Corvallis gazette., May 20, 1902, Image 1

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SEMI-WEEKLY,
TNIOV Kutab. Jalv, 1897.
GAZETTE Eatsb. Dec. 1862.
Consolidated Feb., 1899.
COKVAIililS, BENTON COUNTY", OREGON", TUESDAY, .MAT" 20, 1902.
VOL. III. NO. 4.
GO
JLIS
HERR STEINHARDT'S NEMESIS
3
BY J. MACLAREN COBBAN.
CHAPTER VII Continued.
"It is singular," I said, "that you
in your own way should have come to
the same conclusion about Steinhardt
as I have gradually been coming to. 1
do not trust him at all; hejs pitiless
and unscrupulous, and I am sure he
would make no more inquiries concern
ing yr.ur father than seemed, necessary
for the sake of appearances. But, dear
Miss Lacroix, I think you can do no
good by going to London yourself. Let
me act for you in the matter; believe
me, I have it as much at heart as if it
were my own. Have a little patience
and I think we shall get at something.
"Why," she asked eagerly, "have
you heard something at last from the
friends to whom you wrote?"
"Xo; I have not."
1 supjiose, said, she, with some
bitterness, "it is to them only the loss
of one stranger out of the crowds all
around them."
I then told her of the mission Free
man had undertaken, refraining, how-
ever, from saying that I had directed
his attention to the railway stations,
more particularly to the Great North
ern, and I advised her to remain at
- Timperley Hall for the present, and to
conduct herself toward Steinhardt so as
not to excite his resentment or sus
picion.
Upon this we prepared to leave the
cottage; and on glancing casually away
from her, I was arrested ' by the be
havior of the old man.
"Look at him!" I involuntarily ex
claimed.
His face was flushed, and as ifpuffed
with blood; his eyes were extraordin
arily bright and watchful; his mouth
twitched grotesquely, as if in the effort
to use it for speech ; and hia right leg
and shoulder stirred a little under the
blankets.
"Oh I" cried Louise, "perhaps seeing
us, and hearing ua talk if . he has
heard us has roused him! Uncle
Jacues," she said, in a loud voice,
going to him, and laying her warm
soft hand on his withered, lifeless
wrist, "are you feeling better?"
His only answer was a wink of his
bright eyes.
"Here is John coming," she con-
tinuea to mm. "l shall come and see
you tomorrow again."
We left ' the cottage as John ap
proached with hia wheel barrow, bear
ing the shell fish for his afternoon
round.
"I think your master must be rous
ing up a little, John.," said Louise.
"Yea," said John; "I think he mun,
miss, fceems to me ue may get as
weel again as he was afore th' other
master went to Lunnon."
As I took my way through the vil-
lage to my lodgings, I found myself
turning over these words of John: how
"well," I wondered, had old Jacques
been before his nephew went to Lon
don? If he could recover speech, could
he tell us anything of consequence con
ceruing him?
CHAPTER VIII.
l?oth Miss Lacroix and myself waited
impatiently for news from Freeman in
London. From day to day I expected
a letter; and day after day, when I met
lier either in Jacques's cottage or in
the little dough beyond Timperley
Hall, I had to tell her that no letter
had come. She quickly began to show
signs of that heart sickness, which in
the young is so ready to follow upon
the steady, indefinite postponement of
hope. In my efforts to encourage her
I encouraged myself also to believe
that an Overruling Power was holding
this mystery in hand for some great
purpose, only to reveal it eventually
with the more force and effect.
One evening when I met her in the
clough we were both startled and
silenced by the clear, full note of a
bird a liquid "joug-joug."
"Is it a thrush?" I taid in a whisper.
She listened breathless, almost pant
ing, with joy.
"Oh," she whispered, at length, "it
is a nightingale it is a nightingale!"
and, poor girl, she actually sobbed.
"How can the dear little bird have got
so far out of its way as this dreadful
place?"
After a rapt attention of some min
utes to the ravishing song, both of us
were impelled to go away to telr others
of our delight. The path out of the
clough led along the ridge behind Tim
'perley, past two or three neat little
.'houses. From one of these we were
:surprised, as we approached, to hear
music and singing of an unusually fine
quality. It was just growing dark; a
lamp shone out from a window, over
which the blind was not yet drawn,
and we could plainly see a man seated
at the piano, and a girl, slight and
small of figure, standing with her hand
on his shoulder. She sang in a voice
clear and sweet as a bird's, a song then
much in vogue, called "Ehren on the
Khine." As we passed the song ended, "
:and the player turned; we saw his face,
and each exclaimed to the other, "Why,
it's Frank!" So here dwelt the reason
of his indifference to Louise's beauty
and sad grace!
"Oh, what would hia father say, if
be knew!" exclaimed Louise, in alarm.
"I don't think we'll tell him,"
eaid I.
I was that night more cheerful and
hopeful than I had been since my com
ing to Timperley. I was not addicted
to writing letters to the newspapers,
but the presence in that district of the
little bird of song, that usually sug
gested soft, clear skies and scented
groves, was so extraordinary, and
seemed to me eo delightful, that I eat
tiowa and wrote a fetter concerning the
phenomenon to a daily paper of soma
importance published in the neighbor
ing large town. The paper, I knew,
was widely real, but I had not reck
oned upon my letter attracting such at
tention as it did. The second night
after I had written it men and women
of all conditions, but chiefly" of the
working class, were inquiring their way
through the village, or finding their
way along all the roads and lanes to
"the Nightingale Clcugh." The small
weekly papers of course copied the let
ter, and on Saturday and during . the
following week parties came from long
distances in 'buses and vans to hear the
nightingale eing. I went first one
night, and then another, and another
to see the crowd thus drawn together.
It was a strange and touching spec
tacle: the men and women, the lad.-
and lassies standing under the trees
down to the very edge of the discolored
little lake, and the mischievous boys
among the branches all hushed while
the summer twilight deepened into
dark about then, waiting patiently for
the unseen little bird to break forth
like a voice from heaven into rapturous
song. And when at length, after a few
timid notes it poured out its full heart
I heard many a low-sob mingling with
the strains of the artless music.
Whether the nightingale took alarm
ai mis invasion ot its solitude, or
whether some mischievous persons
frightened it, it is certain that by the
end of the week it was heard no more
and the people went away disappointed
and noisy. One of these evenings
was returning with the crowd, when an
old fellow wa ked alongside of me, look
ing at me hard, and at length speaking.
"Thou'rt parson as wrote th' letter
eh?"
I answered I was.
"Ah. An' thou'rt fo' London eh?
a git piace mat wi ' gardens, I've
heard say, full o' a' kinds o' birds and
beasts." -
I said I supposed he meant the Zoo
logical Gardens.
"Ah. Happen that's them. I'm
rare and fond o' brids and beasts;
mnn go to ixmaon some day, and see
them gyardens. Happen I may come
across thee: 1 hear thou rt leaving
Timperley."
In a very few weeks," I said.
weei, now, i liKe ttiee; and l mun
come and hear thee praich afore thou
goes. Ee, mon, I a' something here,
tho ;" he produced an old pocket
book, and from one of the compart
ments he took a square of paste board
which he gave me "happen that may
come in handy when thou goes back to
London. I found it in Lacroix'a Lane
yond' more'n a year ago, and says I, 'I
mun keep this till I go to London,' but
do not think I'll ever ride in a first
class carriage so thoud'st better tak'
it, mon."
What is it?" I asked.
To be sure," said he, '"thoo conn
see. it s a hrst class ticket .
i manKea mm, and put it in my
pocket.
We were then upon the cottage in
which I had seen Frank Steinhardt
sitting at the piano. Sounds of music
and singing were again proceeding from
it, and I was not surprised to see that
many of those who had been disap
pointed by the nightingale stood listen-
nig in silence to the girl.
Y hen I reached my lodgings I took
out the old fellow's singular little pres
ent. It was the "return" half of a first
class railway ticket from London Bridge
to Croydon. It was tolerably clean ; it
must have been thrown away or dropped,
soon after it was issued, and picked up
soon after it was thrown away. A sus
picion which had begun to creep upon
me when first I looked at it shot up
with startling suddenness when I turned
it over and read the date stamped on
its edge "Mar 15 82."
This ticket had been found by the old
man in Lacroix Lane: had the person
who had lost or dropped it there been
the same as the person who had bought
it in London? If he had, had he been
resident in Timperley? In a word
had the person been Mr. Lacroix? It
was impossible to say, until after such
inquiry as 1 saw little chance of being
able to make; for though visitors to
Timperley seldom passed along the La
croix Lane they sometimes did. I
might, however, discover from Louise
whether her father had had any connec
tion with t roydon.
I met her next day at Jacques's cot
tage (I had almost given up my visits
to Timperley Hall). After again answ
ering in the negative her constant
question as to news from Freeman, I
began my attempt to get at this point
concerning the ticket. 1 wished to
avoid raisittsin her undue suspicion.
Do you still wish," I asked, "to go
to London yourself?"
"I do," said she; "but I take your
advice, and wait."
"If you Went," I continued, "where
would you stay? Have you any friends
in London?"
"I hoped," said she, shyly, "you
would tell me somewhere to go."
"You have, then," said I, "no
friends about London, or anywhere
round? It is not necessary, you know,
that you should live in London to fol
low up inquiries."
"Well," said she, "I know two .or
three girls living in Ixmdon who were
at school with me in Croydon, but I
think I could not risk them."
Imagine how my heart leaped! I
was afraid I showed my emotion in my ,
look and tone. I quickly urged another
question. i
"Croydon is not far from London:
might not your old school mistress take
you in?" ,
"I did not think of that," eaid she;
"I was there for only a year, after I
left school in Paris. I had only been
home three months when father went
away."" j-"'..
I had learned more than I could have
anticipated. Here, surely, at length
was the strongest presumptive, if not
direct, evidence that Mr. Lacroix, and
not another, had dropped the ticket,
and therefore that he had come. home.
I imagined him traveling from London
Bridge to Croydon to pay, perhaps, his
daughter's school bill, and returning a
different way, although he had taken a
return ticket to London Bridge.- This
struck me as agreeing with all I had
heard of Mr. Lacroix careless of
money, and without much steady con
si -tent purpose. How easily such a
man must have become subject to the
resolute Steinhardt! -
It occurred to me that it would not
be impossible to learn from the Croy
don school mistress whether Mr. La
croix had called on her. With a few
questions as to the size, situation and
character of the school, I learned the
name and address of the school mis
tress; and as soon as I returned to my
lodgings I wrote to her. On the second
morning after I received her reply
which I treasured along with the rail
way ticket as invaluable evidence a
polite note, presenting compliments
and begging to inform that on referring
to her books and her diary, she found
that Mr. Lacriox had called and paid
term's charges for his daughter's "fin
ishing" education, on Wednesday,
March the fifteenth, eighteen hundred
and eighty-two.
CHAPTER IX.
ine no ot my eix months curacy
was almost at hand, but, since my re
cent discovery, I was resolved I would
still remain at least in the neighbor
hood of Timperley I went first to the
rector, who was not yet well enough to
resume his duties, in the hope that I
might"prevail upon him to let me con
tinue to fill his place for eome time
longer. I was surprised, and somewhat
piqued, to hear that it was entirely out
of the question, because another "curate
had already been engaged.
"A young man from St. Bee's," eaid
me rector. "Mr. stemhardt says we
must have no more clever men in Tim
perley.' I would have liked you very
well to stay, but you know you see it
can't be. If I can do anything for
you ' ' -
I said, since I could not stay in Tim
perley, I wif-hed to get a curacy some
where in the neighborhood. The rec
tor looked at me in a way which made
me doubt whether I had been, wise to
tell him my desire. However, he
answered he would eee what he could
do. .
Steinhardt, it'was evident, expected
me to go away, "back to the south prob
ably, since I disliked Timperley so
much ; but I metaphorically shook my
Croydon evidence at him and more ob
stinately resolved not to go away
1 here happened at that time to be sev-
eral curacies vacant in neighboring
paris-hes or districts; I applied first for
one with the result after some time of
having my application declined, and
then for another, with the same result,
I was disappointed and puzzled , I knew
I had been reckoned successful in Tim
perley, and I could not understand the
coldness and reticence of the replies I
received. But I was soon startled into
the perception of their cause.
Louise and I had got into the habit
of meeting frequently (as I have already
hinted) at the cottage of old Jacques:
we were still waiting for news from
King's Cross, and we did not know
whether the letter was to be sent to me,
or to Feeman, or to Miss Lacroix.
Louise met me one morning in great
alarm and hurriedly told me the ex
pected letter had come, but addressed
to Mr. Lacroix that Steinhardt there
fore had opened it, na-turally expecting
to find it a business communication!
He brought it to her, and asked if she
knew what it meant. She read it;, it
was short, and to this effect: The
guard who had had charge of the 8
o'clock express on the evening of March
the 16th, 1882, had been found and in
terrogated ; he could not remember
anyone answering to the description of
the missing gentleman. He might or
might not have traveled by that train,
t it reallv seemed impossible to as
certain at that distance of time.
(To be continued)
Few Japanese in America.
There are comparatively few Japan
ese in the United States. There are but
100 in Chicago, and many of them are
students in various schools. Several
merchants and foreign representatives
are here, while from one to a dozen
Japanese business men pass though
Chicago every day. There is no disposi
tion on the part of the Japs to emigrate
to the United States as the Chinee do.
Chicago Chronicle.
Wendell Philips' Warning.
Wendell Philips onca said that unless
our next step in progress, as a nation
was in a spiritual direction, that boy
was now living who would write the
downfall of the American republic, as
Gibbon wrote that of the Roman
empire.
We are not inquiring for tl at boy
now, but tor one who will ma ;e that
history impossible.
History of American Cities.
American cities are built to be
burned. Their histories read some
thing like this: Flourishing, public
library, handsome churches, blocks of
stores, new courthouse, first class
hotels; destroyed by fire; loss, mil
lions.
Nigh Price for a 'Cello.
A record" price for a Stradivarius
cello is reported from Fe l'"n. It is
stated that Piatti's e lo by Stradiva
rius has been bought for $20,000 by a
banker, who is a trand-nephew of Men
delssohn.
How to Look for Birds.
1. Go alone and.Veu'11 see more, be
cause you won't be Italking, and you
may listeorto nothing but birds.
2. Go in the earlyaiornlng or In the
evening; birds rest a noon,
3. Wear old clothes and Overshoesror
boots, for then you, may go every
where. -
4. Don't forget your field glasses.
then the birds will be tamer.
5. Take a notebook and pencil so
that you may write ibwn your impres
sions on the spot. Your memory might
fail you." -. '
- 6. Make a list of ail the birds you see
and your next tramp will be more ex
citing. ..
7. When you see an unknown bird
don't fail to see what shape its bill Is.
Bills differ more than." noses. Sketch
bills; that's the only" way .to see.
8. To arouse a bird's curiosity . kiss
your hand; the dullest bird will crane
his neck.
9. Move slowly; quick movements ex
cite things. . --j-:-.-'.
10. Keep off dry- twigs they are
noisy. ' ;
11. Go under low branches Instead of
brushing past them. waving branch
means wind; a jarred one means life
and every bird knows It.
12. If the mosquitoes will permit It,
sit down somewhere and keep "perfect
ly" still for half an hour (to begin with);
then you may see a bird before he sees
you. . ,' - -' ,
13. Think about what you see.
14. Don't feel discouraged after your
walk If you don't see much. - The walk
was good for you. -Robert J. Sim, In
the American Boy. . .;;
Imaginative Imosrene.
Imaginative Imogene imagines that she
spies
A bogey on the chiffonier, with grue
some, glaring eyes.
But if more closely she would scau this
terror, soon she'd flout it;
'Tis nothing but a cuff of pa's a muf
fler thrown aboot it. ' -
Cincinnati Enquirer.
A Japanese Lullaby.
Sleep, little pigeon, and fold your wings,
Little blue pigeon with velvet eyes;
Sleep to the singing of mother-bird swing
ing. .
Swinging the nest where her little one
lies.
In through the window a moonbeam
comes.
Little gold moonbeam with misty
wings; .V
All silently creeping, it asksc "Is he sleep
ing, . -:
Sleeping and dreaming while mother
sings?"
Way out yonder I see a star,
Silvery star with a tinkling song;
To the soft dew falling I hear it calling,
Calling and tinkling all the night long.
But sleep, little pigeon, and fold, your
wings.
Little blue pigeon with mournful eyes;
Am I not singing? See. I am swinging.
Swinging the nest where my darling
lies. .
1 Yf$ -
Answer These Questions.
Sharp-eyed, thinking boys and girls
will find it fun to answer these ques
tions asked by the Christian Advctcate:
Do rabbits run?
Where ia the oyster's mouth?
Why do horses turn their ears?
Why does a cat have whiskers?
How many legs has a house fly?
How can a fly walk on the ceiling?
Why does a rabbit wabble Its nose?'
Do robins and chickens walk alike?
Which end does a wasp sting with? .
How many legs has a garden spider?
How does an elephant dig in the
ground? ; "
How does a horse use his legs in trot
ting? .
-In what order does a fly use its legs
In walking? ; j": - "
Why Is the tiger striped, the leopard
spotted?
Why is a fish dark in color above and
light underneath?
Do pigs grunt as an expression of
pain or pleasure? ;
Do little pigs show any sign of affec
tion for each other?
. How many times does a crow fold its
wings after alighting?
When sheep get up from lying down,
do they rise with their fore or hind legs
first?
, "Whooping Cough.
The whooping cough had caught
many children of a certain neighbor
hood. A certain mother of a bright
little boy had many fears lest her son
should take it. She had talked and
worried about it so much that her boy
was almost afraid to leave her side.
One night after the little fellow had
been put to bed a donkey was being
driven past the house, and when right
in front of the house he began with
that terrible voice of his, "Hee-haw,
hee-haw."
With a shriek the Utile boy leaped
from the bed, screaming at the top of
his voice: "The-whooping cough Is
coming, the whooping cough is coming,
mamma!"
He didn't catch the whooping cough
that time.
The Feather Game. -
A small feather with a very little
stem must be produced to play the
feather game; also a tablecloth or small
sheet. The feather is placed upon this,
and the company stands in a circle,
holding the sheet.
- Some one gives the feather a blow,
and the object of the game is to pre
vent it from touching any one.
Each one gives the feather a puff
whenever It comes near him, and over
It goes to the other side again. The
excitement produced is very great, and
it Is always a most amusing spectacle,
the onlookers enjoying it almost as
much as the players themselves.
VICTOR HUGO'S DAUGHTER.
tons; Supposed by Many to Be Dead,
Is Alive and Well.
Many persons are under the impres
sion that Mdlle. Adele Hugo, daughter
of the great poet whose centenary has
recently been observed with magnifi
cence in Paris, is dead and buried, af
ter having passed the greater part of
her existence in a private asylum. It
was always known that Adele Hugo
had been crossed in love and that her
reason had been affected thereby. She
was placed in a private asylum near
Vlncennes and for years was lost sight
of by all except a few friends and
relatives. A lady who writes for the
Fronde has been making diligent In
vestigations, and states that she has
found Adele Hugo alive, in good health
and In full possession of all her facul
ties. The poet's daughter is living comfort
ably in an establishment on the banks
of the Seine near Paris. The place
must be kept a secret, owing to the
wishes of the family. Anyhow, Adele
Hugo, now a fine, tall, gray-haired old
lady of 72 years. Is there attended by
a companion and a maid. She takes
daily walks in the park of the estab
lishment, occupies herself with scien
tific studies, being especially Interested
In astronomy, and occasionally goes
to the theater, where she sits In a rail
ed box, unseen by the people.
These periodical visits to the play
house form Adele Hugo's only conces
sions to the present age, for she chiefly
lives, we are told by the lady investi
gator, in the past, and never reads a
newspaper. She was completely in tue
dark about the enormous preparations
for the celebration of the centenary of
her famous father's birth.
Another writer, M. Octave Uzanne,
says the London Telegraph, notes that
it was Adele who collected her father's
table-talk between 1852 and 1850, the
first years of his exile. The manu
script of this collection was seen by M.
Uzanne In the establishment of an ait
autograph dealer near the British mu
seum. He was prevenxea Dy tne poet s
family from publishing any fragments
of the talk ten years back, but now,
on the approach of the centenary, he
communicates a few extracts to the
Echo de Paris. Like Luther, Coleridge
and Bismarck, Hugo discussed many
things at table, and nearly everything:
that he said was interesting. "Some of
his conversation, as M. Uzanne appro
priately points out, revealed his innate
vanity and showed that he was rancor
ous to those who failed- to treat him
with due consideration
Perfection.
The sense of importance which little
Clara felt on being promoted to the
public school after two years of lessons
at her grandmother's knee was much
enhanced when the time came for her
first written examination. She studied
faithfully the twenty pages in her spell
ing book covered In the review, and
wh.en her paper was returned had the
delight of seeing that it was graded
100.
The little girl at once wrote to her
father the news of her success. "Dear
Papa," the little note ran, "I did not
miss a single word in my examination.
I am now purface in speling." Har
per's Magazine.
Boxers of Ancient Rome.
A boxer of ancient Rome would hare
laughed contemptuously at the sugges
tion that he should use gloves in bis
boxing matches. To make his blows
more effective It was the custom to
hold in each hand a heavy ball of
metaL With his fist thus weighted
nearly every blow brought blood.
T.he Tile-Inlet and Outlet.
No one will question the value of tile
for drainage pipes. In laying head end
of tile, It is a mistake to dump in a few
pieces of broken tile and mud dug from
the slough bed with the idea of packing
to make nearly waterproof. Many have
done that in this section and the water.
WELL-MADE TILE INLET.
failing to run off, a complaint is made
that tiling does not pay. I have known
men-to dig up whole ditches of tile and
replace with larger ones, when a little
work in the right way would have
brought things out all right A correct
ly built tile inlet and outlet are abso
lutely essential for success in drainage.
Where soil is of a mucky nature, the
illustration shows a good plan of filling
in around the inlet This plan, how
ever, is not necessary where soil is
mossy. About four or five feet of tile
should be covered with coarse gravel
to within six or eight inches of the sur
face, so the plow will not strike the
stone. This will let the water off free
ly, yet keep the soil in good shape. A
large stone should be placed at end of
tile.
The outlet should also be kept clean
of roots and bars of netting so placed
that the -vermin may be kept out If
this is done and the tile properly laid.
DURABLE TILE OUTLET.
water will have easy going and the
farmer will go his way rejoicing in
stead of "cussing" the tile which he(
thought was too small Fred RIstrim,
in Farm and Home.
Good Farm Gate.
A heavy gate that is opened a num
ber of times daily is apt to sag in a short
time if not well braced. An excellent
way of overcoming this fault Is shown
In the illustration. The posts are
longer than those ordinarily used, and
are set a foot deeper in the ground than
fence posts generally. Heavy flat
stones are placed about the bottom of
the post, to which the gate is hung, and
these stones are braced on either side
by stout oak stakes. These stakes are
driven so that the tops are just below
the surface of the ground. Three
strong hinges are used to hang the gate
and a strong rod of iron is fastened to
the upright of the gate and to the top
bar. This helps greatly in keeping the
gate from 'warping or "racking" out at
the joints. The latch fastening, though
HANDY FAEM GATE.
simple, is effective. A slot is cut
through the front upright of the gate
and the tongue of the latch run through
it. A slot is mortised in the post as
shown in the illustration, and the
tongue run in, which gives a secure
fastening. The latch or tongue is hung
from the bar of the gate by means of
two pieces of hard, smooth wood, bolted
together, wifih the tongue between the
lower ends. The bolt which runs
through the barjof the gate is loose
enough to permit the tongue to be
pushed backward and forward when
the gate-is to be-opened and closed.
Grow Alfalfa.
Considerable has been said in this de
partment in favor of alfalfa and the
prediction is now made that in less
than five years the farm where more or
less alfalfa is not grown will be an ex
ception to the general rule. The only
possible objection that can be urged
against alfalfa is that it cannot be cut
for hay the first season after sowing
the seed. "This is a silly objection, for
certainly one can afford to miss this cut-
ting if , thereby they establisa .a per-
inanent meadow that may be cut, after
the first year, several times during the
season.- It has been demonstrated that
the feeding value of alfalfa is very
great, one authority claiming that ir a
feeding test 96 pounds of alfalfa gave
the same returns as 100 pounds of
wheat bran.
Principles of Pruning.
While the proper pruning of trees
will not by . any means. Insure their
fruitfulness, it will have more to do
with it than even experienced orchard
Ists think. It Is a lamentable fact that
not one man in ten knows bow to
properly prune a fruiting tree; it Is
also to be regretted that more fruit
growers do not better understand that
proper pruning largely means yearly
pruning and not a general slaughter of
the limbs and twigs every three or
four years. This general practice sim
ply means urging the tree to make a
heavy growth of wood which is not
needed. In pruning, the experienced
orchardist cuts but slightly the strong
limbs, but wields his knife and shears
vigorously on the light branches and
twigs growing on the inside and on
the underside of the tree. This is the
general rule and most growers of ex
perience practice It with all fruit
trees, although in recent years expert
fruit growers seem inclined to take
out the stronger wood on peach trees,
although this plan Is mainly to get the
tree headed low; still 'the peach often
requires different treatment from oth
er orchard trees which may best be
determined by experiments with dif
ferent plans, for while general prin
ciples may be laid down it is not pos
sible to cover in such directions local
conditions.
Crows and Corn.
My experience is that one cannot
keep crows from coioifields any easier
or more surely than by stringing up
twine about the fields, occasionally
adding a crossline. From my earliest
recollection this was our practice, and
we suffered very little from crows;
while our neighbors, who depended on
scarecrows, guns, tinware or corn
soaked in tar, came out much worse.
We always saved the twine from year
to year, as it has to come down with
the first cultivation, and It is still
strong. As to watching a field with a
shotgun, it sometimes needs grit that
would go through a South African war,
especially If a colony of crows get it
"in" for a field. A neighbor two years
agoopenedsuch a campaign, and had to
shoot eighteen crows, fairly finishing
the entire flock, before what" was left
of the field was saved. It Is safe to say
that the crop was a good many bushels
cut down by what was taken, even
then. I believe in crows, as they live
on insects and mice from preference;
but they must live or die, and if pre
ferred food is not plentiful, they will
do crops harm. Better, then, adopt a
harmless way of driving them from
cornfields. Correspondence Country
Gentleman
A Sheep Kecord.
A Missouri sheep grower has made
a record which he thinks stands near
the top, if It Is not, ahead of all others.
Last spring his forty-three Shropshire
ewes dropped eighty-five lambs, among
which were seven sets of triplets, twenty-eight
sets of twins and eight single
lambs. He lost six by death, and killed
two for bis personal use. The remain
ing seventy-seven lambs were let to run
on wheat and other pasture last fall,
and later were given about twenty
bushels of corn to put them in market
able condition. When sold they aver
aged 103 pounds each, and were report
ed "fat as butter," selling at $6.25, the
highest price in a year or more at Kan
sas City. An income of about $500 be
side the wool from forty-three ewes
makes it look as if well-bred Shrop
shire were a good kind of sheep to in
vest In. American Cultivator.
Keeping Butter,
Good butter will keep sweet for many
weeks when it is placed In a' crock
after being made into roi: wrapper
in strong cheesecloth or old muslin
and then covered with a brine strong
enough to bear up an egg. Saltpeter
and sugar may be added to advantage
while the brine is still hot In the pro
portion of a teaspoonful of the former
and a tablespoonful of the latter to ev
ery four quarts. The brine must, how
ever, not be poured upon the butter un
til it is entirely cold.
Cabbage Hard on Soil,
Those who attempt to grow cabbage
on a large scale should bear in mind
that the crop uses up large quantities
of plant food and is especially bard on
the potash in the soil. This being tha
case it Is necessary to fertilize heavily
for cabbage, and especially using pot
ash. Muriate of potash is the best to
use and the least expensive. Of course
other fertilizers should also he used. A
good plan Is to use the stable product
supplementing It with muriate of "pot
ash, and also to use heavy application
of lime which releases the plant food
in the soil. - . -.-
Better Crops, More Prpfit.O '-."i
The Indications are that faruiers.jwill
do more reading and thinking this.year
than ever before. The results wifj be
that they will raise better cropsrand
make more profit The tendency also
will be to have better sustained prices,
the result of the agitation and educa
tion that are going on from several directions.
I