A PARABLE QF PROGRESS.
Said the placid pool to the rippling rill,
.As it rollicked along on its way down the
hill:
"Oh, stay with me here! It is foolish and
wrong
For you to forever be rushing along.
Stop here on the heights; for, as sure as
you flow,
You will only sink further and further below.
You are noisy and boisterous: be quiet
and hear
The choii of the song birds carolling near.
Be conteuted, my brother, and patiently
try
To remain where the God of the clouds
made*you lie.
j; is wiser ana easier iar to lie still,
fcaid the placid pool to the rippling rill.
?aid the rippling rill to the placid pool.
.As it lay m the shadows so quiet and cool:
"1 know it is easy and pleasant to stay
In one's flower-circled bed on the hillside
all day;
That each leap leaves me lower; and that,
as 1 flow.
fc^bme de?ert 01 death may await me below.
Yet some spirit impels, in such magical
way.
That 1 feel it is better to simply obey;
And, somehow, as onward 1 leap in the
night.
Toward the strange, distant valley, I know
it is right.
Ami that vntPtv i< euro if T I'AAn nifnrn'j
rule."
Said the rippling rill to the placid pool.
So the placid {>ool lay selfishly still.
Reflecting the stars and the sunshine, until
Its purity paid the high price of its peace;
Its water grew stagnant; its very life-lease
Was cancelled in scorn by the sun overhead.
And the placid pool died in its flowercircled
bed.
But the rippling rill, as it sped on its way.
Grew larger and stronger and deeper each
day.
The sunshine strewed gems on its breast
as it ran.
To do useful service for nature and man.
It grew to a river, and. when duty-free.
It found permanent peace in the infinite
sea.
?Charles Wesley Casson, in the Christian
.Register.
"juoixixruxnjiiinjiJirmjTJij
2 Ad Unwitting Crime. ?
I tj By Oscar Tr'cnet. H I
I 3rinnjmnjinnruuinnnjfi j
HERE was despair written
J L on Jack Marston's face.
O O The walls of the room in
Jt 1 * which lie was pacing rest^"^COV
lessly seemed to close in
upon h.'ra. and the day to grow blacker
and blacker as the silence grew and !
the minutes passed on.
At last he sank helplessly on a lounge
In a corner. She came in then?the
only woman in the world for him. but
he did n^t notice her until she touched
his arm.
"Jack!" her voice shook queerly. "Is 1
she worse?"
"Dead!" he stammered, as his eyes
wandered nervously from the girl to
the ground. "Edith is dead, and?oh.
heavens!?you are accused of murdering
her. There is a warrant out for
your arrest, and the police are coming
here to arrest you?to-night."
Then followed a silence broken only '
by the quick beating of hearts.
Dean, jacK. ine gm spose use
one who liad been struck a severe
blow. Oh. Jack?Jack!" She broke
off suddenly and fell back In a chair.
Jack stared at her wildly as he saw ,
the ashy pallor of her face, but when
lie spoke again there was sympathy '
and sweetness in his voice. ^
"Dora?my love!"
\Taik. you believe "
"AJy heart?iny own heart, against all '
the juries aud judges in the world. You
could not have killed my sister?you,
who loved her so. Dora?my darling!"
He gathered her in his aruis and told
her everything then. 1
Dr. MacManus. the phy ician in at- 1
"tendance in Mrs. Edith Marston. Jack's i
sister, who had been stricken down i
with fev<r. had left his patient a powerful
medicine to be given in twelve- i
- drop doses every two hours, and had i
cautioned Dora Sauber. who had of- (
f*red to attend to the wants of the sick <
xvoman during tiio temporary auseuce 1
of the professional nurse, about ex- <
ceedir.g the (lose, and warned her that 1
a larger dose might prove fatal. He 1
had been summoned hastily in the '
afternoon following Hiss Sauber's de- '
parture from the bedside, and had i
' found his patient in convulsions, the <
effect of a very strong dose of the 1
medicine. His skill was of no avail, 1
and she died in his arms. Dora alone <
had attended the poor woman during 1
the morning, and administered her ]
medicines and food, and the doctor felt
that it was his duty to inform the po- <
lice of the fact and how his patient <
met her death. .Tack and Dora were to
be married within a fortnight: but
he death of Jack's sister had blotted
out everything now.
???
The days passed heavily, then came
the one when Dora was to be tried for
her life. The court was packed. In
the morning the prosecuting attorney
htul given in all his testimony, and,
after luncheon, counsel rose for the
defense. He looked from the judge to
tbe jury and smiled faintly. Very
briefly he made his speech.
"The prisoner is innocent." he said.
"She is engaged to the deceased lady's
brother. Mr. Jack Marston. and .she
learned to love his sister as if sue
were her own. She could not liave
committed the crime that has been
brought against her! She could not!"
Hi s tone changed. "I have only one
witness, and I fear she is too young
to understand the nature of an oath."
The prisoner grew deathly white.
The tears came and gave her some relief.
but she shuddered when a chair
was put into the witness box and a tiny
girl, with wavy golden hair and big
blue eyes, red now with crying, was
lifted gently upon it.
"Your honor." said counsel, "the witness
is very young, but I trust her evidence
will be admitted."
The judge nodded assent, then counsel
turnc to the little girl and spoke
to her very softly.
"I vfcnt you." he said, "to tell us
what ,^u told uncle and me the other
day about nursing mamma when the
lady you see there," he pointed to the
prisoner, "was asleep."
The silegce that followed was broken
only by sobs from the auditors in the
room where women were weeping like
chidden children. Then a little shrill
voice broke out:
"She?she was sleepy in the chair
when mammy asked for her medicine."
"What did mammy say?"
^ "Slit said?she said( 'Dear, give me
HttiTf' "h ifiifin'hi i' i
my
medicine, I ought to have had It
long ago,* but Dora was sleepy?so
sleepy and?and couldn't give it tO'
her."
"And what did you do. little one?"
Counsel's voice trembled.
"I?I got the bottle, and poured out
the stuff in a glass "
She hesitated, looking frightened. A
kindly court attendant patted the fair
curls, and she continued:
"And Dora was so sleepy and I was
so glad 'cause I could play doctor. It
was such fun. I climbed on the bed
and said so fiercely. 'Open your mouth.'
and mammy opened her mouth and I
made her drink all the stuff."
"And what did mammy do?"
"Xuffin! She went sleepy again."
The unconscious little murderess lost
her grip of things and cried as if her
heart would break:
"Mamma?i want my mamma?my
mamma!"
Tender hands earried the poor child
away.
Dora fainted when the jn"ry. without
leaving the box. brought in a verdict
of "Not guilty." and Jack took her
home in a cab.
In the quiet of the house she recovered.
and went to her room and locked
herself in. Now that the trial was
over, the sense that she was a free
woman again swept over her and almost
crushed her. Jack paced silently
up and down the passage outside her
room for the remainder of that day
and all through the long night. When
dawn broke he tapped gently, and tlW
door was opened from within. 1
Without a word he lifted the girl in
his arms and kissed her tear-stained
face. And then suddenly he gave a
low cry. for the beautiful reddishgolden
hair, whose soft waves he had
so often caressed, lay in streaks across
a wrinkled brow, and in the place of
the gold was the sheen of many silver
threads.?New York Weekly.
Fitlthfnl Failure*.
Such was the quaint description applied
by Robert Louis Stevenson to all
human beings who had done their best
to do well iu life. lie felt that however
much we tried, we should hardly
he able to realize the highest ideals;
we should he failures, judged by that
lofty standard, but we should at least
he faithful because we had doue our
utmost.
To get on in life, speaking of material
things only, is the desire of every
one. yet it is only the minority who
do their best. There is a lamentable
lack of determination, a deficiency of
"grit" and "go" in so many of us. We
see the object, we sigh for its attainment.
we make spasmodic attempts
to reach it. but we shrink from taking
too much trouble about it. and we
cannot strive steadily and unswervingly
for it.
Those are not the faithful failures.
We cannot impress too strongly upon
our children and upon those older ones
who are just commencing life, that if
Ihey would succeed in climbing the
ladder to any appreciable extent, they
must cultivate the quality of "sticking
at it"?to use a popular phrase?and
that they must aim high. If we so
seldom reach the rung of the ladder
tvhleh we have In view, and evnerienee
teaches us that this is more frequent
than we like to believe, then it is better
to fight for a still higher position,
rhe probability is that Ave shall fall
short of that position, but attain one
higher than would have been the case
had we not been aspiring.
Stevenson, doubtless, had the moral
side of things in view when writing
those words, but they apply equally
ivell to the material facts of life.
An Antomatic Ship'* Recl-trr.
A remarkable mariner's compass has
>een invented ny a trencninan, .u.
Fleit. It registers automatically the
nute taken by the boat and the speed
ninute by minute.
It Is fixed on a ste?l pivot which
ests on a stationary agate. This is
mmersed in a basin containing a small
juantity of mercury which serves for
conducting the electric current that
egisters all the movements of the
compass. A small silver pointer is
jept in electric communication with
:he pivot by means of a flexible wire.
The index is not usually in contact
tvith the basin, but the electric current
quickly opens and closes the
rircuit. so that the angle of the boat
with the meridian is correctly registered.
The basin is divided into a
[certain number of sections isolated
from each other, and each corresponding
with a special circuit.
The registration is operated by means
'>f an electric spark. Certain sections
[>f the basin correspond with signal
bells warning the captain of every
time that the boat deviates from its
normal direction. In case of an accident
causing a stoppage, >lie time of
the delay is faithfully noted.?London
World's Work. '
50,000,000 Yearly For (iolf.
Would you imagine that something
like $50,000,000 could he spent yearly
on the game of golf? To begin with,
there are 879 golf clubs in England,
700 in the United States, 032 in canny
Scotland, 134 in Ireland, forty-three in
Wales and sixty-three in different parts
of the continent. There are, all told,
probably not less than 3000 organizations
devoted to golf playing.
These clubs, counting their grounds,
buildings and preliminary expenses,
represent a permanent investment of
$40,000,000 to $50,000,000; and comparatively
few of them can be run at a
yearly expense of less than $5000. The
average membership is about 200 and
the average yearly subscriptions of
these 000.000 golf players amounts
to nearly $20,000,000. Each of the players
is equipped with an outfit that costs
on an average about $20; and the yearly
purchase of golf clubs, all over the
world, amounts, therefore, to several
millions of dollars.?Springfield Union.
How to Water Plant*.
It is much wiser to give plenty of
water once every few days than a
little each day. The latter method
keeps the surface moist, and the roots
naturally rise for the moisture, so that
they are near the surface and will be
injured by the heat of the following
day.
Give enough water to go deep, or
else just enough to wash the leaves.
The amateur should by preference water
at night, for then the moisture has
a chance to do its good work before
evaporation starts under the heat of
the sun's rays, as it does almost at
once when watering is done in th#
moruipg.?Garden Magazine,
A Model Good Koad.
An experiment in good road building
that w ill prove of practical benefit
* * z ~ elirf rnml
TO lilC iMUU* IS IXIC" iuuuvi un i *w..?
which was built by the Government
experts, Messrs. Harrison and Sheets,
through the Louisiana State University
campus.
This is an object lesson in roadbuilding
that is nceiving some attention
from the parish officials. This road is
built of no material except dirt and at
practically no cost, but it is solid and
firm, and the hard rains and the heavy
hauling to which it has been'irfcbjected
has not injured it in the least.
When the model good road was begun
through the University campus,
constructed of crushed brick and
ground gravel, it was held that this
road as an object lesson was valueless
to the parish, for it would be impossible
for the parish or the city to
spend the sum of money that was
being invested in this piece of road,
and as the cost has figured up to
about $2000 this criticism has been well
founded.
The dirt road building by the Government
experts is the first practical
tobject lesson done in this section, and
it shows what can be done at little
^fost wini me native sun ui tut* (lai^u.
The road was built principally with
the scraper aiiu roller. The secret in j
the whole business seems to be in pettins
the right curve on the road and
rolling it firm. The water docs not
stand on the road and heavy traffic .
even after a hard rain has made no I
impression on the surface. This dirt
road was completed last week, and
since that date the rain has fallen in
torrents and the traffic over the road
has bt'cn heavy, but the road has not
been effected by either and stands as
tirm and as solid as the day it was completed.?Baton
Itouge (La.) Times.
School of Roiil Building.
It is announced that the Iowa State
Highway Commission will conduct the
first pood roads school in America at
an extra session of the State College,
at Ames. The Good Roads' Association
has wisely decided to hold its an.
uual meeting simultaneously with this
I session so that the attending members
I may have the benefits of the systematic.
practical instruction which will
be given in the fundamental and essential
features of road building and
maintenance. An extensive exhibit of
modern road building appliances will
be shown in operation by experts in
the different linos of work, short sections
of road being constructed during
the demonstrations. The all important
principles of road drainage for both
surface and soil water will receive
proper attention, and full detail plans
for culverts and drainage systems will
be available. Road surveying and profile
map work are also included within
the scope of the lectures.
Water the Greatest Foe.
All practice and experience have
clearly proven that the greatest foe
to good roads is water. The draining
of improved roads is. therefore,
one of the first principles of road construction,
and its importance should
1,n loaf ai<r)it of Wsi tor will make
mud of any soil however hard, and
unless it can be led away, mud must
follow as the inevitable result. The
fact has been stated so many times
that it almost seems out of place to
refer to it here.
InrrtMH Land Value*.
With first-class roads, over which
two horses can draw two tons in a
two-horse wapon 3do days in the year,
irrespective of weather conditions,
the land fifteen miles from town would
be worth as much as it is now two
miles away.
Iteache* Oar Inland*.
The pood roads movement Is reaching
Cuba, Hawaii and Porto Rico.
Sou re* of Pride and Profit.
A creditable public highway, owned
and controlled by the people, could
no nnn nnd would be a SOUrce
of pride and profit to every class.
Awsy From the Knih. ?
"If you want to see real country life
come.with me and I'll show It to you,
and within fifteen minutes' journey,
too." remarked a friend of mine.
We crossed the river on the little
ferryboat for Upper Rensselaer. The
scenery is very fine at this time, and
we enjoyed a long walk immensely
without feeling the heat that was
blistering Albany. On our way back
we stepped into the tavern. We had
to wait quite a while before we got
served. The reason? The proprietor
was having his portrait paiuted. This
may sound extravagant, but he was
having his picture painted, not "taken."
In the middle of the barroom, surrounded
l>y his paraphernalia for working.
stood a typical traveling artist.
Seated against the wall was the pro?1
IL-nnaco wliirli thp
JM auu IUC " ?v
artist was painting in oil on the canvas
was a really good one.
"The last time I witnessed such a
sight." remarked my friend, "was years
ago and away up in the heart of the
Catskills."?Albany Journal.
Hard to Play On.
The experiences of George B. Cortelyou.
chairman of the Republican
National Committee, during the recent
campaign were many and varied.
With keen relish he tells of one that
came under his notice.
A country club about to give a parado
was debating as to the number of
transparencies to be had in line. It
was about settled that twelve would be
the proper number, when an old fellow
with his trousers tucked in his boots
arose and said:
"I guess t^o will be about right.
'Tain't at vJ likely more'n two will
know howMo play on 'em."?Success
Magazine. ^
Unkind.
In Boston, the other <h>y, a young
lawyer who spends most of his time
trying to seem busy and prosperous
wept out for a while, leaving on his
door a card neatly marked: "Will be
back in an hour." On his return he
found that some envious rival had inscribed
uuderneath: ".What for?"
i
i V"i
With the Funny
jjm \"
The Vounj Man's rialnt.
The hone of hoarding money
Ls but an idle dream;
It used to go for oysters
And now it goes for cream.
An Unpleasant Memory.
*'I see they claim that next season
will be a bad one for oysters."
'"Well, I hope they'll never duplicate
llit bad one I found in the church
society soup."?Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Breakfast Table Repartee.
"Will somebody please chase the cow
down this way?" said the funny
boarder who wanted somt milk for
his coffee. "Here. Jane," said the landlady
ironically, "take the cow down
where the calf ls bawling."?Kansas
City Journal.
The Place For Illm.
"Notwithstanding what you say
about Kraftie." said Goodart, "he
I tn 1 lnV.il ft'lloW. He aPPCarS
OCClliO 4W >vt. ... . .
to koh) in with his friends."
"He should he kept in with tiiem."
rejped Crabbe. "Most of his friends
are in jail."?Philadelphia Ledger.
Generous.
Jack?"Uncle John, do you believe
in dreams?"
Uncle John?"Why?"
"I dreamed last night that you lent
me a hundred."
"Keep It. my boy. keep it."?Translated
for Tales From Meggendorfer
Blaetter.
A Morning Dream.
Mrs. Skynflynt?"What arc you
chuckling about, Jonas?"
Mr. Skynflynt?"I dreamed I was
going to give a Pullman porter a quarter."
Mrs. Skynflynt?"Shouldn't think that
would make you grin."
Mr. Skynflynt?"Well, I woke up just
as he was reaching for it."?Louisville
Courier-Journal.
The Good Old Day*!
The Maid?"Unhand me. sirrah! If
i you attempt to kiss me, I shall scream
j for help."
! The Man?"Trouble not, sweet one?
I need no help."?Ally Sloper.
Manlpnlated the Scales.
"What did Van Osier say the fish
weighed?"
"Thirty-two pounds and four ounces.
Fie savs he weiehed it himself."
"Let's see?what's Van Osier's business
V"
"He's a retail coal dealer."
"Huh!"?Cleveland Plain Dealer.^
A Quick Choice.
"Why should we give so much attention
to military science and naval
equipment:" said the benevolent man.
"War is, at best, a terrible thing."
"Yes." answered the practical citizen,
"but when it comes to a question
of conquering or being conquered, it
doesn't take me a minute to make my
choice of two evils."?Washington Star.
The Psychological Moment.
"Yes," said the married man, meditatively,
"when you see a woman hanging
out a line of clothes, and the line
slips and lets the blessed lot down
in the mud, that, my boy, is the
psychological moment in which to
Jeave that woman alone."?Chicago
Journal.
Snappy Talk*
Miss Anteek (in open trolley ear)?
"Are you going to stop smoking? You
must see how It annoys me."
Mr.%Veed?"But, madam, these seats
are reserved for smokers."
Miss Anteek (scornfully)?"You're a
gentleman, I must say!"
Mr. weea?"AUU you, maaam, are
not, I regret to say."?Philadelphia
Press. .... ,..-v
a
?** Cruel Man.
Husband?"What! Do you mean to
say you haven't decided yet what to
do in that matter?"
Wife?"Just leave me alone for a few
minutes. I want to make up my
mind."
Husband?"Hum! I'm afraid you'll
have to use a microscope."?Philadelphia
Ledger.
Butcher la Horaoroua.
"Look here, butcher, this meat is
half bone."
"You are mistaken, sir. That is good
meat."
"Botheration! Do you suppose I
don't know bone when I see it? I say
this is bone!"
"Yes, certainly that's bone. The bone
is bone but the meat isn't. You said
the meat was half bone."?Chicago
Journal.
Apprehensive.
The C: was approached by the
Yankee u elty concern.
"If we can't sell you a loving cup."
said the agent, "let us sell you a rattle
for the baby?"
But the Czar frowned.
"Don't talk to me about rattles!" he
stormed. "I'm rattled enough without
the baby beiBg rattled."?Detroit Tri*
bune.
I?
A prisrantic baobab of Central America,
with a trunk twenty-nine feet
through was thought by Humboldt to
be not less tnan olou years oiu.
The Murray system of printing by
telegraphy has been used by the British
postofflce with great advantage.
The German postortiee has been giving
it a prolonged trial, and the Russian
postofflee has just given an order for
the apparatus.
Mexican botanists believe they have
now discovered a life span even greati
er than this, and from the annual
rings a cypress of Chepultepee, whose
trunk is 118 feet in circumference, is
assigned an age of about sixty-two
hundred years.
A Boston scientist says that hypnotism
can develop only natural instincts
and the best hypnotist in the world
annot make a really moral person do
wrong. From experiments he has
made he believes that, seventy-five per
cent, of the human rac.\ if unrestrained
by family pride and other like
considerations, would steal.
A Viennese naturalist declares that
nearly all reptiles that die from natural
causes close their lives betweni midnight
and morning and fewer still in
day light. Most reptiles seem aware
of their approaching death, seeking
out particular places and there awaiting
tlio end. while those whose lives
are spent underground come to the
surface before death.
It was recently demonstrated before
the Society of Biology at Paris that the
ancient custom of burning such substances
as sugar, resin and certain aromatic
plants foi fumigation and disinfection
was of considerable value, as
these materials pave off vapors with
antiseptic properties which mad* them
most useful germicides. This is due
to a large amount fornic aldehyde in
the vapors, and it was found that when
two prams (thirty-one grains) of sugar
were burned in a hell glass of twelve
litres (12.(5 quarts) capacity, objfets infected
with the bacillus eoli. bacillus
typhosus, the vibrio of cholera, the
bacillus tuberculosis, and other pntlienogenic
germs were destroyed within
half an hour. Other more resistant
bacteria required a somewhat longei
exposure, but eventually cuccumbcd.?
Harper's Weekly.
Tn a recent address Professor FT. F.
Osborn gave some additional facts
about ancient American horses. It appears
that iu North America there
were always from four to six entirely
different varieties of the horse family,
living contemporaneously. Some were
slow moving and relatively broad*
footed horses, living In the forests;
others were very swift, having narrow
feet more resembling those uf the deer,
and lived on the plains. Moreover,
there were American horses large;
than the huge Perohorons of to-day,
and others smaller than the most diminutive
Shetland.*. Strangely enough,
the greatest beauty and variety in the
development of the horse family were
exhibited here just before the total
extinction of horses on the American
continent, a catastrophe which still
offers an unsolved problem for investigation.
ACAINST FREAK NEWSPAPERS.
?l~nlflcanc0 Af Recent DecUIon of Postoffice
Department.
In their struggle for business some
newspapers have found it necessary to
bolster up indifferent publications by
the addition of calendars, sheet music,
patterns, blocks of postal cards, cutout
animal pictures, animal masks,
cut-out dolls, soldiers and naval vessels,
circulars. Hand-bills and cardboard
spectacles. The purpose is to
make the customer believe he is getting
a bargain, and this forced circulation,
which is not won on the merit of
the paper itself, is offered as proof to
the advertiser of actual worth. It is a
deception to both the reader and advertiser,
and has been made all the
easier of accomplishment because the
publisher has been permitted to circu
late liis cheap John assortment through
the mails at second-class rates.
The Postofilce Department, casting
about to decrease its enormous expenditures,
has discovered that these
newspaper owners have been imposiug
upon it, and has issued notice that the
practice must cease. The point is made
that this matter is purely extraneous,
and cannot come within the provision
of the law of 187!). which permitted the
mailing of newspaper supplements at
the second-class rate of jv, cent per
pound. It is estimated that this action
will work a material reduction in the
amount of mail handled, and will, to
that extent, relieve the present congestion.
It should also have the effect to increase
the staudard of the newspapers
that have engaged in the business. The
publishers will be forced to furnish a
higher quality of news in order that
their publications may compare with
those newspapers which have been
hewing strictly to legitimate lines.?
Toledo Blade.
To Build Church With Tobacco T*r?.
J. P. Withrow, a well-known merchant
of Hollis and Ellenboro, proposes
to build a church at Hollis with
tobacco tags. Every tobacco chewer
can contribute his part to this cause.
Instead of throwing away the tags,
just drop them into your pocket and
forward them to J. P. D. Withrow,
Hollis. X. C.
.Mr. Withrow bought and sold $1000
worth of tobacco tags last year, which
fact will give a very clear idea of how
easy it will be to collect enough tags
to build a church.?Shelby correspondence
ltaleigk News and Observer,
Hard on Some.
Clergymen who part their hair in
the middle will read with staring eyes
the resolution offered by the Rev. W.
S. Danby. at a meeting of the Pittsburg
Presbytery, in Donorn. Pa. It
reads thus: "Whereas, sissitied asses
are uo longer to,be tolerated in the
ministry; resolved, that their admissi^
be discouraged, and that ministers
instructed to refrain from parting
their hair in the middle."
r
: SOUTHERN : F
TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE PL ANTL
" \
Nitrogen Fertiliser.
Maryland station experiments with
nitrogenous fertilizers are published
in a bulletin that discusses the early
use of nitrogenous fertilizers, the importance
of nitrogen as a plant food,
loss of nitrogen from the soil, general
conditions indicating me neeu ui umugen,
quantitj' of nitrogen annually removed
from Maryland farms, the origin
and supply of nitrogen in soils, nitrification,
sources of nitrogen, the use
of the free nitrogen of the atmosphere
by plants, and artificial inoculation.
The object was to compare different
times of applying nitrate of soda, just
4before planting with or without lime,
at period of most active growth, and
one-half before planting and one-half
at a time of most active growth, to
test the comparative effects of nitrate
of soda and sulphate of ammonia and
of lime applied with mineral sources
of nitrogen, to compare nitrate of soda
combined with sulphate of potash with
nitrate of potash, to compare different
sources of organic nitrogen, including
dried blood, raw and dissolved hair
waste, bone tankage, dried fish, cottonseed
meal and stable manure, and to
test the effect of treating hair and
leather waste with acid.
The materials were appjied in
amounts supplying thirty-two pounds
of nitrogen per acre. The crops for
which data are given are corn, wheat
and hay.
The results in general favor the application
of nitrate of soda before
planting rather than after the crop is
partially grown, and indicate that a j
topdressing of this suDstance |J2lj d ? cn j
as a rule on wheat which for any
cause, either poor land or from late
seeding, is backward in the spring, although
its use is of doubtful benefit on
land which is well supplied with plant
food.
Nitrate of soda gave unlformlj and
decidedly better results than sulphate
of ammonia, both with and without
lime.
Nitrate of potash gave better results
than nitrate of soda combined with a
potash salt (sulphate), but the advantage
was not great enough to warrant
the difference in cost which usually
prevails.
The organic sources of nitrogen were
not as active as nitrate of soda. Of
the three principal forms tested blood
stood first as regards effectiveness,
leather second and hair last.
About Autumn Chicken*.
Raising fall chickens, to some extent,
is a pretty general custom, and a good
one, too, we think. But, our observation
is, that as a rule they are started
too late in the season?the setting of
hens, we mean. For, like spring
hatches, the earlier ones are the best.
Most people wait until September to
set fall eggs, when the best time is six
weeks earlier. In fact, the chicks that
come out between the twenty-fifth of
' ^Antomhpr make
JUly an'i me in.-ji ??i
the best progress, the most rapid and
the largest growth. Last year we set
eggs from the lirst of July until the
first of October with a view of raising
late chickens; and the truth is, that,
while the July and early August
hatched chickens size up in weight,
etc., almost with the spring hatched,
and are still developing, those that
were hatched Jn September and October
are noticeably smaller?the eggs
from the pullets being decidely undersized.
riumage plays an important
part in the matter of growth with the
late-hatched chicken, and the chick
that comes out early enough to get a
fairly good coating of feathers while
the weather is still mild, will continue
an uninterrupted growth during the
winter; while those that are batched
so late as to he still unfeathered when
the chilly blasts begin to blow will still
be undeveloped when the spring shall
have come again, for it is certainly
up-hill business for an illy-feathered
chicken to make rapid growth in coid
or
In view of these facts, we advocate
early autumn and fall hatching, for one
early August brood is really worth
two hatched as late as October. Another
thought, the person who aspires
to raise chickens for market now,
should hatch them off as soon as possible.
It is possible to begin now and
raise a number of late chickens up to
the frying size, and market them long
before the season is entirely gone.
Hatched by the middle of August or
first of September, they would have
eight to ten weeks in which to grow
while it should be mild and pleasant.
Indeed, as we view it, based upon past
experience, now is an auspicious time
in which to hatch and develop early
autumn chickens, either for market,
or for utility at home.?II. B. Geer, In
Southern Cultivator.
Whole Milk Calve* Profitless.
Of course when there is no sale for
cream or butter it is no expense to
raise calves on a whole milk diet. But
on the other hand, there are many
others doing very much the same thing
Pointed Paragraphs.
Stolen fruit may be sweet, but
there is sorrow in its assimilation.
What a happy world this would be
if a woman could convince herself
that her married life is as happy as
~ nihprs helieve it is.
?UU 11 ICO 1 \J uiuuv -
Some spinsters spend a lot of time
looking for husbands?and so do some
married women, according to all reports.
,
It is surprising how a widow can
make love to a man in a way that
makes him think he is the first man
ever really loved.
The reason many go to sleep in
church may often be found, not in the
sermon, but in the Saturday night.
There is no salvation without sincerity.
The denial of self is the secret of
delight.
The isms make the schisms.
Morals determine manners.
Greatness depends on grace.
ARM *: //OTES. H
)-g ?& SB
STOCKMAN AND TRUCK GROWER,
as is described in tbe following froro^^M
the Family:
An object lesson in daily manage- r jB
ment was furnished me recently, which *
helps to prove a common error among
a certain class of fanners. This farmer
sold to the butcher two very young
calves that had been with their dams
getting an tue miiK ror seven moning.
They weighed a little over 1000 pounds ?^
and sold for $31. The farmer was
pleased with the transaction, and remarked
that he was making some * \
money. Upon Investigation I learned
some facts which will illustrate what
I have in mind. The cows were good
grade Shorthorns, above the average
as milkers.
They were fed on fine blue grass pasture.
and I estimated that while these
calves were following them they gave
at least fifteen pounds of milk each
per tlay for the seven months' period.
Thus the two calves consumed at least
G300 pounds of milk, which at a very
moderate estimate would have been
worth $30 to $34 if sold at the shipping
station in the form of cream. It is not
surprising that the calves were very
fat. fed on such expensive feed. At a
moderate estimate and with good care
the farmer should have sold at least
$23 worth of milk and cream from each
cow and raised a calf worth $10 on the
skim milk, or as much profit from one
cow as he received from the two.
This is but a concrete example of
what is taking place on hundreds of
farms where the old idea is still held
that it pays to raise calves by giving
them the entire milk of the cow. One
of the greatest profits to be made from-*
the combined dairying and veal raising
is because of the fact that skim mine
will produce calves of almost as high
quality as will whole milk a ml at a
greatly reduced cost.
PrepftrlLg Land For Corn*
L. G. B.f Catawba, writes: Where
I turn under rye and erimsAi clover
for a corn crop and then use forty to
fifty bushels of rock lime to the acre
would 300 pounds of sixteen per cent.
acid phosphate do. Expect to work
the same land in corn again next year.
Answer: You are certainly preparing
your land well for corn by plowing under
rye and crimson clover. Crimson
clover is to be preferred because lit is
a leguminous crop and will thus add
largely to the available supply of nitrogen
in the soil.
By rock lime you possibly mean the
ground rock before I: has been burned.
Caustic lime is much more effective
and is to be preferred on that account,
and I do not presume there is very
much difference in the cost of the two* * .
Fifty bushels of rock lime is not a
heavy application, however, as it becomes
very slowly available in this . *
form. Twenty-five bushels of burned
lime will be a good application and it
should not be made more than once in. "
three to five years. Three hundred
pounds of sixteen per cent, acid phos- v.j?
phate is a liberal amount to use of one^.
of the very necessary elements needed y
in a corn cro*>, for you recognize that
nhnenhnrars has largely fo do with the
formation of grain. anil as a rule there
is not very abundant supply of it available
in our soils. You might add fifty
pounds of muriate potash to your mixture
with advantage for corn.
While land treated as you propose
will grow good crops of corn for several
years it is not advisable to bring
corn on your land year after year ngless
it is absolutely necessary. Put
it down in clover and grass for a year
or two and then grow some other cereal,
such as wheat, oats or barley, and
give it a rest from corn, and the land
will continue to improve and grow
lffrger crops from year to year.?
Knoxville Journal.
______
Feeding Grain to Hor?es.
Many horses have a bad habit when
fed oats, shelled corn, or dry ground
feed, of filling the mouth with the food
and then turning the head away so
that much of it drops out upon the
ground and is wasted. On a large
farm where nil the grain Is home
grown, and there are chickens running
at will through the stable, the real
waste is not great. But in the case of
those who have to buy all their feed .
and whose chickens can not pick up
the dropped grain, the loss is a serious
matter.
We know a case where the loss has
been prevented by putting the feed
into a nose-bag and slipping the cord
over the head back of the ears. The
bag used in this case is a regular feed ,
bag such as is used by draymen and
teamsters in cities to feed without unhitching.
They are made of heavy can- .
vas with a wooden bottom, there are
holes in front for ventilation while the
horse is eating. They can be bought
at any harness store for about seventyfive
cents. It is a little more trouble
to feed in a bag than just putting the
grain into a box, but the saving is ample
pay for all the trouble.?Florida
I
Odda and Ends.
It often happens that a good talker
is a poor thinker.
About the onlj thing sold in selling
race is the public.
A spendthrift gets tight occasion*
ally, but a miser is always tight.
Logic proves or disproves all things
?but it accomplishes none.
It's better to smile and be a villian *
than never to have smiled at all.
Sometimes the race is to the swift, ^
but more often it is to the bookmaker. * .
Summer girls are again vowing
eternal fidelity?until this end of the <
season.
It is easier to get a wise man to
give advice than it is to get a fool
to take it. . |
A man in Kansas recently eloped
with his mother-in-law, and Kansas
is a prohibition State, too.
Our idea of a true heroine is a
married woman who doesn't say that
she wishes she had remained single. .
.1