as
Nitrogen from the Air.
A detailed account of the progress of
the works now In course of erection on
the falls of the Svaelglos at Noroddeu,
In Norway, for the separation of atmos
pheric nitrogen, on the system of
Messrs. Uirkeland and Eyde, Is given
In La Nature. These works are the
property of a French company, and the
available power Is stated at 34,000
horse-power. A second undertaking on
a far larger scale Is now In course of
construction to make use of the falls
of Kjukan, where not less than 250,
(XX) horse power will be utilized. Pho
tographs show that the buildings are
now completed, and that much of the
machinery is in place. The factory Is
contained In two separate divisions,
tiie hydro-electric generating station
and the chemical works. Details of
the revolving furnaces, with the Inter
nal electrodes and the flame ares, are
given.
Let Women Ran Incubator.
Please do nut get the Idea that the
Incubator is so everlastingly automatic
that you do not need to give it any at
tention. The result with the use of an
Incubator Is a great deal like the re
sults with the use of other things. They
w ill be In proportion to the effort you
make to a great extent. Of course I
am not personally acquainted with you,
but as a longdistance proposition t
would a heap sight rather you would
turn your machine over to your wife.
The women folks have more natural
good seime In raising poultry, and you
can bet your boots they look after the
pennies and dimes in whatever they
undertake. While a man that Is accus
tomed to dealing In big money often
overlooks seemingly Immaterial things
that go to make the use of Incubators
and brooders a success. M. M. John-'
boh, Nebraska.
A Clover Bnnebcr.
Clover that Is pastured until the
middle of June and then permitted to
make a second growth will escape In-
Jury from the midge and usually give
a better yield of seed. When 05 per
cent of the heads are a dead brown
color the mower may be set to work.
The Illustration shows a finger-like
mowing machine attachment for bunch
ing and laying the clover out of the
way of the horses.
To Prevent Tomato Itot.
The disease often attacks plants that
are not sprayed. It Is first noticeable
as small black or brown spots ou the
leaves and steins of the plants, occur
ring lirst on the lower and older leaves,
but with favorable weather It spreads
rapidly till the plant Is defoliated and
the 8jot8 on the stems have coalesced
Into Irregular blackish patches. If a
piece of hark with these spots be ex
amined under a high power microscope
Innumerable small, crescent-shaped
bodies may bo Been. These are the
fruiting spores of the fungus. Spray
with Bordeaux mixture.
Get a Dlak Harrow.
The disk harrow is a tool that Is
almost indispensable on an up-to-date
farm. For working land that Is Infest
ed with weeds that spread from their
root systems the disk harrow Is the
only harrow that should be used. It
cuts the roots where they lie and does
not drag them from one part of the
field and transplant them In another.
With plenty of horsepower It will do
the work of a plow on some kinds of
Boll, especially In fruit orchards,
where a plow Is liable to tear up large
roots and start suckers to growing up
where the root Is cut
nation for Com.
Experiments conducted last year at
the West Virginia Agricultural Station
go to show that, while a ration of grain
given to cows that are on pasture may
keep them in somewhat better physical
comlltilon and keep up their flow of
milk, the Increase In butter fat Is not
sufficient to pay for the cost of the
grain ration. This would seem to be
on the assumption of a flush pasture
end that the cows would eat additional
grass to take the place of the higher
priced grain ration.
MX, I rII . I R
tj - if ri r Tn 1 1
Hired Man and The Hone.
Every man who works On a farm
ought to know how to eare for horses.
By "care" It Is not meant that he
should know Just enough to feed a
horse, but he must know how to take
care of a mare In foal, how to break a
colt and how to feed It to the best ad
vantage. He should know all about
horses' feet and something about shoe
ing, too. Many a man has dropped
Into a flue and permanent Job because
he knew these things. Horses are the
most valuable animals on the farm, of
course, and the man who can take the
best care of them is the most valuable
help.
Change! In Farming.
Farming Is not what It was twenty
years ago- from a revenue standpoint.
Corn and cotton were the main prod
ucts from which the farmer drew his
Income, and that, too, only once a year.
Now the process has changed up. In
stead of the one crop, cotton, farmers
have Invoked a multiplicity of crops,
and not only grow corn and cotton for
revenue, but have supplemented pota
toes, both Iilah and svvuut ; peaches and
IKars, onions, melons, berries, peanuts
and ribbon cane, all of which bring
money at all seasons of the year, and
there Is a continued market for what
lie has to sell. Sulphur Springs (Tex.)
Gazette.
Growing Datea In Texan,
An experienced date grower of Cali
fornia who visited the lower Rio
Grande region of Texas two years ago
discovered large numbers of date palm
trees, some of them very old but all
of which were barren. He proposed to
polleiiize the trees artificially and
share In the proceeds, a proposition
which was eagerly accepted by the
owners. Hundreds of these trees are
now bearing delicious fruit. The poor,
crippled and sick Mexicans of that sec
tion regard the man as a sorcerer and
when he visits them they fall upon
their knees and beg him to cure them
of their Infirmities.
Humane Slaughter of Animal.
The American Society for the Pre
vention of Cruelty to Animals will
shortly begin experiments with a new
method for killing animals. Henry
Hergh, the treasurer and former presi
dent of the society, has Invented an
air gun of large size, working like a
pneumatic hammer. The society some
time ago offered a reward of $500 for
an Improved and humane method for
slaughtering purposes. Mr. Bergh
thinks his Invention fulfills the require
ments of the society for an Improved
device for slaughtering animals.
Fruit Tree Borera.
August is the time to look for borers.
Dig the soil away around the stems of
fruit trees to the depth of 3 inches,
scrape the bark with a knife, and If
any sawdust or exuding gum Is found
It Is time to get to work. Dig out the
borer and wash the uncovered parts I
with a mixture of soft cow dung, llnie-
wood ashes and a little crude carbolic
acid. Then return the soil. The qulnre,
dwarf pear and peach trees are pir-
tleulnrly affected by this pest
Foe of the Green Bug,
Last season farmers of the South
west were greatly alarmed over the ap
pearance of the wheat plant louse, com
monly known as the green bug. They
caused a tremendous amount of dan
age, but this year Its ravages were
much less, owing to the appearance of
a parasite bee which destroys the bug.
The bee lays Its eggs on
the body of the green bug,
which are shown In the
picture on the wheat leaf.
When the eggs hatch out
the la.rvaj feed on the bug
until they become bees,
when they lay more eggs
on the bugs, and this proc
ess la repeated over and
over. The bees are shown
In the picture, and farmers
should become familiar with them, so
they may recognize them as one of
their best friends. Exchange.
Lea-nmlnone Cropa.
Nature lias provided a leguminous
crop for every part of the earth where
It was Intended that man should farm.
Cow pens, soy beans and Japan clover
In the South, crimson- clover In the
Eastern slope, red clover In the Cen
tral states, alfalfa In the West, and
Canada peas In the North show how
thoroughly the distribution has been
effected.
CHANGE IN METHODS.
farmers See Necessity of Getting Out
of Old Ruts.
Br W. D. Foster. Foreman Bute Collet Experi
ment Farm. 1-ulW.i. Waaa.
An up-to-date farmer nowadays must
ftudy the problems that confront kirn.
Consequently there must be a moving
out of the old ruts, and the adoption of
I improved and new methods.
In tae eastern part of Washington
the growing of wheat is an almost ex
clusive farming industry, but I believe
the present state of affairs in this re
spect will in the future become merely
a memory of the past. There will be
changes. The younger generation of .
farmers that is growing up around us .
will assuredly adopt different methods.
If I can read the signs of the times
correctly, I believe I can safely pre
dict that the state of Washington will,
in the near future, become a great dairy
state. Even now the farmer who has a
few good cows and "'tends to busi
ness" is never bankrupt. He has in his
possession a certain producer of value.
With milk and butter he can go to
market twice a week, instead of once a
year, and in many respects he is free
from the annoyances that harass the
wheat-growers. But there are some
- things he must attend to if he would
succeed.
Many people there are, indeed, who
would not make even a bare living
handling cows. To use a familiar ex
pression, "They nre not built that
way." Nevertheless, it is certainly
true that no matter how the farmer is
built, the cow is built to yield value
quite material in kind.
Lack of pasturage is an objection
to dairying in many parts of eastern
Washington, of course, but where al
falfa or clover .will grow this hind
rance can be overcome. And these
two valuable forage plants would grow
in many places where they are
not found at present, if the land
was properly fitted to receive the seed,
j On the experiment station farm we
' have two fields of clover that have
given splendid returns. Both alfalfa
and clover are valuable for feeding
cows.
Farsighted dairymen now recognize
the fact that there is a better method of
feeding dairy cattle than by pasturing,
especially in regions where land is as
valuable as it is in Washington. This
is by the proper use of soiling crops,
and silos. A very indifferent mathe
matician can figure that one acre of
land well tilled and seeded to some kind
of a soiling crop will equal two ajid
one-half acres of the beBt kind of pas
ture land for feeding dairy cows.
Therefore, even if one has enough land
to pasture a large herd of cows, it
would be unwise to do so. Every suc-
cessful dairyman wishes his cow to do
the best and yield the best return pos
sible in consideration of the amount of
feed consumed and care given. The
cow must have favorable surroundings.
She must not be permitted to roam all
day in search of food, even if requiring
only that necessary for a living, aside
from the production of milk. To give
a large amount of milk at night would
be contrary te nature.
The quicker you can get the cow
"filled up," the sooner she will lie
down and masticate her food. I ven
ture to assert that when milking time
cornea, if you have the right kind of a
cow, and are the right kind of a mas
ter, she will not disappoint you.
There are many different kinds of
crops that can be gTown for soiling
purposes. Winter rye, oats, barley and
oats mixed, peas and oata, clover, and
vetch are some of them. A few will
suffice. Care, however, must be taken
not to sow tbo much at one time, with
the exception of corn. That can be
i planted in abundance, because as it ap-
proaches maturity it continues to make
good feed.
We have grown at the college farm
two and one-half acres of peas and oats,
which are sown on a north slope, the
steepest, perhaps, on the farm, and from
this plot have harvested five and one
half tons of hay, in addition to having
pnstured on the same plot for five
weeks a small herd of the experimental
farm cattle. ThiB is an example of
what can be grown on a small tract
carefully tilled.
The farmer who undertakes to man
age a herd of cows under this system
must make ample provisions. One ne
cessity, of course, is a good Btable.
This, without elaborate surroundings',
can be built at a moderate cost. It
should be planned in a way which will
enable the farmer to feed ten acres of
good pasture to start off with in the
spring. His intention should be to use
this ten-acre tract for night pasture
after he has commenced to feed the
cows In the stable. He will also need
a mower and a horse rake in the field
to lessen the labor of cutting and
handling.
For the purpose of winter dairving,
no up-to-date man would be without a
silo. In this part of the state corn is
past the experimental stage. It always
matures on the college farm. The cows
are fed the year around, and do well,
always having an abundance of silage.
This process, in my opinion, largely
solves the pasture problem'.
Naturally, questions arise relative to
the expense connected with the feed
ing of soiling crops. Over in Ontario,
which is without doubt a dairy coun
try, soiling and the silo go hand in
hand. Every farmer there will tell you
that it would not be possible to keep
up the flow of milk in his herd without
resorting to these methods. If the silo
and soiling crops are necessary in
country wliere, as a rule, they have
plenty of rainfall, how much greater is
the necessity for their use in parts of
tne facific Northwest where rainfall is
not always sufficicntt
The time is at hand when a radical
change of methods In farming if neces
sary. Especially ! this true in the
ease of the rancher .who does net own
a large acreage, since he eannot grow
wheat enough to make more than a bare
living. The dairy cow opens the way
to a more lucrative pursuit. Trained
effort, however, is required to handle
this epportunity to the best advantage, I
and there must be concentrated and
conscientious effort oa the part of the
dairyman and every aieaiber of hi
household. !
It is net my intentien te say what
kind ef a cow is the best for dairy
purposes. That -is a problem which
dairymen should decide for themselves,
but, as a rule, the cow t keep is the
one which you fancy most and is best
suite! to the surroundings you have to.
offer. Pedigree will not make a cow
give milk, but pure-bred sires are nec
essary in order, to have high class
graues. inerctore, it is necessary to
keep a pure-bred sire at the head of
the herd and also to be very careful in
the matter of selection.
Insist that the sanitary conditions
around your stable are the best pos
sible. Be prompt at milking time. Give
the herd the best of care in the matter
of feed, salt and water. Keep the cows
clean, and permit no one to ubo rough
methods or use obscene language in your
cow barn. Have a grent big heart for
your "job." Your work must be done
right; and assuredly, the farmer who is
willing to adapt himself to the require
ments demanded by the country will be
a guccessrui dairyman.
PRUNING TREES.
Professor Thornber Tells How to
Procure Best Results.
From Washing-ton State College, Pullman.
In response to an inquiry from Sher
lock, Professor W. A. Thornber gave
the following discussion of pruning :
"When trees produce too much
wood, and not enough fruit, or no fruit
at all, it is well to prune them very
severely in the summer time, say
about June; also cut them back at
that time. This is to give the trees a
check, and make them produce fruit
buds, rather than wood. Here at the
station, in the case of young trees, we
do considerable early spring, or winter
pruning, in order to make the trees
produce large quantities of wood. We
are thoroughly convinced that it is
well for a young tree to produce large
quantities of wood, even though you
have to cut it out the following spring.
This extra growth gives a splendid
root development, and this is necessary
before you can secure a good tree. In
the case of trees that have been graft
ed, I would recommend that you re
move the suckers just as fast as the
scions seem able to take care of the
entire food supply. In cases where
the tree is a very rank grower, I fre
quently leave a few suckers around the
graft, so that the graft may become
hardened, and not make such a soft
growth.
"Another good plan, at times feas
ible, is to keep an orchard in grass,
and check the growth somewhat in
that way. The western soils and an
excess of moisture are very conducive
to a heavy growth of wood; therefore
it is somewhat advisable to grow grass
in the orchard, with the idea of check
ing the growth in this way. Some of
our most successful applegrowers west
of the Cascades, make a practice of
growing grass in their orchards to pre
vent the growth. The station does
not advise you to make use of any
kind of fertilizer whatever. A small
amount of potash would serve the pur
pose to make the trees more fruitful,
but under no conditions do we advise
the use of barnyard manure, or nitro
gen, since this would only exhilarate
the growth. In your locality, I think
you could grow the Gravenstein, North
ern Spy, Rhode Island Greening, Jona
than, and probably the Golden Russets
very successfully. The station now
has specimens of these apples from
your, locality, and they certainly show
up well."
A farmer residing near Larane in
quired about the "common Borrel."
Professor Beattie replied:
"This is not an extremely, serious
weed, although sometimes it does dam
age. If the sorrel has a tendency to
choke out the crop, it is an indication
that the land is rather deficient in
available plant food. You could im
prove the condition of your region by
growing some crop of alfalfa, clover,
vetch or peas, and plow such crops un
der, as this would put humus in the
soil, and improve its condition. On
the West side, this weed is very abund
ant in the worn-out soils, and the farm
ers find it desirable to 'lime' the soil,
to make more available plant food."
From the Washington State college,
Pullman.
Celery Salad.
One boiled egg, one raw egg, one ta
blespoonful salad oil, one teaspoonful
white sugar, one saltspoonful salt, one
altspoonful pepper, four tablespoon
fuis vinegar, one teaspoonful made
mustard. Cut the celery Into bits half
an Inch long and season. Eat at once,
before the vinegar Injures the crlspnesi
of the vegetable.
Molaaaea Cake,
One cup of molasses ; one-half cup ol
brown sugar; one-half cup of shorten
ing creamed with the sugar and mo
lasses; two well-beaten eggs; one tea
spoonful of baking soda dissolved la
a half-cup of sour milk; one teaspoon
ful of ginger; two cups of flour. Bake
In a sheet In a shallow pan, well great
d, in a alow orta.
SOMETHING FOX EVERYBODY
A hotel Is being built at Berlin which
will be the largest In the world,
Manhattan Is the most densely pol l
uted Island In the worlds 09,150 persons
to the square mile. -
In Massachusetts alone there Is mora
neglected water power going to waste
than is- available at Niagara Falls.
Nearly one-third of the immigrant
who arrive In the port of New York
never go beyond the city for a home.
There is a lot of poverty on Manhat
tan Island, but the assessment rolls give
$2,000 in taxable property to each In
habitant. Courts are a great expense to New
York City. The Jurors alone last year
cost $41(5,16S. The year before the cost
was $321,293.
In China there are match factories at
which only hand labor Is employed. One
of them, at Hsleh Chang, has 000 work
ers, 400 of whom are women.
When New York City's Catsklll aque
duct Is completed the city will have wa
ter enough for a population of 7,000,000,
without any cause for anxiety.
Hot weather has brought a marked
Increase in the number of children who
are taken to the New York hospitals for
treatment, and the diagnosis shows that
00 per cent of the trouble arises from
'mprotier feeding.
There has been a large Increase In
the number of emigrants from the port
of New York during the last year, but
the net result Is that the city is growing
at the rate of about 32,000 a month
through immigration.
An electric railway Is being built on
the Zugspitze, the highest peak lu the
Alps on Bavarian territory. Its height
Is about 10,000 feet. The railway will
run to the summit, while a hotel will
be built at the 7,000-foot level.
There nre some large profits made on
goods sold in New York City, but the
greatest percentage goes to the retailers
of jewelry that has imitation precious
stones in Us composition. The profit Is
often one thousand times as much as
the goods cost. To get $40 for what
cost 40 cents is quite usual.
"The Swamp Angel" was the name
given by the Federal soldiers to an
eight-Inch Parrot gun which was
mounted on a battery built on piles
driven Into a swump outside of Charles
ton, S. C, and aised during the 6lege of
that city. It burst Aug. 22. 1803. After
the war It was bought with some con
demned metal and sent to Trenton to
be melted, but, having been identified,
was set up on a granite base on the
corner of Ferry and Clinton streets Id
that city.
Two odd-looking craft are to be seer,
at work on the St. Lawrence ship
canal. They nre used for removal of
bowlders which are too large for a
dredge to lift or to clear the bottom
before the dredge Is placed to work at
any locality. The lifter consists of a
wooden-hulled boat with a middle well,
through which the large sixty-ton ca
pacity tongs or grips can descend to
the river bottom, there to pick up bowl
ders, which can be hauled to the deck
by the hoisting engine situnted aft.
The new Chinese Board of Education
proposes to establish a Shih-fan
Hsueh-tang, or civil normal college, in
Peking, for training teachers for ser
vice in the various civil schools and
colleges throughout the empire. In ad
dition to Chinese classic, says Har
per'a Weekly, English, French, German,
Russian and Japanese will be taught in
the proposed college, under the instruc
tion of experienced tenehers. The col
lege will be established in the Chinese
city in the course of the present year,
and the annual expenditure Is esti
mated to be nbout 100,000 taols (about
$70,000).
Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria
was 78 years old on Aug. 13, but he
is still an ardent hunter. Ilavlng set
tled down at Ischl for his eummor hol
iday, the Emperor lost no time In be
glrnlng his favorite sport of deer shoot
ing. In the first formal court shoot the
Emperor and his party drove In car
riages as far into the mountains as pos
sible and then took to horses. But
after riding for a qunrter of an hour
his Majesty was forced to walk the rest
of the way up the Steinberg, 5,000 feet
high. An hour's climb brought the
party to the hunttng ground, and the
Emperor shot four stags.
The readiness of Japan and China
in adapting themselves to Western
methods of electrification, says the
Railway News, is to-day amply evi
denced in the work going on In the
large cities of these two countries.
Yokohama has its electric tramways!
Toklo, the capital of Japan, has a fine
system of electric railways. The rail
way engineers and directors are Japan
ese. Shanghai has recently completed
a splendid system of tramways, and
Hong-Kong has operated street rail
ways for several years with good re
sults. There are many other cities In
Japan and China which will undoubt
edly follow the example of these cities.