider these little sprays for handkerchief carriers in solid stitch.
They may also be used on corset covers or on any article where a dainty lit
tle touch is needed.
AVOID THE INGROWING NAIL.
Wants the Credit.
( Little Willie Say, pa, what Is a
hypocrite?
Pa A hypocrite, my son. is a man
who publicly thanks the Lord for his
success, then gets mad every time any
body insinuates that he isn't mainly ?A jeweled baad be worn back
responsible for It uimself.-ChicaKo or'to,nt on.tho hair.
Daily News.
Are Invariably Preduced by Pressure
or a Blow.
Nails that have a tendency to grow
sidewise should be kept carefully
pared. When the nail grows into the
flesh it may be cured by making a
V-shaped cut in the center, the broad
part of the V at. the top of the nail.
For ingrowing nails Monlin also ad
vises bandaging the toe with com
presses saturated with perchlorate of
iron. Despite the protest of many
girls who are not yet converted, in
growing nails are invariably produced
by pressure or a blow. A shoe too
narrow across the toe or tread of the
foot, or insufficiently long for ease
and comfort, though large enough else
where, either cramps or distorts the
fore part of the foot and toes or ar-
! rests the nails in their proper growth
forward, forcing them back upon the
sensitive flesh at their roots and sides
and causing them to grow in width
and thickness only.
Topics of. Conversation.
The pet subjects of to-day seem to
be as follows: Racing, stocks and
shares, politics (in small quantities),
chiffons, bridge, motors and motoring,
with a word or two thrown in, accord
ing to taste, on art, music, books,
newspapers, furniture, flowers and
gardening.
This up-to-date mixture is well
spiced with current small talk on the
marriages, deaths, debts, diet cures
and divorces of our dearest friends
and acquaintances, declares a maga
zine writer. Among forbidden themes
are the weather, religion (except, per
naps, Christian Science), and such
tame subjects as husbands. babie3,
servants and other doi-iestic detaiis
of a like character.
Initialed Lingerie.
An embroiderer gives this rule for
working initials on lingerie: Never
use anything on cotton for embroidery
but cotton.
If the material is linen take care to
use linen thread.
Best results are obtained if, when
padding is necessary, the same thread
1c ncpfl fnr tMs n.irt of thp ivnrV nc tnr
I the embroidery proper
Make a chicken roost out of the dis
carded wagon wheel, after removing
the iron tire which would prove too
cold a thing for the hens feet. Such
a roost is economical of space. It
can be suspended from the roof.
The squealing pig is entering pro
test about something. Find out what
it is. If cold, provide better shelter.
If hungry, increase the feed. The
squealing pig brings small profit to
its grower.
Caustic potash rubbed well upon the
little knobs where the horns of the
calf will grow will prevent develop
ment and will save dehorning later.
The treatment must be given during
the first two weeks, however.
For some reason thick sour skim
milk seems to have a greater value for
hens than sweet milk. This may be
due to the milk sugar not being digest
ed and assimilated by fowls, or, pos
sibly, the lactic acid which is present
in sour milk may have an especially
beneficial effect. More experimental
work is needed to clear up this
matter.
It is a well-known fact that a fruit
tree will set more fruit than it is ca
pable of supporting and bringing to per
fection. Prof. Sandsten of the Wis
consin experiment station suggests
that to aid nature in its work grow
ers should take away the extra fruit.
The vitality of the tree is used up
by the number of seeds it is permit
ted to ripen, not by the size of the
fruit. It Is readily seen that by re
moving some of the fruit we con
serve the fertility of the land, as well
as aid the tree to properly mature the
remaining fruit. A tree that has thus
been thinned will bring forth more
fruit in bushels than other trees; and,
besides this, the fruit from thinned
trees is superior in color, size and
quality. Such thinning should not be
done, however, until the natural drop
of the fruit is over.
The kind of tree to grow Is coming
to be an important subject for dis
cussion and Investigation. Ideas are
changing rapidly as to the values and
uses of certain, woods. The Iongleaf
pine is disappearing from the land,
and there are few young trees to take
the place of the old. Necessity for fu
ture wood material has resulted in
many investigations and experiments
with inferior kinds of wood. Loblolly,
or old field pine, has been found to
be exceedingly durable when impreg
nated with creosote. This has given
the old field pine a new value, and to
day thousands of railroad ties are cut
near the railroads and shipped to
treating plants to be crcosoted. Small
portable mills are easily and cheaply
located, and many of these are now
cutting the best trees in these old
field stands for lumber to be used lo
cally among the farmers. The future
lumbering will be carried on exten
sively in these second growth stands
of old field pine. The situation in the
north is very much the same. White
pine is here found occupying the old
fields as loblolly pine does in the
south. The seeds are light and are
carried considerable distances to the
open fields, where they find plenty of
light and suitable soil conditions to
make excellent growth.
Use system in your poultry manage
ment if you want' to know where you
get off at, and want to show a
profit.
Brutality towards the cows cuts
down the milk yield and robs a farm
er of his profit. Be sure your help is
not abusing the faithful animals.
A good ventilating system In the
cow stable would prevent dampness
and keep tie hay from spoiling in the
loft.
The scientific-farmer has found that
the h'og gives better returns when
housed and fed in cleanly manner.
Filth never did man or beast any
good.
In fattening chickens for market
keep in rather a dark room where they
cannot see other chickens at large,
and where dogs or cats cannot dis
turb. Fairly good work may be done with
poor tools, but how much easier and
better work could be done with good
tools. The best are none too good for
the farm.
Dead Sheep or Live Ones. Teacher
"How many legs has a sheep. John
ny?" Johnny "Dead or alive?" Teach
er "Is it not the same thing?" John
ny "Oh. no; there is a big difference.
A live sheep has four legs, a dead
sheep but two. The others are shoul
ders." The reason sows eat their pigs is
in most cases due to the fact that
they have been kept too much on one
ration before the litter came. Give
a variety of food, especially during the
last two months of the period, and
you will not be likely to have any
trouble with the mothers eating their
offspring.
Let quiet prevail in the stable at
milking time. Don't get the cow to
stand over by giving her a kick or a
jab with your fist. Place your hand
on hor flanks and tell her to get over
in a kindly voice. Unless she is spoiled
by brutality she will do it and do it
willingly, for she wants to get rid of
the milk in her udder as badly as you
want to get it.
Millet is good for the laying hens.
Beans are equally beneficial. Sor
ghum and broom corn seeds will do
to add variety to the bill of fare. Bar
ley is about of the same merit. Pop
corn contains more nitrogen and phos
phates than does the regular Indian
corn. Buckwheat Is an egg-producing
food, but must be fed sparingly, as
it is overfattening.
A Pennsylvania dairyman who has
kept a record says it takes 150 quarts
of milk to produce a calf that will
weigh 160 pounds at four weeks. His
record of feeding SO calves showed
12,000 quarts of milk, and for
which he received 4S1, or four cents
per quart, and the calves did, the milk
ing. He says the calves must be good
ones not little, runty Jerseys.
The apple tree needs care like other
fruit trees, ir it is going to do well.
The old idea that once planted it
should be able to care for itself and
bring forth an abundance of fruit can
no longer be maintained, since such a
method is neither economical nor
business-like. Fruit trees of whatever
kind or nature need as much, or more,
care and attention throughout the sea
son as any crop grown.
One farmer we know of who be
lieves in ventilation for his barn but
who has not time or money to put
in a ventilating system, has adopted
the muslin curtain on a modified scale.
His windows are made to swing in.
being hinged on the lower edge of the
sash. A strip of muslin at the top
and around the sides lets the window
open just so far. In bad weather the
windows are nearly or quite closed,
while on fine days they are opened as
far as the muslin will permit and an
abundance of fresh air is admitted
to the stable without draft of any
kind.
Encourage the cats to stay around
the barn by giving them a little milk
night and morning. The farmer who
begrudges them a little milk at milk
ing "time is stingier than the fellow
who stopped the clock at night to
save the wear and tear on the ma
chinery. The cat's system needs milk
when It is catching and eating rats
and mice. If cats are given milk
regularly at the barn, there they will
stay, and where they stay you won't
find many rats or mice. No farmer
can afford to raise grain at present
prices and feed It to rats, so be good
to the cats.
The best ration for the beef herd Is
not the best ration for the milch cows.
Cows about to calve should be fed on
succulent food, such as silage or roots,
bran, oil meal and oats chop, but omit
the corn at this time. Feeding grain
of any kind just previous to or imme
diately after calving is not very good
policy. Keep the bowels in good con
dition. After calving feed a warm
mosh, and give warm water to drink
for a week or ten days. As soon as
the cow has dropped the calf she
should be watched carefully, and after
she has made its toilet remove the
calf from her stall, but keep it in siimt
until the milk comes in the udder,
when the calf should be allowed to
suck.
Rhubarb wanted for very early mar
ket can be secured by digging the
roots with the first thaw. Make a
frame or open box four by six feet
and IS inches deep, spread a load of
fresh horse manure on the ground,
cover with earth to the depth of six "
inches and plant the roots. Set the
frame over them and bank to the top
with earth and sawdust or sawdust
all around: cover with boards and
sawdust or other litter, allowing one
or two holes for ventilation, which
should be covered in such a manner
that no light can shine in. In a short
time the rhubarb will grow to the top
of the box and will be a beautiful
pink color. By this method you can
have rhubarb before that in the open
ground has started to come up.
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