Bellefonte, Pa., March 9, 1917.
mm
THE PROUD POTATO.
They used to treat me with contempt,
The Old Potato said,
I never have been quite exempt
. From chilling fear and dread
When hasty hand have fondled o'er
And pared me to the quick,
And then tossed out the back yard door
The peelings awful thick.
I say they used to do that same,
Abuse me like a witch,
Until just recent I became
One of the idle rich.
They used to call me “murphy,” “spud,”
And meaner things no doubt,
They used to jab me with a thud
Upon an oil can spout,
They’d push me back with vile disdain
And call for bread and cheese;
They've often left me in the rain
To rot and scab and freeze.
But since my ship came into port
You ought to see ‘em—Gee!
Come every day to count and sort
And toady up to me.
They used to put me in the dark
Piled high in wretched pens,
They used to boil me in my sark
And feed me to the hens.
And then, I think it was the worst
Of all indignities,
They'd feed me to—nor cook me first—
A wormy dog with fleas!
But since I've come into my own
I pass no humble door,
I greet none who lack proper tone,
Nor mingle with the poor.
Wilkes-Barre Record.
Overland by Automobile From Phila-
delphia to Rushville, Nebraska.
The following very interesting ac-
count of an overland trip.by automo-
bile from Philadelphia to Rushville,
Neb., was written by Lieut. George
Dale, of the U. S. navy, who a year
or so ago was retired on account of
ill health. He resides in Washington,
D. C., and the trip was made to visit
his father, Horace Dale, who is a half-
brother of Clement and A. A. Dale
Esqgs., of this place. With Mr. Dale
on the trip were his wife and two
daughters and his aunt, Lillie Dale, of
Boalsburg.
I was given leave on July 11, and at
once started to get my outfit ready.
I had some trouble getting the auto-
mobile that I wanted but by the 12th
I had it all ready. In the meantime
I had been getting my camping out-
fit. I had it all ready by the evening
of the 12th, also, but in the hurry to
get off I forgot some of my traps at
the marine depot until I camped that
night when 1 found that I did not
have it. Next morning I had to re-
turn to Philadelphia to get the re-
mainder of my outfit. So that it was
the 13th beforeI really got started.
Besides the automoblie I had the fol-
lowing outfit: 1 pyrene, 1 towing line,
1 set of chains, 1 vulcanizer,ilb. rub-
ber, 1 box of patches, 2 extra shoes, 2
tubes extra, 1 box plungers, 1 tent
with fly and floor cloth, 2 canoe cush-
ions, 12. cans solidified alcohol, 3 duf-
fel bags, 1 pressure coaloil stove, 1
canvas bucket, 2 canvas water bags,
12 condiment bags, 2 cots, 1 set of
bunk springs, 1 axe, 1 spade, 8 blank-
ets, 1 lantern, 10 yds., mosquito bar,
45 ft. of heavy white line, 1 folding
bathtub, 1 extra set of clothing and
plenty of wraps, 2 good sized grub
boxes, and a hammock for the baby
swung from the bows of the car.
From Philadelphia to Harrisburg
there is a good macadamized road,
although it is rough in spots. This
road is a toll road most of the way,
but the State is gradually taking it
over. I had to pay 70 cents toll from
Philadelphia to Downingtown, 25
cents to Lancaster and 43 cents to
Harrisburg. The road from Harris-
burg to Clarks Ferry, where I paid 25
cents to cross the bridge is excellent.
From there to Newport the road is in
very bad condition, dirt all the way
and that not kept up. The road is in
good condition from there to Boals-
burg, even across the seven Moun-
tains. I arrived at Boalsburg on the
night of the 14th after having a great
deal of trouble with my tires and
spark plug. I remained at Boalsburg
until the 2nd of August preparing my
outfit and visiting.
At 1:38 p. m. August 2, 1916, my
aunt, my wife, two babies, and my-
self started on one of the most en-
joyable trips I have ever taken. Our
entire outfit weighed 2050 lbs. We
stopped to talk to my uncle Willard
for about 15 minutes and at 2:40 we
reached Bellefonte where we bought
a few extra traps which we found we
needed. Leaving there at 2:55 we
found good roads all the way to Lock
Haven, where we arrived at 4:40,
speedometer reading 7850.8 showing
we had traveled 23 miles. We had
some slight trouble with the engine
on the way and we decided that we
had better have shock absorbers on
the rear springs. This we had fixed
up and left the town at 6:19 p. m.
We next stopped for a few minutes at
Jersey Shore for provisions and then
pitched camp a short distance out-
side of Linden at 7:15, having travel-
ed 67 miles on our trip. Our camping
place was a school house surrounded
with beautiful trees, and with a view
all around that was inspiring. We
got camp pitched and supper over in
a remarkably short time for the first
camp. It was funny to see Helen try
to walk through the grass. It was the
first time she had ever been in the
grass and she could not understand
what it was that was catching her
feet. She would stand on one leg and
raise the other up as high as she could
and then try to reach away out and
put it down and then balance on that
leg and raise the other up and over.
When reaching out she would gener-
ally reach too far and overbalance
herself and then fall down. Every
once in a while she would have to cry
from pure vexation. However, she
kept on trying until she finally learn-
ed to run around.
We were late breaking camp next
day, not getting away until 12:26 p.
m, on account of the newness and the
for water and oil and reached Wil-
{ liamsport at 1:15, after having travel-
{ ed a very bad dirt road over bad hills
| all the way from Lock Haven.
We left Williamsport at 3:20 p. m.
' speedometer reading 8001.2 and trav-
! eled north towards Elmira. The roads
i were very much better although
mountainous. Here we passed some
of the prettiest scenery that we saw
on our trip. We stopped at Canton
to see Eva’s friend, Effa Dunbar, but
she was not at home so we continued
on about a mile farther north where
we camped at 7 p. m. We passed
several bands of gypsies this day and
we expected some of them to camp
near us but they did not, for which
we were duly thankful. We found a
very nice camping place here, also,
and the owners treated us very nice,
not only showing us a very nice place
to camp but bringing us milk for the
babies next morning and both the
farmer and his wife came over and
talked to us a long time.
We broke camp at 9:30, August 4th,
speedometer reading 8045.4 and soon
reached Troy through which place ran
a good macadamized road. By 12:10
we were in Elmira where we obtained
a few provisions and left by 12:50.
From here to Buffalo we found an ex-
cellent macadamized road nearly gall
the way. We stopped at Corning,
meter reading 8080.7, for lunch, and
were on our way again at 3:10, hav-
ing consumed one hour and ten min-
utes. Between Painted Post and
Campbell we stopped for some time
to help a fellow traveler. Coming
down a hill five miles-outside of Dans-
ville we ran into a cow and bent the
radius rod and broke the left head-
light glass. We limped into that
place at 6:30 p. m. where I repaired
the trouble and we got our supper,
after which we moved on a mile and
camped. We did not expect to find
much of a camping place on account
of the lateness of the hour and the
necessity of camping at the first
available spot so we were very agree-
ably surprised next morning to find
that we had blundered onto a spot
often chosen by campers on account
of its beauty and nearness to a beau-
tiful clear stream of water which
came meandering down over the rocks
in a series of falls.
August 5 we broke camp at 11:32
meter reading 8114.9 and started for
Buffalo. On the way we passed many
autos going both ways. We stopped
at Mt. Morris for oil and two miles
before reaching Caledonia we stopped
from 2:30 to 3:45 for lunch. Not
long after leaving we got on the New
York--Buffalo road which isa cement
road but it was at this time in bad
shape due to the top dressing having
scaled off in places and this scale and
the holes left made a bad road. 15
miles east of Buffalo we had a blow-
out and although I put in three spare
tubes they all failed to hold up under
pressure so we were forced to camp
here for the night. Here we found
our first unfriendly feeling for when
we asked for permission to camp in a
field near the road and also for water
we were told that we could have some
water when the owner was around but
that we could not camp on the place
nd we were given to understand that
we were persona non grata. However
as we could not move on we were com-
pelled to camp on the roadside which
was very narrow and strewn with
broken rock from road making.
After working on the tires all
morning and gaining seme valuable
experience in regard to them we
finally got one to hold up and so broke
camp at 2:25 p. m. meter reading
8147.3, and headed for the centre of
the city which we reached at 3:15.
Here we purchased a U. S. grey tube
which was put in in a very few min-
utes for us and at 4 p. m. we left for
Niagara. Here I want to say that the
courtesy and excellent service shown
us is one of the best advertisements
possible. We soon reached Niagara
and after viewing this wonder of
nature for a few minutes we proceed-
ed out about three miles on Buffalo
Ave. and camped at 7 p. m. determin-
ed to spend the next day at the Falls
and in that vicinity taking in all of
its wonders.
We broke camp at 10:15 a. m.
August 7 and returned to the Falls
where we spent about an hour and a
half viewing the Falls from every an-
gle. Then we took a ride on the Maid
of the Mist going close to the Ameri-
can Falls and then over into the whirl-
pools of the Canadian Falls. After
landing we drove over into Canada.
When we attempted to cross the
bridge we were stopped but when the
inspector saw our outfit he threw up
his hands at the job of searching us.
I gave him the gun we had along and
he then allowed us to proceed. We
drove along the shore in both di-
rections and saw the wire entangle-
ments and camps of the Canadian
troops. We then attempted to drive
to the whirlpool but we found that
there was no road there. We then
returned to our own side and after
lunch we drove over on the island
and viewed the island from there. At
3:45 p. m. we started for Buffalo
which place we reached at 4:45. We
spent the night at the Castle Inn
while I had the car repaired and made
several purchases. Here we got rid
of our packing case using a duffle
bag instead, because we could strap
that on the front of the car and bal-
ance the load much better.
We left Buffalo at 6:35 p. m. on
August 8th, and proceeded about
eleven and one-half miles out on the
lake front where we found a beautiful
place to camp on the shore of the
ake.
‘On August 9th we broke camp at
9:50 a. m., meter out of commission,
and started on our way to Erie. We
found the roads fine along here all
paved or macadamized, and the road
being so close to the lake we had a
fine view all the way. At Bracton
we stopped a short time for provis-
ions and at Portland we stopped from
1:30 until 2:30 for lunch. It was 4:15
before we reached Erie where we re-
mained until five p. m:, having the
carburetor, which was still bothering
us, adjusted. We then continued our
journey stopping at Swansville and
Girard for provisions. Camp was
pitched two miles west of Girard at
6:30 p. m.
August 10th we got under way at
9:10, meter reading 76.2, although it
} : : 1
| washing we put out the next morning.
Boor fda.
ae
is not accurate, but we had not reach-
| We stopped a few minutes at Linden ' ed Conneaut before we had to stop
for an hour to repair a blow-out. At
Ashtabula we stopped for gasoline
and oil, and at Unionville we stopped
from 1:30 to 3:45 to fix a spare tire
and have lunch. We reached Wick-
cliffe on the Lake at 5:30 and spent
the night there with Mrs. Dale’s aunt |
Mary. Here we had a chance to
sleep in a real bed and eat at a table,
which broke up the monotony of
camp and was very welcome to us all.
We departed at 9:10 and soon
reached Cleveland, where we stopped
to see Eva’s aunt Anna and her cous-
ins, Bert and Dudley. Her aunt was
not at home but we saw the boys.
We left Cleveland at noon and stop-
ped about six miles out, from 1:10 to
2 p. m. for lunch. After lunch we got
on the wrong road and it took us
some time to get back and even the
road was so bad that we could not
make any time, so that it was late
when we got into Belleview, where
we stopped for provisions and then,
just as we were starting out we had
a puncture, which delayed us until
almost 8 p. m., so as soon as we got
a mile out of Bellevue we camped for
the night. Although we were com-
pelled to stop without much choice of
a camping place we stumbled onto a
very nice place. There were several
big trees growing along the road and
the ground was covered with a nice
carpet of blue grass. Water was very
handy and as I had to fix up some
spare tubes the other members of the
party put a wash and cleaned things
up generally. During the morning a
little girl came over to play with
Helen, which she appreciated very
much. Her father mentioned some-
thing about its being Saturday, which
surprised us very much as we thought
it was only about Wednesday.
(Continued next week.)
REASONS FOR HIGH COST OF
LIVING GIVEN.
Reasons for the high cost of living
are discussed by Prof. Irving Fisher,
of Yale, in an interesting article, pub-
lished in the Financier. The article
says, in part:
Never, since the Civil War, has the
price level in this country shot up
with such prodigious speed as in the
last Yew months. The excitement of
the present war at first made us for-
get our anxiety about the “high cost
of living.” But recently the war itself
has reintroduced the problem and re-
aroused our interest in it. In Europe
the price levels of various countries
have shot up even faster than our
own. Professor Cassel, of Sweden,
found that by April last, prices in
Russia had risen since the war began
by 165 per cent, in Germany 111 per
cent, in France 87 per cent, in Eng-
land 66 per cent and even in neutral
Sweden 46 per cent. The price level
in the United States had at that time
risen, according to Dun’s Index Num-
ber, only: 19 per cent. Since then
prices in the United States have con-
tinued to rise until they are now 40
per cent more than before the war.
Undoubtedly European prices have
contirued their much steeper ascent.
The price level depends on certain
fundamental factors: The quantity
of money, the superstructure of credit
built on this money foundation, the
velocities of circulation of the money
and the credit, and the quantity of
goods brought to market.
These are the only approximate
causes. Myriads of other causes—war,
tariffs, anti-trust laws, trusts, trade
unions, gold discoveries, rapid trans-
portation, shortened hours, advertis-
ing, waste of natural resourses, etc.,
may affect the high cost of living,
either upward or downward but as I
have shown elsewhere, these causes
are anterior to, and act only through,
money, credit, velocities or goods.
To the question, which of these fun-
damental factors is, or are, responsi-
ble for the sudden uprising of prices
in the last few months, I would reply
that the chief causes both abroad and
at home are (1) growing scarcity of
goods and (2) growing abundance of
money. Apparently the more import-
ant of these two is, even in Europe,
the growing abundance of money. To
put itin a nutshell, the whole world is
now suffering acutely from war infla-
tion. In belligerent countries, this in-
flation has been chiefly in the form: of
paper money issues, while in neutral
countries it has been chiefly in the
form of gold imports. The gold flow-
ing to neutral countries, like Sweden
and the United States, is gold dis-
placed by paper maney in belligerent
countries and attracted to neutrals
because the belligercnts could not ex-
port other goods than gold.
I shall not attempt here to elaborate
my own view of the appropriate rem-
edy—*“stabilizing the dollar” by (vir-
tually) increasing its weight from
time to time to offset the depreciation
of gold. I hope within the year to
publish a book on the subject. I may
take this opportunity, however, to say
that I have recently received several
letters, including two from prominent
bankers, expressing a new interest in
this proposal.
Required for Health and Beauty.
1t is surprising that it is necessary to
repeat again and again that the health and
beauty of the skin require that the blood
shall be pure. If the arteries of the skin
receive impure blood, pimples and blotches
appear, and the individual suffers from
humors. Powders and other external ap-
plications are sometimes used for these
affections, but will never have the desired
effect while the causes of impure blood re-
main. ;
The indications are very clear that
Hood’s Sarsaparilla is the most successful
medicine for purifying the blood, removing
pimples and blotches, and giving health
and beauty to the skin. It gives tone to
all the organs and builds up the whole
system. Insist on having Hood's Sarsa-
parilla when you ask for it. Don’t take
62-10
anything else.
——The following speech was made
by an Irish barrister in defense of his
client, whose cow had been killed by
a train:
“If the train had been run as it
should have been ram, or if the bell
had been rung as it should have been
rang, or if the whistle had been blown
as it should have been blew, both of
which Shey Sid neither, the cow would
Bot Dave n injured when she was
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN.
DAILY THOUGHT
A cheerful friend is like a sunny day,
which sheds its brightness on all around,
and most of us can, if we choose, make
of this world either a palace or a prison.
—-Avebury.
Cloth top shoes are in for a spring
run, and all-cloth shoes with leather
tips and strappings will also play an
important part in the summer fash-
ions.
Belts and girdles of gold and silver
tissue have carried over from winter
models, and are now shown on spring
dresses.
Stout ladies and those who are only
a little plump will be given as youth-
ful lines in suits, coats and dresses
as the willowy-formed damsel, and
when these clothes are made correct-
ly they will not be lacking in the nec-
essary quality of dignity.
Beads of all varieties and all colors
are used with distinctive and real ar-
tistic value as trimming combined
with hand embroidery.
Green in brilliant and refreshing
shade is sure to be a popular color in
dress fabric as well as accessories.
A Paris blouse recently imported
was of white voile, trimmed most
charmingly by conventional lines of
colored floss, put on by a couching
stitch. Three colors were thus ef-
fectively combined.
Velvet can be made to look like new
either by steaming to raise the nap or
pressing with a damp cloth over it,
which makes it look like panne velvet.
Cotton gloves may now be had in
quarter sizes, and this is surely an
advantage for women who have here-
tofore been obliged to wear a half size
too large.
Blouses of sheer material, such as
georgette crepe, chiffon, organdie and
voile, are being shown in a wide range
of colors, in white and in flesh tint.
Hand embroidery and application
of beading make pleasing trimming
on materials of sheer quality.
Delicate flesh-colored lingerie in
silk is in good demand, and this nat-
urally brings forth a decided call for
corsets in matching color, with the re-
sult that many exquisite models are
to be had.
Figures and forms cut out of leath-
er and kid are applied to hats with
loose and irregular embroidery stitch-
es done in colorful flosses.
Many French hats are in brilliant
colors this season, such as cherry,
rose and cardinal.
Huge silk tassels trim many sepa-
vate skirts and one-piece dresses. On
separate blouses and jackets the tas-
sel idea is used, but here the quaint
ornaments are smaller.
Women who are middle aged and
rather stout will find a cold bath
every day with plenty of friction
afterward an admirable fat reducer.
If you can’t take a cold bath have a
cold sponge down after your warm
bath and dry yourself vigorously
with a rough towel. There is something
very stimulating in the friction in-
duced by thorough drying after a
bath. ‘
Plenty of fresh air is essential to
health, and it is essential, too, to
avoid much lolling about in easy
chairs. This last induces that fatal
habit of stooping, as a result of which
there is formed, as we get on in years,
an unsightly roll of fat between the
shoulders, which hangs over the top
of the corsets. Very often faulty cor-
sets are responsible for the formation
of this figure blemish, corsets which
are laced so as to press the fat up-
ward between the shoulders. To cure
it, in the first instance you will re-
quire to go through a course of sci-
entific massage. Massage is also
splendid for fat which forms beneath
the waist line and for the double chin.
Wealthy women with tired nerves
can go in for various treatments—
special baths and electric massage—
but many women are far from well
off and are unable to do this kind of
thing. But 10 minutes’ treatment
every day will soothe the most over-
worked nerves if properly and regu-
larly given. The treatment is a sim-
ple one, and consists in applying very
hot water to the base of the brain.
Wring a sponge out in very hot water
and hold it firmly to the back of the
neck for a few seconds, repeating the
process and using water a little hot-
ter each time until it is as hot as can
be borne. Keep this up for about
eight minutes, then dip a sponge in
very cold water, squeeze it out, and
rub it quickly over the back of the
neck.
The heat expands the blood vessels,
which have become congested and rig-
id through fatigue, and the cold ap-
plication contracts them, momentari-
ly, quickening the circulation and giv-
ing new vigor and vitality to them.
‘If this is done twice daily, at midday
and at night, this treatment will
soothe and rest the most overstrained
nerves. .
For years I have been annoyed by
“the accidents that would happen
from brushing wup against the gas
stove. Now I can wear white clothes
inthe kitchen with impunity, to say
nothing with having done away with
black, greasy stove cloths.
IT have given the outside of the
stove, burners and all, a thick coat of
aluminum paint, the kind that is sold
for painting boilers and pipes. When
the stove is given its weekly cleanup
the scratches and rubbed spots are
touched up ligh'ly with the paint.
Bits of food or grease smears are
wiped off after each meal as easily
as off the sink, for nothing soaks in-
to this finish and the stove is actually
an orniment to a daintily kept kitch-
en.
The Massachusetts branch for wom-
en of the Special Aid Society for
American Preparedness has opened a
school to teach women to operate au-
tomobiles in order that they may be
utilized in case of war.
~—Subscribe for the “Watchman”.
FARM NOTES.
Goose Raising.—Pasturage is essen-
tial to the successful raising of geese,
according to Farmers’ Bulletin No.
767, recently issued by the United
States Department of Agriculture.
The industry is at present on the
basis of small flocks raised on gen-
eral farms, few, if any, farms being
devoted entirely to goose raising. In
some producing sections, however, the
fattening of geese is conducted as a
special business. For this business
the geese are collected from general
farms, usually over a large area, and
are fattened for several weeks before
being killed.
Geese can be raised in small num-
bers successfully and at a profit, says
the bulletin, on farms where there is
low rough pasture land with a nat-
ural supply of water. Geese are gen-
erally quite free from disease and all
insect pests, but occasionally are af-
fected by the diseases common to
poultry. Grass makes up the bulk of
the feed for geese, and it is doubtful
whether it pays to raise them unless a
good grass range is available. A body
of water where they can swim is con-
sidered essential during the breeding
season and is a good feature during
the rest of the year. The market for
geese is not so general as for chick-
ens. This should be considered in un-
dertaking the raising of geese. The
demand and the price paid for geese
are usually good in sections where
goose fattening is conducted on a
large scale. Many geese are kept in
the South for the production of feath-
ers rather than for their flesh, but the
demand: for their feathers is not so
good as it has been, making the busi-
ness less profitable. Wherever pos-
sible, the geese on a farm should have
free range. Many farmers in the
South keep them to kill the weeds in
the cotton fields.
Houses.—Except in winter or dur-
ing stormy weather when some pro-
tection should be provided, mature
geese do not usually need a house,
Some kind of shelter, such asa shed
open on the south side, a poultry
house, or a barn is usually provided
by breeders in the North and is used
by many in the South. Coops, bar-
rels, or some other dry shelter should
be provided for young goslings. The
goose houses should be kept clean and
plenty of clean straw provided for the
floor.
Selecting and Mating.—Geese, like
other kinds of poultry, should be se-
lected for size, prolificacy, and vital-
ity. They should be mated several
months prior to the breeding season
to obtain the best results; therefore
breeding stock should be bought in the
fall. Goose matings are not changed
from year to year unless the results
are unsatisfactory. A gander may
be mated with from one to four geese,
but pair or trio matings usually give
the best results. The wild gander
usually mates with only one goose.
When mated, geese are allowed to
run in flocks. From 4 to 25 geese may
be kept on an acre of land, and under
most conditions 10 is a fair average.
Incubation.—Geese are fed a ra-
tion to produce eggs during the lat-
ter part of the winter so that the
goslings will be hatched by the time
there is good grass pasture. They are
allowed, to make nests on the floor of
the house, or large boxes, barrels, or
shelters are provided for that pur-
pose. The eggs should be collected
daily and kept in a cool place where
the contents will not evaporate too
freely; if kept for some time they may
be stored in loose bran. The first eggs
are usually set under hens, while the
last ones which the goose lays may
be hatched either under hens or un-
der the goose if she goes broody. If
the eggs are not removed from the
nest in which the goose is laying she
will usually stop laying sooner than
if they are taken away. Some breed-
ers prefer to raise all the goslings
under hens, as geese sometimes be-
come difficult to manage when allow-
ed to hatch and rear their young.
Hens used for hatching goose eggs
must be dusted with insect powder
and have good attention, as, in the
case of geese, the period of incuba-
tion is longer than in that of fowls.
Goose eggs may be hatched in incu-
bators and the goslings successfully
raised in brooders, although this is
not a common practice.
The period of incubation of goose
eggs varies from 28 to 30 days. Mois-
ture should be added to the eggs after
the first week if set under hers or in
incubators; this is usually done by
sprinkling the eggs or the nest with
warm water. Four to six eggs are
set under a hen and 10 to 13 under a
goose. They may be tested about the
tenth day, and those which are fertile
or contain dead germs should be re-
moved. They hatch slowly, -especial-
ly under hens, and the goslings are
usually removed as soon as hatched
and kept in a warm place until the
process is over, when they are put
back under the hen or goose. Some
breeders who hatch with both geese
and hens give all the goslings to the
geese. Hens with goslings may be
confined to the coop and the goslings
allowed to range. The latter, espe-
cially if the weather is cold, are not
usually allowed to go into water un-
til they are several days old. In mild
weather the hens are allowed to brood
the goslings for. from 7 to 10 days,
when the latter are able to take care
of theniselves. Good-sized growing
coops, with board floors, should be
provided for the goslings, and they
must be protected from their enemies,
and given some attention when on
range.
Feeding the Geese and Goslings.—
Geese are generally raised where they
have a good grass range or pasture,
as they are good grazers and, except
during the winter months, usually
pick up most of their living. The
pasture may be supplemented with
light feeds of the common or home-
grown grains or wet mash daily, the
necessity and quantity of this feed
depending on the pasture. Goslirgs
do not need feed until they are 24 to
36 hours old, when they should be fed
any of the mashes recommended for
chickens or ducklings.
Preparation for Market.—Before
marketing the young geese the aver-
age farmer can feed advantageously
a fattening ration either while the
geese are on grass range or confined in
small yards, but it is doubtful wheth-
er it would pay him to confine them
to individual or small pens and make
! a specialty of fattening unless he has
a special market or retail trade for
well-fattened stock. ‘
Geese are usually killed and picked
in the same manner as other kinds of
poultry. Some markets prefer dry-
picked geese, while in other markets
no difference is made in the price of
scalded or dry-picked geese. When
feathers are to be saved fowls should
i not be scalded but should be picked
! dry before or after steaming. On
most farms where geese are raised the
feathers are plucked from the live
fowls at some time prior to moulting.
About one and one-tenth pounds per
goose is the average yield of feathers.
Feathers are worth from 30 cents to
$1 a pound, and the picking ¢ost per
goose is about 11 cents.
Breeds.—Six breeds have been
admitted to the American Standard
of Perfection, namely: Toulouse,
Embden, Chinese, African, Wild or
Canadian, and Egyptian. In addition
to the standard breeds there is the
so-called Mongrel goose, which is a
hybrid made by crossing one of these
varieties or the common goose with
wild geese. Crosses of the varieties
of geese, especially of the Toulouse
and Embden, are occasionally made,
but without any apparent gain. The
Toulouse. Embden, Chinese, and Af-
rican are easily the most popular
breeds of geese in this country, the
first two greatly leading the other
breeds. All economic.breeds of geese
are kept primarily for the production
of flesh and feathers, and although
their eggs are occasionally used for
culinary purposes on the farm there
is no demand for them for food pur-
poses in the markets.
The Toulouse, the largest of the
standard breeds of geese, is a good
layer, producing from 20 to 35 eggs
a year, is docile, grows rapidly, and
makes a good market bird. However,
its dark pinfeathers make it a slight-
ly less attractive market goose than
the Embden.
The Embden, a large, white goose,
slightly smaller and with somewhat
longer legs than the Toulouse, is oniy
a fair layer and is usually less pro-
lific than the Toulouse. This breed
has white pinfeathers, is a rapid
grower, and matures early.
The African, a gray goose with a
distinct brown shade, about the size
of the Embden; is a good layer and
makes a good market goose, although
it has the objectionable dark pinfeath-
ers. It is a rapid grower and ma-
tures early.
There are two standard varieties
of Chinese geese, the brown and
the white. Both varieties mature ear-
ly and are said to be prolific layers
and rapid growers, but shy and rach-
er difficult to handle.
The wild goose 1s bred to some ex-
tent in captivity, and the young are
sold to hunters to use as decoys. The
wild gander is used to cross with
either the common or the pure-bred
goose, producing the so-called Mon-
grel goose. This Mongrel goose is
highly prized as a market goose, but
is sterile and can not be bred.
The Egyptian goose is a small,
brightly colored goose kept for orna-
mental purposes and rarely seen in
this country. It resembles the wild
goose in shape and weighs 2 pounds
less in each case.
—Fruit growers complain, with
justice in many instances, about low
prices and high freight rates, but
there are no sections that give more
convincing evidences of thrift and
prosperity than those devoted largely
to fruit growing.
Great Danger of Harmless Things.
It is a bloody battle which inflicts
death or wounds upon one in every
seven soldiers. Casualties of 140,000
in an army of a million are away
above battle averages. Americans
are so wasteful of the most precious
things we have—human life—that
they suffer casualties from accidents
during every year equal to such a
heavy battle, writes Gerard.
One man in seven is killed or injur-
ed. I learn from an insurance com-
pany which has paid $10,502,000 in 22
years for 128,000 accidents where and
how the accidental blow falls.
The wagon hurts more persons than
the automobile by 25 per cent.
Noisy as it is, the motorcycle is
fairly harmless, and the bicycle has
almost ten times as many victims to
its credit.
City folk think of their elevators
falling, but they rarely do it, where-
as we never reckon the horse among
beasts of prey, and yet Mr. Equine
kicks and b.tes nine times as many
persons as are injured in elevators.
More men fall through trapdoors
than are drowned, but it seems hard
to believe it. Almost ‘as many are
hurt by falling from bed as get their
fingers caught in electric fans.
A gun is a deadly thing, and yet its
army of victims is only one-sixth as
great as that of the innocent-looking
stairway.
The rolling stone gathers no moss,
but it accumulates a fine assortment
of accidents—six times as many as the
snorting motorboat. Your true acci-
dent bobs up when least expected.
I once saw Samuel R. Kirkpatrick,
who is now a broker, but was former-
ly a newspaperman, return from a
5,000-mile journey. He had plastered
himself with accident insurance, but
nothing had happened until he step-
ped upon a lead pencil in his own of-
fice after his return, and then he was
in drydock for a fortnight,—Pitts-
burgh Dispatch.
——The deepest mine works in any
part of the world are in Brazil. One
of the mines of the St. John del Ray
Mining Company, Ltd., has reached
the vertical depth of 5,826 feet, and
since the vein shows no sign of los-
ing its size or value, the company is
considering means of continuing to a
vertical depth of 7,626 feet.
One Is Enough.
“Does your husband worry about
the grocery bill ?”
“No; he says there’s no sense in
both himself and the grocer worrying
over the same bills.”—Boston Trans-
cript.
——Only 40 years ago the Japanese
went to battle clad from head to foot
in armor, and wearing hideous masks
to frighten the enemy.
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