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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1901)
GORVA SEMI-WEEKLY, SliWir i Consolidated Feb., 1899. CORVALLIS, BENTON COUXTY, OREGON, TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1901. VOL.1. NO. 46. GAZETTE. THE CONFESSION. Where Peter guarded heaven's gate A woman caine, one day, And meekly knocked and meekly said: "Oh, let me in, I pray!" -And many a fairer one than she ' The good old saint had sighed to see forever turned away. V "And why," he asked, "should I unbar The gate to let you in? Is there upon your heart no scar, And did you never sin? Nay, look me fairly in the face And hurry up and plead your ease I'm waiting come begin!" "Ah, yes! I must confess I sinned," The one without replied; "To keep from paining others I Well, often, Sir I lied! But pray do not condemn me yet, I have some virtues I would set Upon the other side! "I didn't hate my husband's folks, Nor run them down," said she; "I let him love his mother, and Be kind to her, and he Could talk to other women who Were young and Withe and comely, too, Without offending me. "I never, never made him wait A dismal hour or two; When he and I agreed to meet I got there! And I threw No slurs nor ever tried to taint The names of pure " "Ah," said the saint, "Come in, you angel, you!" Chicago Times-Herald. Lady Alice's Novel. frp HEN that's all settled?" reniark- J ed Lady Alice. "I think there is nothing more to be ah discussed," ponderously re plied Mr. Popham of the great publish ing firm of Popham & Snell. Lady Alice rose and walked to the looking glass above the great mantel piece In Mr. Popham's room. She, In the most unembarrassed manner, gave the tiniest tilt to the big picture hat she wore, and the most imperceptible pat to the fair curls ou her forehead. "And," said she, without turning round, "what about the writing of the novel?" Mr. Popham's bushy white eyebrows went up. "The writing of a novel is, as a mat ter of practice, generally left to the ah author," he observed. "You ah surely don't propose " "What I propose Is this," broke in Lady Alice impetuously. "I'll give you the plot of the story, and the general Idea, and and all that, and you must find gome respectable person to do the writing." "Tni ah Is most unusual," bald Mr. Popham helplessly. "I can't help It," remarked his visitor coolly. "Surely you have people about who are capable of such a simple task?" She looked round the room vaguely, as If expecting to find ready writers concealed in all the cupboards and pro ducible at a moment's notice. Mr. Popham rose. He rubbed his glasses in a bewildered way. He was a stout man, with many chins and a shining head the head of a man with a large balance at his banker's. "My dear lady," he said at length "my dear lady!" "Well," said Lady Alice with a small frown. "You understand. Lady Alice," said Mr. Popham in the same helpless way, "that when we undertake to publish a book as a general rule we confine our selves to the business of printing, bind ing, advertising and distributing the ah work. The writing of it, we find. Is generally preferred to be done by the author personally. Still, if you are serious in what you say " "Of course I am," interrupted Lady Alice. "I dare say," continued the publish er, "I might find some suitable person. Let me think. Ah, yes! A young man a Mr. Thorpe, I think called on us a few days ago with the manuscript of a war novel a kind of goods with Which the market is considerably over stocked. He mentioned that he was anxious to get some sort of employ ment, either temporary or permanent, and I have managed to send him some translating to do." "Do you think he would suit?" in quired the would-be author. "I think so yes," returned Mr. Pop ham. "He appears to be able to write tolerably well. He has ah just re turned from South Africa, where he was In some ah Irregular corps or an other, I believe." "How jolly!" cried Lady Alice. "Please send him to me as soon ae pos sible, dear Mr. Popham. Thank you so very much." Lady Alice Lyllle was the only and spoiled daughter of a venerable orna ment of the peerage, whom she ruled with a rod of Iron. Pretty, clever and rich, she had reached her twenty fourth birthday without marrying, and the gossips were beginning to look knowing when "dear Lai" was men tioned in the course of conversation. Meanwhile, "dear Lai" recked not at all. She was a girl of many hobbies. Photography, spiritualism and sports of various kinds each had their little day-or, one would rather say, hour with this versatile young woman. Then music reigned and Lady Alice compos ed a "Mafeklng March," which was "arranged" by the patient professor, who guided her somewhat erratic foot steps along the paths- of composition. Finally Lady Alice decided that she must write a novel. "That stupid Lady Lister has written one or. says she has," remarked the young woman "and I'm sure I'm better able to write li decent novel than she." Hence the visit to the great publish ing firm, and the proposition which so startled Mr. Popham. Punctually at 10 o'clock a tall, sol dierly man, whose shabby clothes cov ered a spare, sinewy, well-knit figure, was ushered in. His age might have been 29, but his dark hair was begin nlug to thin, and there was a great disgust and weariness in his eyes. He wore a pointed beard, and his mus taches were fiercely turned up toward his eyes. . "Mr. Thorpe?"' queried Lady Alice. The visitor admitted his- identity. "I'm so impatient!" proceeded Lady Alice. "Where will you sit? Do begin at once, please!" The meek person poised her pencil, and two pairs of feminine eyes gazed expectantly upon Mr. Thorpe. "I think It would be better," remark ed that gentleman, "if I had some gen eral idea of the plot you propose." - "Oh, yes! How stuoid!' eavlv cried his collaborator. "I don't think vou need wait this morning, then, Miss (jrowing. Come again to-morrow at 10. By then we shall have settled the plot, and we can begin the writing." Miss Golding gone. Ladv Alice eaz ed meditatively into the fire for a few moments. "Well," she announced at length, "it's got to be about a girl." "Yes." "And a man." "Quite so." "And they must fall in love, you Know. "Naturally." "And they can't marry for ever so long, and people trv to keen thorn apart, and they have each other at the end. l like happy endings," remarked happy Lady Alice, with a judicial air. There was a short silence. "Hasn't something like that been done before?" Mr. Thorpe ventured to ask. "I suppose it has," admitted Lady Al ice disconsolately. "All the stories have been done before, I think. Both er!" "But we might do it over again," sug gested Mr. Thorpe. "Only in a differ ent way, you know." .. . "Oh, so we might!" cried Lady Alice Joyfully. "How clever of you. Do let's!" The writing of the novel went mer rily on for about a week, when one morning a radiant vision floated into the morning room and announced that it was the chairwoman of the Society for Bettering the Conditions of the Middle Classes, and that there was a committee meeting at 11:30. . "So we shan't be able to do any novel this morning," continued Lady Alice. "Don't wait. Miss Golding." The meek person removed herself, but Mr. Thorpe seemed in no hurry to go. He continued to gaze at Lady Alice, who certainly was worth look ing upon. Her gown was an exquisite creation, but it was upon a simple,' al most shabby, little pearl brooch at the throat that Thorpe's eyes were fixed. "I see you've had your brooch mend ed, Lai?" he said in a strained voice. Lady Alice paled. "The brooch Dick's brooch? Why, what " she gasped, with her eyes riveted on the pallid face before her. Then she took a step forward, "Dick!" she cried. "You know Dick?" "No," answered Mr. Thorpe. "I am" Dick! It was the beard and losing my hair, I suppose, that prevented you rec ognizing me." - , . He walked toward the door. "Stop, Dick!" whispered Lady Alice. "We must finish the novel, you know." "It will never be finished," he an swered roughly. He turned from her to hide his ghastly face. "You must stop, Dick!" panted Lady Alice. "Listen! I want to write an other novel. I'll tell you the plot." She came closer to him and laid her hand on his arm. He shook from head to foot. -". "It's about two people," panted his lost sweetheart. "And they were en gaged and awfully in love. Then the man lost all his money and went to South Africa to make some more, and the silly girl promised to wait for him for she was really awfully fond of him, you know." . - "Ah, stop in pity!" he cried. "I can't bear it!" She went on; "And when he was getting on very well the horrible war broke out and ruined him over again. Then he wrote to the girl, and released her from the engagement, and It nearly killed her. But he didn't carerHe enlisted in some Irregulars, and behaved like a hero, and got mentioned in dispatches, and all sorts of things. Don't be impatient, Dick; I've nearly finished. Well, then he came back, and he didn't tell the girl who he was, although he met her again. He was so cruel and hard-hearted. Oh, he was a brute. Dick! And the poor girl was breaking her heart for him all the time, and people won dered why she didn't marry, for she was eettinir finite old nearlv twentv- five! And he was actually going away from her again, and she got so desper ate she had to speak. And oh. Dick. can't you see?" Dick saw, and that is why Lady Alice's novel was never finished. Salvation Army Collections. By means of small boxes, called "grace before-meat" -boxes put on the table for the receipt of coppers as a thank offering for meals the total amount collected by the Salvation army last year, In England, was 11,000. Corks in Great Britain. Nearly 75,000 tons of corks are need ed for the bottled beer and aerated waters consumed annually in Great Britain. A stag party would; be much more enjoyable If a few dears were Invited. Yowm A Potato Flfftat. A rainy day is almost sure to be a tedious day to every healthy, normal boy. Checkers, after a time, lose their charm, and books cease to be of Interest. The boy stretches, kicks out his legs Impatiently and casts many wistful glances out of the windows. He Is tired of sitting still. After holding healthy animal spirits in check for the larger part of a day they are likely to break loose with a rush. Few sports are better calculated than a potato Joust to amuse Imprisoned boys. It has all the joys of a combat. and yet, try as he will, there is no pos sibility for any boy to become rough. In the potato Joust each warrior is armed with a fork, on the end of which is a potato. The combatants take their position in the center of the play room, facing each other. They should be sep arated by not less than three feet. Each must lift a leg from the floor, as shown In the illustration. The fighters may use their own discretion as to which leg shall be lifted from the floor, and may hold it up with either hand they like. A small cushion placed under POSITIONS FOR THR FIGHT. the kuee will add materially to the com fort of the contestants. The battle is decided by one of the warriors knocking the potato from his opponent's fork. Topping over three times is also counted as a defeat. If one of the knights is obliged to let go of his foot in order to keep his balance it is counted as a fall. Every time the battle Is interrupted in this way either of the contestants is at liberty to change the foot he is resting upon. If one of the warriors falls against the other and upsets him It Is counted against the one who Is responsible for the tumble. You are not likely to real ize on your first introduction to a po tato joust the amount of skill and' prac tice required to really become expert in handling the fork. A slight turn of the wrist, a quick push and the prac ticed knight will defeat the novice; so deftly, so easily, that you are left yon dering how he did it. Practice is the only way to learn how he dld.it. One or two axioms all the help I can give the novice. Move your fork as little as possible; long, sweeping strokes are more likely to throw off your own potato than to Interfere with that of your opponent. The most dangerous stroke is one from underneath; always. maneuver to keep your potato below that of your antagonist. T'n Rules of Politeness. 1. To be polite is to have a kind re gard for the feelings and rights of oth ers. 2. Be as polite to your parents, broth ers, sisters and schoolmates as you are to strangers. 3. Look people fairly in the eyes when you speak to them or they speak to you. 4. Do not bluntly contradict any one. 5. It Is not discourteous to refuse to do wrong. 6. Whispering, laughing, chewing gum or eating at lectures, in school, or at places of amusement, is rude and vulgar. 7. Be doubly careful to avoid any rudeness to strangers, such as calling out to them, laughing or making re marks about them. Do not stare at visitors. 8. In passing a pen, pencil, knife, or pointer, hand the blunt end toward the one who receives It. 9. When a classmate Is reciting, do not raise your hand until after he has finished. 10. When you pass directly in front of any one or accidentally annoy him, say, "Excnse me," and never fail to say. "Thank you" for the smallest fa vor. On no account say "Thanks." School Rules of Santa Barbara, Cal. The Sena' tive Kettle. "I don't feel well," the Kettle sighed, The Pot responded "Eh?" Then doubtless that's the reason, marm, You do not sing to-day. "But what's amiss?" the Kettle sobbed, "Why, sir, you're surely blind, Or you'd have noticed that the cook Is shockingly unkind. "I watched her make a cake just now If I'd a pair of legs I'd run away! Oh, dear! oh, dear! How she did beat the eggs! "Nor was that all remember, please, 'Tis truth I tell to you For with my own two eyes I saw Her stone the raisins, too! "And afterward a dreadful sight I felt inclined to scream! The cruel creature took a fork And soundly whipped the cream! "Now can you wonder that my nerves Have rather given way? Although I'm at the boiling point, - I cannot sing to-day." Felix Leigh. Musical Dost of Pa It Take City. There is a church bell on the east ids, gays the Salt Lake City Tribune, that 'seems to have a peculiar attrac tion for the dogs in the vicinity. Each Sunday morning, as soon as the bell begins its noise, many of the canines in the neighborhood prick up their ears and start In single file for the church. Arriving there they array themselves in front and start iii on a yowling obligate This beautiful vo cal effort Is persevered in as long as the bell keeps going, and when it stops the. dogs feel that their duty has been done, and, dropping their ears and voices, start home again. Instinct in Bect'es. Beetles exhibit a wonderful instinct In caring for their eggs during winter. Among some species the eggs are rolled in balls of material suitable for food and then the balls are packed away in a nest until the Infant beetle wakes up and eats Its way out Then there are the "sexton" beetles, which deposit their eggs in the bodies of dead birds or field mice, after which they set to work and perform the proper rites of burial, heaping the earth upon the body of the dead. The young beetle when hatched from the egg finds a store of food awaiting Its arrival in the world. Must Have Been Poor. "Mamma," said small Harry after glancing over his Sunday school lesson, "I don't believe Solomon was half so rich as they say he was." "Why not, my dear?" queried his mother. . "Because," replied the youthful stu dent, "It says here, 'And he slept with his fathers.'' If he had been very rich I guess he would have had a bed of his own." GREAT LUCK IN MINING. Millionaire Rate) It Below Technical Knowledge and Ability. "One of the most valuable mines in the world, the United Verde copper mine, at Jerome, Ariz., was discovered by one of the swarm of prospectors tl'Ht succeeded Gen. Howard's captive Indians at Camp Verdi-. It was work ed unprofitably for years. Senator William A. Clark of Urmtauii, secured control of it for about $00,000, says a writer in Ainslee's. He built a rail road and a smelter, and applied im proved methods to tho development of tht property. To-day it is paying at ilio rate of $12,000,000 a year. "Senator Clark started in life driv ing a mule team to haul supplies into western mining camps. To-day he is the richest mining man in the western hemisphere, if not in the world. He was asked two questions: . " 'How much of it part does chauce play in achieving slieses in mining as compared with scientific knowledge and business ability?" " 'What are the ehmoes for success in mining as compared with other lines ft business?' " Here are his replies: ' "Chance may be a factor In ..tie ac quisition of a good mining property, bill -there Its operations cease. The de velopment and the operations which loliow depend largely on technical knowledge in the treatment of ores as well as on competent business ability and good judgment. " 'The chances of success in the min ing Industry are equally good if not better than the chances in any other legitimate business, provided it is man aged on business principles. I have known many instances where persons acquired very valuable mining proper ty, but their incompetency, resulted in absolute failure.' "In a similar vein another wealthy mint-owner, former Senator U. C. Chambers of Utah, sas: " "Not one in 200 prospectors "strikes it rich" through luck. W. one in fifty di aspects is worth anchin. Mining is a business, but it Is uot.a pjor man's business. If a man hai lost all he has tht.'e is a chance for hi in to work until re has got .together a little inoney, si.-irt out over the hill 3 and perhaps tups get rich. But the most money is i:'ade by men of means who invest carefully.' " ' "Doing" Astor Library. The " elderly lady " marshaled the younger one through the library portal with some dignity, and swept with her over to the obliging gentleman who re lieves the entering reader of his cane and overcoat. "This is the Astor li brary, is it not?" "Yes, madam." "And It has some 300,000 volumes now?" ' ''Yes, madam." - "It was started by John Jacob Astor in 1848 with a donation of $400,000, I believe?" "Yes, madam.' If you wish any in formation you " "And he gave $550,000 more at his death, and his son donated $800,000 in 1881, I understand?" "Why, yes, I " "Well, Lizzie," and the elderly lady sighed with the satisfaction of a duty done, "you can see some of the books up there, through that glass door; and these are the marble busts. Now we must hurry along and do the Cooper Union." New York Commercial Adver tiser. Proof Positive. "I am sinking for the third time!" shrieked the woman in the water. "Are you positive of this?" asked the youth who was waiting to rescue her, ill concealing his anxiety the while. "Oh, quite!" the woman protested. "For I am at this moment distinctly re calling everything in my past life! 1 remember the real color of my hair as if it were but yesterday that I" "Say no more!" cried the - youth, plunging forthwith Into the Icy flood. The spectators cheered wildly, for never in their lives had they seen the thing more gracefully done. Detroit Journal. RAM'S HORN BLASTS. Warning Notes Calling the Wicked to Repentance. EAVEN may In clude earth. The dance Is the devil's litany. You can never teach a toad to trot. You will not make heaven less your home by making home heavenly. There Is much difference between being washed white and being white-washed. Every man has his own message. Souls are not saved by slovenly ser vice. Probably Paul was a D. D. before he was converted. When love calls Him Lord there is no sweeter word. The magnified church will often mean the minimized Christ. He who takes all he can get often gets more than he can take. The only way to have the very pres ent help is to have the ever present Helper. The preacher's oratory in the sanctu ary must fail unless prayer has Its oratory in his soul. The preacher who thinks only of pruning flowers of rhetoric will pluck little of the fruit of righteousness. SET A PRECEDENT IN WAR. Battle of New Orleans Showed Value of Good Marksmanship. "The battle of New Orleans was the first occasion in history," said an ex officer of volunteers, "in which highly disciplined troops, working together with machinelike precision, were pitted against individual marksmen, and it is a curious fact that the tactics adopted by the Americans in that engagement are just now, after the lapse of nearly a century, being recognized by modern military authorities as the proper way to fight. Our British cousins are a lit tle slow to learn," continued the ex officer, "and history has to repeat itself a few times before it attracts their at tention. Nevertheless it seems very strange that the lesson they received at Chalmette in 1815 should have been duplicated in almost every particular only two years ago at the Tugela Riv er. On both occasions they were con fronted by earthworks manned by ci vilian sharpshooters and attempted to rush them with compact masses of splendidly drilled professional' soldiers, and on both occasions they were frightfully and expeditiously licked. "After the Tugela River disaster they began to do a little hard thinking and finally came to the conclusion that one skilled rifleman who fights on his own hook and brings down a man every time he pulls the trigger Is worth twenty fancy-drilled soldiers who fire in squads and never hit anything ex cept the landscape. But they might have acquired exactly the same infor mation eighty-six years ago at New Orleans, and when I read the accounts of that remarkable battle I. am filled with admiration for the genius of An drew Jackson. The majority of his troops were rough backwoodsmen who knew nothing about the manual of arms, but were magnificent rifle shots. Jackson wasted no time at drills and the only advice he gave was not to throw away any ammunition and wait until they saw 'the whites of the ene my's eyes' before they fired. That was his sole chance of winning the day, and if he had commanded a similar number of trained veterans he would have been simply overwhelmed. As it was his backwoodsmen picked off the British one by one and literally an nihilated whole battalions before they could reach the foot of the intrench ments. . "It is absolutely certain, In my opin ion, that the fighting of the future will be done in that fashion. Less and less attention will be paid to drills and more and more attention will be paid to target practice. When an army en ters into action It will spread out in 'open formation' and every fellow will proceed to make It a personal affair. That's the view taken by the leading authorities of the present day, but the originator of the idea was the grim old gentleman whose effigy bestrides the prancing steed In Jackson square. He was over three-quarters "of a cen tury in advance of the times." New Orleans Times-Democrat Extraordinary. "I am no ordinary murderer!" he cries and these words of his sink deep into our hearts. ' Years pass. His case has been np to the Supreme court, and today the man hangs. We are greatly shocked to find him partaking with evident relish of a sub stantial breakfast of ham and .eggs. "You told us you were no ordinary murderer!" we protest "Ay, and truly!" exclaims he. "For last night I did not chat with the death watch!" In thought we had all but done him an injustice. Detroit Journal. Unnecessary. Many years ago an Allen county man announced himself as a canidate for the Legislature. "But you can't make a speech," objected a friend. "Oh, that doesn't make' any differ ence," innocently responded the candi date, "for the House always elects a Speaker." Iola (Kan.) Register. It is a poor widow who can't remar ry. . Rich ones are soon gobbled; np. Virtue Is its own reward and no questions asked. About Seed Wheat. The experiment stations and farmers who have trained themselves to close observation of cause and effect have given evidence many times that the amount and quality of the wheat crop and of other grain crops depend large ly upon the quality of the seed used. The larger and plumper seed gives the most vigorous growing plant. It stools out more, usually has a stiffer straw. if it is not forced by the use of too rank a fertilizer, by which we mean one too rich in nitrogen, and therefore the bet ter the crop. But there are other things desirable in a good grain crop. One Is to secure large heads well filled, and It may also be desirable to have the grain grow rapidly and mature early either to obtain the best result in a short sea son or to escape Insect attacks. The best way to secure this would be to se lect the earliest maturing large heads to De found and reserve them for seed. The farmer who sows large areas may think this too much trouble to get all the seed he needs, but he should remem ber that If there is a profit in doing so for one acre there would be a greater profit in doing so on a hundred. A mod ification of this plan is to select in this way enough to sow a small plot very thin, so that each plant will have a chance to do its best, and then reserve a piece of the best land to sow that on it to produce seed wheat. A continua tion of this process for a few years would result in the production of an extra early, hardy and prolific wheat Overfat StocV. It Is beginning to dawn upon the minds of farmers and feeders that there is such a thing as having animals too fat for the slaughter as well as for breeding purposes. Butchers and marketmen have long known it but they made themselves safe by weigh ing the meat before cutting off the fat, a practice which they will probably keep up until the customer complains that he gets only 12 ounces of meat to the pound. But he would complain quite as badly if he had the other four ounces in fat that none of the family would care to eat. Then the price must be increased if the surplus fat Is to be trimmed off before weighing. This Is one reason for the popularity of the baby beef that has been well fed from birth. Having been growing while It was fattening the fat Is not all in a layer upon the outside of the meat or stored up around the kidneys, but the whole flesh is tender, juicy and just fat enough. The same thing is true in mutton, and a well-fed yearling gives better satisfaction than the three-year-old wether that once used to be called the best. Even some of the judges at fat stock shows are beginning to look a little shy at animals with great lumps of fat plastered along the backbone. Effects of Lime on Soils. There are certain soils in which lime is naturally deficient, though the use of ground bone, acid phosphate and wood ashes for the sake of the phos phoric acid or potash in them helps to Increase the lime often to the full amount of its needs. So also does the use of land plaster, gypsum or sulphate of lime, which are all the same thing, though sold under all three names. While lime will accumulate in a dry soil it leaches out of a damp soil or In a damp climate, which helps to explain why It should and does prove beneficial to apply dry slaked lime to soils where the lime rocks abounds. Whatever of the lime has become free may have leach ed away. Good results may be expect ed from Its use where the soil is nat urally deficient in it, or where It has become acid or sour, a frequent result of the presence of stagnant water in undrained land, where other plant food elements are In the soil, but largely un- avnuauie, iroin a kick or inaDUity and porousness. This may be in stiff, heavy soils, and the use of lime will help to ngnten them np. Lime also holds mois ture and prevents leaching In loose soils, and helps to destroy insects and fungous diseases. Feeding Acorns. A writer in Farm and Home, Lon don, England, says that he has lost over sixty deer out of a herd of 200, losing rrom tawns to four years old. A veterinary was called, who said they were poisoned by eating too many acorns. The husk caused indigestion and destroyed coating or lining of the stomach. Also lost several young cat tle in the same way. while older cat tle lost flesh, pined away and required weeks to recover from the effects of It Sheep were taken out when acorns be gan to fall, so had no loss among them. As the grass was short because of drought, cattle and deer ate acorns freely. The editor says the hog Is the only animal that can safely eat any quantity of acorns, and he only when having exercise and plenty of grass or other succulent food. When gathered and well ripened they are safe food in limited quantities. Another writer In the same paper says If ducks feed on acorns the yolk of the egg will be a greenish yellow and nearly black when cooked. Working Butter. When butter making we used to work our butter. In the churn. After it reached the granular form or perhaps a little coarser than is now thought the right thing the buttermilk was drawn off. If any butter ran out with It, It was skimmed or strained out and put back. Then it was washed in clear water once or twice, and once in water to which salt had been added. A little stirring In this cold brine brought the lumps together in a solid mass and took out the last vestige of buttermilk, and then we spread It about and added salt 1 ounces to the pound, and work ed It together. As soon as It was cool It was ready to make Into prints, which process removed all extra moisture. There may be better methods now, but we made good butter. American Cultivator. Stack Hit. Feed stack hay before that stored In the barn to avoid loss. While the hay will dry out nearly as much in one place as in another, there Is a far great er loss In feeding value in that put up in stacks due to spoiling on top by the weather and on the bottom by damp ness from the ground. The Colorado experiment station found the loss to be 12.4 per cent In feeding value in stack ed hay and but 2.5 per cent In that stored In barns, a difference of 10 per cent. Thus nine tons of hay put In the barn will feed as much stock as ten tons put in stack. When this test was made, the conditions were more favora ble than the average season for feeding stack hay. American Agriculturist Intelligence of Farmers. I really don't see why a farmer shouldn't be as well posted in general matters as any other of the professions, says a contributor to a farm paper. As sure as you live, neither doctors, law yers nor preachers are burdened with overmuch knowledge. The wide-awake farmer is hand and glove with nature. The first astronomers were farmers most certainly. Before the North Star rose above the northern horizon they were Improving the varieties of wheat And those of their number who were largely shepherds had calculated the time length of the solar year within seventeen seconds. The doctors had discovered a quick road to death, 1. e., they had discovered strychnine. Hay, Straw and Grain Feed. At the experiment station in Fargo, N. D they have been trying some of the various feeds for horses, and find that hay from brome grass was as good as that from the best timothy, but when oat straw was used they needed 25 per cent more grain than when they fed good hay. Barley did not give as good results as oats for horses. Ear corn proved good for the working horses, 77 pounds being equal to 100 ponnds of oats. Bran and shorts mix ed proved equal to oats. Grain Weevils. It Is said that the grain weevil has a natural dislike to salt, and that wheat or other grain stored in salt sacks was not touched by them, while that In other sacks in the same pile was bad ly infested and virtually ruined by weevils. If this Is true it would be a simple matter to dip all grain sacks In brine and dry them before using, or perhaps to surround the grain bins with salted sacks. It is an experiment worthy of trial. Packasres for Honey. A large amount of money is spent in costly glass packages for honey. The consumer has to pay for these .packages.- When the consumer is as sure ' of getting pure honey in a tin can as he is now sure of getting pure rolled oats in a pasteboard box, then he will get his honey cheaper. When he can buy a five or ten-pound can of honey the cost of the package will not count In the price. Beef and Dairying;. Not all the farmers In the West will care to go Into the beef producing busi ness. There are some sections where dairying has become established and successful, and where this Is the case It will doubtless be the most successful to pursue It, as frequent changes from one branch of farming to another are generally demoralizing and unprofit able. The Winter Muskmelon. Reports of poor success with the Per sian winter muskmelon, which has been a good deal talked of for several sea sons, come from various quarters. Some who have grown It claim that it Is about like the old casaba melon and apparently no better or longer keeper. Grit for Ducks. Grit is absolutely necessary. It should not only be kept together with cracked oyster shells, In boxes constant ly by them, but mixed also in their food. They must have something dur ing confinement In bad weather to en able them to assimilate their food. Exercise for Hoars. To produce the best pork hogs should have exercise. A lazy, sleepy hog may fatten faster, but the flesh will not be so good. Poultry Notes. Never feed laying hens on one certain diet or any coarse grain that will pro duce fat It costs no more to select the best and improve the flock than it does to breed without regard to system. One advantage with ducks is that a large number can be raised on a small space, but more is required. Fowls in the orchard work a twofold benefit, the orchard and the fowls se curing better growth with both. When hens have scours a good remedy- is to feed powdered chalk In their soft feed, but the best regulative Is a variety, of food. "Geese live many years and It Is of no advantage to sell off the old stock, as they are the best for breeding purposes. as also for feathers. If it is desired to have the greatest number of pounds of meat produced with the smallest amonnt of feed select the large breeds Cochins, Brahmas oc Dorkings. - V