SEMI-WEEKUY. VlfZSiZVl'jril'e. i ConsoMated Feb., 1899. CORVALLIS, BENTON COimTY, OREGON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1002. VOL. III. NO. 17. A STUDY IN SCARLET. BY A. CONAN DOYLE. CHAPTER HI Continued. No. 3 Lauriston Gardens wore an ill omened and minatory look. It was one of four, which stood back some little way from the street, two being occu pied and two empty. The latter looked out with three tiers of vacant, melancholy windows, - which were blank and dreary, save that here and there a "To Let" card had developed like a cataract upon the bleared panes. A small garden sprinkled over with a scattered eruption of sickly plants separated each of these houses from the street, and was traversed "by a nar row pathway, yellowish in color, and consisting apparently of a mixture of clay and gravel. The whole place was very sloppy from the rain which had fallen through the night. The garden was bounded Dy a tnree-ioot DrlcK wan with a - fringe of wood rails upon the top, and against this wall was leaning a stal wart police constable, surrounded by a small knot of loafers, who craned their necks and strained their eyes In the vain hope of catching some glimpse of the proceedings within. I had imagined that Sherlock Holmes would at once have hurried into tne nouse ana plunged into a study of the mystery. Nothing appeared to be further from nis intention, witn an air of non chalance, which under the circum stances seemed to me to border upon affectation, he lounged up and down the pavement, and gazed vacantly at the ground, the sky, the opposite houses and the line of railings. Having finished his scrutiny, he pro ceedly slowly down the path, or rather down the fringe of grass which flanked the path, keeping his eyes riveted upon the ground. Twice he stopped and once I saw him smile and heard him utter an ex clamation of satisfaction. There were many .marks of footsteps upon the wet, clayey soil, but since the police had been coming and going over it I was unable to see how my companion could hope to learn anything from it. . Still, I had had such extraordinary evidence of the quickness of his per ceptive faculties that I had no doubt he could see a great deal which was hidden from me. At the door of the house we were met by a tall,'"white-faced, flaxen-haired man, with a notebook In his hand, who rushed forward and wrung my com panion's hand with effusion. "It is indeed kind of you to come," he said. "I have had everything left untouched." "Except that!" my friend answered, pointing to the pathway. "If a herd of buffaloes had passed along, there could not be a greater .mess. No doubt, however, you had drawn your own con clusions, Gregson, before you permit ted this." "I have had so much to do inside the house," the detective said, evas ively. "My colleague, Mr. Lestrade, is here. I had relied upon him to look after this." j Holmes glanced at me and raised his eyebrows sardonically. "With two such men as yourself and Lestrade upon the- ground, there will not be much for a third party to to find out," he said. Gregson rubbed his hands in a self satisfied way. "I think we have done all that can be done," he answered. "It's a queer case, though, and I knew your taste for such things." ' . "You did not come here in a cab?" asked Sherlock Holmes. "No, sir." "Nor Lestrade?" "No, sir." "Then let us go and look at the room." With which Inconsequent remark he strode on Into the house, followed by Gregson. whose features expressed his astonishment. Holmes walked in and I followed him with that subdued feeling at my heart which the presence of death in spires. It was a large, square room, looking all the larger for the absence of all furniture. Opposite the door was a showy fire place. On one corner of this was stuck the stump of a red wax candle. The solitary window was so dirty that the light was hazy and uncertain, giving a dull gray tinge to everything, which was intensified by the thick layer of dust which coated the whole apartment. All these details I observed after ward. At present my attention was centered upon the single grim, mo tionless figure which lay stretched upon the boards, with vacant, sight less eyes staring up at the discolored ceiling. It was that of a man about forty three oc forty-four years of age, middle-sized, broad shouldered, with crisp, curling black hair, and a short, stubby beard. His hands were clenched and his arms thrown abroad, while his lower limbs were interlocked as though his death struggle bad been a grievous one. On his rigid face there stood an ex pression of horror, and. as it seemed to me, of hatred, such as I have never seen upon human features. 'rnis malignant and terrioie contor tion, combined with the low forehead, blunt nose, and prognathous jaw, gave the dead man a singularly simious and ape-like appearance, which was in creased by his writhing, unnatural pos ture. Lestrade, lean and ferret-like as ever, was standing by the doorway and greeted my companion and myself. "This case will make a stir, sir," he remarked. "It beats anything I have seen, and I am no chicken." "There Is no clew," said Gregson. "None at all," chimed in Lestrade. Sherlock Holmes approached the body and kneeling down, examined it Intently. - "You are sure that there is no wound?" he asked, pointing to numer ous gouts and splashes of blood which ay all around. - . ... "Positive! "-cried both detectives. "Then of course this blood belongs to a second individual presumably the murderer, if murder has been com mitted. It reminds me of the circum stances attending on the death of Van Jansen, in Utrecht, in the year 34. Do you remember the case, Gregson?" "No, sir." "Read it up you really should. There is nothing new under the sun, It has all been done before." As he spoke his nimble fingers were flying here, there and everywhere, feeling, pressing, unbuttoning, exam ining, while his eyes wore'-the same far away expression which I have al ready remarked upon. So swiftly was the examination made that one would hardly have guessed the minuteness with which it was con ducted. Finally, he sniffed the dead man's lips and then glanced at the soles of his patent leather boots. "He has not been moved at all?" he asked. "No more than was necessary for the purpose of our examination." "You can take him to tne mortuary now," he said. "There is nothing more to be learned." Gregson had a stretcher and four men at hand. At his call they entered the room, and the stranger was lifted and carried out. As they raised him a ring tingled down and rolled across the floor. Le strade grabbed it up and stared at it with mystified eyes. "There's been a woman here," he cried. "It's a woman's wedding ring. He held it out as he spoke, upon the palm of his hand. We all gathered round him and gazed at it. There could be no doubt that that circle of plain gold had once adorned the finger of a bride. "This complicates matters," said Gregson. "Heaven knows, they were complicated enough before!" "You're sure it doesn't simplify them?" observed Holmes. "There's nothing to be learned by staring at it. What did you find in his pockets?" . We have it all here," said Greg son, pointing to a litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps of the stairs. A gold watch, No. 97,163, by Barraud, of London. Gold Albert -chain, very heavy and solid. Gold ring,' with Ma sonic device. Gold pin bulldog's head, with rubies as eyes. Russian leather card case,, with cards of Enoch J. Drebber, of Cleveland, correspond ing with the E. J. D. upon the linen. No purse, but loose money to the ex tent of seven pounds thirteen. Pock et edition of Boccaccio's 'Decameron,' with name of Joseph Stangerson upon the fly leaf. Two letters one address ed to E. J. Drebber and one to Joseph Stangerson." "At what addressT' "American Exchange, Strand to be left till called for. They are both from the Guion Steamship Company, and refer to the sailing of their boats from Liverpool. It is clear that this unfor tunate man was about to return to New York." "Have you made any inquiries as to this man Stangerson?" "I did it at once," said Gregson. "I have had advertisements sent to all the newspapers, and one of my .men has gone to the American Exchange, " but he has not returned yet." "Have you sent to Cleveland?" "We telegraphed this morning." "How did you word your inquiries?" "We simply detailed the circum stances, and said " that we should be glad of any information which could help us." "You did not ask, for particulars on any point which appeared to you to be crucial? "I asked about Stangerson." "Nothing else? Is there no circum stance on which this whole case ap pears to hinge? Will you not tele graph again?" "I have said all I have to say," said Gregson, in an offended voice. Sherlock Holmes chuckled to him self, and appeared to be about to make some remark, when Lestrade, who had been in the front room while we were holding this conversation in the -hall, reappeared upon the scene, rubbing his hands in a pompous and. well-satisfied manner. "Mr. Gregson," he said, "I have just made a discovery of the highest im portance, and one which would have been overlooked had I not made a care ful examination of the walls." The little man's eyes sparkled as he spoke, and he was evidently in a state of suppressed exultation at " having scored a point against his colleague. "Come here,' he said, bustling back into the room, the atmosphere of which felt cleaner since the removal of its ghastly inmate. "Now, stand there!" He struck a match on his boot and held it up against the wall. "Look at that!" he said triumphant ly. I have remarked that the paper had fallen away in parts. In this particu lar corner of the room a large piece had peeled off, leaving a yellow square of coarse plastering. "Across this bare space there was scrawled in blood-red letters a single word: RACHE. "What do you think of that?" cried the detective, with the air of a show man exhibiting his show. "This was overlooked because it was in the dark est corner of the room, and no one thought of looking there. The mur derer has written it with" hfs or her own blood. See this smear where it has trickled down the wall! That disposes of the idea of suicide, anyhow. " Why was that corner chosen to write it on? I will tell you. See that candle on the mantelpiece. It was lighted at the. time, and if it was lighted this corner would be the brightest instead of the darkest portion of the wall." "And what does It mean, now taat you have found it?" asked Gregson, in a deprecatory tone. "Mean? Why, it means that the writer was going to put the female name Rachel, but was disturbed before he or she had time to finish. You mark my words, when this case comes to be cleared up you'll find that a woman named Rachel has something to do with it. It's all very well for you to laugh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. You"may be very smart and clever, but the old hound is the best, when all is said and done." "I really beg your pardon!" said jny companion, who had ruffled the little man's temper by bursting into an ex plosion of laughter. "You certainly have the credit of being the first of .us to find out, and, as you say, it bears every mark Of having been written by the other participant in last night's mystery. I have not had time to ex amine this room yet, but with your permission I shall do so now." .j: As he spoke he" whipped a tape meas ure andr a large, round, magnifying glass from his pocket. So engrossed was he with his occu- pation that he appeared to have for gotten our presence, for he chattered away to himself under his breath the whole time, keeping up a running fire of exclamations, groans, whistles and little cries suggestive of encourage ment and of hope. . As I watched him I was Irresistibly reminded of a pure-blooded, well trained fox hound as it dashes back ward and forward through the covert, whining in its eagerness, until it comes across the lost scent. - ' j For twenty minutes or more he con-1 tinued his researches, measuring with J the most exact care the distance be- j tween marks which were entirely in-. visible to me, and occasionally apply ing his tape to the walls in an equally incomprehensible .manner. '" In one place he gathered very care fully a little pile of gray dust from the floor, and packed it away in an envel ope. Finally he examined with his glass the word upon the wall, going over ev ery letter of it with the most minute exactness. This done, he appeared to be satis fled, for he replaced his tape and his glass in his pocket. - They say that genius is an lnnnit6 capacity for taking pains," he re marked, with a smile. "It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to de tective work." Gregson and Lestrade had watched the maneuvers of their amateur com panion with considerable curiosity and some contempt. They evidently failed to appreciate the fact, which I had begun to realize, that Sherlock Holmes' smallest actions were all directed toward some definite and practical end. WJhat do you think of it, sir?" they both asked. It would be robbing you of the cred-- it of the case if I was to presume to help you," remarked my friend. "You are doing so well now that it would be a pity for any one to interfere." There was a world of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke. "If you will let me. know how your investigations go," he con-i tinued, "I shall be happy to give you any help I can. In the meantime, I should like to speak to the constable who found the body. Can you give me his name and address?" . - - " "John Ranee," he said. "He is off duty now. You will find him at 46 Audley Court, Kensington Park Gate." Holmes took a note of the address. "Came along, doctor," he said; "we shall go and look him up. I'll tell you one thing which may help you in the case, he continued, turning to tne two detectives. "There has been murder done, and the murderer was a man. He was more than six feet high, was in the prime of life, had small feet for his height, wore coarse, square-toed boots, and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar. He came here with his victim in a four-wheeled cab, which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off foreleg. In all probability the murderer had a flor id face, and the finger nails or his right hand were remarkably long. These are only a few indications, but they may assist you." Lestrade and Gregson looked at each other with an incredulous smile. ; "If this man was murdered, "how was it done?" asked the former. "Poison," said Sherlock Holmes, curtly, and strode off. "One other thing, Lestrade," he added, turning round at the. door; " 'Rache' Is the German for 'revenge;' so don't lose your time looking for Miss Rachel." With which Parthian shot he walked away leaving the two rivals open mouthed behind him. (To be continued.) Why lie Wanted to Go. Up at primry school No. 9 in Brook lyn the other day, one of the boys pre sented a note from his mother, asking tr Iia flllrtwcw? tft on linmA a? 9 rtflnnb I fcW W V p. uv.uv WW v v.ww. . ' . I" u 1 1 1. 1 V. gui UUU (3 11 1 U 11 UfJ tTUUIUg. The teacher looked at him severely, j On another are two wee "new women" "See bete," she fcaid, "you've been, in bloomers exercising with dumb-bells out a great deal lately, and here you '"and Indian clubs. Other note paper have a note to go out again. Now, we j bears on the top a scene of tiny sum can 't do things that way. If you are mer belle and her attendant cavalier coming to school I want you to stay,0n board, a yacht What is known as here. What do you want to go out j "harlequin paper" Is decorated with tori" . I an elephant in scarlet trousers plavna aujt wuLiiei nuwu lua w m nc York," replied the small boy. "Wouldn't Saturday afternoon do just as well?1' ".No, ma am." "Do you have to go at 2 o'clock?" "Yes ma'am." "Wouldn't half past 2 do as well?" "No, ma'am'. "Well, what do you have to go for anyway? - iidi J . :t js i tt x leHoe, uin nut, uiv cuusiu urau.. i , The expression on the teacher's face ' was wonderful to behold as she gave the bov nermission toco. New York Even- ine Mail. Make Bequests of Their Brains, The Cornell Brain Association, of which Prof. Burt G. Wilder is presi dent, has received more than 100 be quests of the brains of highly educated ' people, as a result of the circulation of a unique " form of "will and testa- ment," which he drew up and asked them to sign. I I A Good "Word .for the Spider. Followlngthe wave of nature -study now passing ovet our land will cornea better understanding of the economy of nature. We "are not only . learning to know better the habits of animals. birds and insects, out otir eyer are be ing opened to the, effect of one .upon the other and God's great plan in it all. How few of us regard the spider, for Instance, as other than -an ; enemy. Spiders are ugly to be sure, some of tbem are" even repulsive,, but would we not.oe able -to; find In tbem same thing not so bad after all, If we stopped to think what they are and what they do. You say, "Oh, they catch, flies, of course." So they do, and tlies are mi crobe carriers, but . files -are not thelt only food. Caterpillars, .grasshoppers, locusts, June bugs, mosquitos, moths, and leaf eating, beetles are their far more numerous victims. ' , The most useful of all our spiders are those that destroy the caterpillars which prey upon the foliage of out shade and fruit trees. Have we hot all seen the large, unsightly webs on fruit trees, elms, ailanthus, and maple trees? ' These nests are made by the larvae of different kinds of web worms and each nest is the home of a colon of worms that crawl out at night to devour the surrounding leaves. . A sin gle web contains hundreds of worms and -as the web' protects the "caterpil lars from their bird - enemies theyJ would so rapidly Increase that the trees would be bare of foliage if It were not that spiders also make these nests- their homes and devour the worms in great numbers. Until I learned of the spider Inmates I thought when I saw a tree disfigured with one or more ugly webs that the next year the . increase . would have been so great that the tree would be stripped. I discovered my neighbor whose negligence I had so deplored still had fruit to eat and that the very trees whose sad fate I had prophesied would often come forth in beauty the next spring and be without a vestige of a web through the entire season. . I did not know wh'y until a spider showed me. f V V V 2 Rainy Day Friends One lonesome day I felt . so bad, --Because it rained, you see; . . I couldn't go to see my friends, Nor could they come to me. ; Then mamma said, "I'll make some friends With whom you'll like to play;" And so she folded paper up A sort of fanlike way.- She snipped and snipped with scissors then The paper opened wide, And such a lot of little girls Before me then I spied! They all took hold of hands, like- this, Just so they wouldn't fall,. And I made noses, eyes and mouths (With pencil) for them all. I gave them names, and set them in A row on my footstool; I played they were my company, My sisters, and my school. I took" them boating in a pan, And riding on the train; We "Ring Round Rosy" played a while. And I forgot the rain. We "snapped the whip" and skipped the rope, . . . And played menagerie, And mamma gave us pop-corn balls And frosted cake and tea. Oh. dear! 'twas such, a lovely time ' The hours just flew away! I really hope 'fore long we'll have Another rainy day. Youth's Companion. Paper for Invitations. There Is specially Imported station ery for little maidens to use in sending out their party invitations.. One style has the small sheets of heavy white paper decorated at the top in colors with a llttla o?vl onrl small YiAr, nnAtM a trombone, ana below: - -- The elephant played the trombone With his trunk so very long. He played the airs so finely, That never a note was wrong. Onr Patriotic Songa. How many boys and girls of 12 can write the words of "The Star Span gled Banner" and "America?" We I ought to know our patriotic songs as ie" ia "f we other day the Snron scn oara examined the " oruannia, ana me London" Chronicle published the work. One boy wrote down as the first line of the chorus, "Royl Brick Tanner, Brick Tanner rules the Way." Another be gan, "Rore Britainer.'" A third thus adjured his country, "Rail Briltanil, Briltanil Rails the Way," doubtless thinking of -the Gape " to Cairo 'project A fourth, more ambitious, gave a whole - verse, thus: - "The1 nations not so blest has he but still in stern but stU1 stern to God most all this was the nhltr and f"heltr nf tha Srnll and I God In Angles sang the Strang Bul- biantanya biatanya woves the Waves for Britains never will be slain." "Bui biatanya" has a fine South African twang about It. : Lord Kitchener a Schoolboy. Lord Kitchener received a part of This education at a school about four miles from Montreux, not far from the point where the Rhone enters the Lake of Geneya"Grand-Clos," as' the school was called,- numbered some "thirteen boys, and the headmaster was a cler gyman of the name of Bennett. They seem to have bad an enjoyable time there. A former master of the school, says- the . London Express, describes Kitchener at the age of 15. "He was of medium height, broad chested, a veryv model, of . strength, but not pas sienately addicted to sports. Solitary in his habits,, not chumming especially with any of his. school fellows, he worked - quietly and steadily, and proved always amenable to discipline." Where Potatoes Grow; "Humboldt says that at the time of the discovery of ""America the potato was--cultivated In .all the temperate parts of South America from Chile up the coast: The Spaniards at first no ticed it In Peru. " The. variety of potato cultivated in Europe and North Ameri ca grows wild in Chile. Different spe cies of the plant are found growing wim .In most parts .of South America, and, It Is claimed by many botanists, in aiexico ana Arizona. GIVING TO UNCLE SAM. Donations that Are Constantly Com insr in for the Government. Among the miscellaneous receipts of the national government are included gifts of money from persons, here and abroad, who desire to "do something" for Uncle Sam. It was recalled on a recent-anniversary of the death of Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed in the Civil War, at the battle of Wilson's Creek, that he left by will the most of his property to the United States Gov ernment. In fact, it Is In times of war that peo ple are most stimulated to make gifts. Miss Helen Gould'scontribution of one hundred thousand dollars during the war- with Spain Is well remembered. Among those who ga.ve in smaller amounts was a New York man, who sent one thousand dollars to be used In .the secret service, "without any ac counting for it" . He had read -that In former wars such funds, without the ordinary legal restrictions, had been of great service to the detective corps. An Englishman enclosed a postal order for ne pound sterling, "as a-contributlon toward carrying on your war with Spain." "From another Englishman, a clergyman,, came' half a guinea, which he hoped might, "furnish a cup of cold water to some member of the army or navy." V--. .. - - "" "''. "' Two little girls In1 St," Paul sent to Washington one dollar and forty cents at about, the same time. One man now sends to the Treasury four times in every year a present of seventy-two dollars, the' amount of his "pensiSh, which he purposes not to retain so long as he holds a Government position. These gifts are small in the aggre gate by comparison with' the. national expenditure, but they reyeal a benev olent purpose. What the Government desires of all itsrsons, really' more than money gifts, is an earnest and. abiding love of country, and this is a return which we can all make, in peace as well as in war. Youth's Companion. AN OLD DEBT. Wagrner Paid the Reckoning Lapse of Fourteen Tears, After The Uttle Steiger. Inn, hear Dresden, has celebrated its centennial,; and this, among other memories, is quoted by the Staats-Zeitung as belonging to It. In 1849, on a morning In May, the hostess of the inn heard distant firing, and' saw armed insurgents ; running along the road, as if in -flight This was. the last remnant -contributed by Dresden to the May revolution, and the Prussians were liard upon their track. Suddenly the hostess found herself confronted by a little man with smoke begrimed face and hands, who nodded and rushed Into the inn. "Give me a basin of" water," he pant ed, "and sonie bread and meat! Quick! An instant's delay may meaii death!" The hostess obeyed him.. , ; "You don't seem to know me," he said. . ' X-'m "Oh, I have seen you often, but" " ell, I hope I have credit enough for my breakfast, for I. haven't a pf en- nig about me. i waui a gniae to 1 sliow me the way through the forest to Freiburg," - - . -So the hostess sent her son to guide him through the woods. Fourteen years after a weILdressed4 nrtmnn nr&WhS kCTT at tho Yinm. nf tna nrA ' J " mw " 1.111. n 11 VI 1 vi -. dressed the hostess, with a smile: "Good day, Frau Wirthinr I have come to pay m debts. I have not for gotten what you did for me that ninth of May." He then paid for the breakfast eaten find casy vtctlins ln tne fatmillg Com so long before. - munities. One of the latest schemes Now,' said he. "that is off my eon- jor e tree agent to. offer to plant an science, remaps you . wouta use xo know whom you have trusted so long. Allow me to introduce myself as Rich ard Wagner, then a rebel, now amnes tied by 'the king." . .- - a i .1.- . . A. woru io me wist; may ue suiqcieni. j . , , ' " , . -yet doubtlessiyou have observed that most of the letters you receive are writ-. ten at length. . . j it Is easier to get a man to tell you how a thing should be done than it is to get a man to do it ' ----- I . The man who is always calling for the fool-killer would be the first to hide 1 if he saw him coming. . - .. - . - ( . Circular Form of Silo. The consensus of opinion of those who have studied the slid problem in dicates that the circular form Is pref erable. There are, however, many square and rectangular silos in success ful operation. Especially is this the case with those having rounded corners. Where great strength and large capac ity are demanded the frame circular silo will best meet . the requirements. This form of silo can be made quite durable by plastering the inside with cement The circular stave silo, owing to its simplicity and economical con- -struction, seems to fully meet the re quirements of the farmer. With the form of silo properly erected the waste of silage is reduced to the minimum. Hoops for the silo can be made of any suitable material, - such as half Inch, seven-sixteenths Inch or five eighths inch' round Iron, one-eighth inch flat Iron two inches wide or wire. The "woven ' wire fence hoop Is often used since it is regarded as being very economical. - Doors may. be simply sawed out, or made continuous from the bottom to thetop of the: silo. The CIRCULAR SILO.' Vj- ! sawed out doors may be ranged one above the other, with a "stationary ladder placed alongside running to the top of the silo, as shown in the cut When the silo is built on the outside of the barn, a roof is needed. This may be simply a shed roof constructed with plank, or a heat, inexpensive shin gle roof, as shown in the cut. A Suitable Dust Bath. All chickens seem to thoroughly en joy a dust bath, and its use undoubted ly is a benefit to their plumage, besides ridding them of lice." If the plumage is to be kept clean and bright especial ly ou birds intended for exhibition' pur poses or of white varieties, it is essen-. tial that the dusting place be kept abJ solutely dry,, as otherwise it will soil the plumage and the fine bird on which you may pride yourself will look very dingy. The roofed box in the sketch will give an Idea of how birds may be pro vided with a. dry dust bath In nearly all kinds of weather. Cloths may be tacked across the top ends, with hooks at bottom for stormy weather,' if the box is in a field. Some poultry raisers allow their fowls, -the' "liberty of the sheds where the farm machinery Is housed and here they get a fine dusting in all sorts of weather, but if the birds roost on them it does not improve their AN ALL-WEATHER DUST BOX. looks nor the working of the farm im plements. ' Better keep them out and assign them quarters more fitting. The cost of cleaning machinery of hen manure on some rarms woura ouua palatial abodes -for the hens and make, tbem aprpfitable part of the farm. John G. Knott in Farm and Home. cnee" m K is really surprising how frequent- ly farmers are taken in by tree sharps, ..... . tion concerning tree growth -and soils possessed by all farmers would be suf ficient to make them suspicious of big j stories, but it Is evident, from the way i In mKlnh 1 n rrto.ii aa thrliro that tliov acre with trees for $100 and to care for the trees for five years. In addi tion he agrees that the firm he repre sents will buy all the fruit from the trees at an advance of from 10 to 25 per -cent over me iuims manci piiv.c. ii . , m - . would hardly seem as if any man of In- te,a e would De a by such a j- yet hundrcd9 6t doUars are being put in the pockets of these rogues by unsuspecting farmers. There are many nurserymen in the country who sell their products entirely through agents, and such men are re- liable, but they do not tell Improbable tories or exhibit wax fruit and claim t to be genuine; neither do they make offers such as the one above stated. As a rule, it is entirely safe to refuse to sign! any paper offered by a stranger for even a simple reeeipt may turn up a note, which must be paid: - A On- At a n Raw A cross-cut saw will get through great deal more wood with" a given amount of muscle than any other hand device. With this rocking walking ueuui auacuiueui auu its weuruieu aim swinging pendulums, one mau can eas ily manage the saw. - The ' post, as shown in the cut should betibou't eight feet high to admit of having a pendent sufficiently -long to give the required length of stroke. The ; weight-on the outer, pendent should be just sufficient to prevent the saw from riding. Tha spring from main post to the saw ONE-MAN CKOSSCUT SAW. should be strong enough to help the sawyer on the return stroke. A stout cord running over a pulley with a weight attached, may take theilace of the spring. A. stiff wire with a hook in the lower end answers very well In place of the wooden pendent shown in the cut When It is adjusted just right the walking beam will see-saw easily, as it follows the motion of the saw. John Jackson, in Agricultural Epito mist . Aids to Whitewashing:. The use of the fruit-spraying pumps makes easy the task of whitewashing stables, henhouses and cellars, and it Is much more effectual than the use of the brush, because by 'making the stream a little larger and more forci ble," which most spraying nozzles ad mit of, a stream can be sent Into cracks and crevices where the brush would not reach. It may not prove as pene trating or as powerful a disinfectant as the gas from burning sulphur and charcoal, but it takes next rank, and can be used where it might not be well to use the sulphuric acid gas, as In cellars, under living rooms. If. it is to be used as a disinfectant or as an in sect destroyer, the addition of a llttlo carbolic acid or a little dissolved cop peras to the whitewash may be an ad vantage, and -we prefer the 'latter, at least -In -cow, stables, because-jit emits no offensive odor. Let thelime be thoroughly slaked, and strained, through a cloth, so that it may be thin enough to work well In the nozzle. And sides, ceilings, corners and floor's can be well sprayed in onerfourth the time needed for the use of the brush: Applied dur ing the hot., weather, it does not take long to dry,' and two coats can easily be given if one does not look thick enough when dried. New England ' Home stead. ' ' , '; Handy Hay Derrick. W. A. Clearweather, of Indiana, sends Iowa Homestead a sketch of a derrick which he has found very handy for building stacks out in the field. The runners are B$dout of 2x12 stuff fourteen feet long, the center cross piece 3x8j and the outside cross pieces 5x8, all let in as shown in the illustration. The four braces are ,made of 4x4 stuff. The post may be either round or be ten feet high. The pole "a" should square and should be about thirty feet long, so. as to. make a goodized stack. It should be made of pretty good tim ber. White oak is good and seasoned red elm is also very good for this purpose. Have the" blacksmith make a fork like that seen at "b" to fasten on the top Of the post upon which the pole re volves.' An old buggy spindle Is a' very good.thbag for putting on this piece. The illustration shows the lo cation of pulleys and the method of adjusting the pole for stacking. In stacking set the- derrick to the wind ward of the stack. Feeding; Grain to Steers. Feeding grain to steers on grass la justified when pastures are short and where these cannot be supplemented with some kind of fodder.' Where steers are partly warmed up with grain before being turned to grass it may prove an excellent practice to con- .tinue feeding them about one peck per day. By following this practice the animals may be kept going from the first day. Such animals may be mar keted earlier than those that are grass fed alone and invariably will command a little higher price. It is generally ad visable to grind corn for grass fed steers. Animals on grass' alone fre quently lose weight during: the first weeks after being turned out, so that the time required to make this up is entirely lost When grain is feed it is a good plan to feed a" little roughage, such as timothy or clover hay- during the first week after turning' to grass in order to - prevent scouring. Iowa Homestead. - Poultry as Insect Destroyers. No. one who has ,np. made tobserva tion in that direction'' can form any es timate of the large number of ' insects destroyed by -farm poultry in a season. The guinea Is constantly at work and carefully searches -every square foot of land. In an orchard a .flock of active hens, such as Leghorns, will do excel lent service, and they, will need but little assistance, If any, as they will secure more food than may be supposed- . I