University of South Carolina Libraries
Mynheer Joe BY sr. qcORQE JtATHBORNE. CHAPTER V. Mynheer Jo* It ?f a mgidar are at It, It came about It would be la Mar guilty ud that the amlou P<*ht to come from that Mn [ A compartoon between tho two *?*?<*? travotor to emOoL la point " they aio rarely antipota, ooo SLi IS? othw dv PUBTOTe. MPbo tailor man baa a rolco like a tor> bovltaf la tbo mountains, laying i Jjjproatjmto ai^ swirling np tbo NBaya Now and then it to punctured ^ J* *52* fll*-**?Pln? exctoma DoM that buret from hie antagonist, penetrating and ehrlll ee the htitieet of tbo violin. They growl and together, each endeavoring to the blame of the collision upon the When two men poeoeeeed of tempers get into a heated am- I Nantthe result to eeldom in doubt, (?oooer or later they come to blowe, ?ad this period depends pretty much r^pon the state to which their feel Inn *re carried them. . ***a promtoee to be the case In tho praent Instance. The little man to gas despite the enormous difference their stoe. He dsncee before hie *y antagonist, holding up hie email 1 111 * way that proclaims him the possessor of eomo eclentlflc knowl edge In the line of self-defense. Should Cm- giant, however, bring one of his pledge-hammer blowe to bear upon Wm these frail barriers must be ^wushed aside ss though mere cob L Although the big msn to angry It ?an be seen thst be to amused at the time. t Unless tho fury of the paseee all bonds and h? commits ult the tall man will hardly to extreme measures. Just be to endesvorlng to alarm bis an tagonist by an exhibition of lung p?w i^-by bawling at him with all the tremendous force of a cattle drover pa tbo war path. His bull-like voice El the queer exclsmations be ueeo ukl be extremely amusing to Myn E* upon another occasion. Jnst aomethlng of an Important nature come Into his mind ? so me thins causes blm to take a new interest to this strange game that to being Played before him. ' ***? amnller man snswers In an par wotors the mental photograph be Ms drawn of Demosthenes Tanner, Iba father of the fair Molly. He is ?mall, slightly bald, nearly fifty, full ? life and ginger, and leady to stand ?P for his dignity, I 8? Mynheer Joe decides on the spur hf the moment that he has run across the man who has chartered the daba beah Alice? be owes him a debt ot gratitude on account of the rescuo J*om the waters of the Nlle-perhaps the time has come when he can repay* that with Interest | LU0" ?e d* moro to en?aff? bis at tention in the complication before him iS^R 0^erSi.Who have 1)0011 Gathered by the hot dispute. j ' t0 Mynheer Joe let It bo aa.d that his senso of fairness and tbo Jternal fitness of things bad much to 00 with bis actions. He was never the man to sit calmly by and see n big' log set upon a small one. More than once in his past career he has been known to take the part of the weak . ?nd oppressed, even to his discomfort.' T. . . *? ?PiMt left of the age of, chlvalry?it did not die oat with thej last of the belmcted. mail clad knights? (Thus It will be seeu that other mo-, pros Influence Mynheer Joo besides the one Important fact that this is. as M suppose*, Molly's father who gands a fair show of beini? pulver |Hc means to' tnke a hand In the game If it shows signs of reaching a point where blows must be exchanged. Gordon's messenger Is full of fight? pa always was. and the fact that this rmay be considered a street brawl does' >t once enter Into bis calculations. It to the smaller man who rushes uunga and brings matters to a focus, ^ou shall apologize or fight, sir! o you think I am to be Insulted with Impunity? You are big coward! I will show you how we do these things ZZ.tnm! Do""' TOttr MThe big man is thus forced to an !*? Jue. He gives a roar as the other ? *t his shins, and looks as If about to hurl his avoirdupois upon bt> diminutive antagonist, when a hand jelutches bis shoulder and Mynheer poo steps between them, brushing back the little bantam cock and facing the Brnbma. 1 you_mu|t fight, take a man of irour size. Tale mo, for Instance, plow come on," he says quietly.* - k> CHAPTER VI. TBI FOOTBAZ<Z< Of FORTTOT*. 1 The man addressed It apparent^ taken by surprise. He no longer sM( before him the diminutive form 0f m ptpptry little moeqnlto who M boon barking bit shins, but a man ?t pipit bla ?quel la point of slae? * Ml Mw bold* bla arms In a manner thai ^wggeets the practiced boxer. There la no quarrel between tbes* ' two, nnt the stranger bos taken the Piece of the fellow who kicked the MC man's shins, and must be held ac countable for what he has done. Whatever may be the shortcomings of tho Riant, he Is certainly no cow ard. Ite has been loath to attack the little man, and would fain have held blin out at arm's length as one might sn ugly child; but here Is a foeman worthy of his steel. This 'o ?Bother case entirely. ? Hie eyes flash and his whole face Jlfhta up with the lire of battle. Myn heer Joe dlecovers from bis loud talk thjtb^frx^leML ijpcrlcsja. He fetls Hi I j to tBMOktfr ft teDov-pfttrlot nadar ench^pocallar eireumataacee, but It cftftnot be Mpid. OtacwMtancM eottrol then tblaga mort thu any power on ?earth, sad Ifyhwr Joe baa made up hla Bind that be will not see Molly'a father beaten It ha can help It. "I don't know you. man, bnt that make* little difference. I'm on to you. IH mount yon Just Ilka wa mount a broncho crat West. Offer youraelf aa a anbatltnte for this little venomous spider. da yon! Perhapa yon belong to the same miserable breed. We ?$tpoed ron Mcaaad^lir 'hrtey, we can do It again. I'm glad. yon come! Kinder hated to toocb the little chap for fear I'd hurt him. I've aeen hia kind faU to pieces. Bnt you're flesh and blood? yon caa take aome punish ment. I'm going to show the good people of Cairo how we do It ont in Chicago. Yon Jnat aay your prayer* 11 later Man." ?11 the while he thus ezplodea like the bursting of successive bombs, the big man is rolling up his coat aleerea. He la no fool, and hla eya tells him that be has no child's play before him. The remsrkably well-built form ol Mynheer Joe betokens an athlete, and the qnlat manner In which ha awaits the attack la sufficient warning that he means to do his business. As Is natural, all this fusa and feath ers baa. drawn considerable attention. Siti" quite a good sited ring la formed around the duelists. They find them aelves surrounded by a mixed audience of Jew and Gentile, Moslem and pa gan, black faces, brown faces and white. The world 1b pretty mnch the same, take It as you will. When men come to Mows there la no question about tho audience If others are within reachlnc distance. Even on the piazza a number of guests belonging to the hotel can be seen, having been attracted by the rumpus. As Mynheer Joe notes this with a glance, somehow he finds him self wondering whether she is there, and If Molly will understand that he Is In this street brawl simply aa the defender of her pater-families? the In significant but belligerent little aggres sor- He hopes she may learn the truth. No time Is given for reflection, since the other means business from the word go. Having prepared himself for the work in hand by rolling up his sleeves, the Western cyclone now comes at the explorer with great fury. : His force seems Irresistible; so does that of the giant waves that come rolling with tremendous energy; and yet tl.e result is ever the same when they strike against the wall of rock that marks the shore. There Is a con cussion, a splendid picture; the rock Is th*r% just the same as before, bud tho wave has been beaten back, baf fled into the trough of the sea from whence It sprang. So In this case. Mynheer Joe rep resents tho steadfast rock of Gibral tar. He meets the furious onset of his powerful antagonist coolly, and for a brief period blows rain between. Then the assailant backs out to get a new lease of breath. Astonishment Is marked upon his face. He has be^ Moved himself an expert in the use of his fists, but In this quiet man he flnds one who can give bioi points. Although baffled in his first endeavor, to down this champion of the little terrier that snapped at his heels, the other does not give up the fight yet He Is still In It, to the extent of his two hundred pounds' avoirdupois, and If ho can ouly put one of his sledge hammer blows Just where It is want ed, he will ask for nothing better. . Already, though the affair hasjaat ?" only s minute or so, the sympathies of the crowd are plainly on Joe's side. Is action iu assuming the place of tho small man has been seen; and, be sides, his way of carrying himself wins the hearts of the onlookers, many of jwhom can appreciate the beauties of (the manly art, even if unable to boi scientifically themselves. ? Thus, when the first round ends In the rough Western cyclone being hurled back, winded and baffled. If hot badly used, a murmur of gratifica tion arises from the crowd. ! They have already sized the two dueMsts up, and although Mynheer Joe Is not so heavy as his antagonist, the victory Is In his grasp, according to their way of thinking. As for Joo himself, he rnaans to Injure the other Just as little as pos sible. Circumstances and his lovo o 1 fair ploy have thrown him Into tlis arena, and since be has taken a hand In tho game he must carry it out to tho end. . This sort of business is not to his ?liking; be has never posed as a gladi ator or n prize-nguter before an audi ence, but he firmly believes he is do-, log his whole duty. While he regains his breath and pre pares for a second round the Western tornado gives vent to his feeling In his explosive way: ? "Ginger, I reckon I've bit off more'n I can chaw this time. Looks like something of a trap hereabouts. But you'll find me game to the backbone. I come of a game family, and we don't give up the ship. Rather like the cut of your Jib, stranger, and your style In taking the part of the little bantam tells me you're a Yankee, every inch of you. Sorry to spoil your looks, but you understand what you invited when you rip-sawed inc." "Come on; Ira tired of this," Is the only answer lie can get from Joe. It Is a plain Invitation and the other accepts It iu the spirit It is given. lie again advances to the attack, liis face showing a determination to end the battle then and there. Once more the air seems to be full of flashing arms as . the two enguge In a hot series of blows and counters, side-shoots and parries. Neither ap pears to be gettlngvtbe better of It, and yet one experienced In the craft 2* boxing ?an readllv seo a difference tftag la Ua but work, ndftTorlng to while Hyitecr Joe doe* not to to eaertlag hlmmM to tbe toMt Wlffe tbe tfaae comes tor him to do f ithlig. nmthlni win five way la Denmark. Tii !? w II tot fm i ilnnii It la his desire to get la a knock-out blow. This, to be quite wcctafM and end tbe affair, moat be delivered la a cer tain quarter, aad It la with thle Idea la Ylew that be dalllee. ? Fiercer grow tbe efforts of tbe other to get la behind hie guard. Thoee who look on see that the flghtlag la almost wholly done b y one man, aad If Inexperienced, they believe be baa the matter all In hia own bands. The j will lean something pgeeently. Watching tbe panting cyclone make a la at desperate rush upon Joe, they eee an arm suddenly shoot out straight from the aboulder. and hear a reeound lng whack as the knuckles come In contact with the other's head. That enda It. The blow has been adroitly given, and Joe stands there alone on the flags. His antagonist haa reeled back Into ttg annj. of a_ friend. . There is ^ m.wc utui iert m aim; that Is positive. Loud exclammatlons arise; they mark the approbation of tbe audience. The affair has ended Jost as nearly every one has wished? If we except the defeated principal himself. Myn heer Joe has no desire to remain tb*r* the centre of attraction. He la modest by nature and seeks no notoriety. As be turns to move away he feels his hand clasped and squeesed. Turn ing he finds the little man whose cham pion he became. The wenxened-up face of tbe bantam glowo with pleaa ure. "A thousand thanks, my good fel low! You gave him all he deserved the beast! Just what I would have done for him. If you bad let me get j at blm! Oh, you needn't smile; size doesn't cut a figure In It. All de pends on scientific skill, sir? on skill!" "No doubt. Glad to have done you a service. See you some time later," says Joe, conscious tbst the crowd Is pressing them again and feeling very unpleasant. "But, my dear sir, yon must allow me to publicly thank you for your serv ices. Here Is my card,"? Joe ran It In Ills pocket without even a glance at It? "and I beg that you will not be offended If I offer you this." Before Mynheer Joe realizes what he Is about, the otber has filled his hand with gold" pieces. 80 Indignant Is the explorer at the act that he doe* not even note the fact of their being English sovereigns, but with an ex plosive ejaculation hurls the precious metal out upon the square. This causes a wild stamped* of the crowd; excitement reigns supreme; donkey drivers tussle with dragomans, fakirs roll over Arab shleks? all filled with the mad greed of gold. Never before in the history of Cairo has the precious metal been sown broadcast like rne little man, whose Idea seems to be tbnt money can pay for any serv ice. looks surprised at first, but shows no signs of anger. He Is something of a philosopher on a small scale and accustomed to meeting strange people. "Very well," he chatteie, with a wave of the arm; " we will consider the obligation settled by my thanks, then. If I can do you a favor at any time, call upon me, my good fellow." With this, he marches off. His ar rogance is really amusing. Mynheer Joe would be tempted to use the toe of his boot to accelerate the fellow's departure, only that he remembers one Important factor? this little man Is the "dear old governor" of the charming Molly, and any Indignity of fered to him will be sure to recoil on his own head. So he allows the dwarfed pugnacious specimen to de part in one direction, while he starts to leave the scene in another. ' Neither of them gets five feet away ere some acquaintance brings them up. With Joe it is Mr. Grimes. The silver king has not known of the duel on the flagging until It Is over. Then some one tells him that the gen tleman who 60 lately accompanied him In his walk is engaged In a fight near by. As he meets Joe face to face, his eye glances up and down the other's figure. There is not a sign of lila having been in a fracas. "All a mistake," he mutters aloud. "What Is?" asks Joe, smiling. [To be Continued.) ?'? If they hare no flirtations In China, irhat uull holidays they must havel EGG8 GET IN DEADLY WORK. ft>any Hens Killed by Violent Explo sions of Their Frozen Product. A most remarkable hen story vouched for by veracious and respect able people, comes from New Kent county, Virginia. W. P. Tunstcll, whf conducts a large hennery, found sev eral of his fowls dead, with their bod les badly mutilated. W!ille invest! gating the cause he heard a muffled explosion and saw a hen fall from her nest, torn and bleeding. Looking into the matter further, h? ascertained that the explosion wat due to the fowls sitting on frozen eggs, which when they became warn exploded with deadly effect. According to Mr. Tunstall, the bo4 les of the dead fowls had places <4 eggshell all through them. A Wcnderful Canyon. In preparing for the construction of a tunnel to Irrigate the Uncompaligre valley in western Colorado, it became necessary to make a topographic sur vey of the bottom of the grand canyon of the Cu.inlson river for a distance of about 1.600 feet. But the walls of t%ls canyon, approximately 2,000 feet in height, are sheer precipices, and it is Impossible to go through in boats. A descent to the bottom was effected by means of a narrow Assure eroded In the granite cliff?. but In order to reach the opposite side of the river, with the aid of a similar fissure, the surveying party had to make a detour of about 160 miles, in all. four ex tremely perilous descents were made to the bottom of the canyon. In places It was necessary to let the meltdown over cliffs several hundred feet by means of ropes. ABBIIETDRAL ? whitewash that looks much better than the bare and which will stay on about aa Ions aa a coat of paint la made aa fallowa: 81ake half a bushel of Hiuckltaae with boiling hot water. Add two pounds of sulphate of sine and ono pound aalt. these be ing first dissolved In water before add ing to the whltawaab. a pound of lampblack and a pound of raw amber will give a pleasant dark color. It may bo applied with a sprsy pump. BtNlaf s Cats Post. dare a large solid chestnut post to begin with. Then aim to make the bot tom of the post Immovable. Tamping near the aurfaco la of little uae. Make the hole largo enough to leave a six Inch space all trowd the post. Place the post, brace it straight, then pot in about eighteen Inches of broken rock and pour liquid cement (three parts Portland cement, two parts ssnd) Into the spaces, n^hiyg a solid masonry setting. The rest of the hole may be Ailed with rocks and earth. To Pnmt Grawtk mf Hm?. Cue wmy i? to cut them out when calf Is a month old by raising the skin In a lisp, snd removing the smsll button which is loosely attached to It. The flap of skin is laid back and a plas ter of tar laid on it, when the wound soon heals. 8econd, and best way, la to apply atlck caustic, or lye, by dis solving a small quantity in water, clip hair close over button or horn, thst you can feel under the skin. Apply the liquid lye by rubbing in well over the horn. If done thoroughly, one ap plication is sufficient. I have used the above for years, alwaya to perfection, and consider this to be the most hu mane wsy of dehorning.? C. W. Nor ris, Cedarville, W. Va. Um ob Cattle. fn the majority of cases It may be truly ssld that negligence is responsi ble for lice on cattle during the winter when thty are in the atable, although there may be exceptlona. If you find lice on the cattle get rid of them by applying with a brush a mixture com posed of two porta of lard to one part Of kerosene oil. Apply this to the spots where the lice have been at work once a week, and a few applications will subdue the vermin. Then go to work* to prevent any more trouble. Clean the atables thoroughly, oslng carbolic acid aa a disinfectant, whitewash the sides of the stable and let a liberal portion of the lime get on to the floor. Then groom the cows oc casionally, at least, and see that they get exercise dally either out of doors or in a protected shed. Take care of the cows, and there la likely to he little trouble with lice. Dishorning th? Calm. Twenty years from now it will be a rare sight to see a cow with horns on the dairy farm. Experience haa thor oughly demonstrsted that the hornless cow la the ssfe cow, nor is she Injured In the slightest degree as s milk pro ducer. While the adult cow may be safely dishorned with the modern im plements now in use, it is best to start in with the calves that are to form the new herd. Get a stick of caustic potash from the drug store, wrap a piece of cloth around one end?of it, then cut the hair from around the spot where the embryo horn may be felt on the head of the calf, rub the spot and all around it for two inches with lard, vhen moisten the stick of caustic potash and rub it around the embryo horn several times. After finishing the job put the stick of potash away where no one will touch it and be injured. The calf will not suffer in the operation and the horns will be deatroyed. Care of Qni*. Geese generally start laying In March or April and need watching as they will cover their egg* with straw or hay. The eggs should be picked up before getting chilled in cold weather and kept In a quiet and cool place and turned every few days uutll ready to ?ct. Geese eggs can be hatched un der hens. When the eggs begin to hatch keep watch, and ns soon as a gosling comes out put it in a basket near the stove, repeating this until they are all out. It is best to wrap them in some old flannel or woolen cloth. If leit in the nest the mother is liable to trample them to death. When they are twenty-four hours old place them with the mother in a coop with a board floor and feed them with some stale bread slightly mofrtened ' with some milk or water; also give water to drink. Keep them in for two or three days, after that they can be put out every day when the dew is ofT. Cohfine the mother and her brood for the first four or five days to a limited space well covered with choice and short grass, gradunlly enlarging the run as they get older. Feed four times daily until they get fourteen days old, and after that feed three times daily With corn meal cooked and stale bread. Ftftlllicri and Manure. The annual controversy is going on over the relative values of commercial fertilisers and stable manures, but the farmer who uses both feels that there Is ne need for him to argue the mat ter, having learned that when he has filled his soil with humus by the use of stable manure and with nitrogen by growing some of the legumes, then he Is able to use commercial fertilizers profitably. Years ago when there were more protests than now against com mercial fertilizers, farmers generally considered It extravagant to use such fertilizers and stable manures as well. As a result the constant and exclusive use of the commercial fertilizers used up the vegetable matter in the soil and crops began to fall off. To those who are skrptlcal regarding this manner of using commercial fer tilisers In connection with stablo ma nures. the best advice thai can be given Is to select a small field and try the plan. Use any crop desired and give the field the best possible culture. The results will show if the combina tion was profitable. All farmers know that at ttoea Mm* one plant food be come* nbaiuted la a certain soil whllo It remains fairly rich In the other two essential plant foods. In socb cases tho remedy Is obviously to use the greatest proportion of the mixture, or apply It by Itself If necessary. It It the old story of ascertaining what the soil needs and then supplying it? In dianapolis News. BvlKUag Bmdlag Sto?k. In selecting breeding stock, no mat ter what class of stock It is. whether horses, cattle, sheep, hogs or poultry, the breeder should be careful to so lect only the very best specimens. No fowl, male or female, can be de pended on to produce strong, health; chicks which has not reached full de velopment In body andyfeatber. Ad Immature cockerel or pullet cannot b? depended on to produce chicks equa* to those from mature Mrds. For th ? reason I much prefer hens to pulle:? aa breeders, and when I want to use pullets as breeders, I mate them wi:b n cock bird, and mate cockerel* with bens. It Is a fact observed by ail breeders, that as the stock grows oldti the plumage has a tendency to get lighter, aud you will often see dHris plumage birds moult out feathers o4 foreign colpr, with feathers tipped here and there with white or gray, indi cating a loss or weakness of color ele ment. Such a bird, if its past breed ing has been all right, and does no1 show too much off color, may produce a good percentage of well-marked plumage In the chicks, but there Is a risk to run and it is much safer and more satisfactory to discard all such birds from the breeding ;:nr<I?. It 1* Impossible to have every oird In the breeding yards a perfect bird, but there are certain defects which may be overcome by proper mating, for in stance, a breeder may have an ex cessively large comb, or may be toe leggy, or some other slight Irregularity, but if this Is the only defect It may be remedied by mating with bird just the opposite. So that often a slight de fect may be reduced by proper mating. -W. E. Kemp, in Farmers' Home Jour* oal. Plu For Hen Hont.. Elaborate plans for poultry houses generally result in abandonment after q brief trial. Two things seem desir able: A rather warm roosting house, Where window? or doors may be thrown open In summer to admit much air, and a scratching shed open to the south, yet protected by wire netting so that thieves will not enter nor fowls escape. Large houses are bad. The else twelve by twenty-four feet seems a good one, giving a roosting room eight by twelve feet, and a scratching shed twelve by sixteen feet. Windows in the roosting house may have glass or simple wooden doors that may be fastened open In summer will answer quite as well, for the fowls will live mostly in the scratching shed. Nesting II* vir 2< ?*I2'a 12'* SCRATCHING SHCD 2 If' bozos may be placed along the back wall of the shed, blgb enough to be kept clean. Simple earthen floors raised up a foot will answer, though if rats are bad, cement will save trou ble. In England the scheme Is to have many small houses built on this gen eral plan, but smaller and movable, scattered all about the the fields and many hundreds of laying fowls thus segregated. That would be an excel cent summer scheme in our land if thieves did not work among them too uiueh. vM Ferrets will destroy some rats and drive others from their hiding. Where many cats are kept rats will not stay. It Is a help to build so that cats can enter easily beneath every building i that has a floor. Feed the cats milk at the barn, encourage them to live half J wild and rats will move on.? Joseph li Wing. I!or No'CI. Charcoal given to the sow will cor rect scours in the pigs. A small handful of oil meal will have a good effect on the system. I The hog pastures must have shade, or shelters, and abundant water. Young sows that do well with tlseir first litters may be considered good brood sows. i Drain off the filthy wallowing holes I and give them a bath of clcan water to plunge in. Get the pigs out on the ground as early as possible, na they become crippled if kept on board floors. If the April farrowing sows are well fed after farrowing they will have a second litter In August or September. The sows should be well supplied with water and salt, and ashes and charcoal should always be witbia reach. Wafch the hogs and be sure that they are not lousy. If lice are found, spray the hogs with some good dip or kero sene emulsion. When the pigs begin to smell around the trough, give them some milk and oats or middlings In a small trough, in a pen not accessible to the sow. Twenty-four hours after the pigs are born give the sow a slop of wheat middlings or bran. A little warm water, or milk will do no barm at any time. I In castrating, make the incision at the lowest possible point, so that the pus will drain out. You thus prevent "pus sac" and hasten the healing pro % T ilMlnt. IE present r>neral move* meat for better roads ami the prospect of national aid in road building Lave greatly stimulated the study of the best methods of road building. While to the general public the idea of building permanent roads is to use broken stone after the system first em ployed by John McAdam, about the year 1783, other methods should be carefully studied Jn order to build the best and most durable roadn at tbe lowest cost. It seems a remarkable fact in view of the greet improvements in every thing connected with modern life, that we are still building our roads the same way they were built over 100 y^ars ago. This resulted from tbe uni versal introduction of the railfoad, which caused the improvement of our common roads to be sadly neg lected, as well as advancement in the art of building them. A great obstacle in the way of build ing durable roads of crushed stoue is found in the lack of suitable stone in most localities where good road stone is found. In New York State, for in stance, where road building has been very active in recent years, stone has been shipped over 300 miles in souie Instances in order to obtain stone of good quality. The lack of good road material has caused careful study of various meth ods of road building by experts, with the result thut for general use a mod ification of the old stone wheel track or tramway roads, which have been in constant use for over 100 years with out material wear or cost, has been highly commended. The old tramway roads could only be built at reasona ble cost in a few localities having suit able stone, but by substituting paving brick for the stone slabs, thin superior form of road can be cheaply built iu every locality. In fact, even in the favored localities, where good road stone is abundant, the use of these brick wheel tracks considerably decreases the first cost of roads, while .they practically do away with all repair expenses, as well as the dust and mud. and at the same time enable three or four times the load to be handled with the same team force. This Improved method of road build ing has been adopted by a number of localities and the cost has been found to be from $1200 to (2500 a mile, ac cording to the relative cost of mate rials, labor, etc, while tbe average cost of crushed stone roads has been about $9000 a mile in New York, where the greatest amount of road building bus recently been done. A section of this brick track road in the United States Department of Agriculture grounds during tbe last four seasons shows no material wear, and has been uniformly free from dust, mud and ruts during that time, while an adjacent section of crushed stone road has been nearly ruined during tbe same time, partly by the washing of water. ) For hilly roads these brick wheel tracks are especially adapted, as by depressing the tracks below the adja cent road surface the water is suc cessfully carried down the hills on them without the use of the objection able water breaks, besides enabling three times the grade to be used with out disadvantage. Government road officials reeom mend that long term convicts be em ployed in penitentiaries in making the brick, cement, etc., for these roads, and short term convicts be used in making the roads, to the moral and physical betterment of the convicts, and claim that in this way the build ing of these superior and most durable of roads should cost but $800 to $1200 a mile in many localities. This makes nn interesting comparison with the cost of $0000 a mile in New York Stato for crushed stone roads, some of which have been nearly ruined by two or three years of use, while wheel tracks similar to the brick tracks, built of stone, near Albany, N. Y.. in at a cost of $K.00 n mile, show very lit tle wear in more than seventy years | of constant and heavy traffic. If convicts were thus employed in j such penitentiaries as Sing Sing, New ! | York, for instance, where the best of j j brick clays could be delivered at very | low cost by boat, and from which the | ! brick, etc., could be cheaply shipped by I 1 boat to nearly every point along the I proposed New York and Chicago road, I that road could probably be built for less than one-fifth of the cost of build ing it of crushed stone, have three I times the smoothness and more than i ten times the durability of a crushed I ' stone road, and at the same time be j I nearly dustless and mudless. I Itrirk made at Sinn Sing could also I [ be cheaply delivered at all points in ' New York State, and also be shipped to all points along Lake Krle by boat, thus enabling the great'-r part of the proposed New York and Chicago road to be built by this superior system, and at a cost to low ns to be Insig nificant when compared with Its sub stantial and lasting benefits.? Waynes boro (Pn.) Ilerald. Krwurdii For Servants. A London employment agent, to en courage her clients to give satisfaction " to their employers, says she will pre sent a gold watch to any servant en gaged from her agency who remains in j the snme situation five years; a silver i watch to any girl who keeps her sit I nation for two years and a brooch to I those who have served in the same j house for one year. In a Herman factory, which employs 2107 men. making agricultural imple ments and traction engines, twenty- j live per cent, get seventy-one to ninety five cents n day, fifty-nine per cent. I get ninety-five cents to $1.31 and six- ' teen per cent, get above $1.31, This ! does not include boys or apprentices j and is for a nine tnd-a-balf-hour dnv. (PRACTICAL GARDENING GROWING THE WILD VIOI.ET. Many persons prefer the wild violet* for growinfc In border*, hut make ? mistake In tryiug to transplant them from tbe woods. This in extremely hard to do. as tbese plants are not used to being transplanted. A better way it to fill tbe border with leaf-mold from the woods, and watch a cluster of wild rlolets until the blossoms begin to fade, then tie bunches of tbe blooms in little paper sacks. When the seeds* have matured, cut the sterna, but leave the pods in the sacks uutil August, wiien the seeds should be sown t?y carefully blowing tbem from a smoootlt surface. Do not cover.? Woman's Companion. EARLY PLANTS. These suggestion!* from tbe Ohio Farmer are timely: For those who have not the advantage of a hothouse, but wish to have plants earlier than ?vcu a hotbed allows, starting them in tloors may. as a rule. lw? resorted to successfully. Such plants as tomato. :-ahhage. lettuce and many others are ?aslly raised in boxes aiul may then he transplanted to the garden, when danger of frost is past. For this pur pose use shallow boxes of any desired *ize. For drainage place a layer of broken brick in the box; the bottom of tbe box should be perforated. Fill to within half an inch of the top witli a light, sandy soil, moderately rich. After planting the seed, press the soil down ttrmly. then moisten with warm water ind keep moist, not wet. When the plants are a few Inches high it is well to transplant tlieiu to induce a stocky growth. As they grow larger liquid manure may be applied to the soil, hut ?>e careful that it does not get on to the plants, as it may injure them, Ry th? time danger from frost is past the plants should be large and strong. In this way I have ripe tomatoes very year by tbe Fourth of July, while if I depended upon plants grown for tbe main crops I would have no tomatoes before the tirst of August. For my early crop of tomatoes I always receive fancy prices and am amply rewarded for my trouble. Sometimes I venture my plants in the open too early and they are killed by frost, but this does not often happen. A CELERY HARVEST. Recording some impressions of si visit to a great Pennsylvania celery fairm, a Rural New Yorker writer says: There are few busier places than this celery farm in tbe height of the ship ping season. When the celery is ready, it must go. Two big horses haul a machine which looks like a huge draw ing knife mounted on wheels. This knife is hung so that it runs through' the banked up soil below the plants, cutting off the roots and leaving tliein standing. The accompanying ilgure shows the cutting attachment, which can be fastened to n wheel cultivator or hiller. Following this machine comes a gang of men who take up the plants and break off the outer stalks, leaving the white inside stalks, and pack in crates. These crates are car ried to the washing shed. Here' arc vats and tanks of running water and men with rubber aprons. Everything here moves like clockwork. The celery comes from the field with the black muck soil on its roots. These men wash Cfc LKIIY CUTTINO ATTACHMENT, tills off by (lashing tin- roots in water. I With clean feet, the plants are thrown I Into vats, win re quick hands sponge tlieni and sort into three sizes. The 1 hunehers paek them in hunches of ono Jozcn roots and tie tightly with red rib. I bon. Then the packer puts tliem in orates, marking each crate with tho I number of bunches and the grade, so i tliat when the crate reaches rhiladel? ! phla they are all rendy for delivery* | As quickly as possible the crates aro i hustled into the Iced car. mid when the train coiucs the car is whisked along on Its way to Philadelphia. Shipping is done by fast freight, and a car started In the afternoon reaches Philadelphia i the next morning. The crates are nailed together in tho packing shed. The timber Is bought already cut and simply has to be nailed together, which Is done rapidly by ex pert hands. One must see a place of this sort in order to realize the skill and energy required to dig, clean and pack a ear load of celery. To get an Idea of what a car load means I may; state that on one Monday morning this grower sent one car load of 111 case#, the product of one acre of land. Thlf ear load brought $r?21 net cash! It was of fine quality, and the inurkct Im pelled to be bare. Rnnil Miner*. Kir Oorfrey Langdon, Month African commissioner for native affairs, roi cently stated before the legislative council that the native miners on thd I Itand were "as comfortable and well'* looked after as the miners in Cumber'' land or in any part of Kngland." Sir <;corge Farrar, commissioner for na tive affairs in the Transvaal, reports | to the legislative council that the na<* tlve mortality in the Itand mines I from November, 1002, to July, 1003* was per thousand. Centre of Mann fart are*. The centre of the country'# a>ADU? (acturies i? now iu Ohio. -?