Belletonte, Pa., August 24, 1917.
Sm
THE LAND OF “PRETTY SOON.”
I know of a land where the streets are
paved
With the things which we meant to
achieve.
It is walled with the money we meant to
have saved
And the pleasures for which we grieve.
The kind words unspoken the promises
broken
And many a coveted boon
Are stowed away there in the land some-
where—
The land of “Pretty Soon.”
There are uncut jewels of possible fame
Lying about in the dust,
And many a noble and lofty aim
Covered with mold and rust,
And, oh, ‘his place, while it seems so near,
Is farther away than the moon.
Though our purpose is fair, yet we never
: get there
The land of ‘Pretty Soon.”
The road that leads to that mystic land
Is strewn with pitiful wrecks,
And the ships that have sailed for its shin-
ing strand
Bear skeletons on their decks.
It is farther at noon than it was at dawn,
And farther at night than at noon.
Oh, let us beware of that land down
there—
The land of “Pretty Soon.”
WHO'S HOOVER?
Strange to say, Herbert Clark Hoo-
ver is little known. That is, while
the whole world has heard of him, and
while a very large part of the world
admires, respects, and honors him be-
cause of his masterly administration
of Belgian relief, comparatively few
know anything of the past of the man,
or of his struggles and successes in
private life.
He is a native of West Branch, Ia.,
in which place his boyhood was spent.
He had none of the advantages which
the sons of people in easy circumstan-
ces may enjoy. His parents were poor
Quakers, and the first great fact to
present itself to the consciousness of
Herbart Hoover was that he must “get
out and make his own way.” But he
had one possession of which he could
not be deprived by poverty or by any
other circumstance within the domain
of his own effort and control. This
was an aspiration to succeed in the
world. His bent was toward engineer-
ing, an inclination developed by read-
ing of the achievements of John Hays
Hammond and others who had won
eminence and position in the field of
mining engineering. He longed, like
these, to do big things in many lands,
and he realized that the first thing he
must do was to get an education, at
any cost of perscnal exertion and in-
dividual sacrifice.
To get an education involved get-
ting money, and the gettirg of money
involved earning it in any honorable
way that might present itself. It is
related to his credit that, while study-
ing engineering in Leland Stanford
Junior University, he worked as a
laundry agent and took on other jobs
equally menial. All this, however, he
had fully discounted. It mattered
nothing to him where he worked, or
what he had to do, so long as it was
toward the attainment of his legiti-
mate principal object. As usual in
such cases, he made his way through
college creditably, and from
point onward his progress was
only remarkable but exceptional.
The sketch of his career which is
oftenest consulted is necessarily so
compressed and condensed as to be
little more than the recital of a string
of bene-dry facts punctuated with
dates. He is appointed to geological
surveys in Arkansas, and in the Sier-
ra Nevadas; ae is made assistant
manager of the Carlisle mines of New
Mexico; he bezones engineer of the
Morning Star mine in California; he
goes on, holding higher and higher
positions, gaining steadily in reputa-
tion until we find him filling the post
of engineer of the Imperial Bureau of
Mines in China. Then the details
merge almost into the romantic, for
the little barefoot Iowa boy beconies
in succession the trusted consulting
engineer of mining corporations in
different parts oi the world, the au-
thorized representative of a hundred
millions of capital, director of proper-
ties almost beyond price, and the em-
ployer of 50,000 men. He is brought
to Londen for consultation by the
heads of international enterprises. He
is recognized, in reality, as a second
John Hays Hammond. He is looked
up to as a potential Cecil Rhodes. He
is accorded distinction as one of the
big men of the world. He is consulted
by cabinets. He is put at the head of
the greatest philanthropic undertak-
ing of modern times, if not of all
times.
One of the circumstances that have
escaped the scrutiny of his biogra-
phers, or that have been ignored by
them as unessential or uninteresting,
is the fact, that while engaged in an-
alyzing, assaying, and estimating
mineral deposits of priceless value,
while negotiating with world capital-
ists, while managing huge properties;
while submerged, as it were. in the
material and the practical, in the
technical and the scientific, this big,
brawny, bustling business man, clos-~
eted with his wife, Lou Henry Hoover,
like himself ar A. B. of Stanford, is
engaged upon a translation, compila-
tion, and .elucidation of “Georgius
Agricola De Re Metallica,” founded
upon the first Latin edition of 1536, a
monumental technical work published
by the Mining Magazine, Salisbury
House, London, 1912. This is not a
performance to be dealt with in pass-
ing, but rather as one to be referred
to for the purpose of indicating, in
some measure, the real stature of the
man.
Herbert Clark Hoover is a silent
man. He allows those who interview
him to do most of the talking. One of
his visitors says: “You won’t talk
comfortably,’either, while he is look-
ing at you with his piercing black
eyes. His big, broad shoulders and
massive chin impress you with the
not
this
——
fact that you are in the presence of a HE ALTH AND H APPINESS : ory of diseases, for up to this time in-
masterful man, a man with whom you |
can take no liberties and on whom |
vou can practice no deception.”—
Christian Science Menitor.
Ee ——— i
France, in Fourth Year of War, Has |
3,000,000 Troops in Battle Zone.
|
Washington.—France, the nation
that suffered the brunt of the war at |
the beginning, as 3,000,000 men in the |
battle zone today. This is 1,000,000 i
more than rushed to the colors when |
the Teuton machine surged on toward
Belgium.
She can maintain this number effec-
tively for several years to come.
France, although unprepared and in
the midst of war, so co-ordinateed her
industries that now her production of
munitions is almost inexhaustible even
by the present employment of unheard
of quantities.
While doing this for herself, the re- |
markable nation has completely re- |
equipped and re-armed the Belgian,
Serbian and Greek armies.
Complete exposition of this won-
derful work of France was given to
Secretary of War Baker by M, Andre |
Tardieu, high commissioner of the |
French Republic, and made public re- !
cently. |
M. Tardieu’s letter to Secretary Ba- |
ker reads: |
“Dear Mr. Baker: I brought to
your knowledge in a recent talk the
surprise I felt in reading so often in
American newspapers some utterly in-
accurate information regarding the
military conditions prevailing in Eu-
rope, and especially in the French ar-
my. In connection with our conversa-
tion, I believe it would be of interest
to present to you some figures which,
better than any comments, will ex-
pose to you the reality. These figures
will show you France as she really is,
vigorous and powerful in spite of
three years of suffering without prec-
edent in history.
STRENGTH OF MEN.
“The strength in men, now present
in the zone of the armies alone, shows
the maximum figure reached during
the war. This figure, which amounts
to a little less than 3,000,000 men, ex-
ceeds by more than 1,000,000 the num-
ber of men actually in the zone at the
beginning and one must add to that
figure the men in the zone of the in-
terior and in the colonies.
“We are certain with the resources
of our metropolitan and colonial de-
pots to be able to maintair that num-
ber up to its present level for a long
time to come. Our strength in men,
by reason of a better command, and
of better methods of instruction, has
shown since the beginning of the war
constantly decreasing definitive cas-
ualties (killed, missing and those tak-
en prisoners.)
“The following figures substantiate
this: Battles of Charleroi and of the
Marne, 5.41 per cent. casualties (in
proportion to the total mobilized
strength.)
“First six months of 1915, 2.39 per
cent. casualties.
“Second six months of 1915, 1.68
per cent. casualties.
“First six months of 1916, 1.47 per
cent. casualties.
“Second six months of 1916, 1.28
casualties.
FRONT HELD.
“For measuring the offensive and
defensive quality of the troops whose
numerical strength I have indicated
above, I can do nothing better than
quote some more figures.
“The western front has an exten-
sion of 739 kilometers. Twenty-seven
kilometers are held by the Belgians,
138 by the English, 574 by the French.
The French army holds accordingly
more than two-thirds of the western
front—that is to say, of the front
where the enemy has always directed
its chief exertion. The German divis-
ions in line on the western front were,
moreover, in June, 1917, distributed
as follows:
“Forty-two opposite the English,
81 opposite the French. A German di-
vision holds an average front of four
kilometers, 4000 meters; a French di-
vision an average front of five kilo-
meters, 5000 meters—that is to say
one-sixth more.
ARTILLERY.
“We are amply furnished with ‘75s’
since the beginning of the war. The
number of these guns was constantly
increased; it is adequate to our needs.
As for heavy artillery, we had in
August, 1914, 300 guns, grouped in
regiments. In June, 1917, we had
6,000 of them, mostly modern. Our
output of munitions was arranged in
August, 1914, for 13,000 shots of
“758’ a day. It is now arranged for
250,000 shots of ‘75s’ and 100,000
shots of heavy guns.
“To be equal to this enormous pro-
duction, invaded France did not hesi-
tate in the midst of war to create new
industries and to bestow on military
industries the best of its productive
strength.”
M. Tardieu says there were fired on
German trenches in one of the last of-
fensives for one lineal meter:
“Field artillery, 407 kilogrammes;
trench artillery, 203 kilogrammes;
heavy artillery, 704 kilogrammes, and
high power, 123 kilogrammes.
“Monthly expenditure of ammuni-
tion for the ‘76s’ were: July, 1916,
6,400,000; September, 1916, 7,000,000;
October, 1916, 5,500,000.
“During the last offensive the ex-
penditure was 12,000,000 shots in all
caliber. I might add also that we
completely re-equipped and rearmed
the Belgian, Serbian and Greek ar-
mies. The number of heavy guns giv-
en by us to the allies exceeds 800.”—
By D. M. Edwards.
J ust One Fault.
Tim Malloy, a Texas farmer, ap-
plied for naturalization papers. The
judge asked him: “Are you satisfied
with the general conditions of the
country 7”
“Y-yis,” hesitated Tim.
“Doesn’t the government suit you ?”
Y-yis; bedad, I'd like to see more
rain.
————————————
Trench Stuff.
“That ’ere Sammy’s an educated toff
from ’Arvard,” said Tommy Atkins,
leaning on his spade.
“I'm jolly well weary of ’is learnin,’
too, that I am. We're ordered to
throw up trenches along the Marne.
“Mens sana in corpore sano”
Number 21.
WHAT ARE BACTERIA?
An article in last week’s “Watch-
man, “The Bacterial Content of Milks
Supplied to Bellefonte,” raised the
question, “How is the number of bac-
teria in milk determined?” It is not
possible to describe here, in detail,
laboratory apparatus and methods and
yet without such a foundation it is
difficult to answer the question as sat-
isfactorily as could be desired. It is
hoped a faint idea at least may be
gathered from the rollowing:—
HOW THE NUMBER OF BACTERIA IN
MILK IS DETERMINED.
Preparatory to making the bacter-
ial count, glassware and media (food
substances) to be used have been pre-
pared and sterilized. After the food
material has been prepared and ster-
ilized
tubes and flasks, and is protected from
infection by cotton stoppers. One cu-
bic centimeter (1. c. c., approximately
15 drops,) of the sample of milk to be
tested, is taken in a glass pipette and
added to 99 c. c. of sterile water, mak-
ing a dilution of 99 parts water to
one part milk. Higher dilutions, if
required, are made in a similar man-
ner. One cubic centimeter of the di-
lution is then mixed with melted agar
on a sterile, flat, glass plate, quickly
covered, and when the agar is solidi-
fied, the test plate is placed in the in-
cubatcr. Two series of plates are
usually made, one series kept at room
temperature (70 degrees F., 20 C.)
the other at the temperature of the
human body (98 degrees F. 37 de-
grees C.) At the end of twenty-four
to forty-eight hours, the individual
bacteria have multiplied into colonies
which appear as spots on the surface,
or in the depth of the agar and may
be easily counted. The number of
these colonies, multiplied by the de-
gree of dilution used in making the
test plate, represents approximately
the number- of bacteria that were
present in one cubic centimeter of the
milk. Colonies are composed of an
almost infinite number of individual
germs, the result of the continued
growth of a single germ or bacteri-
um. Agar is a gelatinous product
derived from a Japanese sea-weed, has
a much higher melting point than gel-
atin and can be successfully used with
those organisms whose optimum
growth point is above the melting
point of gelatin. It furnishes a solid
surface upon which bacteria will de-
velop and the peculiarities of their
growth can be studied. As a food or
culture medium, it is made up with
beef broth, peptone and sometimes a
little sugar, preferably lactose; these
furnishing suitable food substances
for bacterial growth.
WHAT ARE BACTERIA?
Bacteria are plants—the smallest
and simplest forms of plant life
known; so small that there may be
millions in a single drop of milk. An
individual bacterium is visible only
under the highest powers of the mi-
croscope. “Colonies” or masses of
bacteria that develop upon certuin
food-substances are apparent with
‘simple lenses or with the naked eye.
As a distinct group of organisms they
were first distinguished by Hoffman
in 1869, since which date the term
bacteria, as applying to this special
aroup of organisms, has been coming
more and more into use. At the be-
ginning of the ninth decade of the
nineteenth century, bacteria were
scarcely heard of outside of scientific
circles; today they are almost house-
hold words. Their unlimited powers
for producing profound changes in
Nature make them agents for good
and for ill; agents of such importance
that ‘ney have become the basis of a
new branch of science—Bacteriology.
It was Louis Pasteur who first
brought bacteria to the front and if
any one man can be looked upon as
the founder of the science of bacteri-
ology, that man is surely Pasteur. Up
to the period of his investigations the
role played by bacteria in various fa-
miliar natural processes, such as pu-
trefaction, decay, and fermentation,
had been, perhaps vaguely suspected
but had not received conclusive dem-
onstration. The memorable research-
es of Pasteur (1822-1895) upon spon-
taneous generation and fermentation
imparted to the study of bacteria a
broad biclogic importance that it had
not hitherto possessed. It was almost
entirely through the work of Pasteur
that bacteria and their allies took a
conspicuous position in natural sci-
ence as a group of organisms whose
activities and capabilities were full of
a far-reaching significance for all
mankind. So difficult were the meth-
ods of work that for years there were
hardly any investigators besides Pas-
teur who could successfully handle
the subject. The difficulty of obtain-
ing any one kind of bacteria, unmix-
ed with others (pure cultures) render-
ed advance almost impossible. In
1882, Robert Koch devised solid cul-
ture-media, by which it became possi-
ble to isolate single species of bac-
teria and to thus obtain descendants
of a single, living cell or germ with-
out admixture with other organisms.
With this simplification of method im-
mediate advance became possible and
the rapidity with which the study of
bacteria has developed in the last fif-
teen years is truly startling. “The
present important place accorded
kbacteriology among the biologic sci-
ences” says a well known writer upon
the subject, “is due quite as much to
its general scientific significance as to
the success of its practical applica-
tions. The discoveries of bacteriology
have given the human race for the
first time in its history a rational the-
vo.
it is kept in sterilized glass |
fectious diseases were not sharply dif-
ferentiated frcm one another and the
! most fantastic hypotheses were ad-
| vanced to explain their existence: It
| has dispelled the myths of spontane-
. ous generation and set the processes
‘of decay and kindred phenomena in
, their true relation to the great cycle |
of living and non-living matter.
The new conception of the micro-
‘ scopic underworld which bacteriology
. brought into biologic science must be
reckored as a conspicuous landmark,
| and, in so far as it has changed the at-
| titude of man towards the universe, |
should be regarded as one of the most
important triumphs of natural sci-
i ence.”
| MICROSCOPIC APPEARANCE OF BAC-
TERIA.
i cell. Individual cells differ in size,
| shape, motility, method of cell divis-
{ ion, spore formation and the like.
| Size.—It is extremely difficult to
i convey, even a faint conception of the
appearance of bacteria, to one unfa-
miliar with the microscopic world, for
such minuteness as to be almost be-
{ yond comprehension.
a hundred individual bacteria could be
placed side by side, their total thick-
sheet of paper. may give a faint idea
of their size. As an average diameter,
be taken. Different kinds of bacteria
vary in size. The average rod meas-
ures about 2 microns in length and
0.5 microns in diameter (1 micron
equals one twenty-five thousandths of
an inch.) The bacillus of typhoid fever
ranges from 1 to 3 microns in length.
One large spherical bacterium is
know to measure 2 microns in diame-
ter; others 0.2 microns. The largest
bacteria belong, as a rule, to the
group of spirally-twisted or screw-
shaped forms, one of these has been
found to measure as much as 3.5 mi-
crons in diameter. The spirillum of
relapsing fever may measure up to 40
microns in length. One of the small-
est of the pathogenic forms is the in-
fluenza bacillus (0.5x0.2 microns.)
Other germs, not surely known to be
bacteria, are even smaller. The germ
of foot-and-mouth disease will pass
through the pores of the finest Berke-
feld filter and is invisible even under
the highest lenses. It is now believed
that diseases, the causes of which are
at present unknown, will be found due
to ultra-microscopic organisms when
methods successful in rendering them
visible have been devised.
a
&8 6
2,
Fig. 1.—Forms of bacteria (Jordan.) High
magnification. a, Staphylococcus (clus-
ter coccus;) c¢, streptococcus (chain coc-
cus;) b, d, cocci showing cleavage in two
planes; e, sarcina (cubical mass or pack-
et;) f, bacillus (straight rod;) g, straight
rods connected to form filament or chain;
h, spirilla (spiral forms;) i, j, bacilli
with motile organs.
Shape.—The forms of bacteria are
simple and comprise only three prin-
cipal types—the straight rod, the
sphere, and the spiral; well compared
to lead pencils, balls and cork screws.
To the rod-shaped bacterium is given
the name bacillus, plural bacilli; to
the sphere, coccus, plural cocci; to the
spirally-twisted or screw-shaped form
spirillum, plural spirilla. The rods
may be long or short, thick or slen-
der; may have rounded or square
ends; may occur singly, or in filaments
or threads. The spheres may be large
or small, may occur in groups of
two’s, four’s, or cling together like a
string of beads, may be in bunches
like a cluster of grapes or, again, in
packets. The spirals may be loosely
or tightly flexed, may have one or two
or many coils, may be large or small.
More bacilli have been described and
enumgrated than cocci, and more coc-
ci than spirilla.
Motility.—Many species of bacteria
have the power of independent motion
accomplished by means of delicate,
thread-like appendages called flagella
and which, by their contractability,
propel the bacterium through the wa-
ter. Their arrangement on the cell
body differs in different species of
bacteria; some have a single flagel-
lum at one end; others have. a flagel-
lum at each end; others have a tuft at
one or at both ends, while others have
flagella projecting from the entire
body of the cell. Owing to their ex-
treme delicacy, it requires skilful ma-
nipulation and special methods of
staining to render these hair-like pro-
jections visible. In a.drop of water
suspended from a glass cover glass
(“hanging drop” preparation) and
watched under the microscope, the
bacteria are seen as colorless dots or
slightly elongated points tumbling end
over end, darting rapidly about, or
moving slowly across the field of vis-
ion—the movement sometimes so slow
as to be scarcely perceptible, its ra-
pidity depending largely upon the age
of the culture. The typhoid bacillus
may travel about 2000 times its own
length in an hour.
Growth and Cell-division.—It is the
extraordinary power of multiplication
that makes bacteria agents of such
importance in Nature. A single bac-
terium can increase in size up to a
certain point. When this point is
reached, the eell divides in the middle
into two similar halves, each of which
then repeats the process. This meth-
od of multiplication by simple division
or fission distinguishes the bacteria
from the yeasts which multiply by
budding. A young bacterial cell at-
tains full size and is able to produce
in its turn another cell in a remarka-
bly short time. Under favorable con-
ditions, growth may be so rapid that
d
ce %5 4
Unlike higher plants and animals, |
! a bacterium consists of but a single |
we are here dealing with forms of |
To say that if
ness would not equal that of a single :
one thirty-thousandth of an inch may !
, division—reproduction of a new indi-
| vidual—will occur every twenty to
| thirty minutes. It has been estimat-
| ed that the descendants of each bac-
| terium would in two days number
' 281,500,000,000. Checks or hindran-
ces to unlimited multiplication, how-
ducts commonly formed by bacteria
‘during the breaking down of their
food-substances and by other unfavor-
able influences such as insufficient
food, lack of moisture and unsuitable
temperature.
i While all bacteria divide by simple
fission there are differences in the re-
| sults, particularly noticeable among
! the spherical forms or cocci. With
these, division may occur only in one
plane and the resultant cells remain
i attached forming a chain of cells re-
sembling a string of beads and called
streptococcus (chain coccus;)
i division may be in two planes giv-
ling rise to irregular masses like a
! cluster of grapes known as staphy-
lococcus (grape-like coccus.) If di-
vision takes place in three planes at
right angles, a cubical mass or packet
results called sarcina. While the sci-
entific names applied to bacteria may
i sound formidable they are thus seen
‘to be significant. There are only a
! few of these names in common use ap-
i plying to the ordinary bacteria and it
is well to fix them in mind as they are
' constantly appearing in the many
| health articles now being published,
indeed even in literature of a general
class.
property of forming spores, oval or
rounded masses of protoplasm, capa-
ble of resisting adverse conditions
which would destroy the vegetative or
ordinary bacterial cell. Spore forma-
tion is supposed to be adaptation to
hard times as it enables the bacteri-
um to live through long periods of
drying, famine or unsuitable tempera-
ture. In the spore-state, bacteria are
highly resistant to high tempera-
tures, poisons and the like; some spe-
cies can withstand the temperature of
hours; some are even capable of re-
sisting a temperature of 360 degrees
F. The vegetative forms, on the oth-
er hand, are mostly killed at 130 to
140 degrees F. by ten minutes expos-
ure in the presence of moisture. It
is the spore forms that resist the ac-
tion of heat in pasteurized milk.
Few pathogenic bacteria form
spores; the bacillus of tetanus or lock-
jaw and of anthrax are familiar ex-
amples of spore-formirg, pathogenic
bacteria. The spores of anthrax will
germinate after remaining in a dry
condition for at least ten years. That
this inability, in the majority of path-
ogenic bacteria, to form spores is a
fortunate circumstance is readily un-
derstood for otherwise the matter of
disinfection and treatment of infee-
tious diseases would be a more com-
plicated and serious matter.
Next week—“Environmental Influ-
ences Upon Bacteria.”
The Original Homes of Popular Plants
There are several classes of immi-
grants of which no records are kept
by the department over which the
United States Commissioner of Immi-
gration presides; but there are immi-
grants that, in their own quiet way,
have done much to make the new
world more like the old. These are
trees and plants; and if the new world
has drawn somewhat heavily on the
debt in kind, as may be seen hy the
following: list
Celery originated in Germany.
The chestnut came from Italy.
The onion originated in Egypt.
Tobacco is a native of Virginia.
The nettle is a native of Europe.
The citron is a native of Greece.
Oats originated in North Africa.
The poppy originated in the East.
Rye came, originally from Siberia.
Parsley was first known in Sardinia.
The pear and apple are from Eu-
rope. :
Spinach was first cultivated
Arabia.
The sunflower was brought from
Peru.
The mulberry tree originated in
Persia. :
The gourd is an eastern plant.
The walnut and peach came from
Persia.
The horse-chestnut is a native of
Thibet.
The cucumber came from the East
Indias.
The quince came from Crete.
The radish is a native of China and
Japan.
The peas are of Egyptian origin.
in
Korea Sends Sons to America.
Twenty years ago the old. Korean
government was so afraid cf new
ideas that a Korean student in the
Methodist Episcopal School for Boys
in Seoul was arrested and put into
prison. What was the henious
charge? Simply that he had formed
a literary society that discussed mat-
ters of general interest.
But times have changed and Korea
now appreciates American ideas. The
imprisoned boy named Cynn, came to
America to study and later became
the efficient principal of his old boys’
school in Seoul. And how the boys
discuss current events nowadays! Mr.
Cynn has since then distinguished
nimself in a general conference by a
speech notable for its thought and its
English. He is just one of the many
Korean youths who have tested Uncle
Sam’s tree of knowledge and found it
good.—World Outlook.
Beats Church all Hollow.
Bobbie had been taken by his father
to the circus. The youngster came
home round-eyed with excitement and
flushed with enthusiasm. “Oh, ms,”
he exclaimed, “if you go once to the
circus with me you'll never want te
fool away time going to church
again.”—Boston Transcript.
—The “Watchman” has all the news
ever, are found in the injurious pro- |
or
boiling water for upward of sixteen |
old in this particular, it has paid its |
EE TRE
FARM NOTES.
| —When cabbages are packed in a
| pit they are pulled up by the roots
; and laid usually in three rows, direct-
i ly on the ground and upside down. On
top of these three rows, two rows are
laid; then the pile is banked exactly
‘as described for root crops, excepting
that the straw is not necessary. And
{ as the roots of cabbage are fairly
: long, these are usually allowed to pro-
trude from the earth pile. Mild
| freezing improves the flavor of cab-
{ bage, so it is not necessary to cover
| with manure unless in the extreme
i north.
| —Onions must be both cool and dry,
| and an attic that does not freeze is a
i good place for them. They will sprout
tif too warm and rot if too moist, so
{ one must be very careful to see that
i they have exactly the right conditions.
| Like flowering bulbs, they are best
kept on slatted trays or in slat bas-
| kets which admit free circulation of
| air, and if you must have them in a
i cellar. hang the basket from the raf-
ters rather than allow it to stand on
| the floor, and provide at opposite
i points of the room small openings in
i the walls for cross ventilation.
{ —DBeginners in poultry-keeping
{ often wonder why some hens will lay
i steadily when eggs are worth but ten
. cents a dozen and lay only an occa-
i sional egg or loaf continually when
eggs are thirty-five cents a dozen. I
{used to blame the hen, but now I
| know it isn’t her fault.
i I have found that the time of year
i that the hens lay best is in the spring
| when there is pleuty of green feed and
{ an abundance of exercise. By feeding
Spores.—Some bacteria possess the i green products in the winter and com-
i pelling them to keep in action I can
| best imitate nature and bring spring
! conditions to my hens. The question
is, “Does it pay?” It pays me.
Cabbage and any of the beet family
| are green feeds which I used profita-
bly to feed my chickens in the winter.
| Green cured alfalfa and clover, which
| has been steamed or boiled, sprouted
| oats, or pumpkins have also been
: profitable green feed for chickens.
| —During the past winter. several
i
1
| pig-feeding experiments have been
| conducted by The Pennsylvania State
| College school of agriculture and ex-
| periment station, to determine the rel-
| ative values of tankage, linseed meal
{ and chopped alfalfa hay as sources of
| protein, and to compare ear corn with
i shelled corn and cornmeal (ground
| shelled corn) as to cheapness of
| grains.
| Two lots of seven pigs each, aver-
aging about 110 pounds live weight,
! were used. The feeding period cover-
i ed 84 days. Pigs fed on ear corn and
| tankage made 100 pounds gain at a
| cost of $7.85. These figures are based
{on corn at 80 cents a bushel and tank-
age at $2.75 per 100 pounds. The cost
of 100 pounds gain on a ration of
cornmeal and tankage was $8.65, at
| the price of five cents a bushel for
| shelling the corn and five cents a
| Justa) for grinding. The cost of 100
pounds of gain with shelled corn and
| tankage was $8.45.
| The largest gains were made by
. pigs receiving cornmeal and tankage,
| an important point to consider when
: rapid gains are desired.
| The experiment indicates that when
| corn 1s 80 cents a bushel ground corn
"is no a profitable hog-fattener, a con-
i clusion contrary to results of previous
experiments conducted at the college.
Linseed meal, when fed dry, did not
prove a satisfactory protein feed for
hogs. Chopped alfalfa was unsatis-
factory because of the sharpness of
i the short portions of the stem.
—Choosing Breeds of Swine.—To
assist hog raisers and prospective hog
raisers in determining the best breed
of hogs to keep the United States De-
partnient of Agriculture has recently
issued a new Farmers’ Bulletin 765,
Breeds of Swine. According to this
bulletin, there is no best »Hreed of
swine. Some breeds are superior to
others in certain respects and one
breed may be better adapted than
another to certain local conditions.
The essential point is that after the
farmer has once decided upon the
kind of hog to raise he should stick to
his decision and develop the chosen
breed to its highest possible standard.
It is not feasible for one individual to
raise several different breeds and
bring them to perfection. In making
his choice, too, the farmer should be
guided by the kind of breeds already
established in his locality. If he se-
lects one of these he is not likely to
make a mistake.
There are two distinct types of
swine, namely, the lard and the bacon
types. Swine of the lard type far out-
number those of the bacon type in the
United States. The lard type is pre-
ferred by the people of this country,
consequently the majority of feeders
produce a rapid fattening, heavy
fleshed lard type. The bacon type is
not raised extensively in the United
States. The production of choice ba-
con is more general in those sections
where the feed of the hog is more va-
ried and where corn is not relied up-
on as the principal grain for hogs.
The principal breeds of the lard
type are the Poland China, Berkshire,
Chester White, Duroc Jersey, and
Hampshire. The lard type of hog is
low set and compact, with a very wide
and deep body. The shoulders should
Be full although not coarse, with full
hind quarters and hams carried out
straight to the root of the tail and
thickly fleshed down to the hock. The
flesh should be thick and evenly dis-
tributed throughout the body. .
The size and weight are largely de-
termined by market conditions. At
present pigs weighing from 175 te
250 pounds ordinarily command the
nighest prices.
The principal breeds of the bacon
gre are the Tamworth and large
orkshire, both of British origin. The
bacon type is very different from the
lard type, being longer in leg and
body, with less width of back, and
lighter in the shoulders and neck. The
first impression that this type con-
veys is one of leanness and lankness.
Much emphasis is laid on the develop-
ment of the side, because it is the side
of the hog that is used for the produc-
tion of bacon. On the other hand,
large, heavy hams are not desirable
on a bacon hog.
Detailed descriptions of the various
breeds, with discussions, are contain-
ed in the bulletin already mentioned.
oy