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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (May 19, 1903)
7 A SEMI-WEEKLY. Srrkc?!Z2. (Consolidated Feb., 1899. COBVAIiLIS, BENTON COUNTY, OKEGON, TUESDAY, MAY 19, 1903. TCXL. IV. NO. 4, OORVA iWhiteHandl - H A Tale of the Early Settlers of Louisiana. o BY AUSTIN C. BURDICK CHAPTER XXII. (Continued.) For some moments after this recital, not a word was spoken, and the only sounds that broke the stillness were the sobs of the marquis. "Shall such a -foul mockery stand?" at .length said St. Denis, in agony. '"Let it be torn in sunder and cast aside. By no law of justice or right can " "Hold!" interrupted Lobois. who had now nerved himself up to the conflict. "You but make a useless disturbance when you thus give thought to the idea of annulling the bond of marriage between my wife and myself. Ere I took the final step I consulted with the governor,-and he bade me go on, and I have his pledge of sustaining me. You have heard my wife's story- That I used stratagem to gain her hand, I admit, for I saw an in terloper was about to snatch the prize from me. And now you know all. Hence forth I trust nothing may occur to mar the harmony of our social intercourse." Turning to St. Denis, he added,- a tri umphant look settling on his sharp fea tures: "And as for you, sir, I trust you will see the necessity of removing your self from the society of those who can only be made unhappy by your presence. If you have the common sense I suppose you have, you will see the necessity of this; and if you have the feelings of a gentleman, you will not hesitate." Goupart raised his clasped hands to wards heaven, exclaiming: "Has it come to this? Must all my hopes thus fall back upon my broken "heart, and the sweet dream of years end in black despair? Louise, beloved of my soul, lost, but still cherished one " His words failed him, and he bowed his lug d in a passionate burst of tears. In a moment more he heard a low cry of hopeful tone, and a pair of arms were twined about his neck. He looked up, but it was not Louise. It was the flow ing eyes of White Hand that met his own, and darkly stained arms were en twined about his neck. A voice of thanksgiving next fell on his ear, and he : saw the Indian girl on her knees, with - i her hands . clasped, , her , streamingeyes raised heavenward,' and giving thanks to the; Great Spirit. St. Denis started as fhe gazed"into the deep blue eyes fastened on hinu- A. moment more, he heard his name pronounced in a tone sweet' and -ramTOaf rthttt mrdt nisaeart bound wild ly in his bosom. '. ' ... , "This scene has ' progressed far enough," now spoke the one Simon be lieved to be his wife. "Simon Lobois, your wickedness has come to a climax, and back on your own head shall fall the terrible consequences of your machina tions!" "Ha ha, Louise, you have gone too far now!" Lobois uttered, confidently. "If you imagined your marriage was but a jest, you were mistaken. You'll find the knot too strongly tied to be east off at will." "Poor fool! Cannot you open your eyes? Simon Lobois, did you think Louise St. Denis would have married you while life remained? Did you think she would have stooped to mate with you when the grave was open to her?" "A and are you not married to me? Are you not my wife?" ' ' "I think you'd find me a hard one to . manage; for at this very moment, were you not beneath my notice, I would chal lenge you to mortal combat, and I'd serve you worse than Goupart did. Look, Si mon! Don't you see that Indian youth resting in Goupart's arms? How 1 have longed for this moment! Up up, my father! Thy children are safe, and if they have returned to thee in exchanged guises, be assured they left thee in the same way!" "How?" gasped Simon, starting back and turning pale. "You you " "Why, I am your wife, Simon, if yon say so; but if you keep me, you' shall fight a duel with me every morning, and we'll alternate till one of us falls; first morn ing, pistols next morning, swords. You have seen me shoot some." At this juncture the truth had forced itself to the old marquis mind. "It must be!" he whispered, seizing h's noble son by the .hand. . "It must be my own noble Louis! Assure me I do not dream." "; - "You do not, father, for I am your own Louis. But see here comes Louise. Don't cast her off because her skin is dusky!" "' "Is it possible!" gasped Lobois, as he saw Louise sink on her father's bosom. "There's been some foul witchery here some deep, infernal machination! Louis! Louise! The son is the daughter, and the daughter is the son! There's a foul plot here!" "Ay!" cried Louis, tearing the rich gown he wore from his body, and re vealing the light undress of a French of ficer, "there has been a foul plot, and you can well explain it!" "Me explain?" stammered the villain., gazing first at the youth and .then at the maiden, who yet wore her Indian dress. "Who are you!" he gasped, starting to wards the seeming Indian, and. seizing the dusky arm. "Speak! Who are ye?" "I am one whom you once sought for a wife!" . - "Louise St. Julien?". "Yes." - - "Ah! Duped befooled! But there's a plot!" - . A few moments more he gazed upon the two metamorphosed ones, and then, utterly powerless from mad delirium,he sank down. But Simon Lobois was not the only one in the dark. The old man and St. Denis were lost in amazement. The lat ter had clasped his own loved one to his ' bosom, and she had whispered into his ear the sweet promise of love once more, yet he could not understand it. "I see you are all astonished," said Louis, "and I will tell you what I . know of this funny affair. So sit down and listen; sit down all of you."- And down they sat, Coqualla keeping close by her companion's side, and seem ing as happy as the Test of the happy ones. . "Now listen," commenced Louis. - "You remember on that night when we played 'hide and find me in the yard, Louise and I went off into the house before we hid. We had planned to have some sport with Goupart: Louise and I never real ized how much we resembled each other until we exchanged garbs. When I saw her in my clothes, she looked just like my own self in a mirror; and when I had put on her dress, which had to be let out but very little, she assured me I was her counterpart, and when I looked in the mirror. I could have sworn she stood be fore me. We had reached the corner of the barn, and I was showing Louise where to hide, intending then to have gone myself to the stable, when a party of Indians rushed and seized upon us, and having gagged us, hurried -out through the postern. Away they took us, and all night they kept on through the deep forest. One of them spoke to me in the Chickasaw tongue, and I was upon 'the point of answering him, when the thought struck me that he only wish ed to try if I knew the language; so pretended to know nothing of it. You know I learned a great deal of itfroin old Oakbow. After I had listened to their conversation, and I found that I the girl was to be carried to New Or leans, while the boy was to be taken up to the Natchez. Of course, I then knew that Simon Lobois had a hand in this. for he had gone to New Orleans, where he meant to have Louise taken, and there force her to marry him, while was carried off another way, perhaps to be killed and thus he would have all our father's wealth. Before morning, we came to the place where we were to sep arate. I did once feel like giving battle to the whole pack; but I was wholly un armed, and the thought was dropped. 1 begged to be allowed to speak a few parting words with my companion, and they granted my request. I told Louise what I had heard. 'Now,' said I, 'they don't mistrust the change we've made I will let them still think I am the girl. and thus you will be free of Simon; while, if you go to the Natchez, still retaining your male dsiguise, you can at any moment save yourself from death by revealing yourself. At all events, we both concluded that it would be best for each of us ta continue the deception, and we did so. And now for Louise's story Thus called upon, Louise commenced. She told how she was taken to the vil lage of the White Apple by Stung Ser pent; how they meant to kill her, and for what strange purpose? how Coqualla interceded for her, and how It was ar ranged that she should marry the prin cess. ere 1 was puzzled, said J-ioulse; "but I determined to throw myself upon Coqualla's friendship. I told her the 'se cret of my sex, and asked her to save me. She threw her arms a'bout my neck and promised to keep my secret, and be to me a sisteri while she "passed for my wife. So my secret was safe. Only she told her father when he was on his death- .bed, and. thus ';he:waacle4 to abswveine from my promise to .remain with' them.' CHAPTER XXIII. Louise went on and told her startling story, and as she did so, more than one bright look of holy gratitude was cast upon the beautiful Coqualla. "And now," said she, in conclusion, "I am able to give you some clue to the great mystery which underlies the whole. When Stung Serpent was upon his death bed, he sent for me, and he told me all, and he gave me this paper in token of his truth. Read it, father, and know what a villain you have kept beneath your room." As Louise handed her father the paper, Simon Lobois started to his feet.. "Back!' shouted Louis, springing for ward and pushing him back into his chair. "Tony, watch this man, and see that he does not leave the room." Old Tony, who had stood by and heard all, now moved to Simon's side, and as the villain gazed upon the huge bulk of the negro, he uttered a stifled groan, and settled back. The marquis read the paper aloud. It was as. follows:' "This is my bond, that Twill pay to Stung Serpent one hundred large pieces of gold, in French coin, when he shall have removed. Louis and Louise St. Ju lien from their home. And he, on his part, promises that said Louis shall be killed, and that Louise shall be sent safe ly to the middle trail on Lake Pontchar train. SIMON LOBOIS." That was enough.v Simon denied it all, then swore, then drew' his sword, and then Tony knocked him down; and ere long afterwards he was taken from the room. Before noon, Louise had contrived, with Coqualla's assistance, to remove the last stain from her skin, and when she stood, all white and pure, .she saw a tear on Coqualla's dark cheek. : "What is it?" she asked. ' "Nothing," was the reply. V ' "Ah, tell me the truth. Coqualla will not deecive her sister." "No no," murmured the noble girl, throwing her arms about Louise's neck, and pillowing her head upon' her bosom. "But you will forgive me. Cbqualla hns left her people forever, but she has not left ber skin." - "But tell me all,- my sister." "Coqualla loved the White Hand, and she was only a sister. Now Coqualla hss seen another with the same beautiful face. But she does not murmur. She is content; only " "Go on, my sister. Tell me all." "If Coqualla was white, she could love; O, my sister does not know-how she could have been loved had she not been Coqualla's sister !" Louise had read the girl's secret, and as she gazed into those soft, mild fea tures, she uttered, with' all the truth of her soul: "Coqualla does not need a whiter skin. She is beautiful enough. I know Co qualla's heart, and her face is as pure as that." The maiden princess blessed her sister, and wiped away her tears, for she heard some' one coming. - On the next morning the room where Simon Lobois had been put was found empty, and the slave Peter was also found to be missing; but no search was made for them, for the one was Worth less and the other carried guilt enough to punish him with its shame and bur den. And now joy was once more in St. Ju lien's household. Goupart and Louise wandered about together, and for a while Louis was left alone, for the only other young person with whom he could asso ciate seemed to shun him One day Louise drew her brother one side, and . whispered with him, for she had ttitj morning found Coqualla Ja tears, and the poor princess had murmured the thought of going back to the homes of her fathers to lie down by their graves. ut what Louise said to her brother may not be known only, -an hour later, Louis and Coqualla walked away down in the gar den. - s- At length the old cure, Father Languet made his visit to the chateau, and there was work for him to do. Goupart and Louise were,made one for life, and this time the blushing girl was' fastened. , But the work ended not here. "'"Louis St. Julien had spent many hours with Coqualla, for he had become her teacher, and he had opened --tocher "'mind the riches of the Great Book. And while she had studied that, he had studied her. At firstvJie- waff surprised at the won drous depth' otlherifmind, but he was no less awed by its sublime purity and gran deur of conception. , And thus he probed her heart to its inmost depths, and he found it as noble and pure as it was gen erous and loving. Ere he knew it, he had loved her, and almost unconsciously the story of his love dropped from his lips. "Coqualla," he whispered, "thou didst love my sister for her face. Mine is like it. Love me, then, and be mine for life. I love thee;, for y thou art ail love and purity to e?i. ; ' And Coqualla placed one of her soft hands in bis, and then rested her head upon his bosom, and as her dark tresses fell over his shoulders, hiding ber face and the tearsfHaat shone there, she an swered him: "Coqualla can give thee all her heart, and be to thee a slave for life. But if you make her your wife, O be sure you will never regret it; for Coqualla's heart would break if you loved her no more!" For a long time the panic caused by the fearful plot of the Indians lasted among the colonists, but they gradually waded ont-of the danger, though their way was through much "blood. The Nat chez had sealed their own doom, and a few short years sufficed, to sweep them from the list of Indian tribes, and the once powerful nation was known no more on earthbutJn name "and the history of the past.jttion Lobois joined the French force, having received a lieutenant's com mission from Perier.'and he fell at the siege of one of the Natchez forts. So a Natchez bullet f oundthe life of him who had thought to barter away the life of another through the hands of the Nat chez. : ? Troubles came now thick and fastrupon the hardy settlers, and once the marquis 1 told his children that if they wished, he would sell out and return to France. But they did not wish it. St. Denis was hap py enough where he was, for Louise was a sufficient shield against every ill from within, and his own bravery and forti tude" swept . away all other fear. And Louis found himself in possession of a treasure the ' intrinsic merits of which "were ' every,: day developing themselves to his understanding yrf d fferTir few short months of wedded life, ail doubts vanished from Coqualla's mind, for she was assured that a love like her hus- band's could never grow cold while she remained true and faithful. : "No," said St. Denis, "we will not re turn, for in this colony, now surrounded by dangers and gloom, I can see the germ of a nation. , A soil so productive, with resources, and natural advantages so mighty, must one day be reclaimed to civ ilization of the highest order. There is no reason why this great valley of the Father of Waters should not, at no very distant time, become literally the Gar den of the World. And," he added, while his dark eye burned, and his bosom swell ed with deep emotion, "may not those who have already subdued the wilder ness in the East, at some time meet us of the West, and, as one family in the New World, bidding adieu to the thrones of the Old, raise the standard of a united nation, with a government commensurate with the grandeur of the result, and with a perpetuity of purpose worthy the mem ory of those noble pioneers who first grappled the dark terrors of the wilder ness, ana openea tne way to tne archi tects of a new and more glorious realm?" (The end.) Bis Bluff Did Not Work. Stories of Yankee shrewdness have always been widely circulated, but when one gets ahead of a Yankee there is very little said about it, especially on the part of the man from the North. Several days ago a hotel keeper at a small station on one of the roads run ning out of Memphis put the laugh on a drummer from the North in a Very good way, and the traveling man was compelled to beat a hasty retreat The drummer arrived at the hotel about 8 o'clock In the evening, and fearing that he would not be able to get any supper he asked the landlord what he could get to eat. . .' I "My friend," said the hotelkeeper, "I can give you anything from a pickled elephant to a broiled canary bird's tongue for supper to-night." The drummer looked at the man, and. thinking that, he was jesting, decided to call his bluff. .. 'AH right, my friend," said the drum mer; "I'll take some pickled elephant" "Very.weil," said the host; "I'll go and get It." - He "was gone about five minutes, and when he returned said: "All right, sir; supper will be ready in a moment. You'll have to take a whole one, as we don't carve them af ter dark." . The drummer decided that he was not very hungry, and took some cheese sandwiches. Memphis Scimitar. 1 Tale of a Tender Heart. The boy In tears naturally attracted the attention of the sympathetic man. 'What's happened, my boy?" the latter asked. "Perhaps I can help you." 'I lost a quarter," answered the boy, "and when I go home I'll get licked for it." 'Oh, well, don't cry," returned the sympathetic man. "Here's another quarter. How did you lose the first one?". ... 'Matching," promptly replied the boy. Chicago Evening Post ' Had to Do it. "r:-'"T" Soak Do you always pay as you go? Freshby Always. Soak Why? : - Freshby Because .If I don't they won't let me zo. - 1 i i Hin i i Hi-nn i if i K 4. Ed gar 'a Soldier Lesson Really it was too bad. Edgar was going out to play soldier. He slipped on the steps and twisted his ankle. "My little lad mus,gO to bed and get well," said Mamma Gates. "Boo boo," howled Eddy. Uncle Caspar looked up from his pa per and smiled. , 1 "I don't want to go to bed. I want to go and be a soldier," sobbed poor Edgar. , "But if your, ankle Is not bathed and put to bed yon win be very lame to morrow." . " . "I don't care,'V Whined Eddy, don't, want to go to bed." "-.thought you were playing sol- dierXiald Uncle Caspar. .YesVsir.". ' " ; . . "Well, what does soldier dor Edgar looked up puzzled. "He marches and he drums." - Eddy looked at his drum and began to cry again. " "Is that all he does?" - "He doesn't have to go to bed, whinedEddy. f "But sometimes he gets hurt badly. He Is shot In battle. Then what does he do? Does he howl and cry?" Now,' Uncle Caspar was an old sol dier, whom Eddy admired very much; "No-0-0! I guess not I don't know," said the boy. .4 "No. He goes to the hospital. There he is as brave as when he drums and marches." 1 Edgar wiped his eyes and looked eagerly at his uncle. "Is going to bed and not crying being a good soldier?" he asked. 1 '"' ... "Yes, my boy, . that is the bravest part of it. Now let me be the ambu lancethat's a wagon, you know and take you to the hospital." Uncle Caspar picked up Eddy in his arms and carried A him .gently to his chamber. "Now, I'm going-to be a good sol dier," said the boy,; with, a smile. He did not wince when his uncle "felt of the sore ankle and bound it up. That's a bra velaPd, Eddy," said his 3 u. isiutco-v, UUUJ, KUU U1D gncTer'N"ow playrdoeTgoF fiuftaml go to sleep. Half an hour later Edgar was dream ing. He looked like a brave little cor poral taking his rest. Uncle Caspar hung up Eddy's flag and gun where he could see them when he awoke. The' drum with the soldier cap upon it Tvas placed on the bed. Edgar limped down stairs the next day and went into camp on the sofa. He whined and complained no longer. He had learned a lesson, that a brave man is patient in suffering. Union Signal. All Your Own. It is hardly necessary to ask whether little ones like to dig In the ground. Every right-minded little man or maid VERY YOUTHFUL MB. AND MRS. TOMMiE HANNER. The above is a portrait of Mr. anfi Mrs. Tommle Hanner, of Pahriore, Ky who have the distinction of being one of the, if not the very youngest mar ried couple in the United States. Tho groom is 13 years of age, while the bride is only 11. Tommle works on a farm and makes his little wife a good living. ' ' r MANUAL TRAINING THAT PAID. Business Man Sold His Son's Designs to tlie Firm. "It is very difficult to induce enthus iasts on manual training to admit that utility forms more than a minor con sideration in their plea for special training.- They continue to cling to the belief that its educational value overshadows all of the other good things claimed for their pet hobby. The practical business man who has sons in school takes the enthusiast's view mainly on faith. He cannot take time to go into the theoretical merits of the subject and is willing to trust educational experts on educational mat ters. But his faith is helped wonderful ly, and so is the cause of manual train ing, by such little Incidents as the fol lowing," said a school Inspector the other day. "In one of the public schools of the city the boys were required to origi nate designs for the box covers which they had previously made in the work shop. One boy, developing a great liking for the work,, devoted some of his . leisure time to planning designs to cover various kinds of spaces. The decorative value of his designs attract ed the attention of his father, who 'H -H"in- n i h i h-m m m . ; Little Stories and Incidents that Will Interest and Enter tain Voting Readers loves to. do it, .which is good because it makes them healthy and happy. Just now is a good time to dig to some pur pose, and have a little flower bed all your own.. Just the tiniest corner of the yard will do. Ask papa if you may not turn over a few square feet ot sod. Then just dig and rake and dig and rake till the earth is all fine and soft and then ask mamma to show you how to plant 10 cents' worth of mixed pansy seed there. Every day the little bed must be watered to keep the earth soft, and in a very little while the tiny green plants will begin to show, and before you can think there will be dozens of pansy buds. and when they begin to open the little folks will never tire of watching them and trying to decide which is the pret tiest pansy face. And the best part of it all is that these dear little pansy faces, If watered and cared for, will continue to smile and bloom all sum mer long. - Mr. BadKcr, the Sasacions. i ' A badger which had made Its home among the granite cliffs dealt with the Are god with sagacity and skill. A friend while painting a seapiece dis covered a badger's lair, and thought to "play the animal a practical joke. Gath ering together a bundle of grass and weeds, he placed it inside the mouth of the hole, and, Igniting it with a match, waited for the ignominious flight of the astonished householder. But Master Badger was a resourceful animal, and not disposed to be made a butt of practical-jokers. He came up from the depths of ''his hole as soon as the penetrating smoke told him that there was a fire on the premises, and deliberately scratched earth on the burning grass with his strong claws until all danger was past No human being could have grasped the situation more quickly or displayed greater skill in dealing with' an unfamiliar event Nature. A Farewell. - . . i Ml T V i - " I vuu. No lark could pipe to skies so dull and gray; Yet, ere we part, one -lesson I can leave you For every -day.- ' I'll teach you how to sing a clearer carol Than lark s who bails the dawn o er breezy down, To earn yourself a purer poet's laurel Than Shakspeare's crown. Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever; Do noble things, not dream them all day long; And so make Life, Death and that vast Forever One grand, sweet song. """' Charles Kingsley. KENTUCKY COUPLE. holds a position in one of the large publishing houses of the cityv The father took four pieces of the boy's work and submitted them to his firm for use. Two were accepteu and now adorn the cov"- of widely circulated books, and what Is of great Importance to the boy a check, in payment for services rendered came to him through the mail.' So herp Is one father fully convinced of the value of manual training." New York Times. 1 His Only Standard. "So you refuse to believe that wire less telegraphy Is really practical? "No," said the capitalist, who al ways figures closely; "I don't say that" "Wouldn't you believe the evidence of your own sense?" - "Yes. But I have no evidence as yet I've never made a dollar out of it" Washington Star. ' Canada's Vast Timber Supply. ' " The standing timber of - Canada equals that of the continent of Europe and is nearly double that of the Unit ed States. If a man's wife has been the making of him she doesn't allow him to f or get It A Cheap Stock Scales I have an ordinary platform scale that I use to weigh stock to note the gain. I first started weighing vegeta bles and then to weigh pigs, so now I weigh feed and hogs every week and can tell how much they gain and how much feed it takes to make that gain. In weighing hogs I use a crate made of 1x4 6lats, with a gate at each end. I set the crate with one end at the hog house door, balanced on a plat form scale with blocks underneath to prevent teetering, open gate in hog house end of crate and let in as many as the crate will hold. After weighing I let them out of the front end and I am ready to weigh again. In this way HANDY PLAN FOB WEIGHIITQ STOCK. two men can weigh forty hogs In about half an hour, after everything Is ready For weighing cattle, I take two pieces 2x10 Inches eight feet long and cleat them together and lay across the scale as in cut and lead the animal on to it. If the animals are not gentle you can set four posts in the ground, nail 2x4s on them, so as to make a chute to lead them through on to the scale. The cor ner of frame, a a, must be made very strong. The piece, b, may be made movable at both ends if desired. Extra weights can be bad at any scale house. C. J. Davidson, in Farm and Home, The Boaean Apple. ?The trouble which comes - from the confusing of names is Illustrated in the case of the Roseau apple, which is more generally known by its common name of Canada Red, yet which is entirely distinct from the variety known as Red Canada. The Roseau apple fairly shown in the illustration as to form has more than a local reputation, although it is most generally found in bearing in Canada and New England. There seems to be no good reason why the variety should not be planted in ail apple sec tions, and particularly in northern dis tricts, for while it is not to be classed as a good variety for home use, it cer tafnly is a good late-keeping variety, hence is valuable for market purposes. The fruit Is slightly irregular, oblate, shallow basin, calyx small. Color red THE ROSEAU APPLE. mottled and splashed, nearly covering dull green ground. Flavor cub-acid. quality good, season midwinter. As a keeper, especially in cold storage, it deserves attention, and if market grow ers will look into the merits of the va riety they will find it at leest worthy of triaL Clover Land for Potatoes. In many sections where farmers have succeeded In growing crimson clover, the crop rotation is clover, po tatoes and corn. This has been found to give excellent results provided the clover is turned under at just the prop er time, and this time Is when the clover Is in the condition where the greatest amount of nitrogen can be put into the soIL Experiments have prov ed that regardless of calendar dates, this condition of the clover Is very soon after it begins to bloom, for at that time the nitrogen the plant has gath ered from the air is in the plant, and hence can be put into the soil by plow ing under. It is true that the growth of clover may be quite heavy at that time, and hard to plow under, but this is certainly offset by the added amount of nitrogen gained. It is not meant to infer that this rotation of- crops will do away with the necessity for the use of fertilizers, although if previous fer tilizing has supplied phosphoric acid in sufficient quantities and cultivation has released the potash, so that only nitrogen is needed, the use of. crimson clover will, after all, render unneces sary the fertilizer. However, this Is a condition of affairs that can only be as certained by demonstration. Forcing Heavy Crops. It is a common practice among tenant farmers and fruit growers, during the last year they handle the ground, to force the largest possible crops regard less of the effect on the soil. Whether a tenant is warranted in doing this Is not the point to be discussed. Unfortunate ly many of these tenants go on to farms of their own and, remembering the last heavy crop, carry out the same plan In apparent ignorance of the effect on the soil. Take the case of a strawberry plantation as an illustration. On aver age soil having a fair quantity ot each of the plant foods nitrate of soda used to the exclusion of other fertilizers would produce a very large crop of ber ries, but it would also use from the soil a greater amount f fertility than one is justified In taking.. If other plant foods were used so -as to eave the soil in fair condition, then the use of the nitrate of soda would be Justifiable, but this might bring the expense of getting the crop to a figure too great to warrant the outlay. This being the case, it would be far more sensible to handle the soil with a view of getting the large crop for successive years and retain ing the fertility of the soil, rather than to get an extraordinary crop one year and exhaust the soil Canning Farm Products. There Is a tendency among farmers in some sections to venture into the canning industry. This has been brought about by the low prices obtain rd for their products from earners gen erally, as well as by the-4hought that there is considerable profit In the car-, ning business. To any farmer who has this plan in mind the advice is not to carry it out, for, in the majority of cases, the result will be failure. It must be. remembered that the expense of get ting a plant together is large; that one's competitors are men of experience, large capital and sources of output which are practically closed to the small packer. This state of "affairs would not be offset by the fact that a saving in expense would be made be cause of the low cost of production. This argument applies to any crop the farmer may attempt to can 'with the one exception of putting up jellies and fruits in glass cans, and this comes, properly, In the sphere of the wife. There is no doubt but what there is a market for fruits canned in the good old way, such as expert women canners understand, but the growth of such a business would be slow, while it would be sure. If the women of the farm are first-class preservers of fruits, it would be a good plan to have them put up some fruit and try it in the local nnarketOncestarted. the " business will grow if the quality is kept up. Tonng Sheep Best for Feed inc. Head for head, young sheep, In the opinion of Professor John Scott, not only eat 20 per cent less food, but give a half more Increase In mutton than old sheep. Any one who talres the trouble to go over the weights for age In the various sheep classes at the fairs and feeding tests will find that the average daily gain cr sheep between twelve and twenty-four months does not exceed forty pounds, whereas lambs under twelve months increase In weight at the rate of six pounds per day, or 50 per cent more increase than in the older classes. Therefore, If we take 120 -young sheep and 100 older sheep, each lot consuming equal weights of food, the former will give a weekly increase of 504 pounds in return for their keep, while the latter will only give an increase of 280 pounds; and at 6 cents per pound In crease the younger animals will pay ;o cents per head per week against about 17 cents per head for the older sheep. Massachusetts Ploughman. Tonng Broods. It Is the cold damp days that cause chicks to become chilled and droop, and the) small coops and runs should be placed under a covered shed, so as to permit the chicks to stroll outside the runs without being exposed to the weather. As they grow and become stronger, the runs may be -'iced on a grass plot, using the coops under the sheds for later broods. Poultry Pickings. Keep the hens scratching. ' A dark comb Indicates congestion of some kind. Turkeys are very tender and weak when young. The poultryman who would rise to highest fame must advertise. Keep the grit boxes well supplied. Without grit Indigestion is certain. There Is no class of poultry that in crease In weight as rapidly as goslins. Just turn the hens over to the "wim min folks" and then' watch the results. A smooth bird that Is easily cleaned Is a good arrangement in feeding poul try. f Market the old fowls and keep the young ones on the farm and in the poul try yard. Location is much, but the right kind of a man can raise poultry successfully anywhere. ' : , Feather pulling Is a vice that comes from confinement and idleness, and is difficult to cure.' Geese usually lay early. The eggs should be gathered as soon 'as laid to prevent chilling. x Some chickens die because of the toughening of the skin at the large end of the egg. They cannot break through Short-legged fowls fatten quickly; long legs are hard to fatten. Those which are first hatched fatted quickest to a brood. Taking everything into consideration, we believe a board or cement floor Is to be. preferred to an earthen one nine times In ten.