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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1901)
SEMI-WEEKLY. UNION Kstnb. July, 1S97. GAZETTE Bstab. Dec, 186. i Consolidated Feb., 1899. CORVAIililS, BENTON CO UNTY, OREGON, - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1901. VOX. n. NO. 20. Tbe Doctor' By Hesba CHAPTER II. Continued.) A little crumbling path led round the rock and along the edge of the ravine. I chose it because from it I could see all the fantastic shore, bending In a semi circle towards the isle of Breckhou, with tiny, untrodden bays, covered at this hour with only glittering ripples, and with all the soft and tender shadows of the head-lands falling across them. I was just giving my last look to them when the loose stones on the crumbling path gave way under my tread, and be fore I could recover my foothold I found myself slipping down the almost perpen dicular face of the cliff, and vainly clutching at every bramble and tuft of grass growing in its clefts. I landed with a shock far below, and for some time lay insensible. As nearly as I could make out, It would be high water in about two hours. Tardlf had set off at low w,ater, but before starting he had said something about returning at high tide, and running up his boat on the beach of our little bay. If he did that he must pass close by me. It was Sat urday morning, and he was in the habit of returning early on Saturdays, that he miirht DreDure for the services of the next day. At last whpther years or hours only had gone by, .1 could not then have told you I heard the regular and careful beat of oars upon the water, and presently the grating of a boat s keel upon the gmn- gle. I could not turn round or raise my head, but 1 was sure it was Tardif. "Tardif !" I cried, attempting to shout, but my voice sounded very weak in my own ears, and the other sounds about me eemed very loud. . He paused then, and stoed quite still, listening. I ran the fingers of my right hand through the loose pebbles about me, and his ear caught the slight noise. In a moment I heard his strong feet coming cross them towards me. "Mam'zelle," he exclaimed, "what has happened you?" I tried to smile as his honest, brown face bent over me, full of alarm. It was so great a relief to see a face like his after that long,, weary agony. - "I've fallen down the cliff," I said feebly, "and I am hurt." The strong man shook, and his hand trembled as he stooped down and laid it under my head to lift it up a little. His agitation touched me to the heart. "Tardif," I whispered, "it is not very much, and I might have been killed. I think my foot is hurt, and I am quite ure my arm is broken." He lifted me In his arms as easily and tenderly as a mother lifts up her child. and carried me gently up the steep slope which led homewards. It seemed a long time before we reached the farmyard ... .1 1 1 J UL J 3 voice, to his mother to come and open it Never, never shall I forget that night . T ranld not sleeri! bnt T siinnnsA mv mind wandered a little. Hundreds of times I felt myself down on the shore, lying help less. Then I was back again in my own . home In Adelaide, on my father's sheep farm, and he was still alive, and with no thought but how to make everything bright and gladsome for me; and hun dreds of times I saw the woman who was afterwards to .be my stepmother, seallng up to the door and trying, to get In to him and me. Twice Tardif brought me a cup of tea, freshly made. , I was very glad when the first gleam of daylight shone into my room. It seemed to bring clearness to my brain. "Alam zelle, said Tardif, coming to my side, "I am going to fetch a doctor.' "But it is Sunday," I answered faint ly. I knew that no boatman put out to sea willingly on a Sunday from Sark; and the last fatal accident, being on a Sun day, had deepened their reluctance. "It will be right, mam'zelle," he an swered, with glowing eyes. "I have no fear." "Do not be long away, Tardif," I said obbtng. - "Not one moment longer thaa I can help," he replied. CHAPTER III. I, Martin Dobree, come Into the Grange, belonged to Julia; and fully half of the year's household expenses were de frayed by her. Our practice, which he story to tell my remarkable share in its events. Martin, or Doctor Martin, I was called throughout Guernsey. My father was Dr. Dobree. . He belonged to one of the oldest families in the island, but our branch of It had been growing poorer in stead of richer during the last three or . four generations. . We had been gravi tating steadily downwards. My father lived ostensibly by his pro fession, but actually upon the income of my cousin, Julia Dobree, who had been his ward from her childhood. The house we dwelt in, a pleasant one in the and I shared between us, was not a large one, tnougn ror its extent It waa lucrative enough. But there always is an Immense number of medical men in Guernsey in proportion to its population, ana tne isiana is neaitny. There waa small chance for any of us to make fortune. My engagement to Julia came about so easily and naturally that I was perfect ly contented with it We bad been en gaged since Christmas, and were to be married in the early summer. We were to set up housekeeping for ourselves; that - was a point Julia was bent upon. A suitable house had' fallen vacant in one of the higher streets of St Peter-port which commanded a noble view of the sea and the surrounding islands. We had taken It though it was farther from the Grange and my mother than I should have chosen my home to be. She and : Julia were busy, pleasantly busy, about the furnishing. That was about the middle of March. . I had been to church one Sunday morning with these two women, both devoted to me and centering all their love and hopes In me, when, as we entered the house on my roturn. I heard my father calling "Martini Martini" as loudly as be could from his consulting room. I answered the call Instantly, tad whom should f)ilemma Stretton see but a very old friend of mine. Tar dif, of the Havre Gosselln. Hie hand some but weather-beaten face betrayed great anxiety. My father looked cha grined and Irresolute. i "Here's a pretty piece of work, Mar tin," he said; "Tardif wants one of us to go back with him to Sark, to see woman who has fallen from the cliffs and broken her arm, confound It!" "Dr. Martin," criel Tardif excitedly, "I beg of you to come this Instant even. She has been lying in anguish since mid day yesterday twenty-four hours now, sir. I started at dawn this morning, but both wind and tide were against me, and I have been waiting here some time. Be quick, doctor! ' ' If 'she should : be dead I" The poor fellow's voice faltered, and his eyes met mine Imploringly. He and I had been fast friends In my boyhood, and our friendship was still firm and true.- I shook his hand heartily a grip which he returned with his fingers of iron till my own tingled again. "I knew you'd come," he gasped. " "Ah, I'll go, Tardif," I said; "only I must get a snatch of something to eat while Dr. Dobree puts up what I shall have need of. I'll be ready In half an hour." The tide was with ns, and carried us over buoyantly. We anchored at the fisherman's landing place below, the cliff of the Havre Gosselln, and I climbed readily up the rough ladder which leads to the path. Tardif made his boat se cure, and followed me; he passed me. and strode on up the steep track to the summit of the cliff, as if impatient to reach his home. It was then that I "HE PAUSED THEN." gave my first serious thought to the wom an who had met with the accident. ' "Tardif, who Is this person that is hurt?" I asked, "and whereabout did she fall?" "She fell down yonder," he answered, with an odd quaver in his voice, as he pointed to a rough and rather high por tion of the cliff running inland; "the stones rolled from under her feet so," he added, crushing down a quantity of the loose gravel with his foot "and she slip ped. She lay on the shingle underneath for two hours before I found her two hours. Dr. Martin!" Tardif a mother came to us as we en tered the house. She beckoned me to follow her into an inner room. It was small, with a celling so low, it seemed to rest upon the tour posts of the bed stead. There were of course none of the little dainty luxuries about it with which was familiar in my mother's bedroom. A long low window opposite the head of the bed threw a strong light upon t. There were check curtains drawn round It, and a patchwork quilt, and rough, home-spun linen. Everything was clean, but coarse and frugal, such as I expected to find about my Sark patient, in the home of a fisherman. But when my eye fell upon the face resting on the rough pillow I paused in voluntarily, only just controlling an ex clamation of surprise. There was abso lutely nothing in the surroundings .; to mark ber as a lady, yet 1 felt in a mo ment that she was one. There lay a deli cate refined face, white as the linen, with beautiful lips almost as white; and a mass of light shining silky hair tossed about the pillow; and large dark gray eyes gazing at me beseechingly, with an expression that made my heart leap as It had never leapt before. - That was what I saw, and could not forbear seeing. I tried to close my eyes to the pathetic beauty of the" face before me; but it was altogether in vain. : If I had seen ber before, or if I had been prepared to see any one like her, I might have succeeded; but I was completely thrown off my guard. There the charm ing face lay; the eyes gleaming, the white forehead tinted, and the delicate mouth contracting with pain; the bright silky curls tossed about in confusion. I see it now, just as I saw it then. CHAPTER IV. I suppose I did not stand still more than five seconds, yet during that pause a host of questions had flashed through my brain. Who was this beautiful crea ture? Where had she come from? How did it happen ithat she waa in Tardif's house? and so on. . But I recalled myself sharply to my senses; I was here as1 her physician and common sense and duty demanded of me to keep my head clear. I advanced to her side and took the small, blue-veined hand, into mine, and felt her pulse) with my fingers. ',--.... "You are la very great pain,. I fear,' I said, lowering my voice, : ; . "Yes," her white Hps answered, and she tried to : smile a patient though dreary smile, as she looked up into my face; my arm is broken. Are yon doctor?" : "I am Dr. Martin Dobree," I said, passing my hand softly down her arm, The fracture was above the elbow, and was of a kind to make the setting of it give her sharp, acute pain. I could see she was scarcely fit to bear any further suffering just then; but what was to be done? She was not likely to get. much rest till the bone was set. "Did yon ever take chloroform T I asked. - . - - "No; 1 never needed It," she answered. "Should yon object to taking It?" "Anything," she replied passively. "I will do anything you wish." I went back Into the kitchen and open ed the portmanteau my father had put up for me. -.Splints and bandages wero there In abundance, enough to set half the arms In the island, but neither chlo roform nor anything In the shape of an opiate could I find. I might almost as well have come to Sark altogether un prepared for my case. I stood for a few minutes, deep la thought. The daylight was going, and it was useless to waste time; yet I found myself shrinking oddly from the duty be fore me. Tardif could not help bnt see my chagrin and hesitation. "Doctor," he cried, "she is not going to die?" : . "No, no," I answered, calling back my wandering thoughts and energies; "there Is not the smallest danger of that. - I must go and set her arm at once, and then she will sleep." I returned to the room and raised her as gently and painlessly as I could. ' She moaned, though very softly, and she tried to smile again as her eyes met mine look ing anxiously at her. That smile made me feel like a child. If she did It again I knew my hands would be unsteady, and her pain be tenfold greater. "I would rather you cried out or shout ed," I said. "Don't try to control your self when. I hurt you. You need not be afraid of seeming impatient, and a loud scream or two would do you good." I felt the ends of the broken bone grat ing together as I drew them Into their right places, and the ' sensation went through and through me. I had set scores of broken limbs before with no feeling like this, which was so near un nerving me. All the time the girl's white face and firmly set lips lay under my gaze, with the wide open, unflinching eyes looking straight at me; a mournful, silent, appealing face, which betrayed the pain I made her suffer ten times more than any cries or shrieks could have done. I smoothed the coarse pillows for her to lie more comfortably, upon them. and I spread my cambric handkerchief in a double fold between her cheek and the rough linen too rough for a soft cheek like hers. - - "Lie quite still." I said. "Do n&t stir. but go to sleep as fast as you can." Then I went out to Tardif. "The arm is set" I said, "and now she must get some sleep. There is not the least danger, only we will keep the house as quiet as possible." , I must go and bring in the boat." ho replied, bestirring himself as if some spell was at an end. "There will be a storm to-night and I should sleep the sounder If she was safe ashore." -' -The feeble light entering bv the door. which I left open, showed me the 'old woman comfortably asleep In her chair. but not so the girl. I had told her when I laid her down that she must lie quite still, and she was obeying me implicitly tier cheek still rested upon my hand kerchief, and the broken arm remained undisturbed upon the pillow which I had placed under it But her eyes were wide open and shining in the dimness, and I fancied I could see her lips moving in cessantly, though soundlessly. The gale- that Tardif had foretold came with great violence about the middle of the night The Wind howled up the long, narrow ravine like a oack of wolves: mighty storms of hall and rain beat in torrents against the windows, and the sea lifted up Its voice with unmistakable energy. Now and again a stronger gust than the others appeared to. threaten to carry off the -thatched roof bodily, and leave - us exposed to . the tempest with only the thick stone walla about us; and the latch of the outer door rattled as if some one was striving to enter. The westerly gale, rising every few hours into a squall, gave me no chance of leaving Sark the next day, nor for some days afterwards; but I was not at all put out by my captivity. All my In terests my whole being in fact was ab sorbed In the care of this girl, stranger as she was. I thought and moved, lived and breathed, only to fight step by step against delirium and death. ; There seemed to me to be no possibility of aid. . The stormy waters which beat against that little rock in the sea came swelling and "rolling in from 'the vast plain of the Atlantic and broke in. tem pestuous surf against the island. Tar dif himself was kept a prisoner in the house, except when he went to look after his live stock. No doubt -it would have been practicable for me to get as far as the hotel, but to what good? It would be quite deserted, for there were no vis itors to car at this season. 1 was en tirely engrossed in my patient and learned for the first time what their task Is who hour after hour watch the pro gress of disease in the person of one dear 10 tnem. : On the Tuesday afternoon, in a tern porary lull of the hail and wind, I start ed off on a walk across the island. The wind was still blowing from the south west and filling all the narrow sea be tween us and Guernsey with boiling surge. Very angry looked the masses of foam whirling about the sunken reefs, and very ominous the- low-lying, hard blocks of clouds all along the horizon. strolled as far aa the Coupee, that giddy pathway between Ureat and Little Sark, where one can see the seething of the waves at the feet of the cliffs on both sides three hundred feet below one. Some thing like a panic seized me. My nerves were too far unstrung for me to venture across the long, narrow isthmus. I turn ed abruptly again, and .hurried as fast as my legs would carry me back to Tar dif s cottage. I had been away less than an hour, but an advantage had been taken of my ab sence. I f ould Tardif seated at the table, with a tangle of silky, shining hair lying before him. A tear or two had fallen npon It from his eyes. I understood at a glance what it meant. , Mother Renouf, whom he had secured as a nurse, bad cut off my patient's pretty curls as soon as I was out of the house. Tardlf's great hand caressed them tenderly, and I drew out one long, glossy tress and wound It about my Angers, with a heavy heart. "It is like the pretty feathers of a bird that has been wounded," said Tar dif sorrowfully. Just then there came - a knock at the door and a sharp click of the latch, loud enough to penetrate dame Tardlfa deaf ears, or to arouse our patient, if she had been sleeping. Before either of us could more the door was thrust open and two young ladies appeared upon the door sill. They were It Sashed across me in an Instant old school fellows and friends of Julia's. - I declare to yon honestly I had scarcely had one thought of Julia till now. My mother I had wished for, to take her place by this poor girl's side, but Julia had hardly crossed my mind. Why, in heaven a name, should the appearance of these friends of hers be so distasteful to me Just now? I had known them all my life, and liked them as well as any girls I knew; but at this moment the very sight of them was annoying. They stood In the doorway, as much as tonished and thunderstricken as I was, glaring at me, so it seemed to me, with that soft, bright brown look of hair curl ing and clinging round .my finger. Never had I fe.lt so foolish or guilty. (To be continued.) ; American Coal the Best. 'Ever since I was a boy I have been reminded of the old story about 'carry ing coals to . Newcastle,' whenever I performed unnecessary tasks," said Richard. Harker of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, in the lobby of the Shore- ham last night "To carry coals to Newcastle was supposed to be as futile a . task as trying to sweep back the waves on the seashore. I have lived to see coals carried to Newcastle, bow ever; and, being an Englishman, it grieves . me to say .that the coals in question "came all the way from Amer ica... ; - Within the last few years an enor mous amount of coal has been shipped from Norfolk, Va., to various . parts of England. Some of It went to Ports mouth, to the naval station there,, and many tons were sent to Newcastle. We have better facilities for handling coal there than any other place In the United Kingdom; For jnany years It has been the center of the coal mining Industry of our country and conse quently the arrangements -and appli ances for shipping fuel to various parts of the country are away ahead of those of other towns. "The coal that comes from the west ern portion of the State of Virginia- soft coal, I mean Is the finest fuelfor steamships that Is mined anywhere In the world. . The coal seems to produce more steam from a small quantity than any I have seen. It Is now used ex tensively on the vessels of the British navy' and from what I saw a week ago la Norfolk and Newport News Ihould judge that the shipment must amount to millions of tons per year." Wash ington Times. . A German Picture of the Future. Scene A schoolroom of the twentieth century. ;;. - Teacher (to a" new scholar) "Jack, are you inoculated against croup?" Pupil "Yes, sir." . "Have you been inoculated with the cholera bacillus?" - 'Yes, sir." - : . . '.. 'Have you a written certificate that you arc Immune as to whooping cough. measles and scarlatina?" 'Yes, sir, I have." 'Have you your own drinking cup?" 'Yes, sir." . ; . 'Will you promise not to exchange sponges with your neighbor, and to use no slate pencil but-your own?" "Yea, sir.' "Will you agree to have your books fumigated every week with sulphur, and to have your clothes sprinkled with chloride of lime?" - "Yes, sir." ."Then,- Jack, yon -possess all that modern hygiene requires; you can step over that wire, occupy an Isolated seat made of aluminum, and begin your arithmetic lesson." . ..... -All Named the Same Date. '; Hall Well, good-by. Come and see me some time. ' ' , . Story Awfully sorry, old boy; but I've got over a hundred engagements that day. - ; Hall A hundred engagements? Nonsense! ' . ' Story Fact Within a few days I've received over a hundred Invitations to friends' houses and in every case "some time" was the date mentioned. .Boston Transcript '. . .. Looking tor Work. "Yes, ma'am," said the ragged fat man; "I'm lookin' fur work. - You ain't got no odd jobs o' scrubbln' or washin' ter be did, have yer?" "Why, you surely don't do scrubbing or work of that .sort" said the house keeper, ' .::'; : . "Sure not I'm lookin' fur work fur me wife." Philadelphia Record. Oldest Physician, Gallus Ritter von Hockberger, Im perial and royal counsellor of the Aus trian court is believed to be the oldest duly qualified physician in the world. He was born on Oct 15, 1803, and Is therefore 97 years of age. He has been practicing for seventy-one years, and still gives medical advice. - :-- . ' " The way of the transgressor often leads to foreign shores. - . Lessons from the Drought. Wherever the farmers come togeth er, the trend. of conversation naturally turns toward the condition of the corn crop in the various neighborhoods. All mention the clover field planted to corn as being their best prospect. In many ies where barnyard manure bad been applied In the spring, the corn Is very seriously damaged. New ground planted to corn has been noticeably af fected by drought and in many cases practically no grain will be secured from such fields. Such conditions, bo plain to us now, should direct us to different plans for raising anothr crop. We all know that a good clover field will give a sat isfactory account of itself when condi tions are favorable, and if It shows that it is better able than other fields to pass through dry weather, surely the farmer should plan to have more clo ver sod to turn under for corn. In many cases the manure has. done dam age by causing the corn to dry up. It has not rotted in the soil. The coarse stray has not allowed the land to re tain Its normal amount of moisture. Really the manure has not been on the ground long enough to become thor oughly incorporated (n the soil, and It acts as a foreign body, cutting, off the supply of moisture. Had the manure been applied to the growing clover, the clover growth would have been much greater and the unused manure would have been converted into rich earth by the time the field had been planted to corn. Where the clover has been ma nured the soil will hold even more than the normal amount of moisture when it is broken up' and planted to corn. " It is little trouble to raise good crops when the seasons are especially favorable.-" Then every farmer has grain to sell, or fat stock to place on the mar ket, and prices are likely to be very low. The unfavorable year selects out the Intelligent, thinking farmer and gives him paying yields. He Is pre pared to take stock not fatted at a low figure and sell them in the market at very high prices To the intelligent, thinking farmer the off year in crops is not so disastrous after all. Indianap olis News. Loss by Files. At the Wisconsin Station they divid-ed-fourteen cows Into two lots, as near ly equal in condition as they could make them, and one-half were sent to pasture according to the. usual custom of farm ers, though in a small field with plenty of shade during the day. The others were kept during the day in a comfort able stable with screen doors and win dows, but allowed to feed In the pas ture during night and the early morn ing. It was found that these produced 20 per cent more butter than, those In the pasture during the day, as the lat ter were kept moving all of the time by the files. On an Iowa dairy farm they obtained more milk from cows kept in a dark stable without screens during the day and let out to graze at night, . than they did from those In pasture all day and in stable at night. Similar re sults have been obtained by the spraying- of cattle with something to repel the flies, but most of these repellants have an odor that fills the air in the stable and may injure the milk or but ter, If not very carefully used. There's nothing better than a sponge or damp cloth just made moist with kerosene, and wiped lightly over the top of the head, along the back and over the legs, using it every morning Just after milk ing. The odor evaporates before the next milking, If not used too freely. Exchange. . " Benovatlnz the Boll. That humus is necessary in the soil and that the plowing under of non-nitrogenous plant growth is valuable will not be questioned, but the farmers who have been successful- with ' this plan are warned against the idea which is becoming somewhat general that this course will make manuring of any kind unnecessary. It is true that there may He conditions where the use of fertiliz ers seems unnecessary In addition to the plan of renovation referred to, but such conditions are not general. The farmer who attempts to grow, the usu al rotation of crops and relies wholly upon the fertility he Is able to get from the soil solely by the use of nitrogen ous plants -or by the use .of humus making plants, will find his crops growing smaller and smaller as the years go by. Properly Mixed Diet A properly balanced ration for stock has solved the problem of supplying animals with the elements which their natural appetites crave. This, could not be consummated in a restricted diet which is shown by the unnatural desire of animals for bones and other substances which evidently contained the desired element Such animals dis play an unthrifty condition until . the desired element is supplied with salt, bonemealor some other ingredient lack ing in their regular ration. A balanced ration Involves a variety of elements which go to make muscle, fat and bone in the proper proportion, and stockmen are now giving this subject special at tention, as the best results can only be achieved by feeding, a properly mixed diet Care of Horses. A few horses do not get as much feed as they need to enable them to do their work properly, but there are more, at least, In this part of the country that are overfed, especially where feeding Is intrusted to those who do not have to pay for the food given. In their desire to have the animals look plump and sleek they give more than can be well digested, and sometimes defeat their own intentions by causing such indiges tion that the horse grows lean, if. be is not wise enough to refuse to eat all that is placed before him. Nor are the owners always guiltless In this matter. Farmers especially are apt to feed too much hay to the horse, giving thirty to forty pounds In twenty-four hours, when from twelve to twenty pounds Is enough for horses of almost any weight when there is enough of grain given. And many will not reduce either bay or grain rations when there is a week or two of idleness. This is a mistake, but not as bad as that of largely increasing the grain feed when there Is an extra amount of work to be done, or a long drive to be made. The veterinary sur geons say that most of the cases they are called upon to prescribe for are the results of overfeeding, or feeding after hard work. American Cultivator. The Farmer' Hog. The farmer's hog should be of me dium length, deep body, broad back, straight sides and short legs, also to stand well up on feet, said J. C. Wright before the Iowa Swine Breed ers' Association. ' He should have a quiet disposition and be Inclined to be a little lazy, so after being fed he will lie down and get the good of his corn. He should also have a neat head, well set on the body, bo that when fat and butchered there will be as little Waste as possible. In producing such a hog it is very necessary to pay particular attention to the parent stock. In the first place, the sows should be well bred and a little lengthy, with good, well-developed bodies, good feet and limbs and should also be good sucklers. The farmer wants a hog that will mature early, say at six, eight or ten months, and average in weight from 200 to 350 pounds. . Preservlne Fummer-Made Bntter. The main object to attain in packing Summer-grade butter is to keep it from the air and from taints. This being the case, it is obvious that stone crocks or Jars are preferable to anything e'.ae as receptacles. The butter should be molded into pound Tolls, wound with butter cloth, and packed In strong brine. The brine should be made suffi ciently strong to float an egg, and to each gallon add two ounces of white sugar and half an ounce of saltpeter. It should then be boiled and skimmed and poured over the rolls of butter when it is perfectly cold. The process has been found successful, but it is a question if the better plan is not to find a market for the summer butter, even at the low summer - price, and thus avoid the hard work. Best Time to Freshen Cows. There is no "room for further discus sion of the question as to whether it is more profitable to have cows freshen in the spring or in the fall, says Hoard's Dairyman. It has been tried too often and under too widely differing condi tions, and without exception, so far as we are advised, the cow that freshens In the fail will yield more milk in twelve months, and the milk and its products are worth more money. The best plan of all probably is to have cows freshen at different times in the year say three-fourths of them from September to January and the others at Intervals throughout the balance of the year. - Demand for Heavy Horses. There seems to be a much clearer Idea generally prevailing nowadays as to what a heavy harness horse really Is, and the supply ought in time to more nearly equal the demand. It Is hardly worth repeating, says Breeder's Gazette, that the number of heavy har ness horses of show yard quality has never in any country "come anywhere near to filling the demand. ' Notes About Fruit. For apple scab use bordeaux mixture every three weeks up to the middle of July or 1st of August In general, especially in small vine yards, a thousand vines are pruned too little for one that is pruned too mncn. Road dust air .slaked lime or wood ashes dusted over small cherry trees is an effective remedy for the cherry slug. Pomona iif the best flavored red cur rant and White Imperial the best among the white sorts, according to pne of the stations. ' - Currant worms that appear when the fruit Is half grown should be treated with pyrethrum, a tablespoonful to a gallon of water. - - : Tomato plants grown from cuttings from plants which had fruited are said to have produced over thirty per cent more fruit than those grown from seed. It seems that the pecan tree has Its Insect pests as well as the other trees. It is said that the borer, a dirty white, grublike creature, is one of the worst SEA LIONS OF CALIFORNIA. Their Partial Destruction Base J on a Mistaken Idea Prof. Woodward's wholesome address on the necessity of verifying theories by the observation of facts finds an ex cellent Illustration In the sea Hon ques tion in California." These animals, which have long been prized by lovers of nature as one of the great' attrac tions of the coast, have fallen Into dis repute among the fishermen because their presence was supposed to account for the deterioration of certain fishing grounds. So confident was the belief in their fish-devouring habits that their destruction or at least a great reduc tion of their numbers was advocated and In part accomplished by the State Commission of Fisheries, according to a writer In Science. But it now ap pears that this belief was without sub stantial foundation. The appeal to fact has been made by the critical examination of the stom achs of slaughtered sea lions, and It has been found by Prof. Dyche that the twenty-five animals examined had eat en only squids and other cephalopoda, eschewing fish altogether. The investigation of food habits by means of stomach examination is of far- reaching Importance. Dr. Merriam is enegaged, through the biological sur vey, in the most elaborate study of animal foods ever made. For many- years the stomachs of wild birds and. mammals have been systematically col lected and laboriously studied, to the end that the favorite and the occasion al foods of each species in each season of the year and In each part of the country may become known. As each group Is worked up the facts are pub lished by the Department of Agricul ture, and farmers and legislators are thus informed what species may prop erly be regarded as friendly and what as hostile to the Interests of the peo ple. In many instances It has been found that popular Impressions, almost necessarily founded on a comparative ly small numer of facts, are alto gether erroneous, so that war has been waged on our friends and protection given our enemies. - .- . WOMAN RIDES ASTRIDE IN NEW. YORK HUNT. Mrs. Thomas Hitchcock, Jr., of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, has intro duced cross-saddle riding to the women of New York under circumstances where no other woman has dared to be a pioneer. Some weeks ago Mrs. Hitch- cock, who is young, charming and the finest horsewoman in her set,- appeared at a meet of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club riding astride and in a costume distinctly masculine. MRS. THOMAS HITCHCOCK, JR. Now, the Meadow Hunt Club Is made up of extremely fashionable New York ers. Its conventions are as rigid as those that prevail in the smartest draw ing rooms. And one of them happens to be the use of side saddles and riding skirts for women. These prejudices Mrs. Hitchcock dared to defy. She rode astride once. People gasped. She con tinued her practice. People began to compliment her appearance. She now announces that cross-saddle riding will be her custom henceforth and there Is even a hint that riding trousers may become the fashion. A Joke on the Doctor. . Going into the free dispensary of the New York Medical College and Hospi tal for Women one afternoon a physi cian found three or four little girls who, while awaiting treatment, had evident ly made friends, and were huddled to gether on one bench, eagerly discussing something of great interest .which on investigation proved to be - a mnch handled "chunk" ofr candy. . In aston ishment he Inquired what they were doing. Some questioning finally elicit ed an explanation that "de pne what tells de biggest lie wins it" "Oh," said the doctor, "I am ashamed . of "you. When I was little like you I never told lies." A slight pause, then from the smallest girl,' "Give him de candy." New York Tribune. , Wasting Time. "There!" cried 6-year-old Mabel, throwing down a book, "I Just ain't go ing to school another day." - "Why," asked her mother, "what's the matter?" "It's no use wasting time," replied the little miss; "I can't never learn to spell. The teacher Just keeps changing the words every day." Philadelphia Times. Old age commands universal respect Even cannibals draw the line at mis sionaries over 50 years of age. As one fool disappears, another bobs J mp in his place.