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■. :> M '£ ti ~ i jrf'f • ’ And to the poet a traveler strode, In doubt wbleh was the way. One roadlOil up the stony hill, The other road led down; The downward road to Luckyvllle, And up, to Hardshlptown. Toward Luckyville.he set his (ace, Yet, even a* he turned. A traveler coming from that place Ills hopeful eyes discerned. ; f Ue waited till the hlher caae Thu steeper road to take. “Is Luckyvllle,'’ he said, -‘so tame That you its joys forsake?” . “>ot so," the strantcer quick replied, _ As up the hill be went. “Thatsittn was wrong; I know,who’retried The rash experiment. "I'm going up this stony hill. Already I’ve been down, And And the way to Luckyvllle Is ’round through Hardshlptown. Life. Sim Gage’s Taj Mahal. BY *. HOCOH. ‘T The valley of the Red river of the north i» really the bottom of an an cient sea, whose floor, flat as a table, 40 miles across from rim to rim, rnns inimitably north and south, drained bj a crooked, deep-eut thread of water. Here and there a clump of trees, yellow-green against the yellow gray, may rise deprecatingly, but they are the trees of meu, merely tolerated by the elements. Deep, rich grass ami flowers and snow and savage cold were long the ipain products of tins great wild garden of the north. Once the grass and flowers for hundreds of miles lay spread like a royal carpet; but how the carpet is made of hun dreds of pules of wheat,flue and hard, Bach as no other laud produces. Men of the old world and the new, from the north, the west and the east, swept out iuto this garden laud that lay ready for the plow as soon as the In dians were driven away from it. The creak of the wooden-wheeled carts of the half-breed ImH'alo-huuters was re placed by the clank of the seeder and the rattle of the reaper. Him Gage’s house, low and clinging hard to the earth with which it com bated, stood far out in the middle of this broad prairie-ground, across which one might look for more than ten miles and see the big elevators of the nearest town. There were no towns at all there 15 your* before, when Him Gage first turned ..up the bright black loom on his claim. Hince then he had met the blizzards and beaten them aud had en dured the blazing heats of the swift summer seasons. The snow had qot separated his grip from the land on which he had laid hold, and drought had not burned out his resolution. His hair had thinned and grown gray, his face became browned and seamed with the weather, and perhaps his Imurt had hardened somewhat under tb3 steady aud relentless pres sure «! his life; hut never h his TILI - L gardetvof the wheat. He had haruly lifted np his eyes. ' , At first H was bacon and bread that Sarah Gage, his wife, had cooked; then it was beef aud bread. It began to be beef and br ead aud other things All through the swift fall and the leaden-footed winter Emmy was at her father’s side, doing for him al| she conld. From dark to dark she was always busy. The cattle at the barn needed her sometimes, aud the silent clamoring of houskeeping never ceased its dull appeal. The Dakota home was as neat as any in England. By the fireside sat a figure suddenly grown old; but quietly, here, there, everywhere, moved the straight form of Emmy—a woman grown matured in her demeanor in less than 80 days, realizing the burden which had come to her, but ready to meet it with con tinuing courage. It was not alone the meu who won the west. When the deep snows came and the bitter cold Emmy and her father bundled up in heavy wool aud furs when they went about their outdoor work. At night, gathered close to the little stove, the two talked or rend oy oftentimes passed long hours in silence. Emmy had a few books and journals and now and then a picture. Perhaps it was as a premium from a weekly payer that she had obtained the picture she most prized, a photographic reproduction showing a fairy dream in architecture, a white palace of some unfamiliar but compelling desigu. Neither she nor her father knew the name of the original of the picture, but they called it Holomou Temple, having read of that and knowing of no better name. Ho it might have passed had it not been for the Farmer’s Encyclopedia. For one night Emmy,turning over the pages of this encyclopedia, saw there the blurred likeness of her temple. “I’ve found it, pa!” she exclaimed. “Found what, Emmy?” said the old man. gettin'kiad of old and } pect. I never used to I jus’ slept. But last earn. I dreamt I saw s woman all dressed amonds, and that there me, so plain I heard it arhle and the precious he flowers that perish, t fit for human monu- I heard it plain!” Joafused, aud both sat silent f<|ie. The old man was ers,and corner, I’m goin “Yes? KWell, I may sa t fruit she she come drive ove: first to “Em Aid he, have a Abal! I she lov dearie k diamou<9l nor any a Taj from thi to when a wall offt here niggerhead bould- egain. “your ma must loved her, and i<6, and she earned it, We can’t make it of we ain’t got marble stones, but we can build We’ll dig a side-ditch ivell and get water over ma is; and we’ll make \&>lant rosebushes at each lmmy,do you know what o?”- . get a mes# wild plums, aud years thatfi i' did get, t gun to str your ma begin to n “My picture! It ain’t Holomon’s Temple. It’s the—the Taj Mahal. Its all described right here in the book. It ain’t really a temple at all. It’s a mau-sole-ynm. Listen here.” She er had lie - ^asieu Here.” She d.V ov ,hTame^r|nfrvj- IT.-fRUl ongra, India, ith this iron-bound ^ .. ... f,a of late years, when Number One wheat had brought growing cities to the edge of the forgotten sea. But then Sarah Gage died. Poor woman! she should have been unhappy, no doubt, during her life,but she was not wise^uough. The years broke her down, and the winds blew^way her color and comeli ness, but neither snu nor snow could dim her love, her cheerfulness or her faith. Hhe loved her home, every inch of it, as it grew. Hhe loved her husband, loved her daughter, dreams came true. Hix days she labored,and the seventh was the Lord’s ‘day. Twelve miles or more across the prairie each Sunday, although the icy poudre cut or the sun scorched or the level ground swam with water, Sarah Gage rode or drove to church. Farther than that she would go to nurse the sick settler in his “shack” or care for the over worked woman who had dropped in the harness of the daily life. How beautiful and noble is such a life as that of Harah Gage I You may have eaten bread made of the Number One wheat she helped to raise, and the money you paid for it may have helped buy the hymu book that she loved aud from which they chose the favorite hymn to sing above her grave; her grave in the bottom of the forgot ten sea. That was in the fall, when the air was growing sharp, although still the tnid-day heat flamed up apace. The dear bine of the sky was flecked and lined with troops of white fowl. The stubble-fields were white with the great'flocks of the snow-geese coming down from the north. In the morning long squads aud armies of the big brown grouse,on rocking,rapid, inter mittent wing, were passiugdown from the barren wastes'of snbw to regions where timber and corn-lauds gave them a longer lease of life. ‘■Only man remained behind in this forsaken laud, to prove to the ele ments t\mt he was master there. The grass passed into the seer and yellow leaf and was cut down by the frost, and snow blew above it to render it forgotten. • Him Gage went back to the honse and sat down in the black clothing worn alike for fes^val or mourning. His face .was hard ^nd emotionless, but his blue eyes looked out with piti ful and beseeching gaze. Emmy com forted him,as is the miasion of woman kind, though Emmy should^ still have been a girl. without-doubt the most beautiful aud renowned mau-sole-yum of the earth. This wondrous triumph of architec tural skill was built by the sultan of India as a fitting tomb for the body of his beloved wife, the sultana, to whom he was much devoted. A royal treas ure was expended in this noble monu ment, and even today kingly ransoms are visible in the precious stones dis played in the decoration of the tomb. The edifice is of solid white marble and is set in the middle of vast and beautiful gardens. The main build ing is surmounted by a lofty dome rising above the centre aud flanked by four delicate minarets or towers. The interior is an infinitude of inlaid work and exquisite carvings in the marble. All her^iu the central chamber rests the sar- co-phay-gus of the sultana, and near by it is that of the sultan, her husband, who built for her this royal tomb that the world might know his love for her.” Emmy laid down the Iwok, with her finger between the pages and took np her jong-prized picture. “It cost more than the state capi- tol, pa,” she said, “and it’s ever so many hundred years old. I knew it was something all the time.” “Let me see it, Emmy,"said the old man. He held it long in his hand, gazing at it as if to fix in his mind each line and light and shadow. “Does it say anything about that there woman—who she was or what she looked like, Emmy?” “No, pa, not as I can see. It’s mostly about the mau-sole-yum.” “She must have been a toler’ble good-looking woman, I guess,” said Sim Gage after a time. “And she must have been a good woman, too,or her husband wouldn’t have set so much store by her. I allow he must have had money.” He said little more and soon bade his daughter good night. Emmy, left at the fireside, sat dreaming of what it would be to be so dearly loved as that. Her father, at 58, lay down to dream of what it had been thus to love. One morning, many days after, Sim Gage pushed his chair back from the breakfast table aud spoW out slowly and as if by deliberate and well-con sidered plan. “Emmy,” said he, “I loved your ma.” “Yes, pa, I know you did,” said Emmy, quietly, “and she did you,” “Yes aud she did me. Emmy, do yon s’posethat there sultan ever loved his sultaness any more’n I did your ma or she did me?” Why, pa “But he was a leetle bit better fixed to show it, I guess; that’s about it, eh?” do you know, your ma, r did have all the fresh ed to eat, never after ere to live. We used to ilee to Plum Creek to some about all the fruit we Last year, w hen we be- these ortesiaus, 1 told before long we could fruit for ourselves as soon ns wept the hang of it, and nothing we> r did ever pleased her so much as|t. And now she’s gone. But do yo4ndw what I’m going to do? I’m g^ to keep a rosebush at er*ch oornejuvery summer, and I’m goin’ to plan strawberries inside the wall, and I’flgoin’ to have a row of blackberry fehes ontside. Your ma would like iem things. .It ain’t much, bnt it n’t easy. And this is goin’ to be yirma’s Taj Mahal!” The bine id white panorama of the icy winter rept on in its icy same ness, till at la: spring drew on again. The snow bemud there let through the color of he earth. The wild geess came treaming np from the south, and iu eeh open water-hole the leau and weartwit'd ducks paused in their continenxl flight. The snow quite disappered, and a fringe of green appeare^along the ditch banks. The boom of the dancing grouse echoed far on lie ny: in the mornings, •ned prairies stalked yellow curlews. In mysteriously sweet ef the plover, an Hie twitterings <4 Feao For Orchard*. There is no grain that can be pro fitably grown in the orchard except the pea. A summer growth of buck wheat may not do any injury, but it does not enrich the soil even when plowed under, fes does ,the pea crop. Besides, the pea vines lie close on the ground, and their large leaves shade it just as it needs to be shaded dar ing the hot, dry weather of July and August. Large as its leaves are, the pea vine takes very little moisture from the ground. Usually its leaves are wet with dew in the night, which runs off and fertilizes the soil .below, and also keeps it moist. If tke peas are sown late and not cat, bnt allowed to lie on the ground and be fed off by hogs, there is a very material gain in soil fertility over leaving the land un cropped through the season.—Ameri can Cultivator.; Him man when, fields this complaint, and over the the bent-bill the air soun the mellow swered bei« Frofltable FouUrv. Some interesting data have been brought out in a recent bulletin from the Utah Agricultural Experiment Sta tion. Among the conclusions arrived at were these: The profit in feeding young hens was six times greater than in feeding old hens; that with intelligent care and feeding a Leghorn pullet would produce 200 eggs per year; that no advantage was discovered in cross ing the Brahma aud Leghorn. • In regard to the matter of exercise it was found that hens that had the opportunity to get adequate exercise consumed more food and really pro duced eggs at a less cost, lu one tria pen of hens it was found that sixty two cents worth of feed producedji$1.88 worth of fowl, while in some other cases the outlay for feed was nearly as great as the results in fowl. And the the land. s a bowed and aged ent bis way into the spring, tint he made no aud no on6 heard him openly bemoan the loss of the wife he had loved so dearly and who had stood by -him so steadfastly in the fight which had won their home. Him Gage hauled boulders from the fields to the spot where Harah Gage lay sleeping with no monument to mark her resting place, aud here he built with his own hands the four rude but enduring walls, high as his waist and laid of the heavy iron-like boulders, which neither frost nor sun nor i aia nor snow could injure. With care and pain he did the work, taking many days for it. Then,getting out his team and plow, he led from the great pool al the artesian well a little, slow stream of water to tj^e spot where he required it. When # this was done he told Emmy that the time had come for her to aid him, and Emmy went out with the cuttings of the rosebushes which she had ob tained, and these they planted wiih care about the walls of Him Gage’s Taj Mahal. It was uow late in May. Midsum mer came, and the greeu of the land became yellow, pale and perishing. The rains forsook the region, and bit ter drought claimed it for its own, even as the winter had done.but upon the flat aud burning faca of the parched valley-land shone always a thread of green, and upon this thread hung a jewel of emerald, the miracle of the withered plains, all the flowers of which were gone. ,Aud although winter came again and drenching spring and bnrning summer, such was. the care of these two souls who framed this wonder that the greeu here remfciued imper ishable and soon was added to by many flowers, and frnit hung over the wall and fell ungathered upon the mouud within. “Emmy, girl,” said 4 Bim Gage one day, as if taking up a topic which had just been dropped, “Emmy, about that Taj Mahal, it seems to me it’s ac cordin’ to our lights. I don’t begrudge the sultan his Taj Mahal, the one be bnilt for his sultaness, but mine is good enough for me.” “And,” he added |ome moments later,ns if he had not paused, “no mat ter how good and perty she may have been—and I don’t deny she was all that—I guess she wasn’t any pertier’n your ma, nor any better a woman.nor any harder-workin’ a vife,» nor any faithfuller. God bless ’em both, Emmy, the sultaness that he loved and your ma that I loved, tool”— Youth’s Companion. Sunflower Entllsge and Fodder. I have been feeding sunflowers as fodder and ensilage for the past seven years, having found by accident that they were as good tor milk pr butter as corn. I cultivate the same as corn except I give much more hen manure I cut when the seed reaches the dough state, aud run all rtbrough the ensi fed when navriv L— Tree» Gnawed by Mice or Rabbits. ” If the portion of the tree frokn which the bark has been eaten is at onoe covered with grafting wax, $ healing will usually take place and the tree ive. Of course, if the exposed wood is allowed to become dry this, surface must be bridged over with scions, so that the circulation may be renewed. To make a suitable wax for this pur pose, take five or six parts of resin : and two parts of beeswax. Melt thia and while hot add one part of tallow. Try a coat ef this on a green stick, ex pose five minutes to the oold air or water. ( If it is too hard and cracks easily, add a little more tallow. It mnst not be so soft that when warm spring weather comes it will run off the wood. If beeswax cannot be readily obtained, use only resin and tallow, in which case a greater prat- portion of tallow is required. Tjais, however, is not as good as when bees wax is a part of the o^ifture. To apply this wax, wind about one end of a small stick, a strip of strong muslin two inches wide. Let part of this extend beyond the stick and then tie the whole thing firmly to it With twine. This is used as a swab. Fill an old tin pail three-fourths full of ashes. On the top of the ashes place a layer of live wood coals, aud on these coals a dish of wax. Yon are now ready to go to work. The coala will keep the wax warm. With the swab put a good coat of wax over all the exposed tissue. Be careful that it is not hot enough to burn the wood and tissues on the bark of the small trees. If the denuded surface is large, after waxing wind a thick strip of old tender muslin abont the tree in spiral form. Then use a little wax to fasten the end.- This is an additional guard against the craok- ing of the wax or of its ranning off during warm weather. The impor tant thing with this treatment is to apply the wax at once and do not de lay until the wood has in any way be come dry, for then the sap cannot ascend and death will finally result.— American Agriculturist. An Odd Clttli short pasturage.' The early frosts of autumn do not hurt sunflowers, hence they are very valuable as a second crop, and by planting late in the fall they will come on rapidly in spring, giving an early Rummer catting. I have had plants feet high n^ien corn was just coming np. They’do well on any corn land and, like corn, respond to liberal feed ing. I have never fed the seed to chickens, but have planted largely about the house to fence oat malaria. An army surgeon once told me that when stationed in Texas his house was the only one free from malaria because he filled his grounds with sunflowers.' We have not had a case at my homo since beginning this practice. When saviug seed, it is best tc save that which grows on branching plants, as the small heads are much easier run through the rollers of the cutter than the mammoth single heads. When filling the silos I put in one load of sunflowers to two of corn.—J. V. Henry Nott, of New York, in New England Homestead. Profitable Tomato GnmlnR. While the canning-industry is some what on the wane there is still a de mand for first-class tomatoes for can ning, preserving and catsup making, and also for sale in the open market during the season of growth. To grow tomatoes profitably for a whole sale trade the crop must be large, tbs fruit of fair aud uniform size, aud this is important—properly and uniformly colored. Tomatoes will thrive on any moderately rich soil, but it must be well prepared. The plowing should be thorough, running the plow both ways and making the soil as fine as possible by the nse of the harrow and weeder. The writer, who makes money growing tomatoes for market, has frequently harrowed a piece of ground six times both ways in order that there might not be a handful of lumpy soil. If stable manure is used it should be well rotted and made fine before applying. If commercial fertilizers are used a high grade complete potato manure will be found more satisfac tory than any other. Sprinkle a handful of this fertilizer about each plant as set, with a handful of wood ashes and a tablespoonful of nitrate of soda, being carefnl that none of these ingredients touch the stock of the plant or the foliage. After this appli cation run the harrow or weeder through to thoroughly mix the fertiliz er with the soil. Repeat the applica tion of fertilizer and the harrowing af ter the frnit begins to set. This method of cnltnre gives us strong plants, well ripened frnit and plenty of it of good and uniform size.—Atlan ta Journal. At the table with her girl, with her mother. Hitting beside the child, she took pains to . help her in every way possible, putting every thing that she might need within her reach. The girl became conscious of a helpful hand near, and, turning to her mother, said: “Who is it, mamma?” “It is a'lady who is sitting next to yon,” answered the mother. “Who is she?” asked the child again. “I am a business woman,” came th» answer from the subject of her ques tions. “And do you always come here to luncheon, and do many businesa women come here?” asked the child, much interested Then, ns she re ceived a reply, she turned to her mother and said: “Is the lady pretty, mamma?” “Hhe has a very pleasant face,” an swered the mother. “Yes; I knew that from ter voice,” said the child. “Can’t I give the lady % something? Is this pretty?” Her hands had been wandering over the table in search of something that might do for a gift for her new friend, and she picked up an oyster shell, in which a raw oyster had been served. “No; it is not pretty,” answeredtb» mother, “but I think the lady would take anything.” “I should like very much to givo you this,” said the child, prettily, turning to the business woman, and holding out to her the oyster shell. And the business woman took it grate fully, and keeps it among her treas ures as a souvenir of a very pleasant and pathetic little incident.—New York Times. Tactic* of Panned Deer. An Oxford County sportsman who- is much interested in the habits of wild game reports seeing three deer chased by dogs in the deep snow. It was impossible for them to ram f ast, and they adopted tactics that were at once novel and practical. They were running single file. The first thing that attracted attention as unusual was the action of the leader, which stopped suddenly, jumped to one side, and let the other two deer run by in the path he had made. Very soon the new leader jumped out and let his followers run ahead as long as the leader could stand it to make the path in the deep snow. This was kept np until they went out of sight, and the sportsman had learned something new.—Kennebec (.Me.) Journal. Germany expends $600,000,000 * year on spiritnons liquors and nearly $25,000,000 a year on tobacco.