Corvallis gazette., December 30, 1902, Image 1

VTflOS Estab. JTnly, 1897.
GAZKTTK tab. Le. 1862.
(Consolidated Feb., 1899.'
COKVALXIS, BENTON COUNTY OREGON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30,-1902.
VOL. III. , NO. 36.
; wi aissaMa4as:
I LORD OF THE DESERT I
By PAUL de LANEY.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Trapper's Story.
"Tell us, Mr. Hammersley, about
yourself," said Bertha, the night of
the trapper's return after supper was
over and the evening was before
them. "Father," she continued, "has
told .me very much about you, but he
only knows your late afe. We are un
der so many obligations to you that I
we feel Interested in your early his
tory, your childhood, your birthplace,
your rather and mother, your brothers
and sisters everything about yon
Mr. Hammersley!"
"You ask something that I know but
little about, myself," replied the trap
per. "I have been on these plains so
long that the past all seems like a
dream. In fact, it is so much like a
dream that I sometimes get it con
foune'ed with my dreams and scarcely
k-ow which is real and which a
dream.
"I was born in New Tork City. At
least, when I first recollect, we
were living in Boston, and my
mother told me that I was born
Jn New York, and that we had
lived in Chicago. My step-father
was a big coarse fellow, a ship-
carpenter, and as soon as I was large
enough to be in the way he was very
cruel to me. It seems that he and
my mother were married when I was
only two years old, and that my father
had died when I was only one year
old. I do not even know his name.
It is unfortunate, too, but I was so
young and knew not the importance
of having my own na.me. so I took the
name of my step-father, though I
bear the given name of my father.
This much I learned, but I do not re
member how I learned it
"Anyway, mv mother died when I was
still a mere child and then I was sent
to a sort of orphanage or place for
the poor, and as soon as I got old
enough to leave the place I did so,
and drifted into the streets was a
common street arab for several years
sold papers, shined shoes and did
such things as that class of boys do
until I was fifteen years old. In the
meantime I had been reading cheap
novels I had picked up a smattering
education at the orphanage, and kept
up reading. My soul was fired to go
west and kill Indians, and be a hunt
er and trapper and do such other
things that a frontier life might lead
to.
"Well, one day I met Leonidas Lig-
BetVan Englishman, 'hc said he had
known my mother and fathaf adn
took a great interest in me on that ac
count. He said that he was going to
join an immigrant train to cross the
plains and asked me if I did not want
to come. It was the thing I most de
sired, and I had. no preparations to
make, as I had all that I possessed in
the world on .my back.
"We joined the Immigrant train early
In the spring and I worked my way by
driving stock, helping about camp and
doing whatever fell to my lot. We had
many adventures, were attacked by
the Indians, some of the immigrants
took sick and died, and the teams
gave out, provisions run short, in fact,
we had the usual mishaps of a trip
across this long stretch of uninhabit
ed country.
"When we reached the Boise City
military post my friend Liggett met
Martin Lyle and after a few minutes
conversation he got employment with
him and came on to the desert. They
seemed to know each other, or some
thing of each other, and after they
met they were never separated before
they left for the plains. Liggett came
and bade me good bye and said he
was sorry he could not get me em
ployment, too. but I did not enre to
come to the desert then, did not want
to work on a ranch, and remained
with the immigrant train under the
protection of the military post.
"An old trapper by the name of
Mike Hope came into Boise one day
with a fine load of furs. He was
dressed in furs and was scarred and
rugged, and told of his adventures on
the desert. I followed him about the
post every day to hear him relate h's
adventures and when he had finally
sold his furs at a good price and
bought his supplies, among them be
ing a number of large bear traps. I
ventured to approach him and request
that he take me along. He sized me
up and after learning from some of
the immigrants with whom I had
crossed the plains that I was what ho
considered a true blue, he consented.
"We left and came to this very
place, and while he had prepared a
great deal of the improvements here,
I assisted him in making more. But
he had found the secret chamber, and
it was always guarded as such and
kept prepared as a refuge in case we
were ever attacked by the Indians,
though he always treated them right
and often made them presents. On
account of this course we were never
attacked by them, though we often
met them when they were on the war
path.
"The second summer after I came
poor old Mike left me in charge of
the place and traps and he .made an
other trip to Boise. That Is the last
I ever saw of him. He got into a
game of cards and then a fight and ho
was killed along with several others
In the fight. When I finally became
alarmed I made the trip to Boise and
learned the facts of his death. I also
learned that he did his part in the
fight.
"Left in this manner there was but
one thing for me to do. I had learned
the trapping business and liked it.
There was money in it. and I return
ed and took charge of the place as my
own. In a short time after my re
turn I found your father under the
circumstances doubtless that he has
already explained to you and since
that time I have had no occasion to
get lonesome or give up the plains, as
I have made his cause my cause and
long to fee him revenged against the
terrible deed of his brother and his
companion. Dan Follett." j
"But did you ever meet your friend
JJggett, again," inquired Bertha. j
"No, not. to talk with him. I only
saw him ence, but I do not think he
recognized me. I stopped at the
Stone House once, for water and saw
him there. I do not think he would
know me now," said the trapper.
"But you say he seemed to know
my uncle?", replied Bertha.
"No, I did not mean that," said the
trapper. "They appeared to know
something in common, or to un
derstand, one another In some way.
But that is also like a dream and I
may have been mistaken."
After a few moments of silence the
trapper continued: "So that is my
whole story, so far as I know it. and
there is nothing out of the ordinary
about it. The novels I used to read
ltd me to believe that there was -ro
mance about everything in the west
but it is all alike to me. The daily
attention to the traps, the curing of
furs, the passing band of Indians, all
except the unfortunate events con
nected with yourself and your father
are common-place to me."
Before the 1 conversation was re
newed there was a pounding on the
outer door of the structure, for it was
getting on toward midnight and the
door had been closed.
The trapper rose and closing all ev
idence of a room behind him wended
his way to the place of alarm.
CHAPTER XVIII.
News From the Stone House.
Oscar Metzger, one of. the surviv
ing cowboys, and the one who had
been trusted with returning to the
Stone House on forming the, compact,
was found at the door when' the trap
per responded that night. He had
ridden the journey in great haste and
considered that the circumstances de
manded it.
AH was tumult at the Stone House.
Old Egan and his warriors had sur
rounded the place and would accept
no terms of peace. It was only
through an occasional gift by the
Lord of The Desert to the old chief
that he had kept on peaceful terms
with him so long for the old chief
had always considered the "White
Grizzly," as he calld him, a menace
to the Indian's welfare and an en
croacher upon his rights; besides
this, the horses and cattle of the
Lord of The Desert had always been
considered a valuable prize and the
late improved guns and revolvers
about the place had more than once
tten the better of the chief 's
i ? Vr"xr f1"
sides, and ifienTfeTul'llfinToTrTU IJAIU'P"
at the foot of Ash Butte. In the
meantime he had wrung from one o
the Warm Springs warriors the con
fession that Follett had come to the
Warm Springs camp and persuaded
them to embark in the enterprise
against the Piutes. The old chief
suspected this, but he wished to as
sure his warriors of the fact to make
them the more sanguine in the at
tack upon the Stone House.
On the night of their arrival at Ash
Butte a strong guard had been placed
over Follett, but a stronger guard
had been placed about the horses,
which were also carefully corraled
that night. Both guards were in
structed to keep a vigilant watch, the
one to see that their prisoner escaped
and the other to see that he did not
secure a horse.
Late in the night Follett's guarc?
"faked" sleep and the wily French
man crawled away as lightly as a cat.
When once in the darkness and alone
he looked about to secure a horse but
he saw the forms of Esan's warriors
silhoutted against the horizon when
ever he discovered the dark outline
of an animal. In making his last at
tempt to secure one of the animals,
and when he thought he was about to
be rewarded for his trouble, a war
rior shouted the Indian word for
"coyote," and a dozen arrows
"whished" in close proximity to him.
Then he saw them sneaking in his
direction as if to surround him, and
he made away through the sage
brush, striking boldly out across the
desert, guided by the north star.
To add to his discomfort the In
dians had removed his hat and coat
and boots that night and he was now
a fugitive on the desert without a
coat, hat or shoes.
Old Egan had arranged his plans,
and history itself records the fact
that this old chief always laid them
well. Couriers had already been sent
to other allies of his tribe, while
scouts were put on Dan Follett's trail
to see that he went to the Stone
House.
These scouts had followed him,
climbing among the rimrocks by day
and observing him as he picked his
way across the plain, and then fol
lowed by night. They had seen him
visit the trapper's abode, and had fol
lowed him on until he entered the
Stone House. In the meantime Ola.
Egan had mustered his men and, two
hundred strong, had started for the
Stone House, while he expected as
many more allies to join him there
sooner or later. There were maraud
ers among the Modocs and Klamaths
that he could count on, and he had
sent for these also.
The destruction of the power of the
Lord of The Desert had long been
contemplated and the time had now
come.
Egan was hot slow to look after his
own interests. To arrive first upon
the scene and select a few of the
choicest of the "White Grizzly's" cat-
' tie and hordes and make way with
them before the arrival of his allies
, was his purpose, and then besiege the
whites until his allies arrived and
then crush the enemy and divide the
I remaining spoils.
I And he - was not slow In action.
i Dan Follett reached the Stone House
i just after dark one night, and the fol
lowing morning found Old Egans
warriors around the entire premises
at a safe distance from the loop-holes
of the outer walls, while a detachment
of his men had driven away select
bands of horses ad cattle.
The first cowboy to go without the
enclosure that morning received an
unmistakable warning in the form of
a feathered arrow which was battered
against the wall near his head. Then
he saw the war bonnets of the Piutes
protruding above the rocks and boul
ders in every direction, and rushed
back into the enclosure, followed by
a shower of arrows, and gave the
alarm.
There were about 50 of the inmates
all told and all owned revolvers, but
there were not more than -half that
number of rifles. They were well
prepared for defense against an or
dinary Indian attack, but it was not
thought safe to go into . the open
against the odds that appeared be
fore them in ambush. They made a
sally just before night, but in the
open the Indians had an advantage
from behind the rocks and fences and
the cowboys refurned with some loss
in wounded.
It was then that the Lord of The
Desert decided to send for relief.
General Crook had recently arrived
at old Fort Warner and, expecting
that the Indians would . guard the
trail toward this point, Martin Lyle
knew but one man that he could trust
to reach the Fort, and that was Wil
liam Hammersley. He called for a
volunteer to carry a message to the
trapper and Metzker, anxious to re
turn to the trapper's abode was
quick to volunteer and was .more
quickly selected to carry the .mis
sive. He had slipped through the
enemy's lines without mishap and
made his way to the trapper s quar
ters bringing the trapper a request
from the Lord of The Desert to go to
the government fort for aid at once
ind promising him a liberal reward
for his trouble.
(To be Continued.)
POLICEMAN'S LESSON.
One Telia How Reckless He Was with
ills weapons at First.
"Experience is certainly a good teach
er." observed a member of the Wash
ington police force while discussing
the order of Maj. Sylvester concern
ing the establishment of a school of
instruction. "Some Instruction to new
appointees," he added, "Is absolutely
necessary, and with the proper. start
experience will do th3 reL . - . -;-
'I remember my first tour of duty.
which was many years ago, and I also
remember that it not only came near
being my last, but came near result
ing disastrously for me. Having been
sworn in and sent out to do police duty
without being instructed as to my
rights, I started over the beat to which
I was assigned armed with all the
dangerous weapons usually carried by
policemen.
'These weapons were not Intended
for mere playthings I thought and that
I had a right to use them under any
and all circumstances I did not doubt.
Should I want to make an arrest for
any violation of the law and was un
able to overtake the offender I was
satisfied that I had the right to stop
him with a bullet.
"During the evening," the policeman
continued, according to the Washing
ton Star, "I came across a party of
crap shooters on the commons, and
that I thought was an opportunity to
distinguish myself. Being unable to
overtake those who had participated
in the game I proceeded to send bullets
toward them, and only gave np my
efforts when I had emptied my pistol.
So far as I was concerned the affair
was fun for me, but I nearly dropped
dead when a friend informed me that
I might have been given a penitentiary
sentence had one of the bullets. from
my pistol taken effect
"During the succeeding twenty years
or more I did not find it necessary to
discharge my revolver. Experience
proved a good teacher for me, although
proper Instruction at the time of my
appointment would have avoided the
possibility of my being sent to prison."
AN UP-COUNTRY SOLOMON.
He Rendered a Very Wise and Equit
able Decision.
In a small town in one of the central
counties of New York State lives an
old German, who, because of the high
esteem in which he Is held in the com
munity, was elected justice of the
peace. The old , gentleman was once
called upon, says the New York Times,
to decide a most perplexing question.
One of his fellow citizens owned a
dog which, although not very vicious,
had a bad hab.c of barking at passers
by. A neighbor vowed vengeance. His
chance came when he was returning
from a shooting trip, gun in hand. The
dog ran out and barked savagely at
him, and he fired, at the animal. As
his aim was bad, the dog escaped, yelp
ing, with nothing more serious than a
wounded taiL
The owner of the dog had his neigh
bor brought before the old justice oh a
charge of cruelty to animals, and the
court-room was crowded with the par
tisans of both men. The justice heard
the charge, and then the defense that
the dog was a dangerous animal and a
menace to the neighborhood. The old
German cleared his throat and deliver
ed the dictum:
"Der man he has been guilty of cru
elty to animals." And one side of the
court-room applauded the justice of
the decision.
"But der tog he vas a vicious tog."
And the other, side voiced its approvaL
"I vill fine der man five tollars." An
other murmur in the court-room.
"But I Till glf him an oder shot at der
tost"
tei-.
My Grandma.
My grandma sits in a rockfag xhair, .
By the window, in the sSn; - -:
She wears a soft little lacy,cap, :
And a big white apron o her lap.
And there's always room fr a little girl
..there i .... ..i-----'.
That's tired of frolic an fun. .
.' - .... r-rr-. - -
My grandma has always a pocket -full -
Of peppermint drops andcakes;
And she knows such pretonfcs - that
she sings,
And stories about oh, -Ms of things.
And sometimes she lets me ind the wool
For the stockings and" things she
-makes. l
- c-
She told me a queer thing tte other day.
And she says it's really"fyue :
My grandma had soft red cheeks one
. -". time, - . -1
And hair that was just 't. black as
mine; - ; - "V:-'v:: , .
And she could run and tumble and play,
And. all the things I can do!-:
I wish I had known my gran 1 ma then;
How . very nice it would l-e .
If grandma were: little and playod with
Dressing our dollies, and foing-to .tea,
And swinging, rand watchmr: the ftuntie
- hen, ' , ' - ,
And clirobtnjj the cherry tree! " ,
But when we were too tired out to play,
And the sandman crept along.
What should I do for my grandma's lap,
And her songs to drowsy me into a
nap?
I'm glad my grandma is old and gray,
While I'm just little and young:
Youth's Companion.
What Do They Think of Yonrs ?
"I wonder what kind of a mother
that boy has."
"It Is easy to guess."
Two boys were playing marbles as
two ladles came slowly along the walk.
Just .as they were passing one of the
boys jumped up with an angry face.
'That isn't so, Jack Pierce, and you
know it."
'It is," cried Jack. "I beat you fair-
You're mad because you're beaten. You
always get mad."
The angry boy struck his companion
and ran away.
Will and Harvey had been watching
the game and heard the remarks of the
ladies. Later In the day the two were
talking with their mother, and told her
of the little occurrence.
"They talked as If Bob had a poor
sort of a mother," said Will. "And
that isn't so. Mrs. Spencer's a real
nice woman, and ever so kind to us
boys."
'And so good to Bob," chimed in
Harvey. "It's a shame for folks to say
such things."
'But it is a very natural thing to
say, , said mother. "Don't you know
that most people judge of a mother by
what their children are?"
"O mother," said Harvey, in grave
concern. Do yon mean that people
will think that of you if we are not
good?"
'Certainly they will, my dear, If
they think at all about It."
'I never thought of that," said their
sister Elsie, coming up and laying her
head on mother's shoulder.
They shan't dare to think you're not
the best mother in the world," said
Will fiercely.
It is for you, dears, to show what
kind of a mother I am," she said, put
ting her arm around Elsie.
"Mrs. Spencer does try to make Jack
good, I know," said Harvey. "She
talks to him about his temper and he
promises, and then when he gets angry
he forgets and flies np again."
"So, by his not heeding her talk he
leads people to misjudge her."
"We don't any of us get Into pas
sions, like Bob " began WilL
"No, but . what do people think when
they see a boy in school so full of fun
that he neglects his own lessons and
leads others into trifling, to the great
annoyance of his teacher?"
Will gave a rueful little shake of the
head.
"Or when a boy goes to school with
rough hair and unblacked shoes, and
keeps his desk in such disorder that
his teacher writes a complaint about
It?"
"That's me," said Harvey, meekly. -
"Or when a little girl "
. "Don't say a word, mother," pleaded
Elsie, hiding her face. "I know I've
bad bad lessons all the week. Just
because I've been sewing for my new
doll and never went to study when you
told me."
"Woll 111 - irnn ... TIT 111
braced himself np, if any one. because
of me, has been thinking poorly of
my mother it's time I was facing
about, and that's what I'm going to
do." -
"Me. too," declared Harvey.
"And I," said Elsie. : '
"But don't my dears," said mother,
"begin, your Improvement simply be
cause of what people will think. Try
to tlo right because It Is right to be
good rather than to appear good. Then
there will be no doubt of what will be
thought of mother." New York Ob
server. -
A Chicken Tale. -
A lady living In Maryland writes to
the Woman's Journal as follows: I
want to tell the children a story of a
little Plymouth Rock pullet that I
have. She ; was hatched under the
back porch, and has never been willing
to live In the. chicken-yard with the
rest of the chickens, but stays around
the house and Is very tame. "
One morning a few days ago my hus
band said: "How did an egg get on
the staircase leading to the third
story?". ;-.. .VV -"' .: . : : ' . '
Sue said: "I saw the little pullet In
the front halL. I suspect she laid it"
-1 thought that was rather Improb
able, but did not say so.
This morning I was out in the gar
den, and, happening to glance up, saw
the little hen on the window sill of
my bedroom in the second story! She
came down as quietly as she went rip.
Before I leave my room in the morn
ing I always turn the bed back to air
It; and there, on the wire mattress, I
found a freshly laid egg. Was it not
the funniest nest you ever heard of?
Tefferann's Ten BhIm.
Never put off until to-morrow what
you can do to-day.
Never trouble another for what you
can do yourself.
Never spend money before yon have
earned It-
Never buy what you don't want be
cause It is cheap. ;
Pride costs more than hunger, thirst
and cold.
We seldom repent of having eaten
too little.
- Nothing Is troublesome that we- do
willingly. - - -
How much pain the evils have cost
us tnat nave never hanncned!
Take things always by the smooth
handle. ...
- When angry, count ten before you
speak; if very angry, count a hun-
dred. - . .
Tri OUGHT BLUSHES iVVERE PAINT;
Motherly uld - Lady Was (Severe on
the Girl Artist.
It was an 86th street cross-town car
and the girl boarded it weighed down
with bundles. Unmistakably she was
an artist, for she carried a paintbox
and a stretcher and under her arm was
tucked a campstool. -
It didn't take a Sherlock Holmes to
discover that she had been at work all
day and from the tired, overheated
look of her face one would think she
had been working bard, too. People
began to cast furtive glances at her
and to speculate upon where she bad
been painting and one or two immacu
late gentlemen craned their necks po
litely to see what was on the canvas.
But the girl saw only the continued
staring and suddenly a sickening sense
of fear came to her. What if she had
got a dab of paint on her somewhere.
Fancy what a sight she must be with
a streak of green running zigzag down
the length of her nose, or indigo blue
disporting itself on her forehead. The
thought alone made her flush rosy red.
A motherly looking old lady sat be
side her. Ordinarily she was undoubt
edly a pleasant-faced dame, but just
when the girl caught her eye she
glared furiously at that young offend
er. The girl felt her face growing
redder and redder. Undoubtedly it
was paint!
She could stand the suspense no
longer, says the New York Times, and
took out her handkerchief preparatory
to rubbing off the offending blotch.
Putting the corner resolutely to her
mouth to moisten it, she leaned over
to the old lady beside her.
"Pardon me," she said, "but is there
any paint on my face?"
The old lady drew herself up In
stately fury. "Yes," she said curtly.
"Where?" came the tentative query.
"All over-, it, you little hussy," an
swered the enraged dame.
- A Question of Sex.
A bright little Washington girl,. 4
years old, who is a descendant of Go
bright, the veteran journalist of a dec
ade ago, shows a decided ability, to
think and decide for herself quite up
to the standard of her brainy ances
tor. She was repeating her prapers at
bedtime recently, the Lord's Prayer
first, and, as is her habit, winding up
with a petition for blessings on the
various members of the family of both
sexes. But this time, when she came
to the conclusion, she hesitated a mo
ment as a new Idea struck her and
then In a most devout tone added:
"Amen and a-women!"
"Why, daughter, you must not say
that! What did you say 'a-women'
for?" asked her mother in surprise.
"Well," replied the young philoso
pher, "didn't I pray for women as well
as men?" Lippincott's.
Straw as Fuel.
Straw fuel Is now being made in the
great wheat-producing countries, where i
huge stacks of straw are annually de-i
stroyed by burning in order to get rid
of them. The straw is not required j
there and Is in the way.. A machine)
has been Invented to go from farm to j
farm and transform that straw into ,
block fuel by mixing resinous sub-,
stances with It and compressing It.
J tT &;
VhP&
.
. Simple Poultry Brooder. .
E. A. McNear, of Melrose, Mass.,
sends plans of a brooder which is his
own idea and which he claims will
raise every chick put Into it. It can
be made any length, partitioned off,
and the chicks can go in and out of
the sides Instead of the end. Take a
box 3 feet long, 1 foot wide and 1
feet deep. Cut a round hole in each
end six or eight inches in circumfer
ence, according to the size of the stove
pipe. I use eight-inch common tin
pipe, the same as they use on a fur-
IirPLE BBOODEB.
nace to heat a house. The cover and
bottom can be on hinges, so they can
be let down or lifted up and cleaned In
two minutes. - The pipes should have
two elbows. The one at' the back
should turn down, and the one at .the
other end should turn up, so there can
be a cover to it, with two or . three
small holes punehea Inthe cover so as
not to waste too much heat. I use a
single burner oil stove.' , . This stove
will lieat a brooder ten or twelve feet
long. Poultry Keeper. : V -
" For Bofi-H-ililffij Use. -.. '
A.' J. Berrv, or rfau.Mck OTunTy, In
diana, writes Iowa Farmer: As the
timer for butchering is approaching
there will be a desire to know of sim
ple and yet handy devices for aiding
the work in butchering. I have made
at a very little expense a very com
plete arrangement for butchering hogs
and my neighbors enjoy it as much as
I do. It is made by taking a large pole
about thirty feet long for a lever and
another about ten feet long for a post
which is set In the ground. A clevis
shaped iron is made for the top of the
post to support the lever and permit
ting it to swing around in any position.
The lever can be -used In lifting the
hog in any part of the butchering op
eration. It can be swung from the
scalding vat to the scraping table,
thence to the hanging bracket which
BUTCHEBING DEVICE.
can be made for several hogs if de
sired. I believe this to be the simplest
and most inexpensive arrangement for
butchering hogs.
Shaker Dairying;.
The Canterbury Shakers of New
Hampshire have some 4,000 acres of
land, and .the community numbers
about 100 persons. A large quantity
of dairy products is consumed by a
family of that size, and some years
ago with an ordinary dairy and meth
ods, some butter had to be purchased
for home use. That necessity caused
more attention to be given to the dairy.
Poor cows were sold and more scien
tific method3 of feeding adopted. In
order to further improve the herd and
increase its butter capacity, two thor
oughbred Guernsey bulls were pur
chased about four years ago from Mr.
Mixter's, of Barre, Mass. By constant
care, and the raising of the best heifer
calves, the dairy has steadily Improv
ed, until last season, with a dairy of
forty cows, fifteen of which were two-year-old
heifers, an average of 300
pounds of butter per cow was made.
Instead of purchasing butter for home
consumption, $2,000 worth of butter
was sold and $1,000 worth of stock.
They have now about 120 head of cat
tle, sixteen of which are pure-bred
Guernseys. The sisters take entire care
of the milk after the milking is done,
run the separator, including the engine
which furnishes the power, care for
the cream and milk and make the but
ter. New England Farmer.
Waste Apples.
As the apple season progresses we
see more and more the need of some
good outlet for waste apples. In some
localities they go to the cider mills;
but there is not much profit in that,
even when a man's conscience is not
involved. They can be fed to pigs and
cows, and perhaps that is as good a use
as any. There Is a very common preju
dice ajainst feeding fresh apples to
milch cows, and It hag some founda
tion In the fact that cows are often
harmed by eating them. Such cases,
however, seem to occur always from
the cows getting out and filling up
full at the piles of half-rotten apples
under the trees." Cows will be made
sick by eating good, clean corn fodder
If they ' break into the cornfield and
stuff themselves some time when they
have not been used to eating green
corn. Careful tests show that apples
fed regularly and in moderation to
cows will produce no bad effects. Their
nutritive value is not very great, but
they do no damage. Country Gentle
man.'," Moat and Least Profitable Crops.
- Out of 141 correspondents of the
Board of Agriculture sixty-two called
potatoes the most profitable, and twenty-seven
called them the least profit
able; eight called corn the most profit
able and sixty-four thought it the least
profitable;, forty-one consider hay the
most profitable; "thirty-two apples; ten
oats; seven tobacco; seven - cranber
ries; six cabbages; six sweet corn; six
strawberries r four each favored on
ions, tomatoes, beans and fruit; three
each peaches and pears, two market
garden crops and two asparagus; one
each for rutabagas, forage crops, cel
ery, milk, plums and root crops; nine
thought hay the least profitable; seven,
tomatoes; six apples; four each said
squashes, cabbages and sweet corn;
three each milk, cranberries and beans;
two each said onions, pears and cu
cumbers, and one each asparagus,
grapes, cauliflowers, beets, , melons,
peas, small fruit and market garden
crops; sixty-two considered the season
to have been profitable; eleven -as
above the average for profit; sixteen
as an average for profit; eighteen fair
ly profitable, and thirty-seven thought
it had been an unprofitable one. Thus
it will be , seen that much depends
upon the location, and more perhaps -upon
the Individual as to 'the profit on
crops. In nearly ' every -country corn -and
potatoes were less than an aver
age crop, but the loss on amount in
potatoes-was largely made up by the-
h lC " ' I ' immrtte , PlOUgh-
Every orchard and garden should
have a supply of wire baskets of dif
ferent sizes and shapes. They are tne
cleanest and most dura
ble, besides allowing the '
free circulation of air
through their contents.
In use in a garden
where a water tank and
hose ' connection are -available
they are a
great labor saver. The
baskets may be filled with potatoes ;
and other vegetables, the hose turned
on and the contents immediately wash
ed without touching the vegetables by
hand. When not in use they are easily
hung up out of the way. Exchange.
Farm Investments.
Investors ought to be satisfied with
a low rate of .interest in agricultural,
investment on account of its relative
safety. As yet it is a little soon in our .
history, to expect that the new agricul
ture of the future shall have any spe-
cial attractions for capital. But the i
time will come when all of our old
depleted lands will be regenerated and '
revived, through the era of invested "
capital. There is very little chance for
any regenerative work in agriculture t
without such investment. The poor .'
man must either keep to the skimming .
policy, or work for others until he -has
put by enough to be a capitalist
himself, in a small way at least. I
have always been averse to recom-
mending any man to go in debt for
anything. Yet most of the successes i
of this world are made by those whoy
venture in this respect. A never for-
gotten remark I once heard by a nice t;
old capitalist was to the effect that he
always loaned money to the man who
wanted to buy manure with it ;
Hoard's Dairyman. -
Work in Winter. - -J
There Is plenty of work to do in win- -.
ter if the farm is rightly managed. It"
is the season of the year for all re- "
pairs and renewals. Every implement"
or piece o.? machinery should be over--!
hauled and all repairs ordered, so as 3
to be ready for spring work. An 1m
plement that is in good order saves
labor and enables the farmer to hurry '
with the early work when every day
is valuable. The farmer who does not X
place his implements under cover at .5
this season may be forced to buy new
ones much sooner than he expects. SJ
-i
Milk and Hog Cholera. - J
During seasons when hog cholera is ? '
prevalent it has been noted that what y
are known as the creamery and dairy-
sections of the country suffer much less n
from the disease than those sections
where the steer takes the place of the
dairy cow. The reason assigned is that "
pigs in the dairy sections get a good :
ration of skimmilk, one of the best bat- '
anced rations to be had, and are thus
better fitted to resist the disease than j; ;
purely corn-Ted hogs. Creamery Jour(3
nal. :
7.
The practice of using a half bushel.
of seed per acre is good.' In a f avor-r; ,
able season, : with plenty of fertilizer, :
more seed could be profitably used, buCi? i
the tendency is to inferiority in qual-
ity, especially in decreasing the pro-
tela and increasing the fiber.