Planting Potatoes.
The prevailing, and we might say
foolish, custom of most farmers is to
plant potatoes just as they come, lit
tle and big. Indeed, some use the
mailer ones for seed and retain the
larger ones for cooking purposes,
sometimes placing them on the mar
ket. While such a course will not no
ticeably affect the potato crop for a
single season, Its continuation surely
but slowly lowers the yield not so
much by an insufficient number of
tubers, but by inferiority in size and
quality. We believe this to be the
chief blunder made by most potato
raisers and that it accounts for more
failures with this crop than any other
one cause.
Assuming that you failed to select
seed potatoes at the proper time last
season (as nine out of ten fail to),
great care should be exercised in se
lecting seed this spring. With the
thought in mind that it was quite like
ly the healthy, vigorous plant which
produced the larger tubers, these
should be chosen for seed, since the
smaller potatoes, which no doubt
came from a weak or Inferior plant,
and, if planted, would produce a Ilka
growth. Is this not true of any other
plant or animal life? Then why
should it not be true of potatoes?
Twentieth Century Farmer.
Facta About Farma,
Nearly 1,000,000 new farms have
been created in the United States dur
ing the last ten years. In the last ten
years the total number of farms has
Increased 18 per cent. In the older
States, from Ohio eastward, there has
been going on for 20 years a tendency
toward the amalgamation of farms dis
tant from market Into larger holdings.
aloe of in Silo.
The Missouri Experiment Station
summarizes the value of the silo as
follows: Silage keeps young stock
thrifty and growing all winter. It
produces fat beef more cheaply than
does dry feed. It enables cows to pro
duce milk and butter more econom
ically. It is more conveniently ban
died than dry fodder. The silo pre-
vents waste of cornstalks in the ma
nure when silage is fed. The silo will
make palatable food of stuff that
would not otherwise be eaten. It en
ables the farmer to preserve food,
which matures at a rainy time of the
year, when dry would be next to 1m
possible. It is the most economical
method of supplying food for the stock
during the hot, dry periods In sum
mer, when the pasture Is short.
Temporary Sheep Fence.
A movable fence of this kind for
soiling sheep is made In panels as
seen in the picture. The panels are
ten feet long, made of four-inch boards
solidly nailed together. After this
fence is once put up sheep or hogs
are not likely to overturn it. A fence
three and one-half feet high will turn
most flocks. Denver Post.
Drain n Ke.
One of the essentials about the poul
try house and grounds Is good drain
age. For this reason a good hill slope
Is the best place for the grounds. The
land should slope enough so that rains
will wash it clean of all Impurities.
On flat land the grounds should be fre
quently changed and planted to some
crops that will take up the noxious ele
ments. The draining and surface drain
ing the grounds will assist in keeping
them dry and pure. Scraping off the
top soil each year and Ailing with
fresh soil from the field will aid in
HOW TO PLANT 8HRUBS, ROSE8 AND TREES.
REMINISCENCE OF THE GRIST MILL
AND THE MILL BOY OF THE OLD DAYS.
Correct way of making hole. No- Incorrect way of making hole. Ob
tice how the bottom is rounded. The serve bow the roots are bent upward,
roots lie with a downward turn. They If the shrub lives the roots must bend
are not cramped or crowded or bent downward again not always success
from their proper course. fully accomplished.
On the other hand, this section has
witnessed the cutting up into smaller
ilzes of many farms nearer to mar
ket. There are now almost three
times as many farms as in 1870, and
in unprecedented increase in the
value of farm lands and live stock.
American Agriculturist.
Tree I'liintliiK Device.
To those who will be planting shade
and fruit trees, the following method
may be of assistance. In preparing
for planting stake out the plot hav
ing the stakes In line in several di
rections. After the plot Is carefully
staked the troublo is to get the tree
purifying the grounds. The soil from
the yards may be used as a fertilizer
for the field from which fresh soil Is
obtained. Journal of Agriculture.
DEVICE FOB TUKK PLANTING.
set on the exact place occupied by the
ctalce. The following plan will over
come this difficulty. Take a board
about 8 ft. long and 8 inches diameter,
as shown in illustration, rtore a nolo
in each end and cut a notch In the
middle. Place the board with the
notch agninst the stake and drive
wooden or Iron pins into the holes
11. n. The board can then be remov
ed from the pegs, place the tree In the
notch and pack the soli around the
roots. The tree will thus be in tfie
exact spot occupied by the stake, and
in line with the others.
Kmm Import.
The fact that eggs are not included
In any lists of Imports which we have
seen published and from the results
of the American hen's activities, as re
ported by the census office, leads to
the supposition that Importing eggs
would be like carrying coal to Newcas
tle. In 1900 over 1,293,662.433 dozen
eggs were produced in the United
States. This number Is large enough
to provide each person In the country
with seventeen dozen eggs a year.
There are almost four times as many
chickens In the United States as there
are people.
How Milk Is Formed.
Milk is elalioratcd from the blood.
Food Is converted Into blood, which
Is forced from the heart and lungs to
the udder; from the udder it returns
to the heart through the large veins
from the under side of the belly, run
ning from the udder nearly to the
front legs, where they enter the body
and couneot with the heart. These
veins are commonly called milk veins,
but they are not, however, as no milk
ver passes through them. The orifices
In the body where such veins enter
are called milk wells. Rural World.
A Good Forage Crop.
Canada peas and oats Is a favorite
forage crop with many New York state
farmers. The crop may be sown from
early spring to the middle of May. By
making sowings at intervals of two
weeks, a succession of crops may be
had. The common rate of sowing Is
one and one-half bushels of each per
acre. The peas are usually scattered
broadcast on disked or harrowed
ground, and then turned under about
thre or four Inches deep. The ground
Is then harrowed and the oats drilled
a few days later. The land may first
be prepared and each crop drilled sep
arately, but this Is not usually a3 sat
isfactory as the other method. Peas
and oats are good for hay or to cut
and feed green. When the oats are
heading and the peas blossoming one
may begin to cut for green feed. For
hay the oats should be In 'the milk
stage, and the peas should have well
formed pods. Peas and oats can also
be pastured to advantage with hogs.
This crop will give a yield of five to
seven tons per acre of green weight.
The Various "Hocks."
A breeder of Buff Hocks wants some
one to explain why it Is claimed that
Barred Plymouth Rocks are so much
better market fowls than all other va
rieties, especially the Buffs and White
Plymouth Rocks. All threo have the
same general conformity, all three
have yellow legs and yellow skins, and
the buffs and whites have no black
pin feathers, as have the barred va
riety. Exchange.
Farm Note.
Cut alfalfa when it is dry.
A good milk cow never become
oiling fat
Milk sellers find the Holsteln hard
to beat.
Milk the cows quietly, quickly and
on time.
Never buy pigeons unless the mat
ing is guaranteed.
One bad butter cow will eat up ths
profit of several good ones.
Too much corn causes the bones of
heavy hogs to break easily.
But the manure spreader first and
the piano will come easier.
Clean the dairy stable In summer
Just as regularly as in winter.
Treat the cows kindly and they will
repay you In dollars and cents.
In the big cities the market for
squab is good for every month In the
year.
Red clover In bloom Is not good for
hogs, but when young It makes a fins
pasture.
HEDH are but few men in the country that have reached the
& I I half-century mile stone on the highway from the cradle to
I I the grave but have memories lingering around the old grist
I mill r9 ViaIi Kr ir rrA Aava fi-vlf no T. f 1?mmapaAn In tll
Princeton (Ind.) Clarion-News. In their mind's eye they see
its steep roof and hear its "chew-chew" and think that is
just what the old mill was doing with the corn and wheat that
was pouring into its insatiable maw the old grist mill with "wool carding"
painted in big letters along its side which might be read with ease a half
mile away, with closer inspection showing in smaller letters this sign near
the entrance door, which all were expected to read: "Custom days Tues
days, Thursdays and Saturdays. Toll one-sixth for corn, one-eighth for
wheat. First come, first served."
Here all the gossip of the country was exchanged for Its kind. Here
knives were swapped, either by Inspection or unsight or unseen? Horse
swapping was also of common occurrence. On those "custom days" from
early morn to dewey eve the crowd was coming and going, swapping and
bantering. Did it happen to be a campaign year, politics was discussed by
all except the miller, who was supposed to favor all sides and have nothing
to say, and it was regarded as a breach of good breeding to attempt to
draw him into discussion.
The milling was most often done by the boys of the family, ranging
in age from 10 to 17 years. If anyone should inquire about the size of any
certain boy, and was told that he was big enough to go to mill, they would
consider the answer satisfactory. When the family meal barrel showed
signs of exhaustion, a bag of corn would be selected the evening before
some particular custom day, and at night after all the chores were done
and the family was all Indoors, a bed quilt would be spread out upon the
floor and the corn poured thereon. Then the family would gather around
and shell the corn upon the quilt, while the cobs would be thrown aside
for use in the kitchen stove. Then the quilt would be gathered up, causing
the corn to collect in the center, when It would be scooped into the bag and
set aside till morning.
Bright and early the next day it would be placed across the back- of a
horse with a boy mounted astride, and he would strike out for the nearest
mill. Sometimes he would have to go five or six miles. The sign, "First
come, first served," was strictly adhered to. Often he would be among the
last to arrive and many times he would have to stay till dark for his grist,
and then ride the lonely way home through woods and swamps in the dark
ness. But all this was nothing to the day he had spent with the other mill
boys, wrestling, Jumping, playing ball and marbles, swapping knives and
exchanging gossip for gossip, which he knew would be called for and lis
tened to by all when he got home. A good supper would be waiting for
him when he arrived at home at last, for of dinner he had had none.
Mills quit grinding custom grists more than twenty years ago. In the
old grist mill times when a boy came he was met by the miller at the plat
form in front of the mill door. The miller there took charge of the bag
of grain, which he placed In a row of other bags, each in the order of Its
arrival. And when the last grain of any grist had disappeared down the
hopper the miller would shout "Rake away!" This was the signal to the
mill boy whose grist had been ground, and he must quickly rake all the meal
in the meal box to the end and not allow it to get mixed with the next
grist, just poured into the hopper.
It was curious that people always supposed that the meal they got was
ground from the same corn that they brought to the mill, when in fact it
took several bushels of corn to fill the mill before any would run out. But
they were- satisfied and that was enough. Mills now buy your wheat and
corn outright and sell you their meal and flour. The exchange is made
at once, and you do not have to await your turn.
No more do the mill boys congregate about the place. Going to mill
has lost its charm; it is a lost art. We who have served our time must
accept the customs and say farewell to the old grist mill, which, like our
selves, has seen its day.
Pellagra.
This Is a disease which has long
been known among the peasants of
northern Italy, northern Spain and
parts of southern France, but has only
recently been discovered in this coun
try. It Is variously regarded as a skin
disease and as a form of Insanity, for
It is in reality both; that is to say,
there are skin eruptions and a dis
turbance of the mental faculties, both
due to the same cause.
The disease is at first remittent in
character, that is to say, it has periods
of remission in the winter when the
patient Is apparently in his ordinary
health; but each spring It returns
worse than before, and so it goes on,
with three steps forward and one
backward, to a fatal termination at
the end of from three to five or six
years.
The eruption begins as a diffused
redness or discolored patches, itching
most distressingly, and is followed by
a peeling of the epidermis in the form
of branny scales. It Is most marked
on the backs of the hands and feet,
but may come on the body or legs as
well. It begins In the spring and gets
worse during the summer, but may
nearly or quite disappear with the ad
vent of cold weather.
The next spring it returns, and
now there are digestive troubles added
pain and distress in the stomach
after eating, diarrhoea, and often ver
tigo headache, and persistent ringing
tn the ears.
In the winter these troubles again
become less, but return in aggravated
form the next summer, and with them
appear mental symptoms delirium
and profound melancholia. And so
the disease goes on until death puts an
end to the patient's sufferings.
This description is that of the dis
ease as It occurs in chronic form in
Italy. In this country it is apt to be
more acute and rapidly progressive,
without the winter remissions ob
served in the European cases.
Pellagra occurs generally only
among the very poor and those living
under the most unhygienic conditions;
but although poverty may predispose
to the disease, its sole cause so far as
known is the eating of diseased maize.
This grain trouble is a corn-smut, a
form of mold which attacks the grain
stored in damp places.
The prevention is simple the use
of flour and meal made from good
grain only; but In the conditions un
der which many of the Italian peas
ants live, this is not so easy as it
sounds. Youth's Companion.
Slang- Tabooed.
Slang is tabooed in the horn of a
West Philadelphia family principally
because there Is a bright little girl
who displays a persistent aptitude in
retaining expressive but uncultured
phrases.
The other evening at dinner the
mother, father and daughter drifted
into the vernacular and a fresh start
was necessary. The little girl started
It "I'm not stuck on this bread."
she remarked.
"Maggie," said her mother, "you
want to cut that slang out"
"That's a peach of a way of correct
ing the child," commented the father.
"I know," replied the mother, "but
I Just wanted to put her wise," Phila
delphia Telegraph.
Ead of the Coartsalp.
"She referred me to her father."
"And what did he say?"
"He said that was her way of let
ting undesirable suitors down easy
and gave me a 5-cent cigar." Louis
ville' Courier-Journal.
BARE PAINTING DISCOVERED.
Picture Declared to Be Work of
Fetl, Sixteenth Century Artist.
A rare and very valuable painting
of "David," said by experts to be the
work of the famous sixteenth century
Italian artist, Domenico Fetl, has been
discovered In Philadelphia, the Public
Ledger of that city says. It has been
in the possession of a well known man
who, however,, is not an authority on
art, for some years, and while he and
his friends always admired it for its
beauty and the mellowness of its col
lorlng, it has been only in the past
week that it came to the notice of ex
perts, who enthusiastically pronounced
It a genuine Fetl, and worth probably
$25,000.
The picture is vigorous In treatment
and remarkably strong in color, tech
nique and the general handling of the
subject The figure of the Biblical
hero is youthful and beautiful. In the
dark shadows of the lower foreground
is dimly seen the severed head of the
giant Goliath. The picture is said to
be one of the few large ones done by
Fetl. It is about four feet by six feet,
The painting is on exhibition In a
window at 1634 Chestnut street and
has attracted much attention.
Domenic"o Feti was born in Rome In
1589 and died at. Venice in 1624. He
became a follower of Ludovico Clgoli
and afterward went to Mantua, where
he obtained the patronage of Cardinal
Gonzaga, who, on coming to the. duke
dom, appointed him his court painter.
Unfortunately, however, Feti gave way
to intemperance, and this shortened
his days. He adopted the style of
Gulllo Romano without, however, be
ing a mere imitator. His coloring is
forcible and the expression of his fig
ures animated. His works, though
chiefly of small size, are very scarce
There are four of them in the Corsinl
palace of Florence and one in the Man
tua Academy, while others are In
Dresden, Munich and Vienna. Feti
was a great favorite of the celebrated
picture collector, M. Crozat.
Effect of Heat.
When one stands before a hot Are
the face becomes red, as we all know.
This result is the effect of the action
of radiated heat on the nerves con
trolling the small blood vessels of the
skin. These tiny vessels are normally
in a state of moderate contraction.
Under exposure to heat they relax
and become distended with blood. The
same process, under the mysterious
connection of the vasomotor nerve sys
tern with mental impressions, pro
duces ordinary blushing.
In regard to exposure to direct heat
the reddening of the skin, together
with the uncomfortably warm feeling
accompanying it, may be Iooke upon
as one of the useful little "danger
signals" with which we are surround
ed. Persons who from any cause have
lost their susceptibility, as is the case
in some forms of paralysis, may ex
pose a limb to heat until serious in
Jury results.
The reason that the face chiefly
flushes is that in the ordinary posi
tion near a fire it Is most directly ex
posed to the rays of heat, while most
of the body is shielded by clothing;
that the nerves of the face are partic
ularly sensitive in this respect and
that the skin there is more abundant
ly furnished with blood vessels. Lon
don Standard.
Art of Papermaklng-.
In the matter of making and using
paper we are not In line with the Chi
nese and other Asiatics, who not only
make the finest paper in the world,
but apply it to all sorts of uses, mak
ing window panes, fans, umbrellas,
sandals, and even cloaks and other
garments of it. The art of making pa
per from mulberry bast is said to have
been Invented in China in the second
century, B. C. Afterward bamboo
shoots, straw, grass and other materi
als were also used. The manufacture
spread to the adjacent countries. The
Arabs learned it in Samerkand, and
their learned men carefully kept se
cret the process by which they made
paper for their own use. The crusades
made Europe acquainted with the art,
and the first paper mill in Germany
dates from the twelfth century.
The Prodigal Scholar.
"Teacher, may I be absent to-morrow?"
"What for?"
"Gotter go to a funeral."
"You ought to be saving these fun
erals, Johnny, the baseball season will
open pretty soon and you will need
all the funerals you can get" Hous
ton Post
Exchange of Courtesies.
One of the keenest of Journalists and
wits, Morltz Gottlieb Saphir, had the
better of the irate stranger against
whom he ran by accident at the corner
of a street in Munich. "Beast!" cried
the offended person without waiting
for an apology. "Thank you," said the
journalist, "and mine is Saphir."
A Matter of Ttme.
"You ought not to gulp your lunch
like that."
"But I save five minutes each day."
"Five minutes, eh? Wait until you
get to waiting two hours each day in
some dyspepsia specialist's anteroom."
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Bankruptcy Defined.
Tather, what is meant by bank
ruptcy?" "Bankruptcy is when you put your
money in your hip pocket, and let
your creditors take your coat"
Fliegende Blatter.
A widow and fier fortune art soon
married
Peas I m In tic,
"What a pessimist Brown Is!"
"What's the matter now?"
"He even bewails the fact that he
can't live to collect his life insurance."
Detroit Free Press
Student Want my hair cut. Barber
Any special way? Student Yes; off.
Williams' Purple Cow.
"Ida gets every prize in our bridge
club." "The best player, is she?"
"No, the worst adder." Life.
Mrs. Rangles I am always out
spoken. Mr. Rangles And I am gen
erally outtalked. Smart Set.
Diner Is there any soup on the bill
of fare? Walter No, sir; there was,
but I wiped it off. Harvard Lampoon.
"What kind of a man would you like
for a husband?" "Oh, either a bach
elor or a widower. I'm not particular
which."
Burr What kind of a genius is
Nabbs! Does he work by fits and
starts? Kurr No. He works by fits
and stops.
He My income is five thousand dol
lars. She How much more than that
do you think it will be safe for us to
spend? Life.
"Here's the doctor again, miss. Don't
you think he comes more often than
he needs to?" "It all depends; he may
be very poor, Marie!" Frou-Frou.
"She wants to be a sister to me."
"You can easily get her out of that no
tion." "How? Treat her as you
would a sister." Kansas City Journal.
"I'm going to marry your sister,
Johnny, and take her far away, What
do you think of that?" "I guess I can
stand it if you can." London Tit-Bits.
Mistress (hiring servant) I hope
you know your place? Servant Oh,
yes, mum! The last three girls you
had told me all about it. St. Louis
Star.
Blobbs The suffragettes believe in
the equality of woman, don't they?
Slobbs Not at all; they believe In the
superiority of woman. Philadelphia
Record.
"My daughter isa promising vocal
ist," said a proud mother. "Well, get
her to promise she won't sing any
more," was the caustic suggestion of
her next door neighbor.
Miss Paslelgh I have had my pic
ture taken once every year since I was
ten. Miss Youngthlng Oh, do let me
see one of the old daguerrotypes.
They're so quaint. Roseleaf.
"What v size in boots do you take.
Murphy?" asked a quartermaster.
"Twelves, sor," answered the private.
"Well, we've no twelves in stock "
"Thin Oi'll take two pair o' sixes, sor."
Mrs. Crawford I don't see how you
could join such a club when you don't
believe in the object of It Mrs. Crab
shaw You see, dear, it meets Mon
days, and that's the only day In the
week I had no place to go. Brooklyn
Life.
"Mr. Grimes," said a minister to
one of his deacons, "we had better
make the collection before the sermon
this morning." "Indeed?" "Yes, I'm
going to preach on the subject of econ
omy." "As for me," remarked Muggsley, "I
don't believe In the higher education
for girls. The one I marry won't know
Latin or Greek." "I can readily believe
that," rejoined Miss Slasher. "A girl
who knows anything at all wouldn't
marry you." B. C. Saturday Sunset.
Mistress When I engaged you, Lu
cinda, you said you had no male
friends. Now, almost every time I
come Into the kitchen I find a man
there. Lucinda Lor' sakes, ma'am,
he ain't no male friend ob mine.
"Then who is he?" "Ma husband."
Casey's wife was at the hospital,
where she' had undergone a very seri
ous operation a few days before. Mrs.
Kelly called to Inquire as to Mrs.
Casey's condition. "Is she restln'
quietly?" Mrs. Kelly asked. "No; but
I am," said Casey. National Monthly.
"Then you don't think I practice
what I preach, eh?" queried the min
ister In talking with one of the dea
cons at a meeting. "No, sir, I don't,"
replied the deacon. "You've been
preachin' on the subject o resignation
for two years an' ye haven't resigned
yet"
"I wonder," said the teacher, "It
you could tell me whether George
Washington was a sailor or a soldier?"
The boy grinned. "He was a soldier,
all right," he said. "How do you
know?" the teacher challenged. "Be
cause I saw a picture of him crossing
the Delaware. Any sailor would know
enough not to stand up in a boat"
Terrific Heat la New York.
New York City never forgot the
torrid weather which prevailed on the
last Tuesday In March this year. On
that day it was 82 degrees above zero
in the shade and the humidity was
high as well. At 6 p. m. the heat fell
to 77 degrees, and at midnight it was
70. Women wore white gowns in the
Impossible task of trylnsr to become
cool, and men donned straw hats. It
was one of the most dreadful days
New Yorkers ever had to struggle
through.
A wotnaa said to-day: "It's harde
for a woman to work that It is for a
man." Please consider this as an ob
jectlon to that statement
A woman loves her husband as Ions
as she has any feeling of hope toward
him. Where there Isn't a shred of hope
left she ceases caring for him.
One can't judge a man's religion by
the rent he pays for bis pew