I. V. , i r.; Ii BOY-TIME. THE BENNINGTON DISASTER. Juat for a day la dear old boy-time place, Back to the river's edge where willows grew, Where shadow deep and sunbeam Inter laces, And water lilies In th bayous blew. The narrow path thro' fragrant mea dows stealing. That led to distant wood, .dank, cool and sweet, Where ran the crook with silvery laugh ter pealing, And rippled softly at my bare, brown feet I'd like to listen to the song birds calling And hear again the sad-Toiced whip- poorwill Where 'round the place the shadows gaunt were falling Calling to its mate beyond the hill. I'm sick of factory's frown and grimy city. The greed of man that everlasting lives; I want to go where sacrifice and pity Are lost in what the dream of boy-time gives! New Tork Globe. LTON brought the automobile to a stop at the crest of a hill. Below was a vista of green fields and winding white roads. Be yond, the ragged line of hills stood out sharply against the sky. "Isn't it splendid, Dan?" said AUcla, with appreciative enthusiasm. "I didn't really know there were such bits of landscape about here." Alton settled back comfortably on the cushions. With studied delibera tion he lighted a cigar and puffed away several moments before he turn ed Jo the girl. "I thought I'd stop In the pleasant est spot I know of," he explained "We'll probably stay here for some time." "Indeed V she said. "We shall stay here until you de cide," he affirmed. "Decide what?" said she. "Decide to answer the question I asked you a short time since; the one, In fact, I have asked you repeatedly during the Inst year." ' Alicia frowned. "You develop determination rather suddenly," she observed. "Exactly," he returned, stolidly. "Well," she said, "you may as well go on. I'm not ready to answer you yet." "AUcla," he said, gravely, "it's not fair to treat me In this way. You should give me an answer, one way or the other." "And either answer would be quite welcome after this patient wait of yours," she mocked. "Did I say so?" he asked, quick' "It Is evident I'm not worth waiting for," she said, looking pensively across the valley. "You are worth waiting for for ever," he declared, stoutly, "but It Isn't fair to keep me in suspense like this. You know as well now as you ever will." "There are pros and cons to be weighed thoroughly before I decide," she said. "A man always thinks a wo man can decide offhand a matter of the gravest Import. Alton's eyes twinkled. "Heaven forbid!" he muttered. AUcla flashed him an angry glance. "We may as well be going,", she said with some constraint "It's grow ing late." "I haven't my answer yet," Alton reminded her. "If you intend to wait for that, I'll walk home," she said. Alton sat erect and knocked the ashes from his cigar. He drew a pen ny from his pocket and laid it on his knee with exaggerated care. "I've a proposition to make," he said, slowly. "It seems that you have no Intention of definitely settling this mat ter. Therefore, suppose we let Fate de cide It with the turn of this coin. If It comes 'head,' ypu'll marry me In June; If 'tails,' I'll leave the field to other suitors. Is It agreed?" The girl tumed her eyes and gazed at him silently. There was unuttera ble scorn In that look. "We'd better go back," she said, lolly. Alton turned the automobile and they sped homeward over the hard white roads. Alicia sat silently beside him. Her head was turned away, but he could see the angry color in her cheek. Instead of being crushed, as It was meant he should have been, he seemed vastly amused. For some time he made no attempt to resume conver sation. "Alicia," he said at length, "have I blundered again? Are you angry?" "I didn't think you were capable of such a thing," she said, wrathfully. "You have said my answer meant ev erything In the world to yon; but how I " 'J.U, ' '. i jijum ,' I '",'') ,.' "' -i.AA - 1M ,nM , Cleaa Water for Hosts. How to provide clean water for the hog la one of the problems. It la diffi cult to devise any means by which water can be kept before the swine I at all times and yet be so arranged that the hogs will not wallow In it It appears, however, as though a valu able suggestion looking to the solution I of this point has been made In a late Issue of the Iowa Homestead by a Kansas farmer who suggests a plan from which the accompanying cut has THE U. S. GUNBOAT BENNINGTON. The explosion on the United States gunboat Bennington at San Diego, in which one officer and more than fifty men were killed, has been attributed to a defect in the boiler. The discussion of the disaster shows a tendency toward putting the blame on a bad system rather than upon mere acciden tal carelessness of Individuals, says the San Francisco Argonaut It Is pointed out that the act of 1800 amalgamated engineer officers with line officers in response to a general demand, Inspired by social considerations. Engineers didn't like to be called engineers, and so a law was passed trans forming them to ensigns, lieutenants, etc. But those line officers soon showed tendencies toward shouldering the more practical duties of their positions upon their subordinates, the warrant machinists, they themselves merely bossing the Job. But good warrant machinists are scarce; trained engineers are scarce. In six years the number of trained engineers has diminished from 181 to about 120. Fifty-seven of these are on shore duty. Thus, it is said, the engine rooms of our vessels are under-manned. Eight years ago the Bennington carried two trained engineer officers, one of whom had hod twenty-three years' experience. The officer in charge of the Benning ton's engines on the date of the explosion was a youth not yet 26, grad uated from Annapolis in 1002. It is said; further, that there were no war rant machinists on the Bennington only machinists' mates, who get $40 to $70 a month. The Army and Navy Journal admits that the law of 1809 has "impaired engineer efficiency throughout the navy." much do you care If you are willing to leave it to the turn of a coin?" "Everything," he said imperturba- bly. "You can't or you'd never have sug gested such, a hazard," she declared. "I was desperate," he said with be coming meekness. "Perhaps we'd best say nothing more about It" she said. "And, with all this I haven't my an swer," he complained. Alicia's face was calmly disdainful. "Dan," she said, "it seems to me you might guess, after what has happened, what my answer will be. If you were willing to leave it all to chance " "Chance?" he cried. "Certainly," she cried, "the chance of a coin's turn." Alton threw back his head and laughed heartily. Alicia watched him In amazement Then his face became grave. "Pardon, Alicia," he apologized, "but those remarks about chance are amus ing. Did you Imagine for a minute that I would trust to the turn of an ordinary penny?" He drew the penny again from his pocket and laid it In her hand. "It wasn't coined at a mint" he ex plained. "Kindly examine It carefully and tell me what you find." Alicia bent over the penny. "Why it's it's 'heads' on both sides, Dan," she said. That's the chance I took," he said. "Shall we leave It to the coin now?" Alicia was looking across the fields. "If If you like, Dan," she said. New York Daily News. WATEB TnOLuH FOB HOOS. been made. Writing to our contem porary this man says: 'It is my opinion that many of the maladies and much of the fatalities among horn Is due to carelessness on the part of the owner by which the hog Is compelled to take into his sys tem large quantities of filth In his drinking water. I know where there are wallowing places It Is Indeed a problem to prevent this, because If there la one thing which a hog delights In more than another It Is to bathe himself In mud and then try to dry It off In the drinking trough, and be gen erally succeeds quite well. And a bunch of them can usually put three or four inches of mud in the bottom of a trough In a single week. I enclose you a drawing illustrating the plan that I have used for some time In try ing to keep my troughs clean. The trough In this case Is made out of two planks, one 2x8 and the other 2x0, a piece of eight-Inch plank IS Inches long nailed on each end. To this in turn two other planks are nailed, thus fur nishing an agency for scraping off considerable mud from the hogs while they are drinking. I then nail on an upright as is Indicated in the illustra tion, mortised out so that a plank may be raised or lowered directly above the cases It is not possible for them to find center ot 0)6 trough, the height de the durable grasses which they once PendIn" nPon the a'2 of the hogs that used, for civilization has extinguished nBT" ccess Me trougn. i acknowl- them. edge that It takes a little labor to Some of the earlier basket were the make troughs of this kind, but where products of months of labor. Many of one ha a bl bnncn of hogs I believe these cannot be bouirht for loan thn that nft can 8aTe tt Price of his mate- $25, and as high as $1,000 has bem naj ana mDOT almo" everJ aaT- paid for specimens. The kind of basket w to Pnii p.t.. uwi cuii ue uougnt ror i.ou or $2 is s. W. Leonard says In Farm and not tne una which the experienced col- Ranch: "I will rive a Dlan for nntlin lector will accept He wants a basket ud old fence Dosts. Take a oha In and I orrannA nhl.k 111 . i .V- LI - 1 1 A - . . I ... . . . ' 1 nUii;u niunuaips me arusuc mate ana put it around post close to the ground. tne SKiu or a tribe, not a "pot boiler." At one time basket-making was an art carried on by all the tribes of Pa cific Coast Indians from Alaska to I Mexico. At present the tribes of Ari zona make most of the baskets. The Mokl, or Hopl, and the Apaches make many baskets and plaques. The Plmas and Maricopas formerly made fine bas kets and some of the former do to-day. The Plmas learned the art from the Maricopas when the latter sought shel ter among thera from the slaughter of the Yumas, about 100 years ago. The Maricopas have allowed their basket weaving to cease, while the Plmas are again taking It up. Cora Shock Binder I bar seen two articles of late tell ing bow to tie corn In the shock, will give my way, which I believe to be more rapid than either the former arti cles teach. The accompanying cats will give the Idea at a glance. I take a curved stick (the end of a buggy shaft. Is best) about 80 Inches long. Bora a half -Inch hole 8 inches from the larger end and put through it a piece of rot 12 Inches long and tie the ends to gether, forming a ring or loop. Into this loop tie a piece of rope 8 feet long, or longer if very large shocks are to be tied. To the other end of this rope tie a 4-inch ring made of Vi-ineh rod (I use an old breeching ring). This makes the compressor complete as shown at Fig. 1. In tying the shock take the stick In your right hand and throw the rope and ring around the shock. Catch ring In left hand and slip tick through It as far as you can, then bring stick to the right until oth er end passes through the ring, as shown at Fig. 2, when the shock Is ready for tying and the compressor can be turned loose, as It will stay In place. This Implement can be used for -a two-fold purpose. In husking corn I uaa a shorter one like this for tying stover. Untie the shock and lay It down, then as you pull the ears off gather the stalks in your lap, have the binder lying straight out at your side, and when you get an armful lay the stover across the rope, pick up the ring In one hand and the stick In the other, slip ring over end of stick and slip down until entire stick has passed through the ring the same as in tying shocks. Tie twine around the bundle. which can then be reshocked If not ready to hauL This way takes a little more time at first but saves time and COBlf SHOCK BIIfDEB. trouble when you come to haul, and the stover will take less room In the shed. J. H. Freeman. Bod-Bound Fruit Tree. Sod-bound trees are not very corn mon, but they are to be met with. When a tree has made a good growth and has spread out its top to cover Its feet there is little danger of Its be coming sod-bound, for the branches of the tree catch most of the sunshine and the grass growth below Is meager. The sod-bound condition comes when the tree is either very young or so old that the leaves are thin and few. The young tree that is set In grass ground and has never obtained a very good hold of the ground Is the one most likely to become sod-bound, which means that the roots of the grass have possession of uie soil and ate taking most of the plant food and n.otsture. Such a tree can be relieved ouy by digging out the grass and giv ing Its roots the entire use of the INDIAN BASKET-MAKING. How the Big Demand Has Lowered the Quality of Supply. It is becoming more and more diffi cult, It is said, to secure finely woven Indian baskets, and consequently to form collections of the basketry of the aboriginal American. Fewer of the fine baskets are being made and the number of those who desire to make collections is Increasing, says the New York Tribune. It is estimated that baskets valued at $5,000,000 have been taken from California and Arizona within the last two years. Not all of these, however, were of the kind sought by the most exacting collectors, So heavy has been the demand that the southwest has been well-nigh de nuded of the finer baskets. Most of the baskets now obtainable are made hurriedly and to fulfill the demands made by collectors. The Indiana do not spend the same amount of time upon them as when they made baskets to be handed down at heirlooms. In some Doesn't Pay to Coddle Alfalfa. If an alfalfa field Is In bad condi tion It is usually best to plow up and re-seed. It scarcely ever pays, at least where Irrigation Is practiced, to cod dle a poor stand of alfalfa. Many growers recommend ' disking every spring, even when the stand Is good. and some have even found It a pay ing practice to disk after each cut ting. Such disking will often prevent the encroachment of weeds. In the Eastern States alfalfa fields sometimes suffer a check In their growth, tend to turn yellow and otherwise show a sick ly condition. Oftentimes this condi tion is accomDanied bv an attack of xne cneap modern baskets nave Take a piece of Dlank. sav 2 feet ion, alfalfa rust or SDot disease. The best ueavy nDers and coarse stitches or 2 Inches thick and 8 Inches wide; set remedy for such a condition Is to mow strands. The choicest baskets and bottom end about 1 foot f mm nru if th floM Tho those sought by the connoisseur are chain come up over plank and lean Induced may overcome the diseased aencateiy woven with mellow-colored plank toward post Fasten single-tree I condition. markings and soft, flexible strands, to end of chain and when horses pull i ne latter are so well put togetner tnat the post will come straight up." they will hold water. It Is said to be A TEXAS POST-PULLER. almost out of the question to form a complete collection of baskets and to make a collection of fifty or sixty good ones showing the different stages of development means hundreds of miles of travel to the reservations and the Feeding; of Ducks. All who raise ducks in large num bers for market And It necessary to feed a considerable quantity of rich food, chiefly meat in some form. . But It is a thing to be done with judgment Ducks are hearty eaters and digest al- Bmnt Attacks Late Sown Grain. Early sowing of cereals when the . soli temperature Is low gave In expe riments with barley, oats and spring wheat less smut than late sowings. In a similar manner, less smut will be found on those cereals grown on a cold clay soil than on a loamy soil, and, as a rule, the greatest amount of disease VU. V Vf 1 UIUt.ll UUIA 111 UU . , . . . . . I u IUC ' I l' 1 1 .AIHUH..I. w 1 speech in coaxing the remnants of the 7 i .YmZT Z , win be found in cereals grown on m . , h, with meat foods Is almost certain to v . MK kill many of them. Pushing for early markets has to be done with caution. old tribes to part with their woven treasures. No Time for Athletic I Weak Bordeaux Mixture. Japanese students and schoolboys For the summer spraying of peaches twenty yeads ago had no appreciation and Japanese plums: Copper sulphate, of athletics. They took too serious a 2 pounds; fresh lime (unslacked), 5 view of their duties to waste on games pounds; water, 50 gallons. Rhode the time that might be devoted to Island Formula. studies and they had to be driven by sandy humus Bolls. A high tempera ture of the soli during the first week after sowing favors the germination of the smut pores, and consequently the infection of the cereals. Cereals will germinate and begin their growth at a temperature below that at which the fungus can develop. New Eng land Homestead. their early English professors and teachers into the playgrounds as though to a disagreeable task. Now they take a keen Interest In rowing, lawn tennis and baseball, though crick' Why Strawberry Flaats Die. Many strawberry plants die because they are kept too long after being dug before transplanting. Some die be cause set too deep and the crown or center of the plant Is covered. But Lie on Hoes. Make a lice killer by shaving one fourth pound of bar soap and boiling for ten minutes, or until the soap is all AaarAvaA In half crflllnn nf mft et with its long periods of enforced In a dry time more piant, die from a ter. then pouring the boiling suds into imtutii uues uwi inpw lacs or pressure on ine sou aoout tne n ion of kerosene and stlrrlne hri.k. roots than from all other causes. In a It until a creamy mass Is formed. Grabbed Him. I we season they will live If left on When wanted for ubs stir a Dint of it Mr. Soashllst Do you know any- to of tlla ,0ii wItn no earth 0 -oya- ,n BRnn at warm water ami nm thing about this co-operative house- j, Plants out of the ground them. If the pigs are not affected, glva keeping? are ute fish out of water. Therefore the sows, a teasDoonful of sublimed Miss Elderlelgh Oh, John, this la so Ujj. BOoner they are in their natural sulDhur once oer day. also all the char- sudden? Cleveland Leader. element the lower the death rata. coal they desire to eat