a
Belletonte, Pa., May 4, 1917.
i ——
CLEAN-UP, SPICK AND SPAN.
Getting rubbish on the run,
‘You can have a lot of fun
Making cleaner this clean town,
Adding much to her renown.
Clean-up, Spick and Span.
Soap and water, scrubbing brush,
Chase the dirt out with a rush!
Out with rubbish, cut the weeds,
Sow a lot of garden seeds.
Scrub up, Spick and Span.
Whitewash cellars, disinfect;
Every corner, please inspect.
‘What a lot of things need cleaning,
Surely you will get our meaning,
Sweep-up, Spick and Span.
Paint the house from top to toe
Varnish, polish, high and low,
Sweep the attic, clean the doors,
Put new rugs upon the floors.
Paint-up, Spick and Span.
Swat the fly and oil the pool,
Get out every garden tool,
Seed the bare spots on the lawn,
Get up in the early dawn.
Wake-up, Spick and Span.
After you are through with this
Cheerful smiles are not amiss.
Don’t forget it through the year
Every day make full of cheer.
Cheer-up, Spick and Span.
A POEM ON SPRING AND PINE
GROVE MILLS.
Dear “Watchman.”
There is no place where there is a
quicker response to the greetings of
Spring, than in Pine Grove Mills, Cen-
tre county, Pa. :
Not that the crocuses and the daf-
fodils are earlier than elsewhere, but
the beauties in their houses, whether
indoors or out, feel the quick stirring
of spring sunshine and the spring
rains and wind. They seem to snuff
the new season upon the breeze long
before anyone else is aware that the
sap has begun to stir in the trees and
that the buds in the maples and wil-
lows are swelling in their brown win-
ter coats and turning color ever so
gently.
This place is of interest at this sea-
son, charming in spring, for there are
new babies everywhere and they are
as attractive .and playful as the new
kittens or puppies in the sunshine:
All the front yards are cleaned up and
picturesque to the eye.
Spring! A word to conjure with.
It’s the joy-time of the year, when the
sap starts in the trees, and hope
springs eternal in the most depress-
ed of human breasts.
A flurry of snow, a bit of warm
sunshine, a meadow lark’s song, the
gray of the woods-turning impercept-
ibly to green spikes of bulbs pushing
their way bravely through the cold,
brown earth, the faint odor of arbu-
tus, a sudden gust of wind that car-
ries away your hat—and that is
spring.
Fascination, changeable, incompre-
hensible season, who does not love it?
Small wonder that the young man’s
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of
mating; smaller wonder that the more
practical woman turns to considera-
tions of making her household com-
fortable during the spring and sum-
mer.
Oh, delectable, entrancing spring!
It fills our old hearts with cheer, gor-
geous queen of the seasons, how the
sweep of thy magic wand brings back
from the sleeping years of the dreamy
past the gaudy visions of life’s spring
time.
We are again children straying in
the green meadows or lingering by the
crystal stream. We bare our aged
brow to thy gentle breathings and
feel as though passing angels fanned
us with their wings. We inhale the
commingled perfume of flower and
blossom, and dream the fragrance of
Paradise has stolen back to earth, or
that we catch the perfume flung from
passing Seraphs’ mantles.
We look in aged bewildered ecsta-
cy upon the gathering matchless beau-
ties, and we gaze upon sward and leaf
and blossom and flower, we think we.
hear heaven’s looms propelled by ae-
rial beings as they weave the fabric
of thy robes. We almost imagine we
see celestial artists floating on steady
wing, producing specimens of the
taste and genius of the skies, painted
on thy royal attire a galaxy of heav-
en’s fine arts for the wondering ad-
miration of mortals on earth.
We eat, drink, and are merry, and
do not die tomorrow, but live on in
the healthiest spot on the face of the
earth. We draw in long breaths of
pure air and thank our God we are
alive.
We lose the hours in the grand
walks of Tussey mountain gap, where
we enjoy unrivalled views and forget
contentions, troubles and revelations.
We are 2ll living with open windows;
the sun is brilliant and every great
flood of its rays of light that pours
down seems to be a heavenly life-
stream.
This historic and hallowed land
amid the glories of spring, where the
balmy air, the beautiful sky, the fresh
verdure of the new ploughed field, and
the singing of the birds add fascina-
tion to the scenes. With the white
clouds chasing through the splendid
blue above and the bright sunshine
rays thrown upon us, and the little
mountain brook of water beside us,
running gaily as the blood in our
veins. We sit on the veranda of the
hotel and behold the beautiful form-
ed young girls as they pass to and
fro—things of beauty, the greatest of
God’s creation. We can see white
clover, yellow butter-cups, all of
which add beauty to the eye, which is
a boon to the old Vet.
The hostlery is a panacea, a rest for
the weary old bones, and relaxation
to overstrained nerves. We are re-
galed by music at times. Here we de-
light in hours of joy and bliss. You
can look through the interlacing
branches of the trees to the blue
vaults above the silvery crown of pur-
est sky. Our hearts are bounding
with joy and our spirits speeding over
well known lovely places of our youth-
ful days. We exclaim, Oh! holy na-
ture, how beautiful thou art. How
luxurious, how infinitely tender dost
thou appear in this lovely spot, “our
home.” We thank our Maker for per-
mitting us to enjoy this glorious vil-
lage and its scenes.
Nature, Nature! What a wonderful
and mysterious goodness art thou. We
are wondering in a woods full of po-
etry; would that we could express our
feelings in the language of a poetess;
that we could seize and perpetuate in
everlasting verses.
It has always seemed to me that
village life is the happiest and the
most comfortable, and that the busy
city man who would establish his
home where he can have repose with-
out inconvenience and discomfort
should place it amid the trees and
flowers and by the grassy highway of
some pretty hamlet, where the noise
of the world’s greater commerce never
comes, and where isolation and com-
panionship are both possible without
an effort.
Such a home, planted judiciously in
a half-acre, where children can romp
and play, and where one can cultivate
a few flowers and vegetables, ming-
ling the sentimental heliotrope with
the practical cabbage and the orna-
mental verbena with the useful onion,
may be made an earthly Paradise.
Come to Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
Village life is the best. It has all
the advantages of residence in the
country without the unpleasant things
which attend existence in a wholly
rural home. There is not the often-
times oppressive solitude of the
country, nor is there the embarrass-
ments that come from the distance
to the station, to the stores, and the
postoffice. There are the city bles-
sings of the presence of other human
beings, and of access to the places
where wants may be supplied, without
the crowds, without the mixed and
villainous perfumes of the streets and
the obnoxious air. With the conven-
iences of a civilized community, a vil-
lage may have pure and healthful air,
opportunity for parents and children
to amuse themselves out of doors,
cheap fare, moderate rent, milk which
knows not the wiles of the city deal-
er, and a moral atmosphere in which
a family may grow up away from the
temptations and the evil associations
which tend to corrupt the young in the
great cities.
More than this, I like life in the vil-
lage because it brings a man into
kindlier relations with men,
and girls in the community, than can
be obtained elsewhere. In the city I
am jostled at every step by those who
are strangers to me, who know noth-
ing of me, and who care nothing. In
the village I am known by every one
and I know all.
If I have any title to respect, it is
admitted by the society of the place,
and perhaps I may even win some-
‘thing of affection if I am worthy of it.
In the country town, too, you may
have your morals carefully looked
after. There are prying eyes and
busy tongues, and you are conspicu-
ous so that unless you walk straightly
the little world around you shall know
of your slips and falls. You may
quarrel with your wife forever inthe
city and few care to hear the misera-
ble story; but in the village the de-
tails of the conjugal contest are her-
alded about before the day is spent.
The interest that is felt in you is
amazing. The cost of your establish-
ment is as well known as if it were
blazoned upon the walls. You can-
not impose upon the people with the
pretense of splendor if you have not
the reality; one gossipping old woman
who has discovered the shame will
make you an object of public scorn
in an hour.
The village knows how your chil-
dren are dressed and trained; how
often you have mutton and the extent
of your indulgence in beef. The cost
of your carpets is a matter of com-
mon notoriety; your differences with
your servants are discussed at the
sewing-circle, and the purchase of a
new coat for your daughter, or of any
new clothing for your family is a con-
cern of public interest, and must be
paraded for the gaze of your neigh-
bors, and their opinions upon it. The
purchase of your wife’s Easter hat
actually creates excitement in the vil,
lage society, and you are certain,
therefore, to get the full worth of
your investment in that article of
dress, while the owner obtains unlim-
ited satisfaction; for Easter hats are
purchased for the benefit . of other
people chiefly, not for the convenience
and happiness of the wearers.
In this village every man and wom-
an is something of a law-worshipper,
and if in the city I find it difficult to
select an idol from ar.ong the many
who thrust their greatness upon me,
I am not so embarrassed in the vil-
lage. Here I find pure worshipful
virtues. Here it gives me joy of ad-
miration of the many young females
and to feel humble in their presence.
Sometimes, of course, I cannot help
perceiving that the object of this ad-
oration is, after all, a very pigmy of
its kind. Here the young girls in the
village depend much upon popular
credulity for the stability of their
reputations.
My pompous village nabob, too, is
honest. I am sure of this. He helps
to conduct the government of the
community, but he does his duty fair-
ly and he is a gentleman. I love him
for that alone, and for that I feel
deeper affection for life in the village.
When I go to the city and perceive
what creatures wield the power there,
when I watch the trickery, the iniqui-
ty, the audacious infamy, of the
cliques that control the machinery of
the great government and when I
look, as I do sometimes, into the faces
of those who are thus leagued for
plunder and power, only to see their
vulgarity, ignorance, vice and general
moral fiithiness, my soul is made sick.
I can then turn with pleasure to the
simple methods with which our village
is governed, and honestly give my re-
spect to the gentleman who presides
over its destinies.
I’ve given the chronicles of the vil-
lage with what quality of humor we
could infuse info them, but without
malice or vulgarity and without ir-
reverence. I have no patience with
those who seek to find amusement by
committing these faults. There is
matter enough in harmless things for
sportiveness; and rather than try to
excite mirth by hurting the feelings
of any one by- stooping to coarseness,
or speaking’ with levity. of things that
are sacred, I would consent to write
women,
only books that should be as solemn Conserving Potato Eyes for Seed Pur-
as tragedy itself. The man who vol-
untarily becomes a hermit is a fool.
A man of «sense must necessarily de-
sire to live with his fellows and to en-
joy their society, their sympathy and
comforts that can be obtained with
their assistance.
He can have these only by making
sacrifices for them. He must not only
give up some of his natural rights as
an individual, but he must make up
his mind to endure patiently disagree-
able things that are done by his
friends or neighbors. He may escape
from the city to avoid the nuisances,
but in his new home he will certainly
find a compensating nuisance of some
kind. Until all men learn to think
and act alike, he will find everywhere
in the world those who are fond of the
things that he hates, and who will do
things that he thinks should be left
undone.
‘ The man, therefore, who comes to
the village in pursuit of perfect
peace and quiet; of course will not
find them. He will encounter the dis-
agreeable peculiarities and practices
of other persons precisely as he did
in the city, he will be called upon to
endure annoyances as aggravating as
any of these from which he has flown.
He can have comparative contentment
and repose in either place only by de-
termining to have them despite his
neighbors. It is possible that men
will always have in their world sharp
corners and rough surfaces with
which they will jag and tear each
other as they roll around in the swift
current of life. Perhaps we shall
have smoothness and evenness when
we enter Paradise—I hope so at least.
And in the meantime, let us stop
growling about evils which cannot be
cured.
J. MILES KEPHART.
Suffragists Will Continue the Fight.
Harrisburg, Pa.—Despite their de-
feat by three votes in the Legislature,
women of Pennsylvania, whose or-
ganization was the first to offer its
service to Pennsylvania and to the
Nation during the war, are again ask-
ing for consideration by the Legisla-
tive body.
Previously they asked only that the
Representatives grant voters the
right to decide again the question of
suffrage. This time, the voters hav-
ing been denied the right to decide
the question in 1920, the women ask
the Legislators themselves to grant
directly to women, as is in the power
of the Legislature, the right to vote
for the next and all following Pres-
idents.
In taking this step, the suffragists
point out that they are making a fight
for democracy on the ground that all
citizens—men as well as women—
who support the country at this time
of stress should be granted every
privilege possible under a Democrat-
ic government. They point out that
there is no expense of advertising an
amendment entailed, which was one
of the objections of the opponents of
constitutional suffrage. They call at-
tention to the fact, also, that the lig-
uor element which boasted it had de-
feated the constitutional amendment
resolution, cannot logically, even
from its own viewpoint, have any rea-
son for fighting the Presidential suf-
frage bill, because even if passed, it
does not give the women the right to
vote upon prohibition or any phase of
local option.
The women point out further that
even those members of the Legisla-
ture who admitted they feared, or
feared without admitting that women
would defeat them, have no ground
for alarm in view of the fact that the
new bill does not extend the right to
vote for any State, county, city, bor-
ough or other candidates, but only for
Presidential electors.
The women call attention, too, to
the Russian and British governments
preparing to enfranchise the women
of their countries as a reward for war
work and because they have demon-
strated their patriotism, and ask per-
tinently what the American govern-
ment and legislatures will do for
women whose patriotism needs no
demonstration.
As outlined, the campaign plans of
the women are unique. They intend,
they say, to maintain no lobby as
such and having, they say, no delu-
sions concerning general temper and
tenor of the present Legislature, they
ask the public to watch the course of
their bill, the members of the com-
mittee to which it is referred, the
tactics of those who oppose it, and the
vote finally upon the meausre. i
French Capture Germans’ Giant
Periscope.
One of the most interesting of the
devices which have been produced
during the war to amplify the range
of human vision, is a giant periscope,
which the French captured from the
Germans. With this equipment an
observer need not seek out some tall
tree or high tower from which to spy
on the enemy, for this collapsible
steel mast can be reared at any desir-
ed point in a very minutes. At its up-
per end are a conical tube and lenses
by which horizontal light rays are
deflected downward to the observer
stationed below. The apparatus is
strongly built and the carriage is so
made as to form a wide-spreading
base. Supported by the carriage alone
the mast can be raised to a height of
50 feet. When it is extended to its
full length, which is 80 feet, guy
ropes are required to steady it.
——The legal age of women in most
of the States of the American Union
is 18. It was so in Kansas until re-
cently, when it was raised by the Leg-
islature to 21. As such laws are not
retroactive, women who acquired
property rights in Kansas when they
were between the ages of 18 and 21
will not be affected. But the circum-
stance calls attention once more to
the pressing necessity of unifying the
varying and sometimes conflicting
laws of the forty-eight States.
Easy Sales.
“I suppose you put the big potatoes
on top?” :
“No need even to do that these
days,” chuckled the grocer. “Most of
my people order by telephone.”—Kan-
sas City Journal.
poses.
Believing that as a nation we
need to conserve our food supply and
produce more food this year than in
previous years, because not only our
own people, but the people of all na-
tions are depending upon us te a large
extent to supply them with food, I be-
lieve it to be our duty to put forth our
most intelligent efforts and to aid in
every way possible the production of
all food products. Next to grain the
most important food product is pota-
toes. With the price of potatoes
around $3 per bushel, I fear many
people cannot afford to buy potatoes
for seed and that the acreage this
year will be far below normal, a con-
dition which we cannot and must not
allow to exist. The thought came to
me: Why not have the housewife use
a litle care in peeling the potato and,
when near an eye or embryo peel a
little deeper, and save the embryo for
seed purposes. The amount of food
‘value of the potato would be decreas-
ed only in a small degree, and in the
period of a few weeks prior to the
planting season enough potato em-
bryo might be obtained to increase to
a large extent the acreage, instead of
showing a decrease as a natural re-
sult due to the existing high price of
potatoes. I am quite sure every pa-
triotic citizen would be willing to aid
in this work. By having a central
point of distribution, advising through
the papers that these potatoes might
be had free, I believe that the situa-
tion might be handled very easily.
I am quite sure also that the far-
mers might be willing to pay as high
a price as $3 per bushel for these po-
tato embryo, and thus turn into the
marts of trade a product heretofore
almost totally wasted. :
If this plan is feasible, every city,
village and hamlet should be organ-
ized immediately. This organization
would be very simple, as the Boy
Scouts of America, I am sure, would
be willing to collect these embryos.
Some energetic merchants in each
town would certainly be willing to
distribute these embryos, if the mat-
ter was brought to their attention.
Knowing that by the exchange of
ideas great good often results, I
would be glad indeed to hear from any
citizen on this subject.
Yours very truly,
L. A. LEATHERS, Brookville, Pa.
Relative to the plan suggested
by Mr. Leathers, Prof. Charles F.
Noll of the department of experimen-
tal agronomy of the school of agri-
culture of the Pennsylvania State Col-
lege writes:
“The plan advocated has some
merit, but it should be kept in mind
that it is not entirely a waste of po-
tato tubers to plant more than just
the eyes, for as we increase the size
of seed piece, thereby increasing the
amount of plant food to start off the
new crop, we tend to increase the
yield. It has been found that, with
seed potatoes at an ordinary price,
we cannot profitably reduce the rate
of planting below about 15 bushels to
the acre. How much this rate may be
reduced when seed potatoes are ab-
normally high in price is a question. I
see another difficulty also—that of
properly taking care of the tubers
until they are planted. These small
pieces should not dry out very much
or they will lose in vitality. They
may be kept for a week or two, how-
ever, if they are dried by dusting over
them a little land plaster and placing
them in a cool room. If a great many
of these cut pieces are placed togeth-
er before they are dried they are like-
ly to heat and spoil.”
In an article in the wekly news let-
ter of the United States Department
of Agriculture, William Stuart, horti-
culturist in the national bureau of
plant industry, also discusses this
method of making the most of seed
potatoes. Among other things, he
says: : :
“The cost of seeding Irish potatoes
can be greatly reduced, the garden
specialists of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture point out, if
instead of using a whole potato for
planting, the gardener will cut out
from potatoes cone-shaped pieces of
flesh, each containing an eye of the
potato, > *. *
“Under this plan it is not necessary
to prepare the seed all at one time.
From day to day the cones for seeding
can be cut from the potatoes as they
are being prepared for the table. The
cuttings then should be spread out on
a piece of paper in a moderately cool
room (about 50 degrees F.) and al-
lowed to remain there until they have
cured; that is, until the cut surface
has become dry. A day or two should
suffice for this, and potatoes , then
be put in a shallow box or tray and
placed where it is still cooler. Any
storage condition that will insure
them against frost on the one hand
and undue shriveling on the other
should prove satisfactory.
“These seeds can be started in-
doors, provided it is possible to secure
suitable soil boxes. In such cases it
may be desirable to plant the eye cut-
tings at once, and allow them to start
into growth indoors with the idea of
transplanting. them into the open
ground when the danger of frost is
past and the ground is dry enough to
be cultivated.”
Origin of the Gypsies.
When the Gypsies first appeared ih
England in the fifteenth century, the
name Gypsey was given to them by
the English people, who believed them
to have come from Egypt. The
French, by a similar mistake, called
them Bohemians. But a careful study
of this race, and especially of their
language shows that they came orig-
inally from India. The Gipsie lan-
guage is derived from the Sanscrit,
as are the other Aryan languages of
India. A similar error was made by
the English when they called a dis-
tinctively American bird a turkey,
under the impression that it was im-"
portation from the Ottoman empire,
and by the French when they called
the same bird coq d’Inde, believing
that it came from India.— The Chris-
tian Herald.
——They are all good enough, but
the “Watchman” is always the best.
| toned down the back.
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN. |
DAILY THOUGHT
THE TRAIL.
|
The trails of the world are many,
And all of the trails stretch far,
Oh, I have chosen a lone trail,
Lit up by a single star.
i
I follow through storm and sunshine,
I follow through mist and rain,
The trail skirts happy valleys
Or scales grim hills of pain.
I follow the trail in silence,
Up, up through the starlit dew,
And ever I follow the same trail,
And ever it leads to youu
-—Maria Bachem Platt. !
When the first of the mannequins
to wear a dress actually touching the
floor came out in the salon of a fa-
mous French dressmaker, there was a
gasp from every corner. No more
displays of bowlegs! One of such!
dresses lay on the floor an inch all!
around and it caused a flutter. —New
York Herald.
Feminine Facts.—Smart white wool
skirts are of washable flannel and of
serge, in pleated models, with wide
belts and pockets.
Silk broadcloth is a new fabric used
for suits and skirts and comes in all
white or white with colored stripes.
Quite a number of new lingerie
blouses are trimmed with hand hem-
stitching or hand-drawn work, the
blouses usually of fine white voile.
Square cut necks designed by em-
broidery are seen on blouses.
There will be adaptations of the
smock in many of the new waists.
Wool sweaters are a little ahead of
silk sweaters for fashionable sport
wear.
The pleats on both skirts and coats
are usually separated by panels.
Sand and beige shades are popular
in spring tailored clothes.
- Even though skirts do hang
straight, there is always fullness.
Marine blue and navy blue will be
combined with beige, stone and fawn
color.
Activities of Women.—All the
streets and roads in Arizona will be
cleaned by the club women of that
State.
Women farmers and laborers in the
United States number over a million
and a half.
Russian women are now allowed to
vote on the elections to the Constitu-
ent Assembly in that country.
The Czarina is credited with being
indirectly one of the causes of the
revolution in Russia.
The recent appearance of Miss
Jeannette Rankin in the Senate
Chamber in Washington marks the
first time that a woman has ever been
accorded the privilege of the floor of
that body.
When wheat advances and there is
a cry of advance in the price of bread,
then it is that cornmeal, oatmeal,
dried beans or brown rice or macaro-
ni may all be used in place of bread,
besides lowering prices. We have
been led to believe that all the ash
necessary in the diet came from the
grains, and yet in some of our recent
tests it has been found in milk when
all protein content had been entirely
removed. From a recent experiment
on rats, in which growth had come to
a standstill when the fat in the diet
consisted of lard, rapid growth fol-
lowed when butter fat was substitut-
ed, we naturally conclude that butter
fat must contain something in nutri-
tion which lard does not.
Headache is a common complaint
among women. They seem to be more
susceptible to this disagreeable ail-
ment than men, to suffer more in-
tensely as well as more frequently
than their brothers or husbands. Per-
haps one reason for this is that wom-
en are more nervous than men, and
headache can almost always be trac-
ed to nerves. Nervous fatigue, nerv-
ous indigestion, nervous excitement
in any form almost always results in
headache.
The cure, then, lies in quieting the
nerves. This is more difficult than it
may sound to those fortunate indi-
viduals who don’t know that they pos-
sess such things, and who may believe
that any ailment arising from this
cause is purely imaginary. Far from
it. Nerves do more real and lasting
harm than almost any other one
thing, and the moment a woman finds
herself in the clutch of a nervous at-
tack she should take steps to get her
nervous system into a more healthy
condition. If neglected, this condition
becomes acute, and may cause trou-
ble which it will take years to undo.
To get the nerves in a healthy con-
dition means the building up of the
whole system. Healthy nerves can-
not live in an unhealthy body, and
by the same token a healthy body is
the surest possible insurance against
an erratic nervous system, for perfect
health brings mental poise as well as
physical well-being.
There is no better time of year to
build up the system than now. Plen-
ty of fresh air, simple foods, includ-
ing fresh green vegetables and fruits,
exercise and long hours of sleep are
necessary to good health. Start now
to follow these rules, and before many
weeks have elapsed you will find your
headaches disappearing, and your
general health immensely improved.
When furniture becomes marred or
scratched sprinkle a few drops of al-
cohol on the rough surface. Rub a
soft dry cloth very rapidly over this
spot and the marks will disappear.
Do not let the alcohol remain on the
surface or it will eat into the wood.
An excellent way to utilize an old
blanket that is near the end of its
usefulness is to cover it with silkaline
and tuft it like a comforter. It can
be made very daintily if desired, or it
can be covered with ordinary cheese-
cloth and given harder use, as it is
very easily washed. It makes an ideal
cover for summer use, as it is light,
yet warm enough for ordinary use in
late spring and the cool nights in
summer. .
A sport’s dress in gray silk jersey,
showing a peplum blouse, in what
looked at first to be a slip over the
head model, but which really was but-
| cows.
| overlook our neglect.
FARM NOTES.
—1t is easy to forget to salt the
It is not so easy for them to
—The first essential for a prolific
garden is rich soil. There is little en-
couragement in cultivating poor soil.
—The young man who farms as
well as his father did, but no better,
is not as good a man as his dad. He
| did not have our opportunities and it
. is up to us to do a little better than
| our fathers.
—Roots of a plant grow from the
stem instead of the stem growing
from the roots, as is commonly sup-
| posed. When a seed germinates the
light-loving stem is sent upward and
the dark-loving root downward.
—When a cow or calf’s hair is
rough and their eyes dull, they are a
little off. Sometimes a handful of
salt and oil meal, with plenty of wa-
ter for dessert, as their ration for a
day or two will straighten them out.
—The full capacity of the farm can-
not be realized until all the waste
places, the stump lands, the sloughs
and the other spots of this kind are
so manipulated that they can be cul-
tivated for the production of crops.
These crops may be grass or culti-
vated crops, but the land must cease
to be a waste portion of the farm.
—How cows and horses get up?
Lots of people don’t know, and per-
haps some people think that both an-
imals behave in the same way. But
a cow always rises first on her hind
legs, leaning on her “elbows” in front;
and a horse, on the other hand, rises
high on his forelegs first, sitting back
for a moment just like a dog.
—One of the very worst things the
farmer has to contend with is weeds.
Weeds will grow everywhere and they
will grow when it is too wet to get
onto the fields with cultivator or hoe;
and they will grow when it is dry as
powder and nothing else can grow.
This requires a constant watchfulness
and prompt action, when conditions
do occur just right. For the destruc-
tion of weeds in hoed crops, the far-
mer needs the most efficient tools that
can be procured and use them per-
sistently.
—Back-Yard Garden Planting Ad-
vice from State College.—Try plant-
ing a backyard garden if you want
some real fun and recreation. The
garden may be worked when the soil
has dried out to such an extent that
walking on it does not pack it and
leave water-filled mudholes. The
soil, the season and the locality will
determine the time to begin working
in the garden.
Fineness is an essential of the seed-
bed. Stones tend to distort and make
forked such root crops as radishes,
parsnips and similar crops. The seed-
bed should be deep enough to allow
for penetration of the roots.
A certain amount of seed fails to
germinate. To provide against loss
from this source, seed is sown some-
what thickly, and later thinned if nec-
essary.
Depth of planting depends upon
whether the soil is moist or dry,
coarse or fine, upon the season and
also upon size of seed. Moisture is
necessary for seed germination. If
the season is backward and the
weather cool, the seed may rot if
planted too deep.
A hoe is a convenient tool with
which to make a furrow. A pointed
stick will answer the same purpose.
In any case a stout garden line in-
sures straight furrows. When the
seed has been sown the soil is firmed
gently to insure contact of soil par-
ticles and seed. The distance between
the rows should be sufficient to pre-
clude crowding of the plants. Space
for harvesting should be provided
also.
The first vegetables to be started
are the cool crops, including spinach,
lettuce, radishes, onions, cabbage,
parsnips, carrots and peas. Radish
seed mixed with that of the slow-
germinating crops like carrots and
parsnips serve to mark the rows of
such crops. ‘
Within a week or ten days after
sowing the first early crops, beets and
chard are seeded. Sweet corn and
beans may be planted a week to ten
days before danger of frost is past.
Although a replanting may be neces-
sary in the event of heavy frosts, the
risk of early planting is often worth
while.
Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants
may be set in the ground when all
danger of frost is past. They may be
started in a forcing structure or pur-
chased from the grower. It is possi-
ble to protect these plants from mild
frosts by the use of newspaper tents.
To be absolutely safe late seeding is
advised.
Coincident with the planting of to-
matoes, peppers and eggplant, lima
beans and okra may be planted.
Fall sown crops include turnips,
spinach, endive and Chinese cabbage.
Spinach and turnips may be broad-
cast in August in space originally oc-
cupied by midseason cabbage or early
potatoes, sweet corn and beans.
Endive and Chinese cabbage are
usually sown in drills. Slight frosts
do not injure any of these crops.
They mature readily before heavy
frosts appear.
Tables covering the date, depth and
distance of planting the various gar-
den crops, the amount of seed requir-
ed and other valuable planting infor-
mation are found in Circular 53, on
“Backyard Gardening,” published by
the Department of Agriculture Exten-
gion at The Pennsylvania State Col-
ege.
—The preparation of the garden
soil is of far more importance than
most gardeners realize. The vegeta-
bles must have a deep, mellow, fria-
ble soil to hold moisture and promote
the life and development of soil or-
ganisms so important to a fertile soil.
The soil should be broken early and
vegetation incorporated in time for it
to decay. A large: per cent. of vege-
table matter usually in its final state
of decomposition called humus is nec-
essary. It may then be necessary to
rebreak, harrow and cross-harrow in
order that a deep mulch may be had.
Barnyard manure is highly desirable
where the soil is rather thin or loose.
The manure supplies both humus and
plant food, and for that reason is eco-
nomical. It is a waste product at the
barn, but valuable to the gardener.
J