I The Firm of
m
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1 Girdlestone
A. C O N A N OOYLE
C H A P T E R 111— (Continued.)
“ You’re raving, Haum.ser,” said Major
Clutterbuck, excitedly. “ Why, rran, the;r
name« are above suspicion. 'They are
looked upon as the soundest roncern in
the city.”
“ Dat may be; dat may be,’' the Ger
man answered stolidly. “ What I know I
know, and what I say I say.”
“ And how d’ye know it? U’ye tell me
that you know more about it than the
men on ’Change and the firms that do
business with them?”
“ I know what 1 know, and l say what
I say,” the other repeated.
“ And you won’t tell me where yon
hoard this of the Girdlestonos?”
“ It would be no good to you. It U
enough that what I say is certain. Lot
it suffice that they are people what are
bound to tell other people all that they
know about anything whatever.’’
“ You don’t make it very clear now,’’
the old soldier grumbled.
“ You mean
that these secret societies and socialists
let each other know all that comes in
their way, and have their own means of
getting information.’”
“ Dat may be, and dat may not be,” the
German answered in the same oracular
voice. “ I /thought in any case, my good
friend CliRterbuck, that I would give you
what you call it in English the straight
tap.
It is always well to have the
straight tap.”
“ Thank ye, me boy,” the major slid
heartily. “ I f the firm’s in a bad way
either the youngster doesn’t know of it,
or else he’s the moat natural actor , that
ever lived. There’s the tay-oell; let’s got
down before the bread and Luttber is
all finished.”
Mrs. Robins was in the habit of fur
nishing her lodgers with an jvening mesl
at a small sum per head. There was only
a certain amount of bread and butter sup
plied^ for this, however, and those who
catne late were likely to find an empty
platter. The two Bohemians telt that
the subject wa« too grave a one to trtle
with, so they suspended their judgment
upon the Girdlestones while they clat
tered down to the dining room.
C H A P T E R IV.
Although not a whisper had been heard
of it in ordinary commercial circles, there
was some foundation for the forecast
which Von Bamnser had made as to the
fate of the great house of Girdlestone.
For some time back matters had been go
ing badly with the African traders
If
the shrewd eyes of Major Tobias Clutter-
buck were unable to detect any indica
tions of this state of affairs in rhe man
ner or conversation of the junior partner,
the reason simply w’as that that gentle
man wag entirely Ignorant of the immi
nent danger which hung over nis head.
As far as he knew’ , the concern was as
prosperous and as flourishing os it had
been at the time of the death of John
Harston.
The momentous secret w ij
locked in the breast of his grim old
father, who bore it about with tiim as
the Spartan lad did the fox — without a
quiver or groan to indicate the care
which was gnawing at his heart. Placed
face to face with ruin, Girdlestone fought
against it desperately, and, witnal, cool
ly and warily, throwing away jo chance
and leaving no stone unturned. Above
all, he exerted himself— and exerted him
self successfully— to prevent any rumor
of the critical position of tbs firm from
leaking out in the city.
Many things had contributed towards
this state of affairs. The firm had been
involved in a succession of misfortune *,
some known to the w’orld, and others
known to no one save the elder liird ’ e-
•tone. Lines of fine vessels from Live;-
pool and from Hamburg were tunning *o
the West coast of Africa, and competi
tion had cut down freightage to the low
est possible point.
Where tne Girdle-
stones had once held almost a monopoly
there were now many in the field. Again
the negroes of the coast were becoming
educated, and had a keen eye to busi
ness, so that the old profits were no
longer obtainable. The days had gone
by when flint-lock guns and .Manchester
prints could be weighed in the balance
against ivory and gold dust.
While these general causes were at
work a special misfortune had befallen
the house of Girdlestone. Finding that
their fleet of old sailing vessels were t«*o
slow and clumsy to compete with more
modern ships, they had bought in two
first-rate steamers. One was the Provi
dence, a fine screw vessel of twelve hun
dred tons, and the other was the Even
ing Star, somewhat smaller In site, but
both classed A 1 at Lloyd’s. The former
cost twenty-two thousand jounda, a id
the latter seventeen thousand. Now. Mr.
Girdlestone had always had a weakness
for petty savings, and in thla instance he
determined not to insure his new vessels.
I f the craxy old tubs, for which he had
paid fancy premiums for so many years
with an eye to an ultimate profit, m»*t
with no disaster, surely those new pow* r-
ful clippers were safe. It chanced, how
ever, by strange luck that ns the Even
ing Star was steaming up Channel in a
dense fog on her return from her second
voyage, she ran right into th» Providence,
which had started that very morning from
Liverpool upon her third outward trip.
The Providence was almost cut in two.
and sank within five minutes, taking down
the captain and six of the crew, while tut
Evening Star was so much damaged about
the bows that she put into Falmouth in
a sinking condition.
That day’s work
cost the African firm more than flve-anrt-
thirty thousand pounds.
Other mishap« had occurred to weaken
the firm, apart from their trade with the
coast. 'Hie senior partner had engaged
la mmrulatioo without the knowledge of
I Me son, and the result had been disas
trous. One of the Cornish tin mines in
I which he had sunk a large amount of
j money, and ‘ which had hitherto yielded
! him a handsome return, became suddenly
exhausted, and the shares went down to
{ zero. No firm could stand against such
j a run of bad luck, and the African tma-
> ing company reeled before it. John Gir-
j dleetone had not said a word yet of all
this to his son. As claims arose he » t i
tled them,in the best manner he could,
j and postponed the Inevitable day when
he should have to give a true account
| of their financial position.
He hoped
! against hope that the chapter of acci
dents or the arrival of some brilliant car
goes from the coast might set the concern
j on its legs again.
From day to day he had been expecFng
news of one of his vessels. At last one
morning he found a telegram awaiting
him at the office. He tore it eagerly opeu
for it bore the Madeira mark. It was
from his agent, Jose Alverciraa, and an
nounced that the voyage from which ho
had hoped so much had been i total fail
ure. The cargo was hardly sufficient to
defray the working expenses. As the mer
chant read it, his head drooped over the
table and he groaned aloud. Another of
the props which upheld him from ruin
had snapped beneath him.
There were three letters lying beside
the telegram. He glanced through them,
but there was no consolation m any o?
\them. One was from a hank manager
Informing him that his account was some
what overdrawn. Another from Lloyd’s
Insurance Agency, pointing out that the
policies on two of his vessels would lapse
unless paid within a certain date. The
clouds were gathering very darkly over
the African firm, yet the old man bore
up against misfortune with
dauntless
courage. He sat alone in his little room,
with his head sunk upon his breast, and
his thatched eyebrows drawn down over
his keen grey eyes. It was clear to h ra
that the time had come when he must
enlighten his son as to the true state of
their affairs. With his co-operation ho
might carry out a plan whleu had been
maturing for some months in bU brain.
A moment or two later the green baize
door flew open, and the young man came
in, throwing his hat and coat down on
one of the chairs. It was evident that
something had ruffled his temper.
“ Good morning,” he said brusquely,
nodding his head to his father.
“ What’s the matter with 70 0 ? Yon
don’t look yourself, and haven't for soms
time back.”
“ Business worries, my boy, business
worries,”
John Girdlestone answered
wearily. “ I have not got a gwd balance
at the banker’s”
“ Pretty fair, pretty fair,” hi* son said,
knowingly, picking up the long thin vol
ume In which the finanoe of the firm was
recorded, and tapping fc rgainst the ta
ble.
“ But the figures there are not correct,
Ezra.’’ his father said, still more huskily.
“ We have not got nearly so much as
that.”
“ W h at!” roared the Junior partner.
“ Huah! Don’t let the clerks hear you.
We have very little. In fact, E m , we
have next to nothing in the hank
It is
all gone.”
For a moment the young man stood mo
tionless. glaring at his father. The ex
pression of incredulity which had appear
ed on his features faded away before the
earnestness of the other, and was -o-
placed by a look of such malignant pas
sion that it contorted his whole face.
“ You fool 1” he shrieked, springing for
ward with the book upraised as though
he would have struck the old merchant.
“ I see It now. You have bee 1 speculat
ing on your own hook ! What have you
done with it?”
He seized his father Dy
the collar and shook hiip furiously in his
wrath.
“ Keep your hands off me !” th*» senior
partner cried, wrenching
nimself free
from his son’s grasp. “ I did my best
with the money. How dare jou address
me so?”
“ Did your best!” hissed Ex*a, hurling
the ledger down on the table with a crash.
“ What did you mean by speculating with
out my knowledge, and telling me at the
same time that I knew all that was
done? Hadn’ t I warned you a thousand
times of the danger of it? You are not
to be trusted with money.”
“ Remember, Ezra,” his father said
with dignity, reseating himself in the
dhair from which he had risen, In order
to free himself from his son’s clutches, “ if
I lost the money, I also made it. This
was a flourishing concern before /ou were
horn. I f the worst comes to the worst
jou are only where I stnrted. But we aro
far from being absolutely ruined as yet.”
“ T o think of i t !” Ezra cried, flinging
himself upon the office sofa and burying
his face in his hands. “ T o think of all
I have said of our money and our re
sources ! What will Clutterbuck and the
fellows at the club »ay?
How can I
alter the ways of life that I have learn
ed?” Then suddenly clenching his hands,
and turning upon his father, he broke out,
“ We must have it back, father; we must,
by fair moans or foul. You must do It,
for it was you who lost it. What cau
we do? How long have we to do it in?
Is this known In the city? Oh, I shall
be ashamed to show my face on ’Change.”
So he rambled on half-maddened by the
pictures of the future which rose up in
his mind.
“ Be calm, Ezra, be calm !” his father
said imploringly. “ We have many chances
yet if we only make the best of them.
There is no use lamenting the past. I
freely confess that I was wrong in using
this money without your knowledge, but
I did It from the best of motives. We
must put our heads together now to re
trieve our losses, and there are many
ways In which that may be done. I want
your clear common sense to help me in
the matter.”
“ Pity you didn’t apply to that before,”
Ezra said sulkily.
“ I have suffered for not doing so,** the
old man answered meekly. “ In consider
ing how to rally under this grievous af
fliction which has came upon us, we must
remember that onr credit is a great re
source, and one on which we have never
drawn. That gives us a broad margin to
help 11 a while we are carrying out our
plane for the future.”
“ What will our credit bs worth when
this matter leaks out?”
“ But It can’t leak out No one snspects
It for a moment. They might Imagine
that wa are suffering from some tempo
rary depression of trade, but no one could
poaslbly know tha sad truth.
I hara
more than one plan In my head by which
our affaire may be ra-srtabllahad 00 their
| old footing. 5? wa can once get aura-*
cient money t* satisfy our present credit
ors, and so tide over this run of bad luck,
the current will set In the other way, and
all will go wall. And first of all, there
Is one queation, my boy, which I should
like to ask you. What do you think of
John Harstou's daughter?”
“ She’s right enough,” the young man
answered brusquely.
“ She’s a good girl, Ezra— a thorough
good girl, and a rich girl, too, though her
money is a small thing in my eyes co n-
pared to her virtue.”
Young
Girdlestone
sneered.
“ Ot
course,” he said, impatiently. “ Well, go
on— what about her?”
“ Just this, Ezra, that there ia no girl
in the world whom I should like better
to receive as my daughter-in-law. A h !
you rogue, you could come round her;
you know you could.”
The old man
poked his long bony finger In the direction
of his son’s ribs with grim playfulness.
“ Oh, that’s the idea, is it?” remarked
the junior partner, with a very unpleas
ant smile.
“ Yes, that Is one way out of our diffi
culties. She has forty thousand pounds,
which would be more than enough to save
the firm. At the same time you would
gain a charming wife.”
“ I f we are reduced to such an expedi
ent I think I can answer for the result.
'Hie girl’s not a bad looking one. But you
said you had several plana Let us hear
some of the other ones.
I f the worst
comes to the wirst I might consent to
that— on condition, of course, that 1
should have the whole management of the
money.”
“ Quite so— quite so.” his father said
hurriedly. “ That’s a dear, good lad. As
you say, when all other things fail we
can always fall back upon thal. A t pres
ent I intend to raise as much money as
I can upon our credit, and invest It in
such a manner as to bring in a large and
immediate profit.”
“ And how dp you intend to do this?*’
his son asked doubtfully.
“ I intend,” said John Girdlestone, sol
emnly rising up and leaning his elbow
against the mantelpiece, ” 1 Intend to
make a corner in diamonds.”
C H A P T E R V.
John Girdlestone propounded his Inten
tion with such dignity and emphasis that
ho evidently expected the announcement
to eoane as a surprise upon his son. If
so, he was not disappointed, for the
young man stAred open-eyed.
“ A corner in diamond^!” he repeated.
“ How will you do that?”
“ You know what a corner is,” has fath
er explained.
“ I f you buy up all the
cotton, say, or sugar in the market, so
as to have the whole of It in your own
hands, and to he able to put your own
price on it in selling it again— that is
called making a corner in wheat or cot
ton. I intend to make a corner in dia
monds.”
“ O f course, I know what a corner is,”
Ezra said impatiently.
“ But how on
earth are you going to buy all the dia
monds in? You would want the capital
of a Rothschild.”
“ Not so much as you think, my boy,
for there are not any great amount of
diamonds in the market at any one time.
The yield of the South African fields reg
ulates the price. I have had this Idea in
my head for some time, and have studied
the details. O f course, I should not at
tempt to buy in all the diamonds that are
in *the market. A small portion o f them
would yield profit enough to float the firm
off again.”
“ But if you have only a part of the
supply In your hands, how are you to reg
ulate the market value? You must come
down to the prices at which other holders
are selling.”
“ Ha ! ha ! Very good ! very good !” the
old merchant said, shaking his head good-
humoredly. “ But you don’t quite see my
plan yet. You have not altogether grasp
ed it. Allow me to explain to you. I
did some business in diamonds myself
when I was a younger man, and so I had
an opportunity of observing their fluctua
tions In the market. Now, there ia one
thing which invariably depreciates the
price of diamonds. That ia the rumor of
fresh discoveries of mines in other parts
of the world. The Instant such a thing
gets wind the value of the stones goes
down wonderfully. The discovery of dia
monds in Central India not long ago had
that effect very markedly, and they have
never recovered their value since. Do you
follow me?”
An expression o f interest had come over
Ezra’s face, and he nodded to show that
he was listening.
(T o be continued.)
An
R iifflliih i
A m en ity.
A striking difference between out
manners and those o f our English cous
ins was shown one day at a garder
party. The hostess, an American, was
speaking to one of her guests, an En
glishwomen o f rank.
“ I>ear Lady B.,” she said, “ here ars
some sandwiches which I made with
my own hands, particularly fo r you.
You know I ’ve often told you about
our American sandwiches and how
good they are.
Here are different
sorts, lettuce and cucumbers, if you
care for ’grass,’ or If you like a savory
better try ths cream cheese ones with
plmentoes. I ’ve some sweet ones, too*
raisins and nuts chopped together—
which w ill you try first?”
She held a plate In each hand, a
plate filled with dainty looking sand
wiches. and they were extended in vit
ingly toward her guest, who looked at
them critically, then said In the clear,
high pitched voice o f the well bred En
glishwoman :
“ Oh. thank yon, so kind o f you, but
do you know l never touch the nawsty
things?”— Cleveland Plain Dealer .
.»»o d
A J falfa
fur
H u s».
A t the Kansas Experiment Station
hogs were fed on a ration o f a lfa lfa
hay and Kaffir com tueal. The gains
were 73 per cent more on this ration
than upon a ration o f K affir corn meal
alone. F o r every bushel o f K affir corn
meal and 7.83 pounds o f a lfa lfa hay,
the gain was 10.88 pounds, while upon
K affir corn meal alone the gain was
7.48 pounds per bushel. It Is shown
that the hay gave better results when
cut early and that the chief nutriment
was in the leaves, whieh should be
carefu lly saved during the process of
harvesting. An earlier experiment at
the same station was tried to deter
mine the value o f a lfa lfa pasture for
hogs. The hogs were allow ed to run
upon the a lfa lfa during the summer
and were fed a light ration o f grain.
A fte r deducting the probable gain for
the com It was found that during the
summer each acre o f a lfa lfa pasture
Produced 770 pounds o f pork.
Scoop
G ate
for
W nRon
Box.
The end gate for a wagon box here
illustrated, answers the purpose best
o f anything known fo r hauling corn or
anything which Is to be scooped from
the wagon box. The le ft figure shows
It closed; being fastened by a hook on
each side.
When
ready to unload,
loosen hooks, swing gate down and,
as it is supported by a chain oil each
side, you can stand on it and com-
W AQON-BOX SCOOP OATE.
mence scooping. It Is fastened to bot
tom o f the box with strap hinges which
should be sunk into box and gate so
that It leaves an ewen surface to scoop
over. The gate should be about thirty
Inches high and wide enough so that
side boards o f same w ill fit over out
side o f box us shown In right hand
figure.
M eat
fo r
L a yer*.
One o f the best foods for making
hens lay is lean meat. W hen the sup
ply o f eggs falls, stop all other feeds
and feed lean meat o r liver, and cheap
meats w ill answer, and It w ill he found
superior to anything else that can be
used. Green bone, containing a large
proportion o f lean meat, is even better,
provided the fat portions are removed
from the bone.
I t w ill be found cheaper than grain,
because It w ill make eggs. One reason
why the hens fail to lay when they
have plenty o f grain Is that they re
quire a change, and meat supplies the
needful. I f the hens are fat, give one
ounce o f lean meat each day, allow ing
no other food fo r a week or two, and
watch the
results.— Column's
Rural
W orld.
I’a y *
to K a ln e W h i t e
Beans.
Common white beaus are a good
prop for the farm er to grow, If they
are grown under the best methods.
Good-sized seed should be planted
rather than small seed, and the plant
ing should be after the danger o f frost
is past, as the leaves o f beans w ill not
stand frost.
The farm er should at
least raise enough
fo r his fam ily,
which cau easily be done on a very
small strip o f land that has been only
m oderately manured.
This small de
mand for manure Is due to the fact
that bean plant roots have on them
nodules containing
bacteria
which
gather nitrogen from the air. W hite
beans need food cultivation, so that
the soil around the roots can be well
treated, which favors the development
o f the nodules.
C lean in g
D rin k in g
V e **e l*.
Unclean drinking vessels are doubt
less the immediate means o f spreading
some o f our contagious diseases, such
ns roup. Roup is a disease in which
slime accumulates in the mouths o f the
fow ls and strings out o f their mouths
when they open them to drink. Noth
ing Is easier than for such a fo w l to
leave slime iu the drinking water,
w’ hlch Is then partaken o f be the other
fowls. This leads to the fow ls all be
coming quickly affected. As roup comes
on in the fa ll very often when we get
the changes in temperature at night,
it 1» ne«*es8ary that the drinking ves
sels he kept clean and every fow l thnt
shows signs o f a cold should be taken
at once from the house so that It w ill
not be possible for her to spread the
disease.
1 1 .t e r n .d
o f M em o ry ,
to
lloe
off
O lt*.
noon beceuee It w ill hurry for nobody." bn all the rage
of
the
S ad d le.
I'N in s C o m m e rc ia l
F e rtiliser«.
The pure nitrate o f soda, muriate oi
potash,
super-phosphate or ground
bone, can be used iu the garden, but
unless a person has had experience or
handles these very carefully,
results
are apt to be disappointing or disas
trous.
Plants o f which the leaf or
stalk are the edible portions must have
plenty o f nitrogen, which is available
in the guano
and
animal mauure.
W hen the roots or fruits
are to bo
euten, phosphoric acid should be added
In the shape o f wood ashes or super
phosphate. Ground bone is too slow I d
becoming available.
E a rly
Layer«.
Frequently a pullet starts laying be
fore the others and continues to !ay
w ell all the y e a r; such a one should l>e
carefu lly watched and her eggs saved,
providing sufficient size was attained
before she began laying.
Other pul
lets w ill lay a few eggs in the nutunt
and then cease until spring;
these
should, o f course, be discarded. Those
that begin laying prematurely are not
desirable, as they should attain the
size characteristic o f their breed be
fore commencing, and then lay con
tinuously during the rest o f the fall and
winter.
An
A Missouri farm er has returned to
the use o f oxen on his farm. Me say»
Mother— Tommy, what did I »a y I ’d
be flnds them cbeai>er end better thau
do to you I f you touched that jam
borsee and mules. In addition to h ar
again?
|
ing oxen for general farm work, he
Tommy— W hy, I f » funny, ma, that
haa trained a bull to run a treadm ill
you »hould fo r g e t too. I'm blamed If
th(it pumps water, churna butter and
I can rem em ber!— Philadelphia T ele
does all o f that kind o f work. This
graph.
animal beats a windm ill or gasoline
engine "a ll to piece».’’ and tbe work
T a k e * Its O w n
G alt.
“ T im e w « IU for nobody," sighed the keeps his temper sweet and prerents
him from doing damage with bla horns.
senior partner.
•True." rejoined the Junior partner, Other farm er» are watching the experi
"but the office boy worrtee eech after ment. and "horseleaa farm s” may noon
T w o l.«p * M
Care
A manufacturer o f Buddies is credited
with the statement that one o f the best
o f polishes for riding saddles and bri
dles is new milk. This should not be
rubbed In the leuther, however, until
the latter has beeu cleaned with slight
ly warm water and soap. Hard-work
ing stock saddles can be kept in good
condition by thoroughly rubbing with
three parts o f paim oil and one o f
ueatsfoot after first washing with soap
and water. F or the leather lining o f
saddles that comes next to the horse
there is nothing so good ns ueatsfoot
Oil. The salt which exudes from the
animal's body is very hard on
the
leather. Vigorous and protracted rub
bing o f the leath er is essential, what
ever dressing Is used.
Acre
of
I.an d .
T o measure ou acre tie a ring n
each end o f a rope, the distance belnt
just 60 feet between th em ; tie a piece
o f colored cloth exactly In the middle
o f this. One acre o f ground w ill be
fou r times the length and tw o and
one-half times the width, or the equa,
o f 10 rods one way and 10 rods the
other, making the full acre 100 square
rods. Keep the rope dry, so it w ill uol
stretch. A rod Is 16^ lineal feet. An
acre Is 4,840 square yards or 43,5<W
Square feet.
A
Good
C on dition
Pow der.
Dr. Sinead advises the follow in g con
dition powder for liv e stock;
Two
pounds o f ground flaxseed as a base, in
which mix 5 ounces powdeVed gentian.
0 ounces o f ginger, 4 ounces o f powder
ed sulphate o f iron, 4 ounces o f powder
ed nitrate o f potash. T o this add 2
ounces o f powdered charcoal and 1
pound o f common salt. M ix all well
together. G ive at first two tablespoon
fuls in feed o f grain tw ice a day. A f
ter two weeks give h alf the quantity.
P u rp le-T o p
Ilnta-BuM ra.
Prof. Raue o f the New Hampshire
station recommends the Am erican pur
ple top ruta-baga for the follow in g rea
sons: It Is a fine market 9ort, often sell
ing In tlie markets fo r double the price
o f the early white turnip. It Is also a
splendid keeper and Is usually free
from all sponginess. W hile it cannot
be planted as late as the early turnips,
it can be used as a follow crop after
early peas, provided the seed is sown
not later than July 10.
1055— Cromwell dissolved Parliament.
1606— France declared war against Eng
land.
1077— Arrival of royal commissioners to
investigate the causes of the rebel
lion in Virginia.
1712— Conference for peace opened at
Utrecht.
1700— Benjamin Franklin examined in
the House of Commons respecting
the stamp act.
1775— Second provincial Congress met at
Cambridge, Mass.
1778— France acknowledged independence
of the United States. . . . Burgoyne’s
army denied embarkation at Bos
ton.
|
1781— Gen. Greene took command of
Morgan's army.
1807— Pall Mall, London, lighted with
gas— the first street of auy city so
illuminated.
1810— Guadaloupe surrendered to the
British.
1811— The famous Boll Rock lighthouse,
off the coast of Scotland, first light
ed.
1813— Spanish Cortes abolished the in
quisition.
1830— Independence of Greece declared
by the allied powers.
1834— Richard Lawrence attempted to
assassinate President Andrew Jack-
son.
*(836— Alpaca wool first introduced into
England.
1847— Lord Elgin reached Montreal and
took the oath of office as governor of
Canada.
1852— State house at Columbus, Ohio, de
stroyed by fire.
1850— Chilean war steamer Cudox Caza-
den wrecked, with loss of 318 lives.
1859— James Francis
Smith, governor
general of the Philippine
Islands,
born at San Francisco.
1801— Kansas admitted to the Union.
1802— The ironclad “ Monitor” launched.
1803— Confederate
gunboats
attacked
blockading squadron at entrance to
Charleston harbor.
1805— Gen. Sherman left Savannah on
his northward march.
1868— United States Congress exempted
cotton from the internal revenue tax.
1870— Steamer City of Boston sailed
from Halifax for Glasgow with 191
souls on board and was never heard
o f again.
1871— Paris surrendered to the Germans
after a siege of 131 days.
1*878— The Russians occupied Kazan.
1889— Three million dollar fire in Buffalo*
N. Y.
1892— Supreme Court decided Nebraska
governorship contest in favor of
James E. Boyd, Democrat.
1895— Japanese captured W ei-Hai-W e!
from the Chinese.
1898— Great strike of engineers in Eng»
A n g l e Iro n fo r Pont«.
land came to an end.
Angle Iron is being used fo r making
1902— Anglo-Japanese treaty signed.
fence posts w ith great success. One o f
the valuable features is that a post o f 1900— Frederick V I I I . proclaimed King
of Denmark.
this description may be driven In place
by a heavy mallet, and digging Is,
lln n d lc ru ft« for F a rm e r«.
therefore, unnecessary. A non-cllmbahle
The editor of the Craftsman in the cur
fence Is made by bending the post so
rent number proposes that the federal
that there Is an overhang o f tw elve
government aid in bringing about a much
o r eighteen Inches, w ith the
wires
needed reform in the industrial system of
strung regularly In the very top. The the United States by extending the work
difficulty o f climbing such a fence will of the Department of Commerce so as
be apparent at a glance.
to assist small farmers in developing
home arts and crafts and assist them in
Cow .
D iffe r.
finding a market for the products of such
In their m ilk producing power cows craftsmanship. The editor takes pains to
d iffer all the way from 3,000 pounds say that in this appeal for government
ot milk per year to 12,000 pounds a recognition of handicrafts allied with ag
year.
T h a t being true, why should riculture he is not considering the so-call
farmers be satlsfled to keep a cow that ed “ arts and crafts” movement as it ap
w ill produce but ten pounds o f milk peals to the leisure class. What he has
(about five quarts) per day fo r 300 in mind is practically to encourage me
chanical industries as a means of correct
days?
ing the evils of the factory system, doing
away with the menace of the unemployed
A v o id T h l. K in d o f P oll.
and
relieving the congestion in our cities.
The use o f the strainer in a pah
where the d irt which falls Into the He refers to the official encouragement of
such crafts in Hungary, and to the re
opening Is llkelv to be driven through
markable success resulting therefrom. Hs
by the succeeding streams o f milk Is believes that President Roosevelt has tak
not desirable.
Its use tends to In en an important step in this direction by
crease the germ contents o f the milk his recommendation that both State and
and Injure Its keeping quality.
national governments should encourage
tbe growth of institutional nad social
Get
Some N e w
R ooster«.
movements among farmers. It is not con
The outlay attending the purchase o \ templated that this development of hand
new breeding males w ill be w ell re works in the home would ever take the
paid by results. Do not practice In- place of the machine, but that it would
breeding If you waut your stock to do open the door of opportunity to many in
dividuals starving for self-expression
well.
apart from the routine of either farm
N ote«
of
the
Farm .
or factory. The principal field for home
The feed problem ia getting harder
crafts would seem to he in producing
There la no excuse for the filthy hog sensible rugs, furniture, pottery and any
of the things that enter into the life of
pen.
‘ he home.
The more succulent the feed the bet
ter It Is for sheep.
M c C u r d y L a u g h » at Salts.
Be a good farm er If you are going
Richard A. McCurdy, former president
•f
the
Mutual Life Insurance Company,
to be a fan n er at all.
Clean and sort your seeds and thus who has spent two years in Europe, re
cently returned to his home in Morris
Insure larger and better crops.
town, N. J. When asked about the suit*
W ater, pure and plenty o f It, should for restitution of aeveral million dol
be provided for tbe d airy cows.
lars which the management of his old
Young stock should be th rifty to re company has brought again* him, hs
laughed and said: “ I have lawyers and
turn a p ro fit Keep them growing.
they will take care of the suits. They ars
(Teach the boys to be gentle with the not worth talking about. I am 73 years
cows. It Is better for the cows, and th# old. The real question la which will last
boys, too
tbe longest, the suits or myself.”