I.
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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