Bema tpn
Bellefonte, Pa., December 12, 1919.
EASILY GIVEN.
It was only a sunny smile,
And little it cost in the giving,
But it scattered the night
Like morning light
And made the day worth living.
Through life’s dull warp a woof it wove
In shining colors of light and love,
And the angels smiled as they watched
above,
* Yet little it cost in giving.
It was only a kindly word,
And a word that was lightly spoken,
Yet not in vain
For it stilled the pain
" Of a heart that was nearly broken.
It strengthened a fate beset by fears
And groping blindly through mists of
tears
For light to brighten the coming years,
Although it was lightly spoken.
It was only a helping hand,
And it seemed of little availing.
But its clasps are warm,
And it saved from harm
A brother whose strength was failing.
Its touch was tender as angels’ wings,
But it rolled the stone from the hidden
springs,
And pointed the way to higher things,
Though it seemed of little availing.
A smile, 2 word or a touch,
“And each is easily given,
Yet either may win
A soul from sin
Or smooth the way to heaven.
A smile may lighten the failing heart,
A word may soften pain’s keenest smart,
A touch may lead us from sin apart—
How easily either is given!
WHEN THE COUGAR JUMPED
THE CLAIM.
Old Dan Kinney and his partner,
Jim Wade, had prospected all over the
range and had found nothing worth
while.
They were on their way back and
had reached a point within twenty
miles of the place from which they
had started when they struck a little
stringer in the face of a cliff above
the Merced River. It came about in
this way.
As the gold hunters and their bur-
ro were traveling along at the top of
the cliff, Dan pushed his hat back to
scratch his head. At that moment a
vagrant gust of wind whirled past,
and Dan’s hat went rolling down the
steep slope. It lodged in the only
clump of bushes in a stretch of more
than two hundred feet.
That hat would not have aroused
enthusiasm even in an old-clothes
man. Dan had worn it for six years;
he slept in it, carried barley in it, and
even left the burro eat his ration from
it. But Dan had an affection for the
old hat, and so he stopped the burro,
uncoiled a long rope from the pack
and made one end fast to a tree. He
held the middle of the rope out to his
partner.
“You ain’t fool enough to risk your
neck for that old hat, are ye, Dan?”
said Jim. It’s nothin’ but a ruin and
has been fer nigh onto four year. It’s
forty foot to the bushes and two hun-
dred from there to the bottom if you
pr.”
“If I slip! You old rabbit! Slippin
won’t make it any further to the bot-
tom, will it? You hang onto this
rope and I'll take a hitch round my
waist. Where would I get another
hat with the nearest store twenty
miles away? Besides, that hat is
good for a year yit.”
Grasping the rope firmly Jim brac-
ed himself, while Dan, having taken
a hitch round his body, walked cau-
tiously down the steep slope. He
reached his hat and thrust it over his
ears; but he did not start back at
once.
“Ain't you got that hat yit?” Jim
called from his station some distance
back from the edge of the cliff. “It’s
a full five minutes since ye hollered
$9 hold, and no sign of yer startin’ up
yit.
“You hush up, Jim Wade! There's
some likely-lookin’ rock hereaway,
and I’m a-goin’ to git a specimen.”
Jim heard the sound of Dan’s little
belt pick clinking against the rock and
a moment later the call to “hist
away!” Dan came back up the slope,
leading out and walking like a Baha-
ma negro coming up a ship side.
When he reached the top he hand-
ed three bits of rock to Jim, who ex-
amined them critically. Two he flip-
ped over the cliff contemptously, but
the third he held, turning it over and
over.
“Well, what do ye think of it, ol’
frizzle face ?”’ asked Dan.
Jim wore the worst set of curly red
whiskers on the Pacific slope.
“Looks good enough to warrant
camp makin’ right here. How wide is
the vein?”
“You ol’ stunhead, do you want to
make camp here and pack water as
long as we stay?” We camp down
below and climb to work. It ain’t a
vein; it’s only a stringer. We'll chase
it up and find a pocket most likely.
This hull range is full of pockets.”
“That’s all right about makin’ camp
lower, but ain’t we a-goin’ to leave
our tools here? Ordo you want to
pack them up again? I whist you
wa'n’t such a pepperbox, Dan Kinney.
anyone would think you wuz the red-
headed partner to hear the way you
- go on.”
So the two old men who for four-
teen years had apparently always
been on the verge of quarreling yet
who were never happy apart, dumped
their tools on the top of the cliff;
then, with the burro and their camp
stuff, they made their way down to
where a spring gushed out of a crev-
ice in the rock. There they made
permanent camp. The next mornin
saw them up at the top of the cli
ready for work.
About ten feet back from the edge
they started a shaft with the purpose
‘of cutting the stringer. For days
they dug and drilled and blasted until
at a depth of thirty-four feet they at
' last touched the StHinger. Then they
began to follow it back.
ley had rigged a rough windlass
with which to hoist the broken rock
and dirt to the surface. The rock was
soft, and they made good progress un-
til they had dug back about ten feet
from the shaft. Then the dynamite
gave out. One of them must go to the
nearest store and buy a new supply,
and since Jim was the better walker
he set out the next morning at day-
break. . ;
“Now don’t you get to celebratin’
nor nothin’ down thar, Jim!” Dan
called after him. “Jist remember I'm
climbin’ rope like a sailor whilst you
are gone, and I ain’t in love with it.”
“If you don’t like to climb rope, set
in the shade and snooze.”
Old Dan snorted as his partner's
answer floated back to him. He sit
around and snooze while Jim walked
forty miles! Not by the width of the
State would he! Twisting one leg
round the rope, he slid down to his
work at the bottom of the shaft.
There he picked the broken rock loose
and shoveled it out of the short drift
into the shaft, where he could easily
load it into the bucket. Then he drill-
ed for a new shot.
About noon he sat down and ate the
luncheon that he had brought with
him. When he had finished his meal
he went poking round the bottom of
the shaft; peering at every inch of its
surfaces, he looked for color and ex-
amined the rock to determine its
safety. He saw an old crack that
came up at the left of their tunnel
and that arched overhead until it dis-
appeared inte the rock at the right.
He struck the point of his pick into it
and pried * vigorously but it seemed
solid and he was satisfied. Then he
went back to drilling for the next
shot.
Late that afternoon a little cotton-
tail came hopping along the trail on
top of the cliff; it took two or three
hops, paused for a moment, then hop-
ped again, then paused. It came near
the mouth of the shaft and sat up to
peel a bit of bark. Just at that mo-
ment Dan’s clinking hammer at the
bottom of the shaft was silent, for the
old prospector was resting.
In his anxiety to get Jim started
early, Dan had wakened at four
o’clock that morning, and now he was
tired. Sitting down, he leaned back
against the wall of the tunnel and
closed his eyes. The silence was very
restful and soothing. Old Dan went
to sleep.
Up above, the cottontail, intent on
its luncheon of sweet bark, was un-
suspicious of danger; but behind it,
hidden by a low growth of weeds and
small bushes, lay a huge cat that had
come down the mountain in search of
some morsel that would still its hun-
ger. Softly, silently, with every nerve
tingling a response to the demand of
its empty stomach, the big cat drew
its body into position and when it had
its feet well under its body it leaped.
Some slight sound as those power-
ful legs straightened must have
reached the rabbit, for it also leaped,
and the cougar went high to intercept
it. The cat was successful, and accor-
ding to all its calculations it should
an instant later have been regaling it-
self with fresh rabbit meat; but the
beast had not been along that slope
since the partners had begun work,
and it did not know of their shaft
among the screen of bushes. That is
the reaSon why old Dan was wakened
from his nap by the sound of a terri-
ble caterwauling, the fall of small
rocks and a great clawing and clat-
tering in the upper part of the shaft.
As he started up, he saw a heavy
body pass the mouth of the tunnel and
land with a terrific impact on the
floor. Dan stared at the new comer
in consternation. The cougar had
landed on its feet, but the unexpected
fall had shaken and frightened it.
The creature looked up at the round
spot of daylight above and said, “Pur-
row!”
Dan had been in many tight places
in his long life as a prospector, but
this was the capsheaf. At any mo-
ment the cougar might discover him,
and then—well, he did not know just
what then, but he had an idea that it
would be fight. He put the handle of
his pick on the rock and bumped the
head off. At the first bump the cou-
gar whirled round like lightning and
said, “His-sg, fifft!”
Luckily Dan’s pick was freshly
sharpened. Grasping the head in his
left hand and the handle in his right,
he made up his mind not to be an ea-
sy victim. He was in a desperate sit-
uation—thirty-five feet under ground,
with the king of all Rocky Mountain
cats in the middle distance, guarding
the only door, and his partner just
starting back from that distant store.
Just how he could manage to get
the cat into the short tunnel, so that
he could have the shaft to himself
long enough to grip that rope and
climb out of reach, was more than he
could figure out. He could stay in the
tunnzl until Jim came back, but what
good would that do him? If Jim
dropped a bit of dynamite to put the
cat out of the fight, it would flatten
Dan against the rock, too. And if
Dan remained cornered until it grew
dark, the cat would be at even greater
advantage than it was now.
Dan was full of misgivings, but he
had prepared himself so far as possi-
ble, and now he stood to his weapons
like a man and advanced to the battle.
As he walked out toward the shaft
the cougar hissed and growled; then,
as Dan still kept on, the beast jumped.
Dan flattened his body against the
rock and the cougar went past him,
but one outflung paw caught in Dan’s
shirt and in the flesh of his left arm
and dragged him over. Then it was
strike and thrust,—wood and steel
against teeth and claws,—with the
little man engaging the cat in a reck-
less fury of despair.
The beast’s claws cut Dan’s shirt to
ribbons and lined his flesh with long
red streaks. Its teeth sank into his
left shoulder, and he brought the
point of the pick up in a quick jab
that caught the beast in its stomach.
The cat let go, but quickly came back
to the fight. Twice it clinched and
tried to use its powerful hind legs and
claws to disembowel Dan, but the old
miner was too wise. Each time that
sharp pick point dug deep into the cat
and the hickory handle crashed down
on its head.
As the fight raged old Dan got be-
tween the cougar and the shaft and
backed out into the light. When the
beast charged again he thrust with
the pick and landed a lucky blow. The
point entered the cat's left eye, and
the creature, throwing itself back
with a yowl, began a succession of
tumbles and thrashings that made its
| will soon forget what
previous contortions seem slight.
Finding himself free for the moment,
Dan dropped his weapons and turned
to the rope.
As his quivering muscles tightened
in the climb he felt his cuts and
scratches as he had not felt them be-
fore. But above lay life, and below
lay death. So, straightening, striv-
ing, he climbed slowly toward the top.
Every lift on his arms was torture,
but he kept himself at his task. When
he was halfway to the top the uproar
below ceased, and he looked down.
In the middle of the shaft stood the
cougar, watching with its one eye the
struggling figure on the rope. As
Dan looked down the beast hissed and
gave a menacing snarl. Gripping the
rope harder, the old miner hurriedly
continued his struggle for safety.
When he drew himself over the edge
he dropped on his face and lay there
for several minutes while he tried to
still the pounding of his heart and the
quivering of his muscles. At last he
gathered himself up slowly and tot-
tered off on the trail to camp.
When Jim came into camp at ten
o'clock that night he found Dan lying
in his bunk with his pulse hammering
wildly and his voice so weak that he
could hardly tell his story. Jim bath-
ed his old partner’s wounds and made
him as comfortable as possible.
The next day old Dan insisted that
Jim help him up the trail to the shaft.
Although Jim argued with him for an’!
hour, old Dan was determined, and
Jim, although he grumbled, at last
yielded. When they reached the
shaft, Dan sat down while Jim made
a bomb ready. Then old Dan leaned
over and dropped the bomb, with its
short fuse, down the shaft, I
“Thar!” he said as the thud of the |
explosion shook the earth. “I reckon |
he won't tlaw no one anymore,”
Jim always maintained that Dan |
took Hore satisfaction in the cougar’s
tawny hide than he did in the six
idusand gold dollars that they took
ont of the pocket. For the bomb that
lled the cougar caved in the rock at
the crack that Dan had notched and
opened up a rich pocket.—Youth’s
Companion,
Mistake to Burn the Fallen Leaves. |
In a statement sent out by the New
York State College of Forestry may
be found the following pungent truth.
“New York has started its annual
million-pound bonfire. While the State
is spending a fortune each year for
fertilizer, the residents of the State
are burning every fall the equivalent
of a million pounds of fertilizer by
burning in roadside fires the falling
leaves from the trees.”
This is a matter that cannot be
passed over lightly. In these days,
when every effort is being made to
check waste in all directions, this
one, of the great wastes of the nation,
demands earnest attention. These |
falling leaves contain the essentials of
the best fertilizers. Even in the city
it is entirely practicable to collect
them in the fall and treasure them in
compost heaps for fertilizing the gar-
den that has come to be one of the ac-
cepted features of life in the city as
well as in the country. In the coun-
try and villages where there still may |
be found horses, cattle and hogs, they |
make the finest of bedding, adding to |
the value of the manure for fertiliz- |
ing purposes. .
They may also. be employed as a’
mulch around trees, fruit or shade, |
but if used for this purpose care |
should be taken to keep them a little |
distance from the tree trunks, so that
they may not make convenient nests |
for mice, which will eat the bark |
from the trees. i
It is likely that the estimate that |
the State is wasting a million pounds :
of good fertilizer each year in bon-'
fires of burning leaves is a little low. |
But even at that, a million pounds of
good fertilizer represents a lot of
money these days. When it can be
saved so easily, it seems little short
of a crime to allow the waste to con-
tinue.
Mild Winter Forecast.
A mild winter is predicted by Corn-
planter Indians of Warren county,
who are credited with being able to
forecast the weather with unfailing
accuracy. They say that while the
nuts are unusually plentiful this year
squirrels are not storing many of
them away. This is the best sign,
they say, but another is that the fur
on the bears and other animals is very
scrawniy and light. “Little snow and
an early spring,” is the forecast.
The country need not fear the win-
ter’s icy blasts, regardless of how
many miners strike, is the opinion of
Enoch Zimmerman, farmer-astrono-
mer and weather prophet, of Schuyl-
kill county. He prognosticated the
mild weather of last winter, and he
says this will be even more of an open
winter.
“We will have only one snowstorm,
which will make sleighing for a few
days,” says Zimmerman, who adds
that the present generation of boys
it is to have
snow ball fights.
For more than a year Zimmerman
has been declaring that the earth in
its evolutions is entering the period
which he calls “the summer of the
earth.” This means, he says, the
passing of the old-time winter and a
rainy season in its stead, as in the
tropics.
Mrs. Tom Thumb Dead.
Countess Primo Magri, known to
the general public as Mrs. Tom
Thumb, one of the best known Lilli-
putians in the world, died at her home
at Middleboro, Mass, a week ago,
after a long illness. She was 77 years
of age and traveled around the world
several times under the management
of the late P. T. Barnum.
Countess Magri was the daughter
of James A. and Hulda Bump, of Rev-
olutionary stock. Count Magri, her
husband, survives.
The Reverse Happened.
“Been burglarized, eh? How about
that camera you had set for just such
an occasion?” 1 f
“Hang it all, instead of the camera
taking the burglar the burglar took
the camera.”
--—They are all good enough, but
the “Watchman” is always the best.
EEE RET Sar nf ES
| AIGH HONORS PAID JUDGES
Imposing Ceremonies That Used to
Mark Their Coming to the Vari
ous County Assizes,
The stately ceremonies which have
attended the coming of an Engligh
Judge to the county assizes, three
times in each year, may be accounted
for by the fact that the judge, on
these occasions, represented the king,
and for the time being was accorded
courtesies not very different from
those which would be offered the king
himself.
In the quaint old city of Chester,
which all traveling Americans know
better, perhaps, than any city of Eng-
land outside of London, it was the
custom, before railroads were known,
for the high sheriff of the county to
meet the incoming judge with a body
of men, armed with javelins, at the
border of the county which he was
leaving, in order to conduct him in
safety to the place in which he was
to reside during the term of the
Cheshire court. This came to be a
very imposing ceremony. On one oc-
casion, 60 years ago, the office of high
sheriff was filled by a baronet, who
awaited the judge at the county bor-
ders with 18 javelin men, 40 servants,
100 tenants, his entire family (filling
stately carriages), trumpeters in two
detachments, two prominent editors in
their carriages, and several of the
county gentry.—Helen Marshall Pratt
in St, Nicholas.
meme
MUST TAKE TIME TO THINK
Scientist Explains Why Men Who Do
Great Things Have to Have
Abundant Leisure.
It was said by Helmholtz, on his
seventieth birthday, according to Dr.
Graham Lusk, in an address printed
in Science, that a great idea had never
come to him when he was at his desk,
nor when he was tired, nor after tak-
ing a glass of wine, but usually when
he was walking in the garden musing
of other things. Dr. Lusk goes on:
“The scientist must have leisure to
think over the problems which offer
and he must have a certain discrimi.
nation in order to distinguish between
the things which are worth doing and
those which are not. To do this re-
quires a certain delay in action in
order that plans may be matured. The
individual who can not be happy un-
less he is at work at full power all
the time is much less likely to ac-
complish successful scientific work
than he who will not commence a
research until he has satisfied himself
that it is worth doing. It is not to be
denied that this essential qualification
of scientific life is frequently regard-
ed with scorn by the busy practitioner
of medicine, who gives himself no
time either for thought or study."—
Scientific American.
Taking the Joy Out of Rejoyned.
He was sitting in the lobby of the
high-priced hotel. The high prices
started in the ground floor and got
lower as they went up. But no matter.
Suddenly a face caught his eye just
as his face caught an eye. A woman
darted from the throng of by-passers.
“Wife!” he chirped, pressing her
form to him.
“Husband!” she smickled. “Ah, let
us go away, dear; let bygones be by-
gones. Let us forget everything.”
Just then the hotel clerk approached.
“Before you two decide to forget every-
thing,” interposed the horrid, smolious
creature, “allow me to remind your
husband that there is $85 room rent
and $15 taxicab fare charged against.
him. After that is paid, ah, then, bless
you, my children.”
Matter of Gender.
The bell of a Scottish charch was
giving out a very poor tone and a
committee was appointed to inquire
as to what was wrong and to report
on the best means of putting it right.
After an examination the members
were divided in their opinion and the
kirk officer, who was lif attendance’
with the keys, was asked his view.
“Fine. A ken what's wrang wi’ the
bell,” he remarked; “it's a she-yin"——
meaning that it was of the feminine
gender. Pressed to explain, he added:
“It's tongue owre lang—it's needin’
to be clippit!” And this turned out
to be really the fault. The tongue
had become loosened to the extent
of an inch or so, and was overlap-
ping the curve at the rim, and
therefore not striking truly.
Keep Cool.
Conduct is the outward evidence of
inward impulses. Impatience within
fs sure to make a sputtering grouch
without. Things don’t just happen.
They are usually the product of a
long train of circumstances. To be
fair one should get out of patience
with the whole series if you get fussed
at all. But you don’t. You just stew
about the one thing that causes the
explosion. When you have learned to
be patient and wait you will have the
power of changing many a problem
that causes others all sorts of trou-
ble. .And it isn't a bit harder to do
when you get the habit than it is to
make a show of yourself. And it's a
lot more comforting after the fuss is
over.—Exchange.
Some Quarantine!
A physician was calling at a house
where a child had the scarlet fever.
“You keep the patient away from
the rest of the children, I suppose,” '
he remarked.
“Oh, yes, indeed,” was the mother’s
reply. “I don’t let him come near
the others except for meals!
ton Evening Transcript.
DAILY THOUGHT.
He is the most powerful man who has
himself in power.—Seneca.
Millinery is marked for the moment
by the softness of its lines. There is
nothing hard in it anywhere. Even
canotiers are draped and toques are
masterpieces of drapery. Velvet, fur,
peau de soie, charmeuse and panne
are among the materials used. They
are allied to kid and American cloth,
and they are trimmed with feathers of
many varieties. The long, half-curl-
ed ostrich feather is being used, and
the aigrette is still a favorite. Rib-
bon loops placed with great skill trim
simple morning hats successfully,
and even the big draped satin hats
for dress occasions have soft bows as
their only trimming. The small brim-
med hat has no place just now.
The fullness which marks all dress-
es, coats and cloaks this season is less
easily managed in cloth garments
than in silken and transparent mater-
ials. A very full cloth skirt or coat
risks being clumsy, This is why
checks, stripes and fur trimmings are
popular. By a clever arrangement of
pockets, lines and squares the effect of
width is achieved with very little ma-
terial. Fur is used in bands with the
same purpose. A slim skirt with wide
bands of fur up the sides looks impor-
tant on the hips and a loose coat over
it completes the picture. Another
fashion is to cut the sides of the coat
buttons, so that they stand out from
the skirt, The collar will be cut on
the same lines, .
Green is to be the favorite color
| this season. Not a dull green, but a
| deep bright green, which most women
‘ will be satisfied to use with restraint.
i Jade green in any of the soft woolen
materials is comparauvely easy to
wear and there is a go shade in
bottle green. The dull surface of
these materials makes the color less
trying; but when green is chosen for
an afternoon or evening dress in silk,
satin, velvet or net, the firmest dis-
cretion is necessary, otherwise too
much is asked of a natural skin and
make-up becomes a necessity.
For formal occasions blouses of
black chiffon richly embroidered in
metal beads are a late fashion devel-
opment,
Striped georgette in such color
combinations as yellow and blue,
pink and green, lavender and blue,
and mauve and blue is being used
most pleasingly for lingerie sets.
Brilliantly colored sport suits re-
cently seen were trimmed with fur
bandings, seal, beaver, kolinsky and
squirrel being employed.
Flowers of all descriptions, made
of ribbon, chiffon, velvet metal tis-
sue, chenille, worsted and beads, are
employed as trimmings on many
| types of dresses and hats.
Wallops for H. C. L.—To eat to
save is to waste, but to leave bread
and butter to eat cake is also waste.
i Cereals are usually the cheapest
‘food on the market for supplying fu-
fel to the body, together with a fair
tamount of tissue-building material.
: Insist on getting clean eggs. Dirty
! ones spoil quickly. But do not wash
{ an egg until just before using, as |
{ washing may hasten the. spoilage.
i Rinse all the soap out of garments
| before bluing them. Some bluings
i contain a compound of iron, which
: when brought in contact with soap
! may make rust spots on the clothes.
i Keep the home fires burning, but
| don’t overdo the matter. A warm
{ enough temperature for indoors is 68
degrees, except in homes where there
are old people, young children or in-
valids.
Waste no food, but take proper care
of a leftover, and use it before harm-
ful micro-organisms have a chance to
breed in it. Some of these organisms
cause poisoning.
Divide your food dollar into fifths.
Use about 20 cents of it for fruits and
vegetables; 20 cents or more for milk
and cheese; 20 cents or less for meat,
fish, and eggs; 20 cents or more for
bread and cereals; 20 cents or less for
sugar, fat, tea, coffee, chocolate, and
flavoring.
Make enough of the Christmas fruit
cake or plum pudding so you can have
some on hand to serve in emergencies
after the holidays. Both puddings
and cakes which are rich in fruits im-
prove with age.
Cranberries after careful removal
of the soft ones may be kept if placed
in a crock and covered with water. A
plate or round board should be placed
over them and weighted down to keep
the berries under water. Change the
water once a month.
When the housekeeper attempts to
reduce her meat bill by using the less
expensive cuts, she commonly has twe
difficulties to contend with—tough
meat and lack of flavor. Prolonged
cooking softens the connective tissues
of the meat. Pounding the meat and
chopping it are also employed with
| tough cuts to help break the muscle
fibers. The flavor of meat, even in
| the least desirable cuts, may be devel-
| oped by careful cooking, noticeably by
browning the surface. Other flavors
may be given by the addition of veg-
| etables and by seasoning with condi-
| ments of various kinds.
Rabbit Pie.—Skin, draw, and cut a
| rabbit into pieces; put into stew pan
‘and cover with boiling water. Cook
{ until very tender. Remove meat from
| the broth and concentrate the broth
‘to about one-half. Pick the meat from
‘the bones in as large pieces as possi-
ble. Thicken stock with 1 tablespoon
flour per cup of broth and pour over
| meat. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1
| teaspoon pepper. Line the sides of a
. baking dish with crust, either a rich
baking powder biscuit dough or pie
paste, add meat mixture, cover with
crust and bake in hot oven 30 minutes.
“Rugs should not be placed corner-
wise in a room, but should follow the
lines of wall and furniture.
Any soft wool may be used for a
cedar chest if the inside is thorough-
ly soaked with oil of cedar.
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN,
into flaps and button them with huge |
FARM NOTES.
—The United States imported 48
235,179 pounds of wool a at
$21,573,869 in September. Chief
fmong we; many Big contribut-
lo this to was Argentina
which shipped 25,156,412 Ie val-
ued at $10,934,358 t i
rig ,934, o the United
—Trap Nest the Laying Hens.—A
trap nest is a laying nest so arranged
that after a hen enters it she is con-
fined until released by the attendant.
When possible it is advisable to trap
nest the layers for the following rea-
sons: :
1. To tame the birds, thereby
Wending toward increased egg produc-
on. .
2. To furnish definite knowledge
concerning traits and habits of indi-
viduals.
3. To furnish the only satisfacto-
ry pass for utility or other breeding.
5 To eliminate the nonproductive
en. '
. 9. To add mechanical precision to
judgment and experience in develop-
ing and maintaining the utility of a
flock.
—How to Store Potatoes.—The tu-
bers must be protected for extremes
of cold and heat. A temperature
ranging from 35 to 40 degrees F. is
considered satisfactory.
Sufficient ventilation must be pro-
vided to remove foul air and excess
moisture.
The storage house must be con-
structed so as to make it possible to
exclude the light. The tubers should
e dry and reasonably free from dirt
when put into storage. An excess of
moisture or soil increases the amount
of heat generated in a newly stored
pile of potatoes.
All diseased, badly cut, or bruised
tubers should be removed from the
crop before putting away.
It is not advisable to store potatoes
at a greater depth than 5 or 6 feet,
and the floor dimensions of the bin
should not be greater than 12 by 12
feet unless provided with a series of
ventilating shafts for the escape of
moisture and heat,
—More mutton on the table means
more money for the inovies and
cheaper clothes to wear to them, says
W. H. Tomhave, head of the depart-
ment of animal husbandry at The
Pennsylvania State College. To low-
er the cost of living, eat more lamb.
It is the cheapest meat on the market
today and offers a great source of ec-
onomical food for the American peo-
ple, if they would avail themselves of
it. Sheep meat is higher in energy
value than beef, while lamb is prac-
tically the same as beef. Pound for
pound, lamb contains more protein
than beef or pork, according to anal-
ysis furnished by the federal Depart-
ment of Agriculture. It is about
equal to beef in fat content, but low-
er than pork in this respect. Al-
though Americans have never got the
habit of eating lamb to a large ex-
tent, it is highly digestible, nutritious
and very palatable.
Eating more lamb increases the
country’s wool production and this
tends to make cheaper clothes. The
National Wool Grower’s Association
points out that most of our wool clip
comes. from, breeding ewes, and that
the greater the demand for lamb the
greater will be the incentive to keep
more ewes to raise lambs. The far-
‘mers themselves are the smallest con-
sumers of lamb. It is said that “less
than half a million sheep are slaugh-
tered on the 600,000 American farms
and ranches producing sheep, while a
million calves, one and a half million
beef cattle and fifteen million hogs
are country killed.” This condition is
due to lack of appreciation of the de-
sirable qualities of lamb and mutton,
which in turn is largely due to wrong
methods of preparation. If the “fell,”
or thin papery membrane which sur-
rounds the carcass, is not removed
when preparing for the table, the
meat may have an undesirable taint,
especially in older animals. ;
—Lamp Aids Egg Sorting; Sepa-
rates Bad from Good.—A good, fresh
egg should have a small air space.
The yolk should not be very distinct.
There should be no black ~ spots or
rings. Sometimes. the eggshell has
fine cracks in it. This is commonly
known as a “check” egg, and should
not be shipped with first-quality eggs.
It spoils very quickly.
Blood rings are partially incubated
eggs, which show a distinct ring of
blood on the yolk. They are unfit for
food and should be rejected.
Cause: A fertile egg in which the
development of the germ has proceed-
ed until blood has formed and the em-
bryo has died. Ring formation is not
present while the embryo is alive, al-
though blood spots or veins may
show.
Moldy eggs have black spots that
show only before the candle. They
are unfit for food.
Cause: Field nests or wet nests,
holding eggs in a damp place, or
washing them. Dampness allows
mold spores to enter the pores of the
shell and grow inside. Mold can also
enter through cracks in the shell.
Black rots look more or less black
before the candle and are unfit for
food.
Cause: Dead chick, accompanied
by bacterial decomposition, or exten-
sive growth of mold and bacteria in-
side of the shell.
Mixed rots, white rots, or addled
eggs when turned over before the can-
dle show the yolk more or less mixed
with the white. They are unfit for
food.
Cause: Bacterial decomposition
usually following advanced staleness.
Stuck yolk eggs have yolks appar-
ently stuck to the shell. They are un-
fit for food.
Cause: In hot weather when fer-
tile eggs are kept without turning,
the yolk may rise through the white
and become attached to the shell
membrane. In cool weather the yolk
may settle in the shell and become
fastened to the shell membrane.
Heated eggs before the candle will
show dark, heavy yolks, easily mov-
able and with a distinct reddish glow.
Cause: - Egg is fertile and has been
exposed to temperatures which start
chick development. If temperature
is high enough and sufficient time
elapses, development will continue un-
til the embryo and blood * form.—
United States Department of Agricul-
ture.