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The Firm of i
Girdlestone
A. CONAN DOYLE
C H A P T E R VI.
The revelation of the real state of the
film’» finances was a terrible blow to Ezra
Girdlestone. To a man of his overbear
ing tempestuous disposition failure and
poverty were bitter things to face. All
his life he had reckoned, as a matter of
coarse, that when his father passed away
ho would be left almost a millionaire. A
single half-hour’s conversation had shat
tered this delusion, and left him face to
face with ruin.
He proceeded to qualify himself as a
dealer in diamonds. It happened that he
was acquainted with one of the part
ners of the firm of Fugger & Stoltz, who
did the largest import trade in precious
stones. Through his kindness he received
practical instructions in the variety and
value of diamonds, and learned to detect
all those little Haws and peculiarities
which are only visible to the eye of an ex
pert, and yet are of the highest impor
tance in determining the p»*ice of a stone.
With such opportunities Ezra made rapid
progress, and within ^ few weeks there
were few dealers in the trade who had a
better grasp of the subject.
Early one April afternoon the major
was strutting down St. James street,
frock coated and kid gloved, with pro
tuberant chest and glittering shoes which
peeped out from beneath the daintiest of
gaiters. Young Girdlestone, who had been
on the lookout from a club window, ran
across and intercepted him.
“ How are you, my dear major?” he
cried, advancing upon him with out
stretched hand and as much show of
geniality as his nature permitted.
“ How d’ye do? How d’ye do?’’ said the
•ther somewhat pompously. He had made
tip his mind that nothing was to be done
with the young man. and yet he was re
luctant to break entirely with one whose
purse was well lined.
“ I ’ve been wishing to speak with you
for some days, major,” said Ezra. “ I
wish to speak to you quietly on a matter
of business. Can you meet me at Nelson’s
Cafe at four o’clock? I know the man-
eger, and he’ll let us have a private
room.”
“ I ’d ask you round to me own little
place,” the major said, “ but it’s rather too
far. Nelson’s at four. Right you a re!”
It was clear to him that some service
or other was expected of him, and it
was obviously his game therefore to hang
back and not appear to be too eager to
enter into young Oirdlestone’s
views.
When he presented himself at the en
trance of Nelson’s Cafe the young mer
chant had been fuming and chafing in
the sitting room for five and twenty min
utes.
“ I ’ll tell you why I wanted to have a
chat with you, major,” Ezra said, having
first opened the door suddenly and glanc
ed out as a precaution against eavesdrop
pers. “ I have to be cautious because
what I have to say affects the interest of
the firm. I wouldn't for the world have
anyone know about it except yourself. We
have a difficult enterprwe on which we
are about to embark,” Ezra said. “ It is
one which will need great skill and tact,
though It may be made to pay well If
properly managed. For this enterprise
we require an agent to perform bne of
the principal parts. This agent must pos
sess great ability, and, at the same time,
be a man on wham we can thoroughly
rely. You are prepared to put yourself
at our orders on condition that you are
well paid for it?”
“ Not so fast, me young friend, not sc
fust!” said the major. “ Let's hear what
It is that you want me to do, and then
I ’m ready to say what I ’ ll agree to.”
Thus encouraged, Ezra proceeded to
unfold the plan upon which the House of
Girdlestoue depended. Not a word did he
say of ruin or danger, or the reasons
which had induced this speculation. On
the contrary he depicted the affairs of the
firm as being in a most flourishing condi
tion, and this venture as simply a small.
Insignificant offshoot from their business,
undertaken as much for amusement as for
•ny serious purpose. Still, he laid stress
upon the fact that though the sum in
question was a small one to the firm, yet
It was a very large one in other men’s
•yes. As to the morality of the scheme,
that was a point which Ezra omitted en
tirely to touch upon. Any comment upon
that would, he felt, he superfluous when
deal ug with such a man as his compan
ion.
“ And now. major,” he concluded, “ pro
vided you lend us your name and your
talents to help us in our speculation the
firm are prepared to meet you in a most
liberal spirit In the matter of remunera
tion. O f course, your voyage and your ex
penses will be handsomely paid. You will
have to travel by steamer to St. Peters
burg, provided that we choose the Ural
Mountains as the scene of our imaginary
find. 1 hear that there is high play going
on aboard those boats, and with your
well-known skill you will no doubt he
able to make the voyage a remunerative
one. We calculate that at the most you
will he in Russia about three months.
Now, the Ann thought that it would be
very fair if they were to guarantee you
two hundred and fifty pounds, which thay
would increase to five hundred In case of
success; of course, by that ws mean com
plete success such as would b« likely to
attend your exertions.”
When the young man hid finished, the
major stood up with his face to the empty
fireplace, hie legs far apart, his chest in
flated. and hia body rocking ponderously
backwards and forwards.
"Let me he quite sure that I under
stand you." he said. “ You w ish me to
go to Russia? You have the goodness to
su ggest th a t on m e w a y I should rook
me fellow passenger« is the boat?"
•That is to say, if you think it worth
your while.”
“ Quite so.
I f I think it worth me
while. I am then to pretend to discover
certain diamond mines, and am to gi/e
weight to me story by the fact that I am
known to be a man of good birth, and also
by exhibiting some rough stones which
you wish me to take out with me from
England.”
“ Quite right, major,” Ezra said encour
agingly.
“ I am then to telegraph or write this
lie to England and get it inserted in the
papers?”
“ That’s an ugly word,” Ezra remon
strated. "Th e ’report’ we will say. A re
port may be either true or false, you
know.”
“ And by this report then,” the major
continued, “ you reckon that the market
will be so affected that your father and
you will be able to buy and sell in a
manner that will be profitable to you,
but by which you will do other people out
of their money.”
“ You have an unpleasant way of put
ting it,” said Ezra with a forced laugh;
“but you have the idea right.”
“ I have another idea as well,” roared
the old soldier, flushing purple with pas
sion. “ I ’ve an idea that if I was twenty
years younger I ’d see whether you’d fit
through that window, Master Girdlestone.
I ’d have taught you to propose such a
scheme to a man with blue blood in his
veins, you scoundrel!”
Ezra fell back in his chair. He was
outwardly composed, but there was a
dangerous glitter in his eye. and his face
had turned from a healthy olive to a dull
yellow tint.
"You won’t do it?” he gasped.
“ l)o i t ! D’ye think a man who's worn
Her Majesty’s scarlet jacket for twenty
years would dirty his hands with such a
trick? I tell ye, I wouldn’t do it for all
the money that ever was coined. Look
here, Girdlestone, I know you, but yon
don’t know m e!”
The young merchant sat silently In his
chair, with the same livid color upon his
face and savage expression in his eyes.
Major Tobias Clutterbuck stood at the
end of the table, stooping forward so as
to lean his hands upon it, with his eyes
protuberant and his scanty grey fringe in
a bristle with indignation.
"W hat right had you to come to me
with such a proposal? I don’t set up for
being a saint, but I ’ ve some morals, such
.is they are, and I mean to stick to therm.
>ne of my rules of life has been never
to know a blackguard, and so, me young
friend, from this day forth you and I go
on our own roads. I ’m not particular,
hut you must draw the line somewhere.
I draw it at you.”
It struck the waiters at Nelson’s well-
known restaurant as a somewhat curious
thing that their two customers should
walk out with such very grave faces and
iu so unsociable a manner.
to our desire that you should m a ster the
whole business from its very founda
tions.”
“ There is nothing I deaire better,” said
Tom.
“ In addition to the routine of office
work, and the superintendence of the
clerks, I should wish you to have a thor
ough grasp of all the details of the »hip
ping, land of the loading and unloading
of our vessels, as well as of the storage of
goods when landed. When any of our
ships are in, I should wish you to go down
to the docks and to overlook everything
which is done.”
In one respect Tom Dimadale was im
I m p r o v e d D ltc h ln * P l o w .
measurably the gainer by his connection
A recent Invention provides an im
with the firm, for without that it is diffi
cult to say how he could have found op proved ditching plow, especially adapt
portunities for breaking through the bar ed for digging tiling sewer ditches or
rier which separated him from Kate. The draining ditches. The device is o f very
surveillance of the merchant had become simple construction, and capable of ef-
stricter of late, and all invitations from I fective service in any character o f soil.
Mrs. IMmsdale or other friends who pitied It Is especially adapted to be drawn
the loneliness of the girl were repulsed by by a traction engine or capstan, says
Girdlestone with the curt intimation that Scientific American. As shown in the
hia ward’s health was not such as to Jus
engraving, It comprises a beam A,
tify him in allowing her to incur any
risk of catching a chill. She was practi which extends forward and with an
cally a prisoner in the great stone cage m upward Inclination from the cleaner B.
Eccleston square, and even on her walks The latter Is triangular In shape, being
a warder in the shape of a footman was, provided with two diverging wings. The
as we have seen, told off to guard her. purpose o f the cleaner Is to travel over
Whatever John Girdlestone’» reasons may the surface o f the ground and remove
have been, he had evidently come to the the excavated material from the edges
conclusion that it was of the highest im o f the ditch. The beam A Is hinged to
portance that she should be kept seclud* the cleaner, so as to provide for a cer
ed.
tain amount o f vertical motion. Below
As It was, Tom, thanks to his position
the beam and forming an angle there
ns oue of the firm, was able occasionally,
in spite of every precaution, to penetrate with Is a blade C, provided with a cut
through the old man’s defensive works. I f ting edge at Its lower end, which serves
a question of importance arose at Fen-
church street during the absence of the
senior partner, what more natural than
that Mr. Dimedale should volunteer to
walk round to Eccleston square in order
to acquaint him with the fact. And if It
happened that the gentleman was not to
he found there, how very natural that the
young man should wait half an hour for
him, and that Miss llarstou should take
the opportunity of a chat with an old
friend?
Precious, precious interviews
those, the more so for their rarity. They
brightened the dull routine of Kate’s
weary life, and sent Tom back to the office
full of spirit and hope. The days were
ac hand when the memory of them was to
shine out like little rifts of light in the
dark cloud of existence.
And now the time was coming when li
was to be decided whether, by a last bold
stroke, the credit of the houss of Girdle
stone was to be saved, or whether the
attempt was to plunge them Into deeper
and more hopeless ruin. An unscrupulous
agent named I-angworthy had been dis
patched to Russia well primed with in
structions as to what to do and how to
do it. He had been in the employ of
an English corn merchant at Odessa,
and had some knowledge o f the Russian
language which would be invaluable to
him in his undertaking. In the character
of an English gentleman of scientific
tastes he was to establish himself in some
convenient village among the Ural Moun
tains. There he was to remain some little
time, so as to arouse confidence in the
people before making his pretended dis
covery. He was then to carry his rough
diamonds to Tobolsk, as the nearest large
town, and to exhibit them there, backing
up his assertion by the evidence of villag
ers who had seen him dig them up. The
Girdlestone» knew that that alone would
be sufficient when telegraphed to England
to produce a panic in the sensitive dia
mond market. Before any systematic In
quiry could be made, Langworthy would
have disappeared, and their little specula
tion would have come off. A fter that the
sooner people realized that It was a hoax
the better for the conspirators. In any
case, there seemed to be no possibility
that the origin of the rumor could he
traced. Meanwhile Ezra Girdlestone had
secured his passage in the Cape mail
steamer Cyprian. On the night that he
left he sat up some time in the library
at Eccleston square talking over the mat
ter for the last time with his father.
(T o be continued.)
to enter the earth more or less deeply
as the plow ls drawn forward, and
carry the excavated m aterial to the
surface. At Its forward end this blade
Is braced by means o f a support D,
which Is fastened to the beam A. At
the forward end o f the beam A Is a
clevis bar E, which Is secured at Its
upper end to d raft bar F, extending to
the rear o f the beam A. In this clevis
bar are a series o f apertures adapted
to receive a link to which a pulley block
Is connected. This block serves to re
ceive the cable that ls passed to the
windlass or drum o f the traction en
gine, for the purpose o f drawing the
car forward. • Owing to the lightness of
this plow. It may readily be loaded
upon a truck and transported from
jlace to place.
C H A P T E R V II.
There were rejoicings in Phillimore
Gardens over Tom’s engagement, for the
two old people were both heartily fond
of Kate— “ Our Kate,” as they were wont
proudly to call her. The physician chafed
at first over the idea of keeping the mat
R u ff O rp liiN T ton F o w l » ,
ter a secret from Girdlestone. A little
No varieties o f fowls are better suit
reflection served to show him, however,
ed to the requirements o f farmers and
that there was nothing to be gained by
others than Barred and W hite Plym
informing him, while Kate’s life, during
the time that she was forced to remain
outh Rooks, W hite
under his roof, would be more tolerable as
WyandrA-T .. a n d
long as he was kept in ignorance of it.
B u ft v/Apitigtons.
After breakfast one morning, the doc
Both Barred Plym
tor asked his son to step with him intd
outh Rooks
and
the library. “ Y’ ou must do something to
W hite Wyandottes
keep you from mischief, my boy,” he said
are to be found In
at last, brusquely.
every locality, and
" I ’m ready for anything,” replied Tom,
eggs
from
them
"but I don’t quite see what I am fitted
m a j be had at rea
for.”
sonable cost No
"F irst of all, what do you think of
variety seems to
this?” the doctor asked abruptly, hand
ing a letter over to his son, who opened
have
a
greater BUFF OKI*I xuTore.
it, and read as follows :
hold on the farm ing community than
"Dear Sir— It has come to my knowl
the Barred Plymouth Rock. The Or
edge through my son that your boy has
pingtons are com paratively newcomers,
abandoned the study of medicine, and
but have rapidly made their way to a
that you are still uncertain as to his fu
first place in the utility class. Particu
ture career. I have long had the inten
l i e G ra n p ed th e Id e a .
larly may this he said o f the buff v a ri
tion of seeking a young man who might
‘‘Harmony In costumes Ls tho Chinn ety. Buff Orpingtons are one o f many
join in our business, and relieve my old
now,” remarked Mrs. De Style, “ the varieties and probably the most popular
shoulders of some of the burden. Ezra
urges me to write and propose that your Idea being that a woman o f fashion 3f the Orpington family. They are rap
son should become one of us. I f he has should clearly express her personality idly replacing many wornout strains
any taste for business we shall be happy in her attire.”
and mongrels on our farms and have
to advance his interest in every way. He
“ W ell, my dear,” rejoined her hus taken a front place In the utility poul
would, of course, have to purchase a band, “ that being the case, you couldn’ t try ranks as winter layers and market
share in the concern, which would amount possibly Improve on your present cos
fowls.
There ls
to seven thousand pounds, on which he
tumes.”
great demand for
would be paid interest at the rate of five
“T h ey are certainly elaborate,” said
eggs and fow*ls of
per cent. By allowing this interest to
this breed. They
accumulate, and investing also his share her ladyship, “ but do they fully express
have light-colored
of the profits, he might in time absorb a my character?”
legs a n d
white
“ Sure thing,” answered the mere
large portion of the business. In case ho
flesh. Chickens are
joined us upon this footing we should man. “ Any one can readily see that
have no objection to his naftie appearing you haven’t a single thought beyond
hardy and grow
as one of the firm.
rapidly. Eggs are
them.”
c
“ With kind regards to your family, and
o f medium or larg
S tir r e d H im U p.
hoping that they enjoy the great blessing
er size, according
of health, I remain, sincerely yours,
"C heer up, old man,” said the In oariNOTON H IX .
to strain.
“ JOHN G IR D L E S T O N E .”
v a lid ^ friend, "you're not gglng to die
W hite Orpingtons are a most promis
” \Vhat d’ ye think of that?” the doctor ye«.’’
ing variety and are likely to become
naked when his son had finished readiug
"Y ou bet I aln’t l ” declared the In popular on account o f their merits as
it
valid with a new determination.
’ ayerg and table fowls.— Exchange.
“ I hardly know,” said Tom. " I should
“ T hat's the way to talk.”
like a little time to think it over.”
“ Yes, I heard the doctors quarreling
S t u d y o f B la c k h e a d D la e a a e .
“ Seven thousand pounds is a good
The blackhead disease which has be
round sum. It is more than half the total about which one o f them should per-
capital which I have invested for you. from the autopsy, so I'm Just going to come ao destructive to turkeys In the
past few years has been under Investi
On the other hand, I have heard those fool 'em.” — Philadelphia Press.
gation by the experiment station at
who ought to know say there is not a
T o De E n co u m sed .
sounder or better managed concern In
Kingston, Rhode Island. A small para
"B
liggln
s
ls
always
repeating
th
.
Ixmdon. There’s no time like the present,
site. microscopic In size, ls the cause
things
his
children
say.”
Tom. Get your hat, and we'll go down to
o f the trouble. I t lives in the tissues
"W e ll,” answered Miss Cayenne, "he
Fenchurch street together and look into
o f the turkey snd causes lrrltatlotjs
it.”
ought to be eueouraged.
I have no that result In the death o f the affected
It was a proud day for the ex-medical doubt they are much less wearisome
student when he first entered the count than his original remarks would bo.” bird. The Rhode Island experiments
showed that more than four-fifths o f
ing house of the African firm and realized
— Washington Star.
the young poults exposed In Infected
that he was one of the governing powers
yards die before they are six weeks
in that busy establishment. Tom Dimv-
P h ilo s o p h ic a l.
dale's mind was an intensely practical
"B eg pardon, ma'am," said the but old. The disease has been popularly
one, and although he had found the study ler, "but your son has Just eloped with supposed to be confined to birds over
of science an irksome matter, he was able
six w eeks I t Is notably a disease a f
the parlor maid.”
to throw himself Into business with un
"Oh, that Isn't so bad," rejoined Mrs. fecting young turkeys, but one from
common energy and devotion. The clerks
which the older turkeys do not escape.
soon found that the sunburned, athletic Uppson. "H e might have eloped with O f the one-fifth that do escape or sur
looking young man intended to be any the cook— and I never could have re
vive Its ravages at least ten to twenty-
thing but a sleeping partner, and both placed her."
five per cent may die throughout the
they and old Gil raj respected him accord-
A P l f t u r o to A d m ir e .
year at almost any age.
Ingly.
A rtist— W hat kind o f picture do you
The eradication and prevention o f
Girdlestone called him Into the office
the disease ls somewhat difficult but no
one day, and congratulated hhn upon the admire most?
Friend— -Rare engravings. I particu reliance can be placed on any drug to
progress which he wae making.
“ My
dear young man,’’ he said to him In hia larly admire the landscapes on the beck cure a bird that Is already Infected.
patriarchal way. “ I am delighted to hear o f a *100 bill.
Since the blackhead disease la less pre
of the way in which you Identify yonrself
valent In dry situations It Is apparent
O lv e i t r » .
with the interests of the firm. I f at firzt
Mother— Raymond, that hole wain*? that sandy, well-drained lands are bet
you find work allotted to you which may
ter fo r raising turkeys than (be (w ar
appear to you to be rather menial, you In your stocking this morning.
ier moist clay sol
Raymond— Where waa It, then?
must understand that that Is simply due
K PF T T T T fl H A M E R
V h , f « W . . S u Ilo u b t A b o u t H a n n a n
U b r a t b n K u i c l l . h l. u i l , F i a l . h r d .
A bygone generation witnessed au
acrimonious controversy In the Irish
fam ily o f O'C'ouor In County Roscom
mon us to the right o f uuy brunch o f
the undent ruee to spell the name
thus— with one “ n.”
That right, It
T h e C a t ITnttep t h e B a n .
According to the report o f the Stata wus maintained, was held only by the
Game Commlsalun o f Pennsylvania for O'Oonor Don as head o f the house.
11(07, song and Insectivorous bird* lu So prolonged wus the contest between
that state are Increasing and game tho partisans o f the O’Conor and
birds becoming scarcer. Bear and deer O'Connor titles that It wus culled tbs
are rapidly Increasing.
"N-lesa” (stundlng for "endless” ) cor
Bears are now protected In Pennsyl respondence. Finally the question was
vania by a legal dose season during referred to Sir J. Bernard Burke, the
the spring and summer months. Our- j Ulster king o f arms.
H is dedslon
lng the season o f 1907 there were killed coincided with a dedslon In a certain
In the state 230 deer.
¡other matter— namely, that much might
Dr. Joseph Kalbfua, chief game pro- bo said on either side. The two dla-
tector o f the state, recommends the putlllg fum lliea had a common origin,
•placing o f a bounty on the scalps o f the a klng o { Connaught, and could with
domestic cat as well as ou those o f th e , propr|ety aIld la accordance with tra-
wl.‘l c'a t
,
I ditlon spell the name one way or the
K1 J
' » " 0 greater destroyer o f other.
Fortified by tb |8 - award(.. th a
bird life, he declares, "than th* house j two fam llleI have oontlnue(I to 8pe„
cat
I their name with one "n ” up to the
The legislative appropriation for presen: hour.
hountlea on noxious animals and birds
Equally firm on the question as to
was Insufficient to meet the demands
how his name should be spelled was the
upon It last year. A much larger ap
witness In a case tried In the king's
propriation ls called for. and the addi
bench a few years ago.
Asked his
tion o f the great homed owl and the
name, his prompt reply was "John
goshawk to the outlawed class is re
’Awklna.” “ Oo you,” queried counsel,
quested.
"spell your name with or without an
s ta r tin g Seed, in d o o r..
II? ”
The emphatic answer was.
Any one who Intends to start seeds "J-o-h-n.” As a rule, however, as we
Indoors needs a knowledge of various have suid, variety In the spelling of
facts concerning each variety— the | t'lie names’ o f people, as In that o f the
length o f time needed for germ ination,1 names o f places, owes its origin to peo-
the time required for the plant to reach pie not being so clear as was our friend
the blooming or fruitage stage, and regarding bow a name should be spell-
whether It can be transplanted to the ed.
open
ground with
safety In early I T w o stories In Illustration o f this
spring, or not until considerably later.'occu r to us. In the first Mrs. Qulver-
For Instance, say.
Suburban
L if e , ' fui wa8 havlng christened her latest
chrysanthemum seeds will germinate In , baby. The old minister was a little
from five to ten days, but the plants re- deaf. "W h at name did you say?” he
quire a very long season o f growth be- queried. " I said." replied the mother,
fore flowering, and the person who gets with some asperity, "Hannah.”
“ Do
ahead o f Jack Frost must sow t h e 'you/. 8ftld Hle otber, ..n,ean Anna or
seed, not later than March 1 -a n d Hannah?” 'Look ’ere,” exclaimed th .
earlier. If I»o «lb le
W ith
v a rie tie s '
thoroughly exasperated lady, " I
i which
r h l.-h
ir n r tt i n n t o n
n l n b 1 rr
a
nm m
>.! . 1 I
germinate
quickly,
grow
rapid
won't be hexatnlned In .th is way.
I
ly and bloom early, the sowing should
mean ‘ Ha Itch-hay-hen-hen-bay-ha Itch'—-
be delayed at least a month, to avoid Hannah P
the trouble o f repeated transplanting,. I .nl,„ '___ . ,
,,
. .
...
.
...
,,,
. .
.
The second incident to which we re-
to prevent the seedling plants from
„„
,
a mi weak.
fer ls thls- H ere also there was "a
getting “ leggy” and
lady In the case.” She was on an er
rand, and she had to deal with the
A m e r i c a H a i t h * H e a l t h i e s t r a t t le
Secretary o f Agriculture W ilson says name o f another party. In brief, she
the United States has the healthiest had bought a pair o f sleeve links for
cattle o f any nation on the face o f the her fiance when the shopman asked,
earth. This ls owing to our rigid sys "Any, Initials, miss?" The rest may be
tem o f Inspection nnd our prompt meas stated thus:
She— Oh, ye s; I forgot. Engrave a
ures to eradicate diseases. Iu Europe
40 per cent o f the cattle are Infected “ U” upon them for his first name.
Shopman— Pardon me, ls It Uriah or
with tuberculosis, and In the United
States only 10 per cent, and w e w ill ' Ulysses? Names with " U ” are rare,
soon have It entirely eradicated. W e You know.
She (p ro u d ly )— Ills name Is Eugene,
have Inspectors In Europe, and not one
animal Infected In any way Is permit —London Globe.
ted to be shipped to this country.
C rop
H o ls te in *
P r e fe r r e d .
The Iow a State board of control will
soon have 1,000 Holstein cows at Its
different Institutions. Different breeds
liave been used heretofore, but It has
been decided to have only one breed
and Holstein was selected because o f
Its mllk-glving qualities.
Last year
the cows at the Iowa Institution gave
nearly a quarter o f a million gallons
o f milk and this amount w ill be In-
creased.
M e a s u r in g
lin y
tn
S ta c k * .
T o find the number o f tons In long,
square stacks, multiply the length In
yards by the width in yards, and that
by h a lf the altitude In yards. Then
divide that by fifteen. For circular
stacks multiply the square o f the clr-
cumference o f the stack in yards by
four times the altitude In yards and
divide by two. The quotient will be
the number o f cubic yards. Divide by
fifteen fo r the number o f tons.
F e n c e P o u ts .
W yoming experiments In preserving
fence posts show that when the posts
were dipped In crude petroleum and
burned o ff so that the char comes above
the ground when posts are set, they
w lll keep Indefinitely.
P roceaa
R a tte r.
W e ll
W o rth
K a ln ln a .
A crop that w ill produce $15,400 to
the acre has been discovered In Brazil,
according to a report to the department
o f commerce nnd labor from United
| States Consul General George E. An-
derson at Itio de Janeiro. It Is the Bra-
zillait liuen and several experimental
plantations are making an effort to put
It Into practical use.
According to the consul general's re
port the plant grows tw elve to eighteen
feet high and somewhat resembles
hemp. It matures so rapidly that a
field w ill produce three crops a year.
The fiber has strength, firmness, flexi
bility and adaptability for bleaching
and dyeing.
It may revolutionize the linen Indus
try o f the world and become an impor
tant competitor o f cotton. An acre will
produce seventy-seven tons and the
1 product Includes not only the various
grades of fiber for fine or coarse linen
but stems and roots can be used for
making paper.
The suggestion ls made that the agri
cultural department should Investigate
{his wonderful plant and see If It can
be produced In the portions o f the Unit-
' ed states that are free from frost. The
p)ant Is said to be ‘absolutely hard, re-
slstlng alike the dry or rainy season,
bearing equally well on dry or wet soli
and not a prey to insects or mildew.”
The government Inspection o f reno
vated butter last year showed a total
M y Choice,
production o f 63.000,000 pounds o f such I'd rather be happy than sad,
butter, an Increase o f 15 per cent over I ’d rather
'
be good ' than bad;
I ’d rather rejoice, yes, this is my choice^
the preceding year.
Than brood over the troubles I ’ve had.
F a r m f s p l a a a d F a n c ie s .
I ’d rather be modest than proud,
Hogs need' clean, pure water as much I ’d rather be quiet than loud;
I ’d rather look up, to the sky's goldev
as the rest o f the stock. See that they
cup.
get I t
Than walk with my head always bowed
Perhaps you do not realize It, but
the dearest animal on your farm la the I ’d rather be healthy than sick.
cheap scrub.
I ’d rather bn certain than quick;
I'd rather be broke than have It
Which do you keep? The cow that
spoke
makes more than she eats or the cow
I
grew
rich by an underhand trick.
that eats more than she makes?
, ,
. . . .
,
I'd rather be sober than tigh t
It Is impossible to plant an orchard ■ r d n t h „ be kindly than fight
or a windbreak In the winter time, but • Unless, It were true, only fighting
It Is possible and profitable to plan one '
would do
or both.
, The work to establish the right.
Fungous diseases and Insect p ests'
can be kept from taking the profits of l ’*
f" T , * h* n *
the orchard this next season by faith- i 1
bV ‘° b,e ,h*? braV' l
_ , , ,, ,
.
1
l I ’d rather be me, with my babe on my
fui, Judicious spraying.
[
kne#
The five to eight quarts o f milk a Than the richest old man near the grant
day cow will never return the farm er I ’d rather be lavish than mean,
an adequate p ro fit unless the percent-, I ’d rather my wife than a queen,
age o f butter fa t ls high.
And I d rather my home than the splem
.
.
dors o f Rome
An argument In favor o f the open q , th, ca8,ie8 that Europe has seen,
head In fruit trees Is that the fruit on —Detroit Free Preea.
such trees does not rot so badly aa that
P r id e a a d P r ie d .
on trees with dense beads
“ Blffers gets his new car out several
F irst the framework, then the trim
times a day. M atter o f pride, I sup
mings.
So with stock-raising.
Feed
pose?"
to get the biggest kind o f growth, then
"Yep.
Pried It out o f a mud hole
lay on the fa t as fast as possible.
three tlmee last Monday.” — Cleveland
A dairy cow must be given more feed p ia in Dealer.
than Just enough fo r her own support,
_____________ .
If she Is to be relied upon to give aay-1 The more children a woman has, the
thing for the supnort of her owner.
fewer theories the ham