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USE OF FORMALIN TO PREVENT SMUT Botanist of Clemson College Gives Simple Preventive of Grain Disease. FOR OATS AND WH[AT SED Formalin Solution Applied to Small Grain Before Planting Kills Spores of Smut Withoi injury to Germii nating Powers. 'outi is the nst n' .lsp:'rad and d e di~.ts'ea f d-.u:ui .rain and i' ..urs wher,\'' oS aund wheat are ra)wn. When,1 p."Iper tntrol mueth 'd: art' 111 pr i : i. it frqnent.ly causes seriu !:s. Hortinately, it is ntot hard to Irt' . 'hti disease. In forinalinl wii .1 as ily obtainable p)repartion1 thuit dot.: the' work elli cioen:. liefore sowing oats or wheat, farna r, shoulii tra':it lhe seed with a fornlinlii solution 1ll prevlent smunt. Stl It is cau1 sed by a parasitic growth that lives in the tissues of the plant. 'lh' dise'asO .lprOads by spores (very snull, wed like bodies) which cling to the hulls or lodge in the creases of individual oat. or wheat grains and are thus carried into a field with the seed. The spores germi nate at about the same time. that the plants come up and the disease grows directly into the tissue of the young plant. Smut lives in plants apparently without doing serious damage until the plants begin to head out. Then the disease concentrates its efforts in the heads and black, sooty masses of spores fill the places where grain should form. As these masses break up, the Spores are scattered over the field by wind. lany lodge in grains on healthy heads of oats or wheat and remain alive there until the seed are planted again. Some remain in the diseased heads and are carried to the thresher. In threshing, the smut spores are scattered everywhere and many find resting places In healthy grains. Oat or wheat smut can be controlled by soaking the planting seed in a chemical solution that will kill the smut spores in the seed without injur ing the germinating powers of the seed. The best chemical to use for this is formalin, which is a 40 per cent solution of formaldehyde. It may be procured from any reliable druggist. Treatment with it is made as follows: Make up the formalin solution by mixing one pint formalin (40 percent solution of formaldehyde) with 40 gal Ions water. Sack the grain to be treated, about a bushel to a sack. Dip each sack of grain into the barrel of solution and let it remain there for Trots five to ten minutes, moving the sack up and down several times. to make sure that all the gra is are thor ougihly wvot. Finally, lift till sack and ket the solutionl draiin ')ut. after wvhich either pile the bags ofi ' r-ated grain togethler tanle. co'ver th han1 i~ ginIg or canvas, or' po0r thU treated1 g'ralin i t o ta pile onl a tl''ti thm.'r andlm cover with haggi ng or canvas. Leaoive the grtainl covered thus for fronm 1 2 to12 ieu hors. As r. last stelp. spread tne grainl tihinly over a 'lean Iiloor' tin dry Tlhe gr'ain seomd shoud hI di'( ed as ing. Naturally, grin Abu2ms tteated should bo0 pu1t inm mle'an h ins or Sac'ks so as not to be, agalin "xplosed to the disease. Sacks and bins that have conl taied isea sed g ra in mnay be d Is inftectetd biy washing with a formlalin solution made of one1c minlt formalin to 10 gaillns wvater. 11. WV. hlARtit. Pro'fessor of liotany, Clenmson AXgriturthtal C ollegm. ARE YOUR COWS EFFI CIENT? Putting the cliienltcy test ton c'ows with the milk seab's andle tilthl)(abock tester is one1 ofte ''rsentiais of con. ducting a su ccessfui dir. Whe ''1 eed ford to have boa rdlers in his dairly barn who eat un u1101 ini foodn thlan thi'ir mllilk yield i wor'til TI'l in IIa cock test will shiow~ thes.. detliten~lt cows ill thle1.r true light amll d til 11k scales will put tile ('lncher' (onl the artgumnent. Te'lstinlg cows wviii giv somle farmier's a bmig surprise. SomIe timnea tho cow tha lookis like the poorest cr'eature ill the.. lot is the best butterfat producert. The dai ry divis. ton of Clemson C'ollegn ofters to glve any farmer advice~ ab~out testing mil111 and keeping recor'ds. Test, don'i guess. EQUIPPED FOR LIVE.. -STOCK WORK. The extension divisioni of Clemso, College is wvell equipped to assis farmers ini any part of South Carolin with any problems In livestock tha -may arise. Thle college has two me giving all their tinme to beef catti and swine extension work, three dali extension experts and one extensic poultryman. This Is one of the lar est anld best'equipped animal husban ry extension forces in the Unitq States. South Carolina farmue should take advantage of their oppo tunities along this line to get expe 9 help free of cost. ITRAINI AND PRUN I~rpeisWILL BRIMC Grape Is One of Hardiest any Develop Well Without Pr to Train Vines.,to 1 Unquestionably, tihe grape is one of the surest fruits that can be grown in South Carolina. Practically all the standard varieties will succeed. Nor is the fruit often injured by late frost. In general, it is safe to say that when vines are properly cared for there is almiost a certainty of a crop every year. But although the grape will pro duce some fruit under almost any treatment, yet results that are really worth having cannot be obtained with out proper care of the vines. The old practice of planting a vine just any whore and letting it grow at will is en tirely wrong. Under such conditions, vines become thick and fall on the ground. there is a tendency to over production of fruit, to small bunches, and inferior berries, and at about the time the grapes begin to color up, they begin to rot. As a result, when the fruit should be ready for use, one-half or two thirds of It is worthless. Be sides, vines handled thus are weak and last only a few seasons. Perhaps the worst mistake in grape culture is failure to prune properly. It is very important that the vines be trained to some definite form. The easiest method of training the grape is as follows: First year: Plant one-year-old vines. As soon as they have been put out, cut them back to three buds, as shown at (a) in illustration. Should all three of these grow, rub one off, leaving the strongest two to grow and form the frame of the vine. During the first season's growth the young shoots should be tied to a stake, as shown at 4 b) in illustration. This is to pro duce healthy canes. Should they be allowed to run on the ground, they will he weak and more liable to injury. Second year: A trellis must now be prepared. Set posts 20 feet apart along each row of grapes. This will give space for two vines between each two posts. The posts, when set, should show four and one-half feet above the ground. The end posts should be set at least three feet in the ground and well braced to prevent giving when the vines are stretched. The other posts should be set at least two feet deep. To the posts are nailed two wires on which to train the vines. The lower wire is two feet above ground and the upper wire two feet above the lower. These preparations made, the young canes should be taken off the stakes, one cut off at the height of the first wire and tied, and the other al lowed to extend to the top wire, as shown at (c). WHY CROSS BREEDIN Farmers sometimes get the mistak en idea that cross breeding will 11m prove their stock. On the contrary, cross breeding has many disadvan tages and farmers are strongly advis ed not to attempt it. It has at times beeni used with success in the hands of breeders of long experience, but for the inexperienced breeder it is a most danger-ous practice. C'ross breeding is the mating of two ,umrebr-ed animals of different breeda; for example, a purebred Hereford bull with a purebred Angus cowr, or a pure bred Berkshire boar with a purebred Duroc-Jer-sey sow. It should be clear iy distinguished from grading, which means the mating of a purebred with a scrub or an animal of very little pure blood, and which can be done with perfect safety and Is urged upon farmers. One of the principles upon which livestock breeding is based is that like tends to beget like. When two purebreds of the same breed are muatedi, we expect the offspring to be like its parents, tbecause there is, be hind each pargnt, a long line of pure blood(. When two purebr-eds of dif ferent breeds are mated (crossbreed lug), there at once takes place a battle of breedls and the offspring will be like that parent whose bloodl Is strongest. When, therefore, two old breedls, as Tamworth and Berkshire, or Jersey andl lstein, are mated, ther-e Is a bitter conflict between bloods and influences that have requir ed centuries to roach their present state. In cross breeding the first cross is sometimes good, but after that such breeding is very uncertain, because the nature of the offspring will de pend upon whichever of its bloods gets thme mastery, Moreover, there is a danger that sometimes the good blood in each parent wvill balance that in the other, which will cause an out cropping of some bad characters that ,had been held in check ever since the t breeds began, a Because .of this uncertainty of re e suits, a crossbred sire should never be y Iused nor any crossbred females kept ni for breeding, except where a pure g. bred is at the head of the herd, Be. [1- cause breeders understand this, a id crossbred .can ,never bring mere ori 's the maritet thani 'lt Is worth for meal r- or work, and the farmer who breed. rt such animals loses his Chance of sell tug his best Droduot at 'aurebred INS THE GRAPE PROFITABLE RESULTS I Surest- Fruits, But Will Not per Care-Very Important some Definite Form. Pruning the grape. (a) Young vine transplanted and headed back to three buds. (b) First year's growth, two canes allowed to grow. (c) First season's pruning. (d) Second and all subsequent seasons' pruning Third year: Numerous canes will be thrown out from the two that were left the preceding season. The prun ing necessary this year will consist of removing all canes except four, one going each way from an old vine on both wires. These four canes are com monly called "arms." They form the frame on which the fruiting canes will be produced. After this year the pruning will con sist of renewing the four "arms" each year when suitable canes of the pre ceding season's growth can be found to take their places. If this cannot be done, all the canes should be cut back to two or three buds. These buds will 'throw out shoots the next season on which the fruit will be borne. It is always best to renew the arms each year if possible. When this method is followed, each vine will pro duce from 75 to 100 bunches of grapes each year, which is enough. The vines are also kept thinned out, so that the sun can strike all portions and that spraying 'can be done suc cessfully. For further information on the grape, farmers should write to Sidney S. Rittenberg, Clemson College, and ask for Bulletin No. 16, "Fruit Culture for South Carolina." C. F. NIVFN, Assistant in Horticulture, Clemson Agricultural College. G IS NOT ADVISABLE prices. If for no other reason than this, a farmer should hestiate to cross breed. Keep in mind clearly the dif ference between the purebred and the crossbred. The purebred is the off spring of two purebred parents of the same breed. The crossbred is the offspring of two purebred parents of different breeds. A crossbred can never be registered, even if each of its parents was a breed champion. If cross breeding is inadvisable, however, grading is advisable and Is recognized as the quickest economical way of building up a herd. Grading is the mating of a purebred with a scrub or with a grade. Generally the pure bred used is the sire and the scrub or grade is the dam. Grading is perfectly safe because all the power is on one side and the results can be predicted. A purebred Angus bull mated with scrub cows will produce calves of Iwhich more than eighty per cent are pure black 'and hornless, such is the power of pure blood over mixed blood. Trhere is no better way for the young breeder to begin than with a gradle herd antd a purebred sire. In a few years he can make his herd as profitable as purebreds and will have learned how to take care of a pure. bred. But let him avoid cross breed. ing. J. M. B3URGE~SS, Associate Professor of Dairying, Clemson Agricultural College. Last year the extension division of Clemson College put forth its great est efforts in a campaign for increas ing the acreage of wheat and oats. This year it is again urging the sow ing of wheat and oats, but has added livestock to its propaganda. "Take the second step--livestock." *Manure is subject to heavy losses fromn several sources. For instance, many farmers lose Practically all their liquid manure, yet this contains more valuable plant foodl than 1 the solid. There are a num~ber of ways to save stable manure 'and every farmer should exert himself to get the most possible out of his manure. The most serious limiting factor in Southern agriculture is lack 6f humus in the, soil. The easiest and most economical way to get humues In the soil Is by growing and turhing winter legutnes. This also enables a farmer .to get nitrogen from the air and out hia /fertilizer bills. PERSIMMON IS FRUI' A Persimmon Tree Which Has a Drooi Fruit of the Ob (Prepared by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture.) Despite the fact that the only fruit which equals the persimmon in food value is the date, many persons who have persimmon trees on their land are making no use of them, and there has been comparatively 'little effort made to develop the trees commercial ly. In a new bulletin, Farmers' Bulle tin No. 685 of the United States de partment of agriculture, some of the many uses to which the fruit can be put are described and methods of propagating the trees discussed. The persimmon is found in largo numbers over the southeastern quar. ter of the United States and in some places as far west as Iowa and east ern Nebraska, and as far north 'as Rhode Island, New York and Michi gan. The real persimmon belt, how ever, may be said to extend from Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas westward through Missouri and Ar kansas. Where the tree is most abun dant there is considerable prejudice against it because of the' persistency with which the young sprouts come up in cultivated fields, and also because of the puckering astringent effect of the unripe fruit. There is a saying that persimmons are "good for dogs, hogs and 'possums," but this is unjust to a product Which can be made very useful to man. At the present time a few growers In the persimmon belt who have easy access to markets in large cities have built up quite a considerable demand for persimmons, and the wild fruit can also be sometimes purchased during the autumn and early winter. A num ber of nurserymen also sell seedling trees for ornamental planting, for which they are very effective, and a hogs hand 'pssumsa vartetis isvenjusd tor ah product'ion ofn the madeit.r Atnte pescento tme aoe goweras inethe persimmons bel whoe asye acess toa mhare ino lagfities atvte builnupquce macnsierammon dehich frpersimnandt the wilud fruirea alsot becometiaresloe torgosto wastng bsater of rmnalso sella seedsig few haeapecalhb varieties loe fthe procioen ofsth bforuithetre 'soe ofi eveI persimmon thissae idatttheibey befre nrot, fit toea uimly thecuetvrey havebentoenyst. In caonue mand therimmosnt hipehI rpen and beaon to hae ground boer frt srcomendealoed tohe bulton wate read genlthate that vaieies aro thoe 'sich pemn ust beor the tree. shedti lfeaes cake arin othe ntebe befre frost irpted sipy becuedte varithapefsl toe adr lat Toe athrt Tris notre.u In itis eomteTe in the bultin aund aratiouoradgo cake arowt othe rIIOELECTED tit sing Habit of Growth and Produces long Type. dishes, add one-half teaspoonful of baking soda to each cupful of pulp in all recipes in which the pulp is heat ed. This removes whatever astrin gency there may be in the fruit and does away with all risk of a puckered mouth. A number of practical recipes calling for the use of persimmon pulp are contained in the bulletin. In the propagation of the persim mon, certain precautions that are nec essary in the case of the other fruits should be observed. Seeds gathered for propagating purposes should be stratified at once. If they are allowed to dry out it is often necessary to soak them for two or three days before they are planted, boiling water being used for tie purpose. The seed bed in which the seedlings are grown should be well drained with rather light soil and a good supply of humus. The ground should be deep plowed in order to permit the penetration of the long taproots which are characteristic of the tree. The roots of persimmon trees sprout readily when the top is removed and this accounts for the persistence at times of clumps of sprouts in fields where they are not wanted. It also enables small pieces of roots six or eight inches long to be used for propa gating. The ends of the roots should be sealed with grafting wax or pitch in order to prevent decay, and the pieces buried in sand through the winter. If the moisture supply is plentiful they will then grow readily the following spring. Cuttings of branches may be used in the same way as the root cut tings. In cases where is is desirable to graft, the operation is usually most successful if it is put off until the trees have definitely started into new growth. It is also of the utmost im portance that the cut surface of both bark and wood be protected with as little delay as possible from elposure to the air. Grafting wax, waxed cloth or similar devices are used to afford the necessary protection. The various methods of grafting are discussed in some detail in the new bulletin. In adldition to the value of the fruit for household purposes, persimmon wood is used to a large extent by manufacturers of cotton mill supplies, who make bobbins from it. It is also used for shoe lasts. The live trees are in considerable demand for shade and ornamental purposes apd one au thority states that as a shade tree on pr-ivate grounds the persimmon com pares favorably with any of the other species in this country. Season's..Growth...n.the Nusey ratngo the SedigStcs-h GemVaiey' o te igt heMile Fie et ai--heDffrnc nyh .....D.. o te ifeene n h e Twa a>P'L . TH~t~N TELLSWMhv How She Was Helped During Change of Life by Lydia E. Pinkhards . Vegetable Compound. Philadelphia, Pa.-"I am just 52 years of age and during Change of Life I suf fered for six years terribly. I tried sev. oral doctors but none seemed to give me any relief. Every 1=ayrle.Eey=f Imonth the pains were 1ntsenbohid, .~~intense in~ both sides, f'ihand made me so = weak that I had to go to bed. At last a friend recommen. ded Lydia E. Pink ham's Vegetable Compound to me and I tried it at once and found much relief. After that I had no pains at all and could do my V housework and shopping the same as always. For years I have praised Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound for what it hat done for me, and shall always recommend it as a wo man's friend. You are at liberty to use my letter in any way. "-Mrs.THMsON, 649 W. Russell St., Philadelphia, Pa. Change of Life is one of the most critical periods of a woman's existence. Women everywhere should remember that there is no other remedy known to carry women so successfully through this trying period as Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. If you want special advice write to Lydia E. Pinkham Med icine Co. (confidential), Lynn, lass. Your letter will be opened, read and answered by a woman and held In strict confidence. Tuff's Pills stimulate the torpid liver, strengthen the digestive organs. regulate the bowels. A rem edy for sick headache. Unequaled as an ANTI-BILIOUS MEDICINE. Elegantly sugar coated. Small dose. Price, 250. TRY THE OLD RELIABLE N4TERSM ITiHS CHILL TONIC For MALARIA O E" A FINE GENERAL STRENGTHENING TONIC COULD DO NOTHING MORE Captain's Responsibility for the Safety of His Passengers Had Been Automatically Ended. The dangers of travel by sea at this time have played "havoc ,with the nerves of timid passengers. Early one morning recently there was considerable commotion on the decks of a coastwise vessel plying be tween Savannah and Baltimore, when a scantily clad man hurried from his stateroom and dashed toward the up per deck. On the way he ran into the ~ captain of the vessel. "What's the matter, captain?" he managed to gasp. "Have we been tor pedoed ?" "Calm yourself, my dear sir, and be prep~ared for the worst," answered the ofilal. "Oh, don't tell me we're going down!" moaned the other. "Quick, whore are the life preservers?" . "They wouldn't be of any service at this stage," explained the captain. "Too late?" quavered the despairing passenger. "Yes," said the captain, very sol emnly. "We've done all we can for you. You'll have to look out for your. self from now on.- You see, we've just tied up to the dock." When a man is compelled to eat his words his appetite is soon satisfied. FEED CHILDREN. On Properly Selected Food, it Pays Big Dividends. If parents will .give just a little in telligent thought to the feeding of their children the difference in the health of the little folks,. will pay, many times over, for the small trouble. A mother writes: "Our children are all so much better and stronger than they ever were before wb made a change in the eharacter of the food. We have quit using potatoes three times a day with coffee and so much meat. "Now we give the little folks some fruit, either fresh, stewed, or canned, some Grape-Nuts with cream, occa sionally some soft boiled eggs, and some Postum for breakfast and sup. per. Then for dinner they have some meat and vegetables.k "It would be hard to fully describL the change in the childreh, they have grown so sturdy and str'ong, and we attribute 'this change to the food ele ments that, I,~ understand, exist ini Grape-Nyits and Postum~ "A short time ago. my baby was teething and had a great deal of stem ach and bowel trouble. NOthing/ seemed to agree with him until I tried ' Grape-Nuts softened and mixed with rich milk and he improyed rapidly and got sturdy and wiell." "There's Wieason," Name give b' .Postum do., Battle Creek, Mich. Ev~er read fte above letteet A 50W oeappears from tinme to tire.'Ta ,aI a~umq true, ms tal .thums'