THE HOTBED.
Proper Location to Select Method of
Construction.
The hotbed should be located If pos
sible In some sheltered place either oil
the south side of a building or on the
southern or southeastern slope of a
hill. The soil and subsoil where it is
to stand should be naturally or arti
ficially well drained. Hotbeds may be
made of any reasonable length, but
should correspond with the number of
sash to be used. The common and
very convenient size of sash is 3 by 6
feet. These may be purchased ready
made or constructed at home, as is de
sired. Where the hotbed is to supply
the wants of the family only three
sash will be sufficient This will pro
vide for a hotbed 6 by 9 feet or fifty
four square feet in extent.
Before beginning the construction of
the frame the soil should be excavated
CBOSS SECTION OF HOTBED.
where it is to stand eighteen inches
deep and two feet wider and longer
than the outside measurements of the
frame. Four by four Inch pieces of
wood may be used for posts, to which
planks should be nailed on the sides
and ends. The height of the frame
Should be about two feet in front and
three feet on the back, eighteen inches
of each Bide being below the surface
of the ground. After the frame Is put
in place the earth should be firmly
compacted aronnd it, and it is well to
have the surface of the soli slope away
from the frame to provide for surface
drainage.
About ten days or two weeks before
It Is desired to sow the seed in the
hotbed the required amount of fresh
horse manure, to which has been add
ed one-third of its bulk of straw or
leaves, should be heaped in a compact
pile. If the manure- Is not uniformly
wet, a little water may be added, but
not enough to make it soggy. The
manure will show signs of fermenting,
generally known as beating, in a few
days, when it should be forked over,
thoroughly mixed and made into a
compact heap again. After another in
terval of three or four days the ma
nure is ready to be placed in the
frame. As it is put in it should be
compacted with a fork and by tramp
ing. In order that the manure may be
one foot deep after It has had time to
Settle it should be about fourteen or fif
teen Inches deep when first put in.
The best soil to use Is a compost,
such as is used in greenhouses and
which consists of two-thirds sods and
one-third manure well composted. Any
good garden soil will do, however, If a
composted soil is not available, says
American Agriculturist The depth of
the soil should be about four or five
Inches.
The sash should be put In place at
once after the dirt Is put In the frame,
but the seeds should not be sown for
, three or four days or until the tem
perature of the soil is at about 70 de
grees. The sowing' of the seed, thin
ning of the plants, stirring of the soil
and general care should be about the
same as for the same crops when sown
In beds In the garden.
Watering and ventilating are the
most particular operations. Water
should not be applied except in the
morning and on bright days. It should
be at about the temperature of the
HOTBED O? THBEB BTTi
soil. The purpose of ventilation is to
assist in controlling the temperature
and humidity of the air within the
hotbed, and it should be governed by
the conditions both outside and inside
of the hotbed. A small opening will
allow much heat to escape; therefore
one sash pulled down two or three
inches from the top or lifted and a
stick placed under it will be sufficient
ventilation for a three sashed hotbed
on cold days.
Good Feed For Piglings.
Shorts, although as a rule much su
perior to bran for pigs, are not Infre
quently so coarse or contain so much
fiber as to be very little better than
bran for young pigs. Good shorts,
however that Is, shorts containing a
fairly liberal admixture of white ma
terialare certainly a most excellent
feed for pigs of all classes. Under such
conditions they are among the very
best single feeds for young ones just
weaned. A slight admixture of oH
meal Improves it
The Early Onions.
For the earliest supply of onions
grown for the home table or bunching
for market, sets are used, and these
- should be planted in rich Soil. Seed -may
also be sown at the same time for
plants to follow and maintain the sup- :
ply. Sets' of the white onions are put
out as early as the ground can be work-1
ed in the spring three Inches apart In
rows one foot apart and will be large '
enough foe polling about 4he middle of ,
Jine. i
Points oi Live
Stock Feeding,
Some noted breeders were present at
the annual meeting of the Ohio .live
Stock association and delivered In
teresting addresses. Feeding live stock
was treated in a clear and comprehen
sive manner by Dr. H. C. Miller of
Sunbnry. He Is a practical farmer and
has made the care and feeding of stock
a specialty. He is a graduate of the
Ohio Veterinary college and a well
known farmers' Institute lecturer.
There are no feeding stuffs that are
wholly nitrogenous or wholly non
nitrogenous in their nature, and, as
both carbohydrates and protein are
needed for whatever purpose an ani
mal is fed, It Is well that this "is so, he
said. Clover hay contains both kinds
of nutrients so rtyperly balanced that
they make an almost perfect food
without anything else. But clover hay
is not so economical a food as corn,
and something must be added thereto
to make up the deficiency In protein.
Bran, cottonseed meal and many
other foods are valuable, but not so
economical at present prices as corn
and soy beans. As a rule, land devoted
to soy beans should be inoculated.
The crop costs about the same per
acre as corn. No satisfactory method
of harvesting has yet been devised.
The production of hogs for market
was ably presented by J. J. Ferguson,
for some years Instructor In animal
husbandry In the Michigan Agricul
tural college, but now In charge of the
animal food department of a Chicago
packing firm. He spoke briefly of the
different breeds of swine and mention
ed the following as among the more
desirable characteristics of a good
breed': First, the ability to make a
good use of a large amount of food;
second, an aptitude or tendency to
mature early; third, to show when
slaughtered a small amount of offal or
waste In proportion to live weight
The modern Improved breed should
show an average gain of not less than
one pound a day for the first eight
months of Its life.
Feeding sheep for the International
live stock exhibition was discussed by
R. L. Stone of Stonington, 111. tie Is
one of the most prominent breeders
and successful exhibitors of sheep In
this country. He had prepared car
load lots for the great exhibition at
Chicago and spoke from experience.
He fed seventy-five or more lambs each
of Oxford Down, Southdown and
Shropshire together, treating all alike.
The principal feed was corn and oats.
He began by feeding one bushel of
corn a day and gradually Increased It
to five bushels. With the five bushels
of corn he mixed two bushels of oats
and supplemented this grain ration by
clover, cabbage, mangolds and carrots.
The Oxford Downs were the heaviest
throughout but the Southdowns made
the best showing at the butcher's
block. With his method of feeding Mr.
Stone thinks It possible to make a good
average lot of lambs Increase forty
pounds each In ninety days.
Champion Devon Bull.
The western champion Devon bull
shown in the illustration trom Orange
Judd Farmer Is owned by an Illinois
breeder. This breed of cattle are ex-
A DEVON BULL.
cellent animals fatten readily, ma
ture early and in more eastern sections
of the country are prime favorites.
They are especially desirable where
steers are to be used as work animals.
Feeding For Bacon.
There seems to be an opinion that the
pigs designed for bacon must be fed
along slowly until they have reached
the required weights. This is a mis
take, says a writer in National Stock
man and Farlner. It should be borne
in mind that young animals' develop
muscle while growing and not after.
Therefore in order to secure the best
results they must be fed with the ob
ject of rapid growth In view from start
to finish. It Is a good plan to encour
age them to eat when three weeks old
and feed them scalded middlings mix
ed in with milk while yet warm In a
little trough where they can get to It
and not be interfered with by larger
animals. Clean the trough each time
before putting in the next feeding of
the mixture. Keep the appetite good
by giving only as much as they can eat
np clean quickly. As they grow along
coarser feeds can be mixed in, such as
corn and oats ground together and the
hulls sifted out
Pasturing the Ewes.
The date of turning the ewes on to
pasture Is a period needing care and
Judgment It is safest to effect this
change gradually by turning to pasture
for a few hours dally and back to shel
ter at night, where a full ration of dry
feed should await the ewes, writes a
breeder In Country Gentleman. In this
way may be avoided injury" to the di
gestive system of the lambs, often re
sulting In death, which Is caused
by too great a supply of rich milk
through the ewes feeding heavily on
new pastures. While an til the ewe's
system has become need to the change
from dry feed to pasture It will be ben
eficial to supply a little dry feed, both
hay and grain, generally. If the pasture
is at all good. It will supply Sufficient
nutriment to the ewes, and It will not
be necessary to feed any grain.
left. HtabEff L&rtBid&. L
What One of the Toncorial Craft Has
I e. to. Say About Then.
j . Hsuperstitidos 1 1 sao-uMl sly
'yes.' They won't admit it to any
one except members of the craft,
but barters are the most supersti-
.tibus people in the world."'
The man in charge of the second
chair at one of the large hotel shops
i stropped his razor and loquaciously
I continued:
! "You see that new man down at
:the end chair? He just came to
I work here this morning and he'll
'have a nice large can tied to his
! coat tonight: Why? Because he's
Heft handed. If he remained here
'every barber in the shop would quit
i before the week was out.
! . "A left handed barber is a. hoodoo
jto any. shop,' and there's nb getting
.awjiy from it, Yoii, may think that's
.only a prejudice that barbprs have
'for left handed knights of the razor,
bat it s a well grounded superstition,
as old as the trade itself. ,
"We'd be apt to have all kinds- of
) Hard luck if that fellow stayed here
: any length of time. I once Worked
in a New York shop where there
was a left Handed barber; and almost
every day an accident would happen
to some of the others. We told the
proprietor where the trouble lay,
but as he was not a barber hei could
not., understand what difference it
made whether a, man shaved with
his right or left hand. .
"One day a runaway horse" plung
ed through the plate glass window,
and another day a mad dbg ran into
the shop'; followed by a policeman,
who killed the beast under the left
handed man's chair; . Without any
apparent, reason the hot water fau
cets would get cold as ice and the
razors would refuse to work proper
ly. Customers who for years had
been in the habit of getting shaved
three or four times a week stopped
coming, and- it was all due to that
left handed barber. During all the
while he was there not one of us
won a bet on policy, although the
porter used to dream some of the
best numbers I ever saw. This fel
low I speak of had red hair, and
that, of course, made it worse. We
finally induced the boss to fire him,
and just as soon as he was gone
things began to get good again. .
"Now, this fellow on the end, who
drifted in this morning, looks to be
a pretty good barber, but just as
soon as the boss saw him strop a ra
zor with his left 'mitt' it was all off
for Julius. In most shops before a
new man is hired he is asked wheth
er he is right or left handed.
"Left handed men who leaxn the
trade get on to this after awhile,
and then they switch to the right
hand that , is, if they . can make
good with the right. I'm scared to
death that omebody is going to
get killed around here before 8
o'clock tonight, when his 'nibs' will
take off his coat and take it away
with him.
"Another superstition among bar
bers is that they don't want to
shave the first customer that comes
in on Monday morning. That's a
sure sign of poor business all week
for the unlucky barber. Of course
somebody has got to shave the first
man in, but you don't see the bar
bers rushing madly up to their
chairs and beckoning to the custom
er. You'll see one of them go for a
drink of water, another is too busy
reading the sporting page to look
up, and the others are all doing
something that occupies their time.
Whatever chair the customer climbs
into the barber who runs it is hoo
dooed for the week.
"Another peculiarity about bar
bers is that one of the craft can tell
a fellow tradesman by Bhaving him,
although he may never have seen
the man before. The way a barber
lies in a chair when he is getting
shaved and the way he unconscious
ly assists the man with the razor
tip him off every time. He will
turn his head from one side to the
other in a different way than other
men who are not barbers, and when
the razor is on his neck he'll raise
his chin in a way that cannot be
counterfeited. I never missed out
on calling the turn on a barber in
my life." Chicago Becord-Herald.
Ugly and Knew It.
A gentleman once said to Lord
North, "Pray, my lord, who is that
extremely ugly woman sitting over
there?"
"Thaf s my youngest sister," said
his lordship.
"Good gracious !" said the gentle
man. "I don't mean her. 1 mean
the next."
"That is my eldest sister," re
plied the nobleman.
"I protest!" cried the unhappy
gentleman. "I don't mean her, but
the third."
"That is my wife," said Lord
North.
"The mischief!" ejaculated the
poor fellow.
"You may well say that," said
Lord North, "for she is ugly. But
console yourself, my dear sir. We
are the ugliest family in England."
Golden Penny.
Mm' fbMmsm
Veterinary Wor tri Dairyman Should
j . Bo Able to O& i ;. ,
If a man is going to raise animals
and. keep animals be needs to know
something about the, aliments of .ani
mals;. He must not think he is a
' veterinary simply because he has tins'
know ledge and., a few instruments,
fie won't be within five hundred miles
of being one, but be may be enabled
to save himself .a lot of money loss In
live stock yearly by owning the in
struments I will briefly mention.
Writes Dr. C D. Smead in Tribune
. Farmer.,
j A horse or cow .may be bloated. If
taken In time, by simply using a
rectal syringe made for horses and
cattle, a valuable animal's life may be
j saved. If the veterinary is depended
; upon, it would be dead long before the
veterinary could be had.
i A cow may have an attack of partu-
Went apoplexy (milk fever) and die
j before a veterinary could be had, when
if the farmer has an air syringe 'milk
' fofar I Via enn ilea it liiixculf
just as well as the veterinary and
save his cow and the veterinary bills
also.
Cows will occasionally injure a quar
ter of an udder and some thick or
stringy milk may be the result. Unless
this can be milked out or got out of
the udder In some way the result will
: be the loss of the quarter, either by
garget or Caseous hardening of the
quarter. Had the farmer a modern
teat syringe to wash out the milk cis
tern of the udder with warm water,
with some common baking soda dis
solved iii it, the quarter could have
been saved.
A cow may have clover bloat and
die before the veterinary surgeon can
get there, when. If the farmer had had
a trocar he could have saved her life.
A hard milking cow in many instances
can be made to milk easily by a little
silt made with a proper bistoury. Many
a cow with an injured or lacerated
teat loses it simply because the fanner
has not a milk tube and a knowledge
of how to use it,. .
The treatment of parturient apoplexy,
or tapping a cow that is bloated, is no
more of a skillful operation than the
hoeing of a hill of cucumbers, and you
might with just as much sense send to
town for a man 10 come and hoe your
peas and .. cucumbers simply because
you had no garden hoe as to send for a
veterinary to tap a bloated cow or
treat a cow for parturient apoplexy
simply because you had no tools. The
whole kit can be bought for $12 and, I
think, $10, and that is about what a
veterinary has to charge you for two
visits if he has to go five miles to make
them.
Care of the Separator.
In order to hav the perfect motion
of the separator bowl the machine
must be set level and be kept clean and
well oiled. The oil should be thin or
light so it will not gum the wearing
parts. A heavy oil will make the ma
chine run hard and will gum quickly
on small high speed bearings. All the
bearings of the machine should be fre
quently flushed with coal oil. It Is well
to make a run about once in two or
three weeks, using coal oil on all the
bearings. This keeps the parts free
from gum and washes out grit or sand
that may have blown Into them. It Is
an excellent plan to have a cover of
close woven cloth or oilcloth that can
be kept over the machine while it is not
in operation. This will keep out dust
and will add materially to the lasting
powers of the machine. The separator
should be set upon a good solid floor so
that it will not move about as the
operator turns the prank. Prof essor E.
H. Webster.
THE BUTTERMAKER.
If you are making a choice lot of but
ter (and you should make none other)
it will pay you well to mold It Into
pound prints and wrap with parchment
po,per bearing a label on which is print
ed the name of the brand, together
with the name and address of the
maker.
Low Speed Loses Butter Fat.
A. test was made of running milk
through the separator at about three
fourths of the listed speed at the Kan
sas experiment station. It appeared
from the result of this test that the
amount of butter fat left in the skim
milk is materially increased by lower
ing the speed of the separator. There
is considerably more loss than where
separators are run at their listed speed.
Temperature For Cream.
The temperature at which cream
should be churned cannot be stated
with accuracy because much depends
upon the cream itself. Cream from the
milk Of different cows cannot always
be churned at the same temperature.
Different feeds have something to do
with it The period of location must
be considered. The proper temperature
will be all the way from 50 to 65 or 66
degrees, but the lowest temperature at
which the cream will churn is best for
it will make better butter than a higher
temperature.
Cleanliness, Always Cleanliness.
A poorly washed strainer, milk pans
or any utensil used about milk affects
the flavor of butter. Cleanliness is the
most important adjunct to the dairy
business. When everything is kept
clean, there is little complaint of bac
teria or trouble of any other kind.
What Makes Good Butter.
Good butter is not the result of any
one particular point of superior excel
lence, but a combination of all the de
tails. In methods of management con
ditions vary so much that no one set
of rules .will be applicable in all cases.
It Is very important to do what is nec
essary to be done at the right time
and In the right manner.
tftE Urttr
the Game of Club Will Furnish
1 - Merry HaW Hour.
- This is a game that causes much
aninsemerit to a company c-f chil
dren; and even grownups may join
in.
All .the players, with the excep
tion of i two, leave the rpom. One of
the outside party is then called in
and. told that a new club has been
formed and his name enrolled, but
that he cannot be formally admitted
unless he can guess the name of
the. club from the movements of
the two members who have remain
ed in the room. ,
The candidate for admission is
then offered a chair, and everything
he says and everything he does is
mimicked by the other two. Some
times the new member guesses at
once, but when unable to do this it is
very funny to watch the effect that
the copying of his every movement
has .upon him, especially when six
or seven have been admitted.
. , When the name of the club has
been guessed, another candidate is
invited in, and the same perform
ance takes place.
Dot's Composition on Boys.
"Boys are men that have not got
as big as their papas, and girls are
women that will be ladies by and
by. When God looked at Adam, he
said to himself, 'Well, I think I can
do better if I try again,' and he
made Ev3. Boys are a trouble.
They wear out everything but soap.
If I had my way, the world would
be girls and the rest dolls. My papa
is so nice that I think he must have
been a little girl when he was a
little boy. Man was made, and on
the seventh day he rested. Woman
was made, and she has never rested
since: -
The Black Hole of Calcutta.
The Black Hole of Calcutta ia a
small dungeon in Fort William, Cal-
, cutta. Surajah Dowlah,, the Indian
! ruler of Bengal, took Calcutta in the
I year 1746 and put the garrison of 146
' men into this dungeon, which had
' only two small windows on one side,
. covered with iron bars. The pris
oners suffered torture during the
; night, for there was not enough air
; for them to breathe, and in the
morning only twenty-three of them
were found alive. This act has pass
ed into history as one of the crud
est on record.
English Army Horses.
Every horse in the English army
is numbered and has its own little
record kept for itself. The number
is branded upon the horse's hind
feet the thousands on the near
hind foot and the units, tens and
hundreds on the off hind foot.
Thus the horse whose number is,
say, 8354 will have an 8 on his left
hind foot and 354 on the right. ,0n
what is called his "veterinary his
tory sheet" everything about the
horse will from time to time be
written.
What the Little Jap Wrote.
A teacher1 in Japan copied these
English sentences just as they were
written by Japanese pupils:
"The toothache is a disgustable
disease."
"Though the toothache is a little
disease, it disturbs the soul to a
great degree."
"The good man is bold as a lion,
but the bad man flew even when no
man drive him."
"My dog is very bark."
"Come here, my amiable cat."
Made Over Nursery Rhyme.
Peter had a Uttle lamb;
Its fleece was black as jet.
And everywhere that Peter went
That lamb would go, you bet.
Washington Post
Fishing For Sheep.
When sheep were introduced into
Cornwall, England, a flock of them
ran into the sea and were floated by
their wool. Some fishermen saw
them and, thinking them to be a
new species of fish, made haste to
try to catch them with hooks and
nets. Next morning they brought
home a catch whose value was great
er than any load their boats had
ever carried.
Origin of the Saddle.
Saddles with trees came into use
in the fourth century, arid stirrups
were adopted about three centuries
later. The early Greeks and Ro
mans rode bareback, and when Nero
gave out to his cavalrymen fancy
coverings the hardy German tribes
i fcof&aaien were much amused.
,,r " . A 1 liver -
Hay be only a tired liver, or a starred
liver. . It would be a stupid a well aa
Savage, thing to boat a weary or starvnd
man because he lagged in his work. So
In treating the lagging, torpid liver It is
a great mistake u, lash It with strong
drastic drugs. A torpid liver is but r,n
indication of an ill-nourished, enfeeble
body whose organs are weary with over
work. Start with lUo stuinach and allie-j
organs of digestion and nutrition. Put
them In Working order and see how
quickly your liver will become active.
Dr. Pierce's Gclden Medical Discover
has made many marvelous cures of "liver
trouble" by its wonderful control ot the
organs of digestion and nutrition. It re
stores the normal activity of the stomach,
increases the secretions of the blood-making
glands, cloanses the system from poi
sonous accumulations, and so relieves tho
liver of the burdens imposed upon it by
the defection of other organs.
If you have bitter or bad taste In the morn
bur, poor or (variable appetite, coated tongue,
foul breath. coJistipated or Irregular bowels,
feel weak, easlljt tired, aespondent. frequent
headaches, pain Ar dlstresatn " small ot bock.
gnawing or distressed IteraTi In stomach,
perhaps nausea.Mk8NsrWej "risings" la
throat after eating, and kinOt5i symptom
ot weak stomach and torpid I1H4 no medi
cine will relieve you more promptly.or cufa
yon more permanently than Doctor Pierces
Golden Medical Discovery. Perhaps onls
1 a part ot the Above symptoms will be present
at one time and yet point to torpid liver or
biliousness and weak stomach. Avoid all
hot bread and biscuits, griddle cakes and
other indigestible food and take (he "Golden
Medical Discovery " regularly and stick to its
nse until you are vigorous and airong.
The "Discovery" Is non-secret, non-alcoholic.
Is a glyceric extract ot native medici
nal roots with a full list ot Its Ingredients
printed on each bottle-wrapper and attested
under oath. Its Ingredients are endorsed
and extolled by the most eminent medical
Writers ot the age and are recommended to
cure the diseases lor which it is advised.
Don't accept substitute of unknown
composition for this non-secret medicot
OF KNOWN COMPOSITION.
STORIES OF LINCOLN.
aide Lights on the Character of tn
. . Martyr President.
I have read several Lincoln anni
versary speeches," said Mr. Charles
Frederick, "and have been struck with,
the statement contained in some of
them to the effect that Mr. Lincoln sel
dom got mad and that when he did get -mad
he did not allow himself to get
very mad. If these speakers spoke
t from their personal experience, it is ail
right, but my personal experience with
him one night satisfied me he could get
up a terribly good sized case of mad
at tines.
"I was a boy at the time and was a
messenger for the old American Tele
graph company, which in after years
was absorbed by the present Western
Union Telegraph. For several days
there had been a number of telegrams
for the pre.-ident from army officers,
and among them I remember two or
three from General McClellan. I don't
remember now why they did not come
over the military telegraph lines. Well,
one night I started over to the White
House with a telegram that I knew
came from General McClellan. It was
for the president.
"In those days there was always a
guard of soldiers stationed at the two
avenue gates, as also at the other
gates, but messenger boys were gener
ally well known, and they were admit
ted day or night without any question,
at least to the front door, where an
other soldier guard was also stationed.
There was always an officer about the
door, who receipted for telegrams.
This night, however, I saw Mr. Lin
coln coming toward the outer gate, and
I thought 1 would personally hand him
the telegram, which I did. He smiled
pleasantly enough as he opened it, but
a change suddenly came over him.
" 'Have you the other telegrams?' he
demanded of me. I replied that I had
but the one, though I informed him
that I knew there had been one or two
others that day from General McClel
lan. " 'That is what he says,' added the
president, 'and what annoys me Is that
I have not received them.'
"Then, turning to the sentry, he said:
'Send up to the door for the officer la
charge and tell him that when tele
grams come here addressed to me they
should and must be delivered to me.
Tell him also,' and by this time the
president was very mad, 'that if he
sends any more of my telegrams over
to Mr. Stautou's house I'll drive him
away from here. Mr. Stanton has
enough telegrams of his owu and
should not have mine.'
"Though I was but a boy," said Mr.
Frederick, "I could see that Mr. Lin
coln was mad all the way through and
that, for the moment, at least, be was
displeased with his war minister, Sec
retary Stanton, and that he intended
exactly what he said. The president,
then directing himself to me, contin
ued: 'Boy, tell your folks that I must
have my telegrams and that If these
soldiers about the door interfere any
more I'll drive every one of them away.
I don't want them and never did want
them about the place.' "
uooa pian to sift the salt you use in
the butter. Sometimes there will be
little chunks In it, and these are apt
to get into the butter whole. Sifting
breaks these all np fine.
Don't forget that the milk fed calf
needs water to drink.-
Regularity Is inexpensive. Use lots
of It In feeding and milking.
Cultivate your smellers. Never leave
a churn after washing until it smells
as fresh as the morning dew.
The cow that fattens easily is sel
dom a good milker. The function of
the dairy cow Is to turn feed Into milk,
not meat. ...
If you have a good dairy bull it win
pay you to be moderate in charging for
his services. You may be able tft pick
up some of his heifer calves from your
neighbor's good milkers,