am
“Bellefonte, Pa., February 6, 1920.
MY DOG.
I have no dog, but it must be
Somewhere there's one belongs to me—
A little chap with wagging tail,
And dark brown eyes that never quail,
But look you through, and through, and
through,
. With love unspeakable, but true.
Somewhere it must be, I opine,
There is a little dog of mine
With cold black nose that sniffs around
In search of what things may be found
In pocket, or some nock hard by,
Where I have hid them from his eye.
Somewhere my doggie pulls and tugs,
The fringes of rebellious rugs,
Or with the mischief of the pup
Chews all my shoes and slippers up.
And, when he’s done it to the core,
With eyes all eager pleads for more.
Somewhere, upon his hinder legs,
My little doggie sits and begs,
And in a wistful minor tone
Pleads for the pleasures of the bone—-
I pray it be his owner’s whim
To yield and grant the same to him!
Somewhere, a little dog does await,
It may be by some garden gate,
With eyes alert, and tail attent—
You know the kind of tail that’s meant— |
With stores of yelps of glad delight,
To bid me welcome home at night. i
—Life. |
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
If any one were asked to name the |
most illustrious example of what we
‘have called the self-made man in
America, there would instantly occur
the name of Lincoln. In a country of
self-made men he stands in high re-
lief. There is no one to take a place
beside him, for not only did he over-
come every natural difficulty placed
in his way, in his determination to
achieve an education, and they were
numerous, but along with it always
went that equally strong determina-
tion not to achieve success by any un-
fair means.
He admitted that his education was
“defective,” and that was a weak
word for it. Many men with a great
deal more have been failures. And
Lincoln had every opportunity of be-
coming a failure, but he realized his
educational weaknesses and strove to
remove them. That he did remove
them seems to be testified to by many |
writers.
At one time—probably it is to be
seen there yet—there was ehxibited
in one of the colleges at Oxford a
printed copy of a letter Lincoln wrote
to a mother who had given five sons
that the Union might be preserved.
_ A label beneath this copy of the let-
ter bears the simple comment that
. this is “one of the finest specimens of
pure English extant.”
And that comment by one of the
greatest universities in the world is
on the work of a man who never had
a year’s schooling in his life.
It is small wonder that Lincoln’s |
life is upheld to the poor boy as a
shining example of what determina-
tion to learn and succeed will do.
Lincoln’s grandfather, like many
others, followed the magnetic Daniel
Boone into the wilderness of Ken-
tucky. The Lincolns at that time
‘were not poor folk, as many have be-
lieved, for the grandfather, whose
name also was Abraham, sold his
property for $17,000 before he set out
for the unclaimed lands where some
say the mammoths still existed.
But when later he died, Thomas,
the father of the future President,
did not inherit much, if anything, and
had to start out for himself at an ear-
ly age. He married Nancy Hanks,
. the niece of the man he worked for,
and she became the mother of Abra-
ham Lincoln, the President.
Kentucky then, 1909, had been a
State for seventeen years, but it was
a wild wilderness of a land. There
were few books, no schools in the
modern sense, and little hope for any-
thing but hard work. It was exactly
the kind of country for a great man
to make a start in, for unless he had
some elements of greatness he never
would achieve his goal.
It was a country of hard knocks, as
well as hard work, and it all made for
economy of time and study. Lincoln’s
mother, who was a bright, delicate
woman, taught her son as much as
she could. A visiting schoolmaster
gave him some lessons in the ordi-
nary “Three R’s.” The country was
so sparsely settled and so distant
from civilization that at the little
church the services that were held
were conducted by itinerant clergy-
men.
It was a poor country, too, for
while it had rich natural resources it
needed the hand of the worker to
make it flourish.
The boy Lincoln grew up here in a
small log cabin that was without win-
dows, and whose wide chimney was
built on the outside of the cabin. At
night a log in the fireplace gave all
the illumination the place afforded.
By this firelight, to the music of the
crackling burning logs, young Lin-
coln, extended flat on the floor, studied
and worked out little problems in
arithmetic, which in that section was
regarded as of greater importance
than a deep knowledge of the English
literature.
Lincoln’s mother died when he was
nine years of age, or about a year
after his father moved to Indiana, and
the following year his father married
Mrs. Sally Bush Johnston. Contrary
to the impression, mainly created by
the old fairy tales, the second Mrs.
Lincoln was a model stepmother.
She had greater strength of char-
acter than his own mother, and she
.was a most tender and helpful moth-
er to him. It was she who, when his
father desired that Abe do all his
study and reading at school, interced-
ed with him and he permitted his son
to spend his evenings in study and
reading. His father was totally uned-
ucated, although a sturdy, just, God-
fearing man.
At the same time young Lincoln
was working as a farm hand. He bor-
rowed books from neighbors and
graedily devoured them. The one
book that impressed him most was
| er than told his life.
‘Weem’'s “Life of Washington.” He
received his exalted idea of the Fath-
er of His Country from that book,
which deified the first President rath-
But Lincoln be-
lieved in it and it influenced his life.
In some manner the Weems got wet
while in Lincoln’s possession and he
had to work three days to earn money
to make it good to its owner; but he
i did not mind, because then the dam-
aged volume became his own.
He read “Robinson Crusoe” and
Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and a
history of the United States, and it
was on these that he founded all his
knowledge of biography, history and
literature. But he knew those books
by heart, for he had to memorize
them, as they were borrowed. He
walked miles to a store where a St.
Louis newspaper was taken to borrow
| it, and thus he received his news of
current events.
And all the while he was working,
and working hard. Now ferrying,
now plowing, but always in this back-
woods country, for he was quite a
young man when his father removed
to Illinois. :
Lincoln was about twenty-two at
the time when he forsook farming
and sought a position as a clerk in a
country store.
Whether Lincoln ever would have
been heard of had not the Black
Hawk war occurred about a year after | was coldly struck down just when the |
| war was at an end and the country |
he went to work at New Salem, San-
gamon county, remains a question.
It need not bother any one however,
because the war did occur and Lincoln
did go into it as a captain of volun-
teers.
This might be said to have been the
turning point in his career. Up to
this time he had not found himself.
He was studying but drifting. He
does not appear to have had any aim
in life beyond the ambition to educate
himself and to succeed.
Lincoln afterward said that his ex- )
perience in the Black Hawk war gave
him greater pleasure than anything
| that had occurred to him up to that
time. He had no opportunity to dis-
tinguish himself in that little conflict,
but he returned to New Salem a man
of more public importance than when
he left it. He started a store, but it
failed, and the debts fell upon him.
He was appointed postmaster, the
first Federal office he ever held. He
ran for the Legislature, but was de-
‘He was a master politician, and
while he was President he was the ad-
mitted leader of the party. He never |
deserted a friend, and he was not one
to hand over an office to an enemy.
He believed that the office belonged
to the party in power and was no
friend of civil service as it then ex-
., isted.
{ When the war made its inroads into
many homes, Lincoln had an unpleas-
ant duty to perform. He sympathiz-
ed with the mothers left at home and
did what he could for their boys at
the front. He received the mothers
at the White House, talked things
over with them, and nearly every one
of them left feeling that her boy had
a friend who looked after him al-
though he was far away in an army
‘ corps doing his duty. :
| Lincoln in such cases was no strict
| constructionist; he believed that even
' the law was intended to be human,
'and on occasion he would stretch it
out where it was inhuman and do a
' good act.
|. Whenever a soldier was in trouble
| he felt that all would be well if some
| one at home only would go to Wash-
ington and see the President. And it |
, was known that the door of the White
| House was always open to persons in
distress. And so it was.
| It was this gentle character who
was getting ready to rejoice at the
glorious news. The whole country,
South as well as North, mourned the
loss, for even inthe South, where the
war had been most disastrous, the
name of Lincoln was joined in memo-
ry with a grand, human, just charac-
ter, who was even more than man.
WHAT MAKES FOR SUCCESS IN
A TOWN.
Natural advantages have much to
do with the success of a town, but it’s
the calibre cf its men that counts for
| most.
This is brought out in the story of
{ Akron, Ohio.
{| Akron, in 1890 was a town of 27,
| 600 neople. Today its population is
| the world.
| Fabulous fortunes created by rub-
ber have been poured into Akron’s
feated. But the next election he ran |,
again, and was elected and later re-
turned for another term.
While he was keeping a general
store he began the study of law. He | position and prosperity in spite of a |
once said that one of his first books
was a copy of the laws of Indiana,
and that was about all the law he
| knew up to that time.
It was while serving as a Legisla-
tor in Illinois that Lincoln first turn-
ed his attention to the blot of slavery,
which he began to oppose with all his
might and influence. After he decid-
ed to retire from the Legislature he
started to practice’ law, having been
licensed to practice in 1837. He re-
moved to Springfield, where the re-
mainder of his days, until he went to
Washington as President, were main-
ly spent. : 2
In 1846 he was elected to a seat in
Congress, but he declined re-election
and settled down to the practice of
his profession in Springfield.
- Lineoln spent his spare time in the
store of his friend, Joshua Speed,
which was the rendezvous of many
prominent men in that section. He
was famed for his stories and for his
keenness in debate. It was in this lit- |
tle general store that Lincoln first:
met Douglas in debate. Douglas was !
regarded far and wide as a little gi-
ant in debate, and he remarked that '
the store was no place for him to de-
bate any question with Lincoln.
By this time Lincoln had become
something of a politician. His party
was the Whig. He took a lively inter-
est in political affairs, and finally took
part in the Whig side in a joint de-
bate with the Democrats.
was the last speaker in that debate,
but his words took the deepest hold of
the spectators and added greatly to
his reputation.
It was in Springfleld that Lincoln
married Mary Todd, who, it is inter-
esting to note, was also sought in
marriage by Douglas, who thus be-
came Lincoln’s opponent in love as
well as in politics, but was beaten by
him in both.
As a lawyer Lincoln might have
appeared lazy to those who did not
understand his methods. He disliked
office work and the drawing of legal |
papers, but when a case had to be
brought to the attention of a jury or
a court Lincoln was in his element. |
He was a born debater and story-tell- |
er.
He knew how to get the jury in|
good humor and how to make his
point to them and reach home. He:
had the genius for putting the human
touch to all he did, and his homely |
similes and good stories often went |
further than his opponent’s knowl-
edge of the law. i
But it should not be imagined that '
Lincoln knew no law, for that would
be a mistake. He often would sit up
till the small hours of the night read-
ing law and studying a case, while his
opponents probably would be sound-
ly sleeping. When he went into court
he was master of his case, and that
goes a long way toward winning a
verdict.
The practice of law was beginning
to take a firm hold on Lincoln to the '
exclusion of politics when the Mis-
souri Compromise was enacted. That
roused him, and from that time on-
ward he was strongly for the aboli-
tion of slavery.
His position was known throughout
the country, for he had stumped the
East for Taylor years before, and the
stories of his quiet humor and fund
of anecdotes had penetrated the East;
consequently, when it was evident to
the country that it stood on the eve
of a conflict between slavery and ab-
olition, Lincoln was made the nomi-
nee of the party that was firmly in-
trenched on the principle of no com-
promise with slaveholders. He was
nominated, and was enthusiastically
elected at the national election in
1860.
He had scarcely taken his seat when
the war burst upon the country. It
was a trying time, and no one suffer-
ed under it more than did Lincoln
himself. But he meant to do his du-
ty, and, as always had been his habit,
he did it then, although it was most
unpleasant and most difficult.
is tram
Lincoln |
| All the world comes to the Ohio
| city for tires.
{And Akron has won this enviable
| lack of natural advantages.
! The city is built on steep hills.
| It is not situated on a natural wa-
terway.
It is not located near mills that sup-
| ply its fabric, nor near the source of
its raw material. :
There is no reason for Akron’s suc-
cess except one. That is the human
element, the calibre of the men who
founded the rubber industry, and who
| by their years of perseverance, in
spite of early failure and discourage-
ment, have ‘wrought miracles in the
! secluded Ohio hill town.
small beginnings. ;
. It was started in Akron by Akron
‘ people, or those who came to make
that city their permanent home.
It is worthy of note that the pres-
ent management of the industry is
still largely in Akron hands.
In 1869 Dr. B. F. Goodrich became
interested in the manufacture of rub-
ber goods. The factory, which was in
' Hastings, N. Y., did badly.
cation for their factory, Dr. Goodrich
and his associates became attracted
to Akron by a circular issued by the |
Chamber of Commerce of that city.
The rubber factory they etablish-
ed there was the first. :
For years it struggled along with
no great success. :
But after reorganization in 1880, at
which time the capital was increased
to $100,000, the tide began to turn.
The success of rubber, and of Ak-
ron, was assured.
Goodrich authorized capital now
amounts to $109,000,000, and the com-
pany’s sales for 1918 were over $123,-
000,000. ;
Goodyear began in 1898 with a cap-
italization of $100,000.
Its authorized capital stock now to-
' tals $200,000,000, and its sales in 1918
were in excess of $131,000,000.
Harvey S. Firestone started in the
rubber business in 1900 with a small
shed for a plant. From $50,000, its
capital has mounted to $75,000,000,
and its sales for 1918 equalled the lat-
ter figure.
The Miller Rubber company’s first
factory occupied 1200 square feet of
floor space in which were employed
25 people.
Today it uses 1,012,162 square feet
—about 24 acres—and its sales for
1919 will be approximately $25,000,
: 000.
These figures are a challenge to
every town that says it hasn't a
chance.
A town is just a group of individ-
uals, and the town will be no better
| probably 175,000, and it is the great-
| est rubber manufacturing center in
The rubber industry has risen from |
Upon looking around for a new lo-
THE PHONOGRAPH HAS REVIV-
ED ART.
Musical leaders are seeking an ex-
planation of the unprecedented inter-
est being shown in symphony con-
certs and operas, all over the country.
The explanation usually offered is
that trashy “popular” music has ceas- !
ed to satisfy the American public, and
that people, seeking relaxation from
| the strain of war times and recon-
are finding it in:
struction problems,
: the fine arts.
| There may be many who will not
agree with us, but our opinion is that
‘ the growing demand for music of the
| higher type is due to the grapho-
' phone, the greatest single educational
i force for the appreciation of good mu-
i sic that we have yet known.
i Owing to the graphophone, thous-
ands of families have had the oppor-
| tunity to become familiar with ex-
{ cerpts from the great operas and sym- |
| phonies, rendered by the best singers
| and instrumentalists in the world.
! The public has liked these “sam-
| ples,” and has become enough inter-
! ested in them to want to hear the op-
eras and symphonies in their entirety.
| Hence the unprecedented sale of
' seats—and even standing room—at
| practically every performance of sym-
| phony or grand opera, whereas for-
merly a capacity house was a rarity.
To most of us, the great modern or-
chestra of nearly 100 pieces, with its
bewildering variety of instruments, is
a mystery. :
Knowledge of the names of these
instruments, and the groups into
which they are separated, would add
to our enjoyment of the music they
create.
The orchestra conductor could ex-
plain that there are four groups of in-
struments, called the Strings, Wood-
wind, Brass and Percussion.
The Strings are those of the violin
family; the Woodwind are so called
because they are instruments of wood
whose tone is produced by blowing in-
to them; the Brass are wind instru-
ments made of brass; and the Percus-
sion group comprises all those such
as the drum, whose tone is made by
striking the instrument itself.
Most of us are familiar with the
. first and most important group, which
! comprises over half the orchestra.
i Among the Strings are these instru-
iments: the harp; the violin; the vio-
| la, which is slightly larger than the
violin, and gives a deeper, more mel-
| ancholy tone; the violincello, or ’cel-
lo; and the huge double bass, or bass
i viol. Symphony orchestras usually
{ employ at least two harps, fourteen
| “first” violins, twelve “second” wvio-
| lins, eight violas, ten ’cellos, and eight
| double basses.
| The Woodwind group consists of
{ the flute; the piccolo, the highest and
| shrillest instrument in the orchestra;
: the oboe, an ebony instrument whose
i mouthpiece contains two reeds which
| give it a peculiar, plaintive quality; |
the English horn, which is not a horn
'at all, but simply an oboe of lower
! pitch, whose tone is well suited to
dreamy, melancholy themes; the clar-
inet, of clear, mellow, soprano tone;
i and the bassoon, a sonorous double-
reed instrument that supplies the bass
for the woodwind choir of the orches-
tra, and has such a humorous quality
of tone, when played in staccato notes,
that it is called the clown of the or-
chestra.
The Brass choir includes the trum-
pet, whose clarion notes ring out in
martial passages; the French horn, a
| coiled metal tube with a large flaring
mouth-piece, used effectively to imi-
i tate the sound of the hunting horn in
the forest; the trombone and cornet,
which need no introduction; and the
i tuba, that huge bass horn which used
‘to be the mainstay of every itinerant
German band.
Among the Percussion group are
the bowl-shaped copper-bottomed ket-
tle drums, or tympani, which are
beaten by means of sticks with pad-
ded ends; the well-known snare and
bass drums, common to the ‘theatre
orchestra; the cymbals; the triangle;
the gong, of Chinese origin; the xylo-
phone, composed of wooden blocks of
different length, tuned to the notes of
the scale; and the bells, which are
the blocks are of metal.
strument resembling a small organ;
and the marimba, invented by Mexi-
can Indians, an instrument which con-
sists of a series of mahogany slabs of
different length, under each of which
is a resonator to increase the tone.
orchestra.
Detailed study of the quality and
use of each would require many
months, but it is not difficult to learn
those enumerated.
quaintance” with the voices of the or-
chestra will greatly increase our
pleasure in the opera and the sym-
phony.
| ———
Chinese Customs.
similar to the xylophone except that .
Sometimes used in the percussion
group are the celesta, a keyboard in-
These are practically all of the in-
struments ever used by the symphony .
the sound and appearance of each of
Even such a slight “bowing ac-.
or worse than the people who com- |
DAILY THOUGHT.
Weep, and you're called a baby;
Laugh, and you're called a fool;
Yield, and you're called a coward;
Stand, and you're called a mule;
Smile, and they’ll call you silly;
Frown, and they’ll call you gruff;
Put on a front like a millionaire—
And some guy will call you a bluff,
Making things for one’s own room
is generally worth while, and is al-
ways sure to give it more originality
than when one buys the various dec-
orations all ready to use.
A gzirl with good taste will make
her room attractive anyway, but the
one who is willing to do some work
' will go much further.
One of the ways in which few girls
think of using their own skill is in the
making of curtains, and yet this is a
place where originality is especially
well shown.
Very charming -curtains for the
windows of a girl’s room may be made
by buying a strong white or cream net
or cheese-cloth and appliquing on it
a border of flowers cut out of cretonne.
The cretonne should be chosen to
match the general color scheme of the
room, and the more delicate flowers
are best to use on the net. Wisteria
is lovely, or sweet peas, or wild roses.
The border may be made of single
sprays of flowers or in a running bor- |
der with a ribbon design.
A girl who prefers an “allover”
curtain may applique single sprays of |
the flowers over the whole thing (with |
no border), but they should be rather
small sprays.
Have you some younkers to enter-
tain?
And don’t you know what to do?
Well, an exchange suggests the fol-
lowing:
Write upon cards the following sen- |
tences, which are to be guessed as to .
Give prizes for the
two best guesses and for the worst, a |
for a consolation |
These are the sentences, with |
the nut meant.
bag of peanuts,
prize.
their correct answers:
1. A painful nut. A-corn.
2. Reminds you of a garden vege- |
table Pea-nut.
3. A nut hard to get through.
Walnut.
4. A nut that reminds one of]
“Twice Told Tales.” Chestnut.
5. The twin nuts, two well-known
boys. Phil-bert.
6. What would our daily bread be
without it? Butternut.
from Brazil-nut.
8. Reminds one of dreamy eyes. |
Hazel-nut.
9. Makes one think of the ele- |
phant. Ivory-nut.
10. Although white itself, it sug-
gests a brown beverage. Cocoanut.
when all’ church societies, clubs and
charitable organizations are on the
qui vive for money-making schemes.
A coterie of girls, the eldest not 16,
have conceived this unique idea: They
are going to hold a “paper bazaar” at
the home of one of the members.
There will be only articles of paper
for sale, which will include shaving
balls, pantry shelf papers, napkins,
flower pot holders, drawer sachets
and paper dolls with the daintiest of
wardrobes.
Then they will have all sizes of doi-
lies, candle shades, almond and bon-
bon holders, lemonade “straws” (they
ave really made of paper), and all the
Japanese paper novelties. The booths
are to be decorated entirely with paper
and the attendants are to wear caps,
aprons and collars of various colored
crepe tissue.
Tea Table Tips.—One of the newest
forms for afternoon tea service is a
squat cream jug and sugar bowl of
rock crystal set in a silver frame with
arched handle to make passing easy.
Another useful article is a cake lift-
er of silver. This is on the order of
ice tongs, but the one prong is flat in-
stead of forked.
A convenient tea strainer has a sil-
ver bowl and handle, and rests on a
rock crystal, silver-trimmed dish to
| prevent dripping on the cloth.
For tea on the lawn the wicker ta-
bles on wheels are light and conven-
iient. They are provided with double
‘trays and can be filled and pushed to
any part of the grounds.
Tea trays for porch service are of
dark green wicker rims with base of
. cretonne or rare old brocade covered
. with glass. The handles on each end
are substantial enough for hard use.
Long handled iced teaspoons make
an acceptable wedding gift for the
summer bride, as they will be in con-
stant use for lunch and afternoon tea.
. Those with hollowed tubes through
which the tea can be sipped like a
! straw are more novel than practical, as
they are open to suspicion from a san-
itary standpoint.
How to Cook Vegetables.—In gen-
“eral, vegetables need long cooking,
under the influence of moisture; and
| the more compact they are, the longer
| cooking and more moisture they need.
- FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN. |
a —
FARM NOTES.
—If the surplus cockerels, not need«
ed for the breeding flock next spring,
have not yet been marketed, dispose of
them now; also market the old hens
as soon as they stop laying.
—The cow-horn turnip, when left in
the ground, is a great soil improver,
the decaying of which adds humus to
the soil, and puts the land in the best
possible condition for future crop pro-
duction.
—PFeed to produce one dozen eggs
cost 10 cents with pullets, 14 cents
with 2-year old hens, and 19 cents
with 3-year-old hens, in a 3-year feed-
ing test conducted by poultrymen of
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture. These were the cost figures
of feed at the time of the experiment,
which began in 1912, and must be cor-
rected to present prices.
—Why Eggs Should be Candled.—
1. Candling provides a fixed stand-
ard for trading by doing away with
guess-work.
2. It makes possible a fair price
to the careful producer of eggs.
3. It shows who is responsible for
the Lad eggs, and who wastes food.
4. It leads to a general improve
ment in quality.
5. It conforms to law.
6 It saves freight charges, trans-
7. Its home is where rubber comes |
A Paper Bazaar.—Now is the time
. tary of Agriculture,
. grade seed,
i dirt, weed seeds, and dead seeds—if
pose it.
Natural advantages help a town to
make good, but the most important
item is the human element.
When any of us growl at our town,
we're growling at ourselves—let’s re-
member this.
——Get up and get out
If you have any doubt
About this U. S. A.
If you don’t like it here
Why the ocean is clear;
There's a boat sailing home every day.
There is only one flag,
Not a dirty red rag,
The flag that will never fail.
Lay your life down for that. .
If you won’t, here's your hat;
Just get up, and get out, that’s all.
That Explains It.
| The lady of the house had occasion
| to object to the number of blouses her
' maid servant sent to the wash.
{| “Why, Mary,” she said, “my own
daughter doesn’t send six blouses a
week to the laundry.”
|* “Perhaps she don’t,” replied the
servant with great indignation, “and
perhaps she don’t go walking with a
coal man.”—Houston Post.
Most of us have heard the story of | But they need it applied in such a
the Chinese host who, when a guest | way as to preserve and enhance the
had smashed a priceless tea cup, him- | delicate flavors and not disseminate
self promptly extenuated the mishap | them by hurried boiling in practical-
by crushing in his hand another of the | ly open vessels.
set just to show how easily they| To begin with, all green vegetables,
broke. Something of this attitude of | roots and tubers should be crisp and
courtesy at any cost, though perhaps, | firm and thoroughly clean when put
in this case, at no cost at all except on to cook.
of unnecessary frankness, is shown in! Soak wilted vegetables in cold salt
the following story:
day, told his hostess of an adventure
that had delayed him. He had rung
at the wrong house, had been admit-
ted by a maid and shown into a draw-
ing room, announcing himself as “the
Chinese Minister.” The lady of the
house came in, deeply gratified as well
as mystefied by the call from her un-
expected distinguished visitor.
“Shall I tell the lady?” I thought.
“Tt will make me look like a fool, and
make her feel uncomfortable.” So
we chatted for a few minutes * *
I said good-bye, she thanked me very
much for calling and I left.
“I did not really know her, so I
need not - report my visit,” he said,
“put I shall not forget I have done
something stupid.” :
Subscribe for the “Watchman.”
Li Hung Chang, arriving late one
| water to freshen them.
Put salt .n cooking vegetables when
half done.
A dash of soda helps green vegeta-
bles to keep their color.
Peas and spinach are much better
color if cooked uncovered.
Cook delicately flavored vegetables
in a small amount of water.
Cook vegetables which have a
strong odor or taste in a large amount
of water.
Cook young carrots and beets
whole; then skin and slice.
Clean vegetables with a brush.
Salt tends to darken cabbage, caul-
iflower or brussels sprouts.
Tie cauliflower and cabbage in a
piece of cheesecloth. It is easy to
handle and keeps its shape.
Slice egg plant with a silver knife.
Vegetables should not be cooked in
"an iron kettle.
portation space, and case material by
eliminating the handling of worthless
products.
| —PFeed the grain in a deep litter on
, the floor and make the hens exercise
for it. The mash may be fed either
wet or dry, and should be so regulat-
ed that the fowls will get about equal
parts of mash and of the scratch
grains. It is necessary to give the
fowls plenty to eat to get good re-
sults, but the birds should always be
eager for each feed. In cold weather
| feed about one-third of the scratch
| grains in the morning and two-thirds
at night. In this way the hens are
forced to exercise more than if they
receive all the grain they desire at the
morning feed.
. —Examine the pullets and hens for
lice, and dust thoroughly with a good
insect powder or apply a mixture of
two parts of vaseline and one part of
{ mercurial or blue ointment, about the
| size of a pea, one inch below the vent
, of the bird, rubbing the mixture light-
ly on the skin. An application of this
| ointment two or three times a year
will keep the fowls free from lice.
Where insect powder is used, it
‘should be applied three or four times
a year, or oftener if the fowls become
infested. Provide a small box in the
| house partly filled with dry road dust
or fine dirt in which the hens may
| dust, thus helping to keep themselves
free from lice.
—Red clover seed is selling at ap-
proximately 50 cents a pound. At
| that price a farmer cannot afford to
| sow as clover seed anything that is
not clover seed. Half a dollar a pound
for weed seed,‘ chaff, and dirt is too
high a price to pay for the privilege
of being careless—particularly as
seed testing is comparatively an easy
and wholly inexpensive operation.
There is but one factor in crop pro-
duction over which the farmer has ab-
solute control. Sunshine and mois-
ture are matters that are wholly be-
yond his power of influence. Measur-
ably, he can control culture, but too
much rain or too long a drought at a
critical time may place even that be-
yond his power. But, no matter what
happens, the farmer can be sure that
he is planting good seed—the kind of
seed that, given a fair chance, will
produce a full crop. He can not af-
ford to handicap himself at the outset
by planting adulterated or dead seed
—the kind of seed that can not make
a full crop no matter how favorable
conditions may be.
. —The sale of seeds in many States,
is regulated by law, the seller being
required to make certain statements
as to quality, but the law is not appli-
cable to seeds that go into interstate
commerce. In order to meet this dif-
ficulty as far as possible, the Secre-
1 in 1917, asked
representatives of the seed trade to
meet in Washington and secured the
consent of most of them to a sugges-
tion that seed men label all farm
seeds sold in lots of 10 pounds or
more, the label to show percentage of
pure seed, percentage of germination,
and date of germination test.
some cases the agreement was not
lived up to, but the matter has again
been called to the attention of seed
men and many of them have again
announced that they will fully label
- all farm seed they sell.
—Practically all large seed houses
now have facilities for testing the
quality of all lots of seeds that they
buy and sell. They have, therefore,
the information that the farmer needs,
and he should insist on being given
this information when he buys seeds.
Few farmers are willing to buy low-
containing much chaff,
they know how poor it is. The dealer,
however, almost invariably makes his
largest profit on the lowest grade of
seed he sells and is not always will-
ing to put on a truthful label. The
farmer’s protection lies in buying on-
ly labeled seeds.
The farmer, however, may do a
great deal toward protecting himself
by testing seeds at home. “Testin,
Seed in the Home and in the Rura
School,” published by the United
States Department of Agriculture as
Farmers’ Bulletin 426, discusses the
subject in detail. It will be furnish-
ed free on request.
All kinds of farm seeds may be sub-
jected to one kind of test or another,
but the seeds of the crops in most
general use and which it is especially
desirable to have tested are the true
clovers, such as red, alsike, and crim-
son; alfalfa; such grasses as timothy,
orchard grass, fescue grass, blue
grass, broom grass, and the millets;
cereals, rape, flax, vetch, and corn.
Much of the seed of these crops, ex-
cept cereals and corn, is imported,
and widely variable grades are on the
market. Just now a great deal of
clover seed is being imported from
Italy, and specialists believe that
much of it is poorly adapted to Amer-
ican conditions. The prevalence of
foreign-grown seed in the market is
probably not generally recognized,
but it is one of the important ele-
ments in making testing necessary.
rl
»