1 topics or the Times 1 i J The oeef trust didn't order the roast It ia getting. A weather prophet is pretty well sat isfied If he comes close to hitting the bull's-eye. The wife of the trading stamp king bas been given an absolute divorce, without trading stamps. Perhaps Dr. Cook has taken the fcroad ground that It is useless to ar gue after one has the money. How large is Nicaragua? Placed on t map of Texas it would occupy about as much relative space as a bean on a biscuit. Irving Fisher, professor of political economy at Yale, says the gold mar ket is glutted. Have you turned away any gold this morning? Carrie Nation says she has declined two offers of marriage within the past month, which shows that she is not necessarily severe on all men. Peary thinks Roosevelt would he a rood man to send out for the purpose of discovering the south pole. "No, the tormer President has too many friends. The price of diamonds is advan cing. We understand that this is due to the fact that so many farmers are refusing to have any but diamond studded automobiles. Flint, Mich., is now on the map in large letters. Its postal receipts show a larger increase than any other city in the United States, Its closest com petitor heing Seattle. A Jury has decided that after a trav eler has paid his hotel bill the land lord cannot be held responsible for bag gage that may have been stolen. Don't pay till you are ready to depart. Louis Paulhan, the French aviator, tas attained a height of 4,000 feet with his aeroplane. Why this eager ness to go so high? The damage would probably be Just as great if one fell a mere 2,000 feet. Speaking from experience, a Chica go drummer, who has been on the road for twenty-two years, says anybody can sell goods everybody wants, but it takes a real salesman to dispose of something' that everybody ought to want More than 7,000 people residing upon Paris street have petitioned that its name be changed. Since the sixteenth century it has been known as the Rue des Mauvais-Garcons Bad Boys street and whether the name no longer fits, or fits too well, Is not made plain in the petition. Careful search of ' the Prussian archives fails to produce any proof that Frederick the Great ever present ed to George Washington a sword with a complimentary Inscription concern ing the eldest general In the world and , the greatest. The tradition is a ven erable one almost as venerable and apparently as untrustworthy as that of the famous hatchet. The rapid tendency of the times at the present period Is toward centrali zation of power In all forms of polit ical, commercial and social life. How long this tendency will maintain Is a Question. In former epochs there has been manifested the same force among mankind, inevitably followed by disso lution, dispersion, division and then, again, the renewal of the power of centralization. Boston has lately held an exhibition devoted to the future a display of what the city is now and what It is hoped to make It In 1915. One of the most notable portions of it was con tributed by the churches. Catholics, Protectants and Jews worked together in the production of It, and those who question the vitality of the Christian religion in present times found there in an answer to their queries. The ex hibit Included a model of the tent sys tem of treating tuberculosis, maintain ed by Emmanuel Church, the Salvation Army rescue work, the looms of the Morgan Memorial, methods of reliev ing conditions in the slums, the his tory of the development of charities and educational work carried on by churches. The most vigorous critics of the churches, unfortunately, do not attend church services, and therefore do not know how eminently practical is a great deal of the work which religious organizations are now doing. Will the Bird-Man drive the birds from their kingdom of the air? It is reported from France that wherever the aeroplane soared, there occurred an exodus of feathered life. Wild ducks, discovering the huge Bird-Men, manifested terror and disappeared from the region. The possibility tat wild fowl will grow accustomed to aeroplanes as do horses to motorcars, may be dismissed. They do not grow accustomed to eagles and hawks. Nor will they see aeroplanes every day, as horses do motorcars, since wild fowl cross the temperate zone only in their annual migrations. Nor can it be ex pected that bird-intelligence ever will learn that aeroplanes and airships are machines. Whale and shark fight boats on the surface of the water, and if submersibles become numerous, per haps there will he more encounters in the deeps. Nothing whatever has suf ficed to modify the routes of the birds in their migrations south and north. Traps and guns have not changed those flights. They continue, until the species is exterminated. But will not aerial navies, when they become nu merous, chase the songsters and the wild fowl from the sky? As observed, the appearances of the aeroplanes alarm bird-life as nothing else done by man ever did. If a duck, hit by shot, drops from the flock, that Is an acci dent of life, the duck intelligence con siders. But the advent of a creature with the wings of a dragon the duck holds to be a supernatural and devilish event. Will our skies be depopulated by flying machines? Is man to have the kingdom of the air to himself, as he ha3 that of the land? Our grandmothers could have .re lated the biography of every garment they habitually wore. From the stock- luBa kuUlcd ly their own hands to the homespun' from their own looms, or the silk gown made up by the vis iting seamstress, each piece of cloth ing had Its own domestic history. To day all that Is changed. Scarcely any farmers wife could Elve account of her various garments. Where were her stockings woven or her corsets stitched? In what garret were the buttons sewed on her percale wrapper? In what great factory was her shirt waist cut out? In what distant city was the machinery which shaped her shoes? What New York tailor deter mined the lines of her serviceable ready-made suit?, These questions and a score of similar ones would be posers lor the average woman the country over. Since women have escaped re sponsibility for the making of many of the family garments, they .have ceased to be interested workers on those garments. These have become mere impersonal "hands," and their weariness or hunger or cold, their in sufficient wages or unhealthful condi tions, are too remote for the imagina tion to deal with. But the conscien tious woman Is beginning to realize that her own ease must not be pur chased by indifference to another's pain. She must find new ways to es tablish the personal sympathy between worker and buyer which ought to be one of the most fundamental and help ful of human relations. Unless she does so, some truth-telling poet will fling out another scathing arraignment which, like Hood's "Song of the Shirt," shall fbuse the reader to the misery of the underpaid and overworked, by the toll of whose fingers we to-day are comfortably clothed. PHONOGRAPHIC CASH REGISTER SATS "T11A.SK YOU." A cash register that announces the amount of a sale in human voice, as well as registering the figures, has been devised by a Minnesota inventor. When the keys are touched for a sale of, say, 1.65, certain phonographic reproducers are released and the ma chine sings out, "One-slx-flve." Such expressions as "Thank you," or "I think you will find these goods satis factory," may be added to the an nouncement of the sale. Popular Mechanics. Fairy Literature. "Father," said Little Rollo, "what is a prospectus?" "The kind I am mostly acquainted with, my son, Is the sort of fairy tale adapted to the tastes of adults instead of children." A nrnte, Indeed. "He's a brute!" "What's he been doing now?" "I threatened to leave him, and he told me he would button my gown up the back if I would hurry " When he is feeling tough, anyway, and the assessor raises his tax valua tion, a man can be about the moat dla aareeahla thin on earth. A Poat Driver. A homemade arrangement for driv es piles or posta is shown in the iketch. I consider a post driver one f the most useful Implements that I have on the farm, writes J. L. Ma somber in Farm and Home. This de vice is of very simple construction, and aside from the few pieces of iron, pul leys and the rope, any farmer can make It at home. The runners, a, are 9 ft. iong, made of good solid oak 6x4 in. thick. The 1 Tlt"" Sit' 9 TIIE HOMEMADE POST DRIVER. trosspieces, b, are of 4x4 oak, placed about 8 ft. apart. Firm braces, c, of 2x6 scantling, will strengthen . the frame. The uprights," d, are 14 or 18 ft. long, as desired, of 4x4 oak. The braces, e, may be 2x4. For the weight, f, a wooden block may be used, which Is either square or round. It should be about 18 Inches In diameter and 2 Mi ft. lODg, of solid oak or hickory. Some wood that will not split readily Is best. Grooves should be made In the side of the weight to take In the full width of the uprights. It is a good plan to bore an inch hole through the rear end of each runner, through which a peg may be driven to hold the de- the roaaer and the other with proper leverage. A rope or a chain attached to the short end of pole is thrown around the shock about half way up, and a fork handle thrust through above it so it will stay there and the whole shock Is lifted on the rack. Farm and Home. Small Farms. The farm unit is gradually becom ing smaller with the advance In the price of land. A well known real es tate agent in a certain locality told us recently that he had ten times as many calls for 40 acres as for 160 acre farms. The small farm is the best farm, all things considered, and peo ple are gradually coming to realize it and to look for small farms when pur chasing. The farmer of to-day is be ginning to learn that it is better to tramp over less ground and grow more to the acre. The taxes and fences on a large farm sometimes amount to more than the crops. There is great economy in all lines In the cultivation and management of a small farm. When the farmer knows that he has but a few acres to plant to corn, or any other crop he will use better seed, fertilize more heavily and cultivate better. If he grows -seventy to eighty bushels to the acre, say on ten acres, he is much better off than the larger farmer who cultivates twice as much and gets only thirty to forty bushels of corn to the acre. Chicago Weekly Inter Ocean. Nutriment In Dry Fodder. The Indiana agricultural experiment station has shown that dry fodder loses 25 to 85 per cent of Its nutrition as compared with corn silage In feed ing. That ought to commend the silage method of saving the corn fod der to any one. If one was losing that large a percentage in handling his wheat, corn or other cereals he would certainly change his methods to-something better when shown to him. This Is the plain truth about fodder and corn silage, and such facts ought to make any one feeding live stock take notice. Selecting; Laying; Hens. Not enough Importance is usually attached to the selection of laying hens. They must be properly cared for, If they are to lay well during both winter and summer. Houses must be kept sanitary and the fowls free from vermin. Care must be exercised to' avoid their being chased by dogs PLAN OF STABLE. 1 I I I moor CtlLA JTAkt, If STALL cow 4 TADLC 4TABH 1 ljl'1 1 J. 7r r-i - V The accompanying plan is a very convenient stable arrangement and economical of room. Rolling doors aro shown on almost all the openings, but swing doors can be substituted If desired. Corrugated iron Is recom mended for the roof, as' the wood covering to which roofing is attached may be only lMtx3 inch strips spaced 20 to 24 Inches on centers. About forty one squares will cover roof and to give nicely proportioned building the rafters exclusive of projections should be the same length on both roofs and the Blope of the lower should be 56 degrees from the horizontal, while that of the upper will be 14 degrees. To frame and inclose barn alone would cost about $200. vice In position while the post 16 be ing driven. The working of this device la simple. The weight is drawn up by horses hitched to the end of a rope, and when It arrives at the top of the uprights it Is released by the hook, 2, striking the block, 1, unhooking It from the rin, 3, which is attached to the driver block. Four or Ave blows will usually drive a pointed post to the required depth. Two men and a team will drive one-half to three-quarters of a mile of posts In a day. The cost of such an mplement Is about $5, and will pay 'or Itself In a short time. Swing for Loading; Fodder. There are a large number of contri vances made for loading shock fodder onto a wagon, some better than others. The illustration herewith shown is one FOB LOADING roDDEB. that Is In use In some localities where a good deal of fodder Is cut up. The rear laduer Is substituted wlta a stout post, well anchored to the rack, on top of which - is a pole so adjusted as to be able to reach out to one side for or other animals, or unnecessarily frightened. Poultry houses must be well ventilated, and one or more win dows should be opened every bright day, so that the house will not become warm during the day and grow cold again at night Clover for Hay, Why not grow clover? It is one of the best hay crops grown on America farms. It usually succeeds best with a nurse crop of wheat, oats or rye. If your land Is too sour for clover the wheat or "rye field can be limed and manured this winter, and the seed sown in early spring. If the clover is to be sown with oats the stalk field or other piece of land can be treated in a similar manner. Farm Notes. Pile potting soil In the sun to sweet en, "turning often. Proper feed and care is the secret of healthy chickens. Transplant shrubs and vines as soon as the foliage ripens. Remove all dead stalks and dried leaves from the flower beds. A ration of wheat and corn is bene ficial to the fattening turkeys. Do not feed poultry too much bar ley. A little will go a-long way. It is a great mistake to mark a hog by mutilating Its ears. Butter use a metal tag' It is a hard matter to overfeed the pullets at this time, for the extra nu trition is put into eggs. Tbe idea of perfect comfort should predominate in every building that la constructed for the hoes. SOMETHlfca FOE EVERYBODY The feathers of the wild ostrich are superior to those from farm birds. The cranking of an automobile may now be done from the chauffeur's seat. One of the first telephone exchanges In this country was opened in New Haven in 1878. The maximum wage of brakemen on English railways has just been fixed at $7.78 a week. Peanut cake seems to be supplant ing cotton seed cake as the preferred food 'for Swedish cattle. Vacuum suction combs are now in use in stables to curry horses. An electrically driven fan produces the necessary vacuum. In Liberia coffee trees attain a height of more than twenty feet. The price of the product is 8 and 9 cents a pound at the plantation. . The wireless apparatus on the Cu nard liner Caronla is the most power ful of any in steamship service, hav ing a radius of 1,200 miles. A new windmill apparatus for gen erating electricity for farm use has been perfected in England. A storage battery supplies the current when the wind is not blowing. At. one of the most important gro ceries in Hamburg they think they are doinir well to dispose of thirty to forty pounds a month of sweet po tatoes to resident Americans. That people will eat elephant meat with a relish has been proved by butcher in Frankfort-on-the-Maln, to his own profit and without the knowl edge of his customers. This enter prising tradesman learned that a vi cious elephant was to be killed and made a bargain for the carcass. With in a few days that elephant was trans formed into 3,800 pounds of sausage meat and every pound was disposed of at a good price. It was a year ago that the London post office directory contained for the first time among the list of trades "aeroplane manufacturers." There was only one then, but now six are enu merated under that heading. Subsid iary trades are springing up. Two firms announce themselves as aero plane engine manufacturers, two are aeroplane fabric makers and there Is one propeller maker, as well as a provider of "aeroplane timber and bends." Whltefleld, one of the founders of Methodism, who died in 1770, was a strenuous preacher. His usual pro gram was forty hours' solid speaking each, week, and this to congregations measured In thousands, but he often spoke sixty hours a week. This was not all. For "after his labors, instead of taking rest, he was engaged In of fering up prayers and Intercessions or in singing hymns, as his manner was, in every house to which he was in vited." Ia a woman ever Justified in pol sonlng her husband? The question is suggested by a recent incident 'In Servia. Sara Chumitch seems to have had an undesirable husband, for he was a notorious and implacable usurer. At the moment when he was about to ruin several families who were in debt his wife intervened and poisoned him. Next day she received a letter of gratitude, signed by hundreds of citizens. She waa acquitted by the Jury and left the court amid cheering crowds. Says the Pekin and Tien-Tsln Times: "A novel sort of crime was discov ered by the Tien-Tsln police when a portly native was arrested and asked to explain his embonpoint. He had a thieves' bag around his waist, filled with dead cats to the number of seven, One of them, a very fine specimen of the tortoise shell, was still quite warm. In a smaller' bag was found the lure; It consisted of bits of dried fish treated with some deadly .poison. The man was sent up to the yamen, where he received thirty blows and one month's Imprisonment." Ernesto Nathan, Mayor of Rome, who declined on several occasions to accept a decoration from King Victor Emmanuel, was finally forced by a clever ruse on the part of the king to take the grand cross of the crown of Italy. Nathan was making a call at the Quirinal, and when about to depart was asked to take from the queen a little parcel to his wife. The box contained the decoration, which the mayor was compelled to accept, and by virtue of which he became a member of the small fraternity of which his sovereign is the head. Although the use of telephones in mines Is not of recent origin, the ad vantages are, perhaps, hardly really appreciated until they have once been tried. Probably at no time in the his tory of mining has there been a great er demonstration of the great need of telephones In mines than at the Cher ry coal mine disaster. How many more lives could have been saved bad the mine been fully equipped with tele phones Is entirely problematical, but ' It is certain that the number would have been greater had opportunity been afforded for communication be tween the rescuers and the entombed men. Philadelphia Record