1 Tbe Special Correspondent J
CHAPTER XXVI. (Continued.)
I will go back to Popof. Impossible.
I seem to be nailed to the floor of the
ran. My head swims.
It Is true we are running toward the
abys? No; I am mad. Faruskiar and
his accomplices would ' be hurled over
as welL They would share our fate.
They would perish with us.
But there are shouts in front of the
train. The screams of people being kill
ed. There is no doubt now. The driver
end the stoker are being strangled. I
feel the speed of the train begin to
lacken.
I understand. One of the ruffians
knows how to work the train, and he is
lowing it to enable them to jump off
and avoid the catastrophe.
I begin to master my torpor. Stagger
ing like a drunken man, I crawl to
Kinko's case. There, in a few words, I
tell him what has passed, and I exclaim:
"We are lost!"
"No perhaps " he replies.
Before- I can move, Kinko is out of
his box. He rushes toward the front
door; he climbs on the tender.
"Come along! Come along;" he shouts.
I do not know how I have done it, but
here I am at his side on the foot plate,
my feet in the blood of the driver and
stoker, who have been thrown off on to
the line.
Faruskiar and his companions are no
longer here. But before they went one
of them has taken off the brakes, jammed
down the regulator to full speed, thrown
fresh .coals into the fire box, and -the
train is running with frightful velocity
In a few minutes we shall reach the
Vjon viaduct.
Kinko, energetic- and resolute, is as
cooi as a cucumber. But in vain he
tries to move the regulator, to shut off
the steam, to put on the brake. These
valves and levers, what shall we do with
them?
"I must tell Popof!" I shout
"And what can he do? No, there is
only one way."
"And what is that?"
"Rouse up the fire," says Kinko, calm
ly ; "shut down the safety valves, and
And was that the only way a des
perate way of stopping the train be
fore it reached the viaduct?
Kinko scattered the coal on to the fire
bars. He turned on the greatest possi
ble draught, the air roared across the
furnace, the pressure goes up, up, amid
the heaving of the motion, the bellowing
ol the boiler, the beating of the pistons.
We are going a hundred kilometers an
hour.
"Get back!" shouts Kinko, above the
roar. "Get back into the van!"
"And you, Kinko?" ,
- "Get back, I tell you!"
I see him hang on to the valves and
put his whole weight on the levers.
. "Go!" he shouts.
I am off over the tender. I am through
the van. I awake Popof, shouting with
all my strength:
"Get back! Get back!"
A few passengers suddenly waking
from sleep begin to run from the front
car.
Suddenly there is an explosion and a
Shock. The train at first jumps back.
Then it continues to move for about half
a kilometer.
It stops. 4
Popof, the major, Caternamost of the
passengers are out on the line in an in
stant. A network of scaffolding appears con
fusedly in the darkness above the piers
which were to carry the viaduct across
the Tjon, valley.
Two hundred yards further the train
would have been lost in the abyss.
CHAPTER XXVII.
And I, who wanted "incident," who
feared the weariness of a jnonotonous
voyage of six thousand kilometers, in the
course of which I should not meet with
an impression or emotion worth clothing
In type! .
I have made another muddle of it, I
admit My lord Faruskiar, of whom. I
had made a hero by telegraph for the
readers of the Twentieth Century.
We are, as I have said, two hundred
yards -from the valley of the Tjon, so
' deep and wide as to require a viaduct
from three hundred and fifty to four
hundred feet long. The floor of the
valley is scattered over with rocks and
a hundreds-feet down. If the tram had
been hurled: to the bottom of that chasm
not one of us would have escaped alive.
This memorable catastrophe most inter-
esting from a reporter's point of view
would have claimed a hundred victims.
But thanks to tbe coolness, energy and
' devotion of the young Roumanian, we
have escaped this terrible disaster.
All? No! Kinko has paid with his
life for the safety of his fellow passen
gers. '
Amid the confusion my first care was
to visit the luggage van, which had re
mained uninjured. Evidently, if Kinko
had " survived the explosion, he would
" have got back into his box and waited
till I put myself in communication with
him.
Alas! The coffer is empty empty as
that of a company which has suspended
payment. Kinko has been the victim of
his sacrifice.
And so there has been a hero among
our traveling companions, and he was
not Faruskiar, this abominable bandit
hidden' beneath the skin of a manager,
whose name 1 have so stupidly publish
ed over the four corners of the globe.
It was this Roumanian, tnis humble, this
little, this poor fellow, whose sweetheart
will wait for him in vain, and whom she
will never again see. Well, I will do him
Justice. I will tell what he has done. As
to his secret, I shall be sorry if I keep
It If he defrauded the Grand Trans
astatic it is thanks to that fraud that
a whole train has been saved. We were
lost; we should have perished in the most
horrible of deaths if Kin&o had not been
there.
I went beck to the line, my heart
heavy, my eyes full of tears.
Assuredly Faruskiar's scheme, In . the
execution of which he had executed his
" rival, Ki-Tsang, had been cleverly con
trived In utilizing this branch line leading
to the unfinished viaduct Nothing was
aalar than to awltch off tha train if an
accomplice was at the points. And as
soon as the signal was given that we
were on the branch all he had to do was
to gain the footplate, kill the driver
and stoker, slow the train and get off, j
leaving the steam on full to work up to ,
full speed.
And now there could be no doubt that
the scoundrels, worthy the most refined
tortures that Chinese practice could ae
vise, were hastening down into the Tjon
valley. There, amid the wreck of the
train, they expected to find the fifteen
millions of gold and precious atones, ana
this treasure they could carry off with
out -f ear of surprise when the night en
abled them to consummate this f earrul
crime. Well, they have been robbed,
these robbers, and I hope they will pay
for their crime with their, lives, at the
least I alone know what has passed,
but I will tell the story, for poor Kinko
is no more.
Yes, my mind is made .up. I will
speak as soon as I have seen Zinca
Klork. The poor girl must be told with
consideration. The death of her be
trothed must not come upon her like a
thunderclap. Yes, to-morrow, as soon as
we are at Pekin.
After all, if I do not say anything
about Kinko, I may at least denounce
Faruskiar and Ghangir and the four
Mongols. I can say that I saw them go
through the van, that I followed them,
that I found they were talking on the
gangway, that I heard the screams of
the driver and stoker as they were
strangled on the footplate, and that I
then returned to the cars, shouting,
"Back! Back!" or whatever it was.
We are now standing at the head of
the train, Major Noltitz, the German
baron, Caterna, Ephrinell, Pan Chao,
Popof about twenty travelers in all.
The Chinese guard, faithful to their
trust, are still near the treasure, which
not one of them has abandoned. The
rearguard has brought along the tail
lamps, and by, their powerful light we
can see in what a state the engine is.
If the train: which was then running
at an .enormous velocity, had not stopped
suddenly and thus brought about its de
struction it was because the boiler had
exploded at the top and on the side.
The wheels being undamaged, the engine
had run far enough to come gradually
to a standstill of itself, and thus the
passengers had been saved a violent
shock. -
Of the boiler and its accessories only a
few shapeless fragments remained. . The
funnel had gone, the dome, the steam
chest; nothing but torn plates, broken,
twisted tubes, split cylinders, and loose
connecting rods gaping wounds in the
corpse of steel.
And not only had the engine beende-
stroyed, but the tender had been ren
dered useless. Its tank had been cracked
and its load of coals scattered over the
line. The luggage van, curious to re
late, had miraculously escaped without
injury.
"It is only too evident," said one of
the passengers, "that our driver and
stoker have perished in the explosion."
"Poor fellows!" said Popof. "But I
wonder how the train could have got
on the Nankin branch without being no
ticed?"
"The night was very dark," said Eph
rinell, "and the driver could not see
the points."
That is the only explanation possi-
le," said Popof, "for he would have
tried to stop the train, and, on the con
trary, we were traveling at tremendous
speed." , .
But," said Pan Chao, "how does it
happen the Nankin branch was open
when the Tjon viaduct is not finished?
Had the switch been interfered with?"
Undoubtedly," said" Popof, "and prob
ably out of carelessness."
Up to now Major Noltitz had taken
no part in the discussion. Now he in
terrupted Popof, and in a voice heard
by all, he asked:
"Where is Faruskiar?"
They all looked about and tried to dis
cover what had become of the manager
of the Transasiatic.
And where is his friend Ghangir?"
asked the major. There was no reply.
And where are the four Mongols who
were in tne rear van t askea Major
Noltitz. -
And none of them presented them
selves. . v
Well, then," said Major Noltitz, "the
rascal who sent us on to the Nankin
line, who would have hurled us into the
Tjon valley, to walk off with the impe
rial treasure, is Faruskiar.
What!" said Popof. "The manager
of the company, who so courageously
drove off the bandits and killed their
chief, Ki-Tsang, with his own hand?"
Then I entered on the scene.
"The major is not mistaken. It was
Faruskiar who laid this trap for us.".
And amid the general stupefaction
told them what I knew, and what good
fortune bad enabled me to ascertain.
told them how I had overheard the
plan of Faruskiar and .his Mongols,
when it was too late to stop it, but I
was silent regarding the intervention of
Kinko. The moment had not come, and
I would do him justice in due time.
Now that all danger had disappeared,
we must take immediate measures for
running back the cars on to the Pekln
line. .
"The best thing to do is to go to the
nearest station, that of Fuen-Choo, and
telegraph, to Tai-Youan for them to Bend
on a relief engine," I suggested.
Twelve of us, including Pan Chao,
Caterna and myself," volunteered to ac
company Major Noltitz. But by' com
mon accord we advised Popof not to
abandon tha train, assuring him that we
would do all that was necessary at
Fuen-Choo. -
Then, armed with daggers and revolv
er it was one o'clock in the morning
we went 'along the line to the junction,
walking as fast as the very dark night
permitted. - -
In less than two hours we arrived at
Fuen-Choo station without adventure.
Evidently Faruskiar had cleared off. The
Chinese police would have to deal with
the bandit and his accomplices. Would
they catch him? I hoped so, but I doubt
ed it
At tha station Pan Chao azplalnad
''matters to the station master, who tele
graphed for an engine to be aent from
Tai-Youan to the Nankin line.
At three o'clock, just at daybreak, we
returned to wait for the engine at the
junction. Three-quarters of an hour af
terward its whistle announced its ap
proach "and it stopped at the bifurcation
of the lines. We climbed up on to the
tender, and half an hour later had re
joined the train.
The dawn had come on sufficiently for
us to be able to see over a considerable
distance. Without ' saying anything to
anybody, I went in search of the body
of my poor Kinko. And I could not find
It among the wreck.
As the engine could not reach the
front of the train, owing to there being
only a single line, and no turning table,
it was decided to couple it on in the rear
nnd run backward to the junction." In
this way the box, alas! without the Rou
manian in it, was in the last carriage.
We started, and in half an hour we were
on the main line again. ,
Everything ends in this world below,
even a voyage of six thousand kilometers
on the Grand Transasiatic; and after a
run of thirteen days, hour after hour,
our train stopped at the gates of the
capital of the Celestial Empire.
plan of seeding oats in corn stubbie
falls so frequently Is " because the
ground Is stirred shallow and wet ear
ly in spring time and when- a few
weeks of dry weaother come It bakes
as hard as the road and remains in
this condition until harvest It is not
a good plan to be In too big a hurry
about sowing oats. When the ground
has dried out so it Is in good condi
tion to break then start tbe plow.
Ohio Farmer.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
"Pekin!" shouted Popof. "All change
here."
It was four o'clock in the afternoon.
For people fatigued with three hundred
and twelve hours of traveling, it was no
time for running about the town what
do I say? the four towns, inclosed one
within the other. Besides I had plenty
of time. I was going to stop some weeks
in this capital.
The important thing was to find a ho
tel in which one could live passably.
From information received I was led to
believe that the Hotel of Ten Thousand
Dreams, near the railway station, might
be sufficiently in accord with western no
tions. - "
As to Mademoiselle Klork, I will post
pone my visit till to-morrow. I will
call on her before the box arrives,' and
even then I shall be too soon, for I shall
take her the news of Kinko's death.
Half an hour afterward weare. in
stalled at the Hotel of Ten Thousand
Dreams. There we are served 'with a
dinner in Chinese style. The repast be
ing over toward the second watch we
lay ourselves on beds that are too nar-
row, in rooms with little comfort, and
sleep not the sleep of the just, but the
sleep of the exhausted and that is just
as good.
I did not wake before teri o'clock, and
I might have slept all the morning if
the thought had not occurred to me That
I had a duty to fulfill. And what a
duty. To call in the Avenue Cha-Coua
before the delivery of the "unhappy case
to Mademoiselle Zinco Klork.
Ah! if Kinko"" had not succumbed, I
should have returned to the railway sta
tion I should have assisted in the un
loading of the precious package. I would
haye watched it on the cart, and I would
have accompanied it to the Avenue Cha
Coua; I would even have helped in car
rying him up . to Mademoiselle Zinca
Klork. And what a double explosion of
joy there would have been, when Kinko
jumped through the panel to fall into
the arms of the fair Roumanian! But
no! When the box .arrives it will be
empty empty as a heart from which all
the blood has escaped.
(To be continued.)
Simple Farm Gate.
The gate shown "in the accompany
ing illustration is recommended by a
correspondent of the Montreal Fam
ily Herald. The gate is intended for
Inside locations, upon a farm instead
of bars or swinging gates which are
troublesome and apt to get out of or
der. The correspondent has six of
these gates on his ranch, and expects
soon to put In as many more. It will
be noticed that the gate is not hung
on hinges. It consists simply of a
hurdle which stands between - two
strong posts set so that the gate easily
passes back between them. The sec
ond bar of the gate rests on a cleat
A, shown In the Illustration. This
cleat consists of Inch lumber, four
inches wide and 12 or 14 inches long.
The gate will slide easily if the top of
the cleat Is greased. As the gate Is
closed it slips between the two posts,
which prevent It from being pushed
either way.
Points In favor of this gate over
SLIDING GATE WIDE OPEN.
those in ordinary use are as follows
It is cheaply and easily made; it is
not liable to get out of order; quickly
and easily operated; requires only or
dinary fence posts, no hinges, or latch,
and it locks automatically.
"FIRIPCG" LISKUM.
Liskum was the "butt" of the "lo
cal" room of the daily on which he
worked, says the Brooklyn Eagle. He
was a dried-up, wrinkled little chap,
who might have been either 20 or 60
years of age. Whatever went wrong
about the office was laid to Llskum,
and whatever was attributed to him
he accepted without a murmur, only
smiling a crinkly little smile that won
the hearts of the whole staff. For,
joke him as they might, every reporter
on the paper had a tender spot for
Liskum.
une aay Tompkins, tne "star" re
porter, came In to find-the group about
the big stove In the local room Indig
nantly discussing something.
iiiskum -iiad Deen nred, some one
told him. "There was a great fuss
about the third ward story in this
morning's paper."
'Why, I wrote that myself," said
Tompkins. "Liskum had nothing to
do with it" And with that he started
for the managing editor's room.
Mr.' Rockman sat by his flat-topped
desk; Liskum stood opposite him.
Tompkins slowed down in an apolo
getic way, for he remembered that he
had violated precedent by entering the
editor's room without knocking.
Come In, Tompkins," said Mr.
Rockman. "You are Just the man I
want to see.
Liskum turned his crinkly smile on
Tompkins but spoke not a word.
"I have Just dismissed Mr. Liskum
for that third ward story," said the
editor.
"I heard so," replied Tompkins, "but
I wrote that story; myself. He had
nothing to do with it"
"I know that," said the editor. "That
is why I dismissed him.-, A formid
able delegation of third-ward people
came' here this morning, and made it
very plain to me that something must
be done to soothe them. - I knew you
were such a fiery chap It would never
do to let you face them, so I brought
Liskum in and Indignantly dismissed
him from, the reportorial staff. I am
just now engaging him as assistant
oity editor."
Liskum turned another crinkly smile
on Tompkins, and the star reporter
went back to the big stove in the city
room. ,
"Boys," he said, "the old man Is all
right" . ' -
Tbe Shortage of Sheep.
'Michigan sheep and lamb feeders
find themselves up against a peculiar
situation, and many of them are at a
loss how to proceed," says a writer in
the. Detroit Tribune. "There are many
feeders who were of opinion that re
ceipts of Western sheep at Chicago
would be larger late In the season and
have waited in the belief that they
would be able to get their orders filled
at lower prices. Present indications
look as if there would be few of the
bargains that have been offered In oth
er years. x .
"Never before In the history of the
Chicago yards has there been such a
pressing demand for feeding sheep and
lambs. Every day now the sheep pens
are full of strangers who are looking
for bargains, and every desirable
bunch is caught up at high prices com
pared with other years. The outlook
for wool and mutton was never bright
er than at present, and the general be
lief is that sheep and lamb feeders
will make plenty of money this year,
no matter what they pay for feeding
stock."
2
This Year's Wheat Crop.
Another bumper wheat crop Is m
prospect. Estimates - by the Depart
ment of Agriculture on grain In the
field indicate, a total yield of winter
wheat of over 411,000,000 bushels
against 401,685,887 in 1903 and S25,-
374,503 In 1904; a gain of 10,314,113
bushels over 1903 and 85,225,497 bush
els over 1904. The estimate on spring
wheat Is 348,000,000 bushels, but there
are good reasons for believing that
the yield will be from 10,000,000
15,000,000 bushels greater than the
present estimate. However, the com
parison, accepting the estimate as
correct, Is Interesting, showing an ex
cess for 1905 over the yield of 1904 and
less than 1903, as follows. Estimate
of yield of spring wheat,' 1905, 348,
000,000 bushels, against 355,183,656 In
1903 and 279,696,656 bushels in 1904,
about 7,000,000 bushels less than the
yield of 1903 and 68,303,344 more than
last year. According to the official es
timate, the total wheat crop of the
United States this year will be 670,-
000,000 bushels. Unless serious dam
age comes to spring wheat during its
ripening, the total wheat yield of the
United States will be about 118,000,000
greater than in 1904 and 33,000,000 in
excess of 1903. Epitomist
The Anto Nuisance.
During an English farmers' meeting,
the chairman had suggested that he
should instruct his teamsters to hold
their wagons across the road when
autos were approaching at a furious
rate. He received the following amus
ing communication: "As I doubt the
power of the average farm laborer to
distinguish between the innocent and
the guilty, I offer my services. I hold
a discharge as a sergeant from the
army, and am a trained shot ' At
least fifty autos pass my house every
day. With an ordinary magazine rifle
I could get about thirty dally, and I
offer my trained services to the cham
ber at a charge of six pence per head.
I should like to know to whom to for
ward the heads. I could use explo
sive or poisoned bullets if so desired."
Cost of Making Beef.
It has been accepted as proved that
the younger an animal the lower is
the cost of putting on flesh and fat
Some experiments have been made to
prove this, but the data are too mea
ger to permit of the building of very
strong arguments on them. Professor
Mumford of the Illinois station has
taken up the question and Is making
an experiment that will at least add
to the volume of the data If it does
not settle the question, which it prob
ably will not Herds of various ages
are being fed at the station, and these
will be marketed as fast as ready and
careful reports compiled of the cost
of gain made on each lot There is a
point beyond which it does not pay a
farmer to keep an animal, even
though that animal Is all the time
gaining In weight The station is try
ing to find the point at which steer
feeding must stop, if a profit is to be
made. Every day after that point the
farmer is losing money and losing the
time he Is putting on the care of the
animal.
John C. Drlscoll, who has been tha
central figure In the Chicago labor
erafr mmnr. has been conspicuous
for years in labor
affairs. When the
Associated Team
ing Interests was
organized in 1902 .
he was elected sec
retary and held
the position until
April, this year.
Mr. Drlscoll was
born in Oswego,
N. Y., May 29.
john c. dbihcuu 18 5 9, and was
brought by . his parents to Chicago
when but pine months old. He was
educated in St. Ignatius' College,
where ' he took a classical course .and
was graduated with the degree of A.
B. When Mr. Drlscoll severed his
connection with the Associated Team
ing Interests he declared that during
his term as secretary no team owner
had lost a dollar through labor
troubles.
In William E. Cramer,- publisher of
the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin, an
other hero of the profession has nassed
away. Though for i
many years blind j
and all but totally :
deaf, he managed j
to keep In touch j
with events and to
direct the policy of j
his splendid jour
nal even to the last,
and few of its is
sues ever went to
print without some
article of his own
contribu tion.
Throughout his 65 years as an editor
he never departed from the high ideals
with which he began his newspaper
career. His opinions, and they were
strong and influential, were always
confined to the editorial page. His
news columns were sacred to the news,
containing fair, impartial stories which
were never distorted or confused foi
bribe, favor or personal interest
Lorin C. Collins, who has been ap
pointed associate justice of the Su
preme C- the Panama Canal
?one, is noted as a
iurist and lawmak
er. For six years
lie was on the Chi
cago circuit bench,
ind he also has
served three terms
in the Illinois leg- '
slature, having
been at one session
(1883) speaker of
the House. Judge
Collins was born
W. E. CBAMEB.
How Snnday Affects the Cows.
The manager of the Wisconsin ex
perimental farm once said that he
could tell the Sundays In the calendar
by looking at his milk record, which
showed the daily yield, because the
quantity obtained was invariably
smaller than on a week day. "Our
men milk a little later on Sunday
morning, and a little earlier at night,
probably hurrying the operation, and
the cows resent the treatment by elv
Ing a somewhat smaller yield it
milk." It was observed, also, npropos
of the necessity for kind and gentle
treatment of oViry cattle, that a new
1. ,1 .Un fnnA mill.
than she would yield to a milker. not'at Wapplng, Conn., in 1848, but was
necessarily more expert, to whom she
was accustomed.
For Sharpening; Posts.
To save lots of work In sharpening
posts, fix up the rig illustrated, ad
vises Charles Hecht The forked pole
BIG FOB SHARPENING POSTS.
Is 12 feet long, the brace of 1x4 being
about 5 feet high. A stump makes
the best block upon which to sharpen
post
Sod Honses and Telephones.
Sod houses and telephones are the
strange combination now offered by
the prairies of the Middle West. Yet
the combination Is less strange than tor three successive terms.
Up in the Air.
"Why don't you turn your pen to
higher themes?" asked the well-meaning
friend.
"I'd like to," replied the funny man,
"but there doesn't seem to be any de
mand for akyecraper jokaa at pre ant"
A Kicking Cow.
There are many recommended meth
ods of dealing with kicking cows. One,
which Is by some found to be very
effective, is to rope or strap the hind
legs together just above the hock. The
rope or strap should be put on In the
form of a figure eight, having it cross
between the legs. - Some milkers ap
ply the rope close down to the feet
and fasten it to a ring in the floor.
Rather than fasten the rope securely,
It is better at the first trial to have
an attendant to hold the rope, so that
he can loosen It In case the cow throws
herself in her effort to kick. A plan
that does no, good and generally much
harm Is to beat the animal. This only
Increases the retaliation In the form
of kicking. A kicking cow Is an an
gry cow, and after one has exhausted
his efforts in attempting to soothe her
by means or patting, currying, giving
mashes, etc., without success, the only
thing to do is to secure her In a man
ner that she. can neither kick nor In
jure herself. American Cultivator
The Oat Crop.
The oat crop is one that requires a
great deal of moisture throughout the
season, and the best crop is assured
by preparing the soil so It will con-
aarv moisture. The reason tha oil
appears, for tne present sod houses
are by no means to be despised, par
ticularly in cold weather. They are
built with considerable attention to
comfort,- and, with an interior lining
of Portland cement, offer almost the
taken to St Paul in his childhood. In
1872 he was graduated from North
western University, and two years
later he began the practice of law In
Chicago. His home Is In Wheaton, UL
Francis Hendricks, who has reported
the results of his long investigation of
the Equitable Life Assurance Society's
affairs, has been
superintendent of
insurance of New
York State since
1900, when he suc
ceeded Louis F.
Payn. Bis home is
in Syracuse, of
which city he has
been Mayor and
where he has es
tablished an exten
s 1 v e photograph
supply house. Mr.
Hendricks has served in both branches
of the Legislature, having been Sena-
He was
F. HENDRICKS.
collector of the port of New York from
1891 to 1893. He was born in 1834 and
was edticated in Albany.
-
The 'successor at Washington of
advantages of a stone building, and Count Cassini, the Russian ambassa-
at the slightest cost, while the net
work of telephones overcomes the iso
lation of earlier days. r
Foultry Pickings.
Save, the cabbage for the hens.
Leaves make good scratching ma
terial.
Cracked corn will put fat on a fowl
about the quickest of any feed.
A lot of extra cockerels are a nui
sance.- Kill tnem on. li you want
eggs. v
Green cut bone or good beef scraps
will force the pullets to early maturity.
Dampness Is one of the worst trou
bles of poultry keepers. Sunshine Is
sure cure.
y Lime water is a corrective of fowl
diseases and is also a good remedy for
soft shelled eggs.
If eggs were sold by weight the talk
about big eggs would give place to
that of more of 'em.
"A duck grows faster than a chicken,
sells for more in market, costs no
more to feed and needs but little care.
To obtain the best results from hens
keep them in flocks of from thirty to
forty with one or two males. Crowd
ing never pays any breeder.
As a rule hens fall off in egg pro
duction after they are three or four
years old, and It is only In exceptional
cases that tt Is advisable to keep
them.
i - f -
arli wrr i -g
be Baron Rosen, formerly
minister to Toklo.
While at the Jap
anese capital Bar
on Rosen was one
of the strongest
advocates of peace, '
vigorously oppos
ing Admiral Allex
ieff's warlike prep
arations In Man
churia. He haa
the respect, even
admiration, of tha
I 1 L
Japanese, uiiu. II IS
fortunate that he Is to be in Washing
ton, where peace negotiations are to
be conducted. Baron Rosen's ac
quaintance with this country and the
American people extends over a period
of some thirty years. He has been
consul general at New York, and was
charge d'affaires at Washington dur-
BARON ROSEN.
Ing Mr.
tion.
Cleveland's first admlnlstra-
"Swiftwater Bill" Gates, who made
a fortune in the Klondike and threw it
to the winds, has made another strike.
this time in the Tanana district in Washington.
Rider Haggard, the English novelist
traveled about 7,000 miles in his tour of
this country, trying to find a location fo
colonies f or his countrymen.
- . :. ,
Josef Hofmann, the great pianist la
a clever electrician and devotes nearly
all his spare time to the' science.