a
ee ——————————— EE ———————
“They must have connected be in for another ducking—and one
Be
The Girla
Horse and
i aDog
By
FRANCIS LYNDE
ar
a
4 Copyright by Charles Scribner Sons
(Continued).
Coming all three together as it
seemed to me, there were spittings like
those of an angry cat, a puff of chok-
ing powder smoke, and the crack of
the rifle. For just about three seconds
nothing further happened; but at the
fourth second or thereabouts—oh, boy!
The cabin was stoutly and solidly
built of logs, as I may have mentioned.
hn
in the Flash of the Explosion We Had
a Glimpse of Doors and Windows
Caving In.
0]
but in the flash of the rending explo-
. sion we had a glimpse of doors and
windows caving inward and a section
of the split-shingle roof leaping toward
the spacious firmament on high,
“Now, durn ye,” was Daddy Hiram’s
morose comment, made with an eye to
a peep-hole, “now, durn ye, maybe
you'll let folks sleep peaceable for a
little spell!”
Of course, in the darkness, made
thicker by the cloud of dust the explo-
sion had kicked up, we couldn’t tell
what had become of the cabin gar-
rison, or whether or no we'd killed all
or any of it. But the immediate re-
sult was perfectly soul-satisfying.
There were no more roof bombard-
ments, and after we had remained on
watch together for perhaps half an
hour, Daddy sent me to the blankets
for my forty winks; did this, and after-
ward played a low-down trick on me.
For, what with the previous night's
broken rest, and the more or less ex-
citing and strenuous day, I slept like
a tired baby, and when I awoke the
sun was shining in at the two high
window holes at something more than
an acute angle, and Daddy Hiram was
making coffee and frying bacon and
baking pan-bread over a chip fire
built on a piece of boiler iron we had
.urned down for hearth purposes the
previous evening.
The old angel took my reproach-
ful abuse for his unselfishness quite
good-naturedly, as he did most things,
and made his report of the night's
doings. Up to midnight there had
peen nothing stirring; but after that
there had been noises on the black-
smith shop side, and indications that
the jumpers were at work on some-
thing in the boiler shed. Since this
fay beyond our field of vision, we
couldn't see what was going on, nor
could we apply the dynamite remedy.
Shortly after we had finished break-
fast the work noises began again, but
with the blanketing blacksmith shop in
the way we couldn't see a thing and
could only make wild guesses at what
the raiders were up to. Along about
the middle of the forenoon they fired
up one or more of the boilers; a whiff
of wind coming along the side of the
mountain blew the smoke over so that
‘some of it drifted into the shaft-house
through the high windows. Still we
were completely lost in the guessing
wilderness,
It was a little after noon, while we
were squatting on the floor to eat
another meal warmed up over the chip
fire, that we found out the answer
to all the guesses and learned what
the mechanical noises of the night
and forenoon had been leading up to.
One of the left-overs from the work-
ing period of the mine was a good-sized
steam force pump which, we took it,
had once been installed on one of the
lower mine levels and had been hoisted
out of the shaft ahead of the advanc-
ing water flood and put under shelter
in a corner of the boiler shed. As
I was passing my tin cup for more of
Daddy’s excellent coffee the rattle and
clank of a pump began to make itself
heard, together with the coughing
chug-chug of the steam exhaust there-
from.
“That's that low-level pump!’ I ex-
claimed.
it up with the boil—"
Whoosh! that was just as far as. 1
got. In the middle midst of the word
“poilers” a two-inch jet of muddy wa-
ter came curving up through one of
the window openings to arch over and
fall, splash, ail over us as we sat
munching our ‘dinner. Everlastingly
ruined the dinner, put out the fire, up-
set the coffee pot, and made drowned
rats of both of us in less time than it
takes to tell it—much less.
So much for that, Of course, we ran
and ducked and dodged, like the
Arowned rats I speak of hunting for
a hole. But now Bullerton’s devilish
engineering ingenuity came into play.
By some means as yet unknown to us,
he had contrived a movable nozzle to
his squirt-gun, and in another minute
there wasn’t a single dry spot left in
that shafthouse. I venture to say that
Daddy and I and the dog ran a full
mile trying to get out of range of that
demoniacal sozzle-machine, but there
wasn't a corner of the place that it
couldn't, and didn’t, reach.
During the night the scoundrels had
aid a pipe line from the pump in the
boiler shed alongside of our prison
fortress; this with an upright exten-
sion on the business end of it. At the
top of the sandpipe stem there was an
elbow with a short joint of pipe
screwed into it to point our way; and
on the end of this nozzle there was a
piece of rubber hose. Under the jerky
impulses of the pump strokes this flex-
ible extension of the nozzle flopped
up and down and around and side-
wise, like the nose of a patent lawn
we were.
“Gosh-to-Solomon !” Daddy splut-
tered, “we ain’t on the water wagon—
we're spank inside of it! Are you re-
memberin’, Stannie, that they can keep
this gosh-dum thing up f'rever? All in
the world they've got to do is to put
a stick 0 wood on the fire now and
then! Say, son; they got us goin’ and
comin’; we can’t eat, and we can’t
sleep no more whatever!”
“By heavens, I own those boilers,
and if I could get a stick of dynamite
h
ERA
ET ———
in Another Minute There Wasn't a
Single Dry Spot in the Shaft
House.
under 'em, I'd fix the fellow that’s fir
ing ’em!” 1 shivered; and then the
bright idea was born. “Say, Daddy,
we can stop it!” I yelled; and just
then the water devil outside made an-
other fiendish flop and got me square-
1 in the face.
But it didn’t drown the bright idea.
CHAPTER XV.
High Explosives.
The idea was one which ought to
have suggested itself much sooner.
The steam supply pipe for driving the
big centrifugals at the shaft-mouth
came through the wall over our heads,
ana it was the sight of this pipe,
steaming even on the outside of its
thick insulating jacket of asbestos un-
der the wetting from the water jet.
that had set me thinking.
A spinning twirl of the engine
throttle valve set our machinery in
motion, and when I had thrown the
pump clutch in, we crouched again in
the least-wet corner to watch the index
of the tell-tale steamgauge connected
into the supply pipe.
We knew that the centrifugals were
voracious steam-eaters; we had proved
that when we were running them in
the week-long test. I had a notion
that maybe Bullerton had fired only
one of the battery of three boilers to
run his shower-bath machine, and the
result speedily confirmed this assump-
tion. In a few .ninutes the steam
pressure had dropped to a point at
which it would no longer drive any of
the pumps, either ours or the one out-
side, and the window cataract stopped.
“This will be only a breathing
space,” 1 prophesied, getting up to
squeeze some of the superfluous water
out of my clothes. “Bullerton will do
one of two things: fire the other two
boilers, or disconnect this steam pipe
of ours.” ‘
“Reckon so?’ said Daddy.
“You'll see in a minute or 80.”
The attack began even while we
were speaking, sundry hammerings
and twistings that shook the pipe over
head proving that the besiegers were
going to stop the leak by cutting us
off from the boilers.
“Take your whirl at the inventions
this time, Daddy!” I urged. “Whe:
they get this supply vine cut ant a’
that we can’t stop.”
Daddy was shaking his head and
wringing the moisture—and mud—out |
of his beard. i
“Jerusalem-to-gosh, Stannie, we got!
to take a chance!” he muttered. “Any-
ways, I'd about as lief die as be
drowned to death. We'll have to muss
that blacksmith shop up and get it out
o’ the way, somehow. Gimme a match |
out o’ that tin box 0’ your'n—if they |
ain't all soaked to a jiz-whizzlin’ sop.”
I found the matches, which, luckily,
were still dry, and handed him one.
Before I fairly realized what he was
going to do, he had taken one of the
dynamite cartridges out of its bucket |
hiding place and was splitting the fuse |
with his pocketknife.
“Open that there door into the shop,” |
‘he commanded; and when I obeyed
mechanically, out went the bomb, fiz-
zing and sputtering, to land in a heap
of scrap iron piled on the farther side
of the stone-built forge. The sight of |
it smoking and spitting sparks in the
heap of scrap half hypnotized me, I
guess, for I stood gaping at it, with
the door held open, until Daddy Hiram
jerked me away, slammed the door and
yelled to me to help him bar it.
We had barely time to get the door
closed and fastened with the heavy
wooden bar and to throw ourselves
flat on the floor behind the hoisting
machinery before the crash came. As
I have previously said, the blacksmith
shop was a rather flimsy, shed-like
affair, roofed with corrugated iron.
and it seemed to us as if broken tim-
, bers and pieces of sheet metal were !
sprinkler; and there you are—or there
! ers in their open shed.
. through persuading Daddy Hiram that
| we couldn't afford to murder the
| wounded, the fellow who had been
i wrestling with the woodpile had made
' his exit and there was nobody in
| fired from somewhere in the forest
1 background, whanged upon our roof,
"and there were several to follow; but
' aside from punching a few more holes
raining down for a full minute after
the blast went off.
The shock to everything in the vicin- |
ity was, of course, tremendous and |
the stout old shaft-house itself rocked |
and swayed like a tree in a hurricane. |
But the walls still stood intact, and |
when we got up and peeped through |
a hole which a piece of the flying
scrap had torn in the door, we could
see what we had done. It was a-plen-
ty. The blacksmith shop had disap- |
peared, leaving nothing but a scatter- |
ing of wreckage. The heavy anvil had |
been thrown from its block and the |
forge looked as if a giant had kicked |
it. Out by the boiler-shed a rack of |
cordwood had been toppled over and |
under it a man was struggling to free |
himself. When he saw the imprisoned |
enemy that mild-mannered, soft-spoken |
old soldier that I was shut up with |
would have opened the door and shot |
the struggler if I hadn’t stopped him.
This blowing up of the shop settled
|
|
|
| the shower-bath business for us def-
| initely. With the impediment out of
che way we had a clear view on this
{ third side; could command the row !
of miners’ cabins, as well as the boil- !
When I got
sight. Shortly afterward a bullet,
in the iron they did no harm.
“Looks like the ‘Hercules’ is the one
thing they're most skeered of,” said
Daddy, with his queer little stuttering
chuckle. “Now maybe they’ll leave us
have time to get ourselves dried out
a mite.”
Totting up the results of the shower-
bath we'd had, a bread famine prom-
ised to be the worst of them. The few
cans of beans, tomatoes and peaches |
—the campers’ standbys—were un- |
hurt, of course, and the muddied bacon
could be washed with water drawn
from the flooded shaft. But the flour
in its sack was merely a blob of paste
and was beyond redemption and the
cornmeal was the same. In view of
the results I wondered if Bullerton
hadn’t shrewdly calculated upon wash-
ing our commissary out of existence
when he planned his overgrown lawn-
sprinkler, But maybe that was giving |
him credit for more ingenuity than he
really had.
Through what remained of the after-
noon the rifle firing continued, coming
sometimes from one angle and some-
times from another but always can-
nily from a safe distance and always
under cover of the surrounding forest.
Daddy Hiram, grimly optimistic, ex-
tracted a swallow or so of encourage-
ment out of the persistent pot-shoot-
ing.
“Dunno as you've ever noticed it,
Stannie, but if you'll only let a hog
alone long enough he’ll shove himself
under the bob-wire fence far enough
to get caught,” he said. “Charley Bul-
lerton, now; he’s plum’ forgot that
"Tropia’s less 'n five miles away and
that sound carries mighty long dis-
tances in these mountains in clear
weather.”
“What difference does that make?”
I asked.
“It may make a heap o’ difference.
Looks to me like somebody—Buddy
Fuller, 'r Jim Haggerty, the section
boss, 'r some of ’em down yonder ’'d
begin a-wonderin’, after a spell, what
in tarnation all this here blastin’ and
rifle-poppin’ up on old Cinnabar is a
p'intin’ at and come and see.”
“Do you think the racket will carry
that far?”
“It sure will. One night afore 'Tro-
pia had gone as dead as she is now, a
bunch o’ cowpunch’s got into an argy-
ment at Blue-nose Bill's place and we
heard the crackin’ and poppin’ up
here—Jeanie and me—Ilike it was just
over yonder in Greaser gulch.”
“Well?” said I, “if your nephew or
any of the others hear it, what then?”
As 1 asked the question one of the
low-aimed shots tore through the side
of the building, struck the iron frame
of the hoist, flattened itself and
dropped into the old man’s lap, Pick-
ing up the hot bit of lead to dandle
it from hand to hand he went on much . FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN.
as if picking up bullets that were fired
at him had been his daily recreation.
“Curiosity killed the cat, Stanine,
son. You let some one 0 the folks
down yonder in 'Tropia say, ‘By gol—
I wonder what all that shootin’s for:
and the next thing you know, somk
body’ll be moggin’ up here to find out.”
Along about dusk some member of
the besieging party tried to make a re-
connaissance. Ihappened to be keeping
the lookout on the cabin side of our
fortress and saw a man dodging among
the pines back of the house. When I
reported to Daddy he took a snap shot
DAILY THOUGHT.
Common sense is instinct and enough of
| it is genius.—H. W. Shaw.
Colored umbrellas outnumber the
| black ones, and rainy day “blues” are
: a thing of the past.
day and black umbrellas made things
' appear duller; now colored ones cheer
: things up on a rainy day.
I Novelty metal girdles are replacing
‘those of self material and lending a
' bright touch to the all-black coat and
dresses which are now so popular.
at the place I pointed out to him and |
there was a wild yell and a stir in the
young pines as though a hog were gal-
! loping through them.
“Just to let ’em know that we're
still alive and kickin’,” said the old
man, with another of his quavery
chuckles. “1 reckon maybe that's
what they was aimin’ to find out.”
Possibly it was.
rifle fire stopped with the coming of
darkness, and as we faced our second
night of defense we had plenty of ti e
to sit around and think and speculate
upon what the outcome was going to
he.
Taking it all in all, it was the fan-
+astic humor of the thing that hit ine
hardest. Six short weeks earlier peo-
ple at home had been calling me a'l
the hard names that fall to the lot of
the idle ne’er-do-well; a young chap
with enough inheritance money to keen
him in ties and shoes and shirts and
to buy gas for his car—though thut
last asked for a good bit en the rising
cost of gasoline—and not enough to
make life, or anything connected there-
with, very much worth while.
Also these same people were saying
—behind my back, of course, but there
were always plenty of them to repeat
the saying to my face—that 1 was
good stock gone to seed, would never
amount to a hill of beans in anything
that asked for initiative or resource-
fulness, or primitive rough stuff of any
sort; that I was due to go on dolling
myself up and playing skittles to the
end of the chapter—which would prob-
alby stage itself in an asylum for the
feeble-minded. Also, again, at that
same time, which was six weeks—or
six thousand years—ago, I was en-
| gaged to Lisette; with mighty little
| Stared Across at Daddy Hiram.
prospect of marrying her, to be sure,
but with no thought of marrying any-
body else.
And now . . . I looked around at
the shadowy walls of the grim old Cin-
nabar shaft-house, looming darkly and
still dripping, tick, tack, from their |
early-afternoon mud batn; felt my sog-
gy clothes; stared across at Daddy
Hiram sitting backed up against the |
hoist with his legs jackknifed and his
hands locked over his knees; it was a
grotesque pipe-dream; there was np
other name for it. I broke out in a
laugh that was a bellow.
“Split it up, Stannie,” urged the old
man dryly. “I allow you ain't goin’
to be close-fisted enough to keep a good
joke all to yourself in no such a hoe-
down as this.”
“I'll try,” I said, and did it the best
I knew how, giving him some idea of
the life I had lived and its earth-
wide, abysmal difference from the ex-
perience of the past six weeks.
Silence for a time and then:
“Book-learnin’ and good clothes and
eatin’ with a flat fork 'r’ all right,
Stannie, but they don’t make the man
n’r the woman ; there's got to be some-
thin’ inside; somethin’ a heap bigger
than any o' them things.”
“Quite so,”-1 admitted.
Another silence and at the end of
it the old philosopher again:
“You been sort o’ sore about my
Jeanie, since yesterday She's
been eatin’ your gran-paw’s bread. like
me, and you thought, and I thought,
that she might at least 've waited a
little spell afore she run off with Char-
ley Bullerton. Maybe we've been
jumpin’ at things too sudden, Stannie.
What made her ride way up yonder
to Greaser sidin’ to catch that train?
And how come Charley Bullerton to
marry her one day and be up here
with his bunch o' gunmen by daybreak
the nex’ mornin’?”’
“Has Jeannie friends in Angels with
whoin she could be staying?” 1 asked.
“Not a single soul. He'd a-had to
leave her at the Chink’s hotel; and
that ain’t no place for a woman, mar-
ried ’r t'otherwise.”
“But supposing they didn't go to
Angels?”
(Continued next week).
| Clocked hosiery in both silk and
wool is being recognized by many
more persons now than had been not-
ed heretofore.
Long evening gowns are becoming
more popular and more noticeable. A
striking black velvet gown was worn
| several days ago featuring the new
At all events, the
musketeer sleeves and a skirt that just
cleared the floor in the back, while
the front was slightly shorter.
A stomacher of rhinestones is used
to finish off girdles.
White gowns of the more formal
type, heavily trimmed in crystals,
seem to be popular and are made
along straight lines.
In many prominent places
“toss up” as to whether velvets or
crepes are the more popular.
At a reception given recently vel-
vets and crepes were worn almost ex-
clusively.
In all branches of the silk industry
echoes are sounded with regard to
georgette crepes being a popular ma-
terial for spring wear.
During the winter a great many
georgettes have been sold in the gray.
Brocades still take an important
part as dress material with brocaded
voiles and crepes, followed by Canton
and satins, outstanding.
Brown tones and dull gold are used
extensively for dress wear.
_ Afternoon dresses to be worn for
informal dinners are mostly in bright
crepes, georgettes, in dull gold and
ochre shades.
Crepes and georgettes are usually
Sonhined with laces to lighten the ef-
, fect.
i There is no evidence that high-
‘laced or buttoned boots will be return-
ed to fashion. The low shoe is the
thing. It has everything its own way.
The demand of some women for black
oxford ties keep a stock of them in
the shops, but the majority of these
oxfords indulge in the high, sloping
heel and wide ribbon bow on the in-
step.
Of course, there are sensible shoes
in the shops and on the feet of wom-
en. All the world is not given to fan-
tastic foot covering.
The sensible shoe of the hour is of
brown leather, an African brown that
matches the trocks and furs. There
are sensible shapes as for the heels
and the slender instep, but the point-
ed vamp is difficult to escape. It is
giving way slowly to something that
might be called heart-shaped, which
follows the natural outline of the foot
at the joints of the ball of the foot,
where the hard work is done. This is
an improvement in comfort and in
structural beauty.
The flat heel is still too broad and
‘ungainly except for country lanes, but
there is little evidence that the Cuban
heel of moderate height will prevail.
. It is adopted by those who are making
‘| French shoes to order, but it is peril-
i ously high.
Soft, black patent leather is a rival
:of the Moroccan brown leather for
| street use, and both are covered with
i fanciful and frequent stitchery to give
| body and substance. :
i It is difficult to understand why
those who have factories and large
i shops cannot afford to sell at a low
| price the kinds of shoes which fashion
does not espouse. Yet the terrific price
| for shoes is maintained along the
| whole line. No hope is held out by
the bootmakers for a lessening of
price.
| It costs about twenty dollars to buy
a pair at the shops, no matter what
the style, and forty or over forty
when they are made to order. Many
{ women pay fifty dollars a pair for
fie evening slippers, without buck-
| les.
| The shoes that might sell cheap be-
‘cause they have disappeared from
fashion are pumps of all kinds and
, colors, except the few with high heels
that are called gaiter pumps. Gold
metal evening slippers are not fash-
ionable. Neither are high laced or
buttoned boots. Suede and leather
shoes that lace up above the ankles
are not in demand. Where have these
shoes gone? There were thousands
and they were quickly retired.
The suede and leather low shoe
will be in high fashion for spring if
we accept rumors. It will have a
round toe, a high heel and one strap
across the instep. Some of these
shapes have one broud ornamental
strap that crosses the instep toward
the ankle and pulls the sides of the
shoe well up under the arch. It is a
delightful contraption. The woman
with the thin foot and slender, high
arch finds in it the one bit of com-
fort she has sought for years. It is
more becoming than the narrow strap
with a button at the outside.
Wedding Day Omens.—The bride
who dreams af fairies the night be-
ed.
If the bridegroom carries a minia-
ture horseshoe in his pocket he will
always have luck.
Don’t wear an opal. Some people
declare that opals are lucky. History
proves the contrary.
The bride who finds a spider in her
wedding dress may consider herself
lucky.
No bride, if she would have good
luck, should bake her own wedding
cake. To do so invites ill-fortune.
Should a bride, perchance, see a
funeral while being driven to the rail-
way station prior to departing upon
her wedding tour, she should order
the driver to turn back and start over
again, or else she will surely meet
with bad luck.
No bride or bridegroom should be
| given a telegram while on the way to
' church. It is a sign of evil.
i
Not long ago it was dull on a rainy :
it is a
of them on the market not long ago |
fore her marriage will be twice bless-
a — ———— .,.ellLl6 ie ——————————E
FARM NOTES.
|
I —If good hatches are to be obtain-
ed early in the spring, do not fail to
give the breeders plenty of range all
‘ winter. The old hens make the best
breeders. Pullets as breeders are un-
desirable.
—Every successful garden is well
planned. The time for ordering seeds
is approaching and a little time spent
now in thoughtful planning will be a
great saving. The size of the family
and market trade should determine
the size of the garden. Plan accord-
ing to your likes and market demands.
For family consumption, double up on
those vegetables you are fond of and
discard those not liked.
—The maple sugar and syrup pro-
duced in Pennsylvania in 1921 return-
ed more than $372,000 to the farmers
of the State, according to a report is-
sued by the Bureau of Statistics of
the Pennsylvania Department of Ag-
riculture.
There were 235,820 pounds of ma-
ple sugar produced during the year,
and this sold for an average price of
28 cents per pound, making the crop
worth $66,029.60. There were 136,333
gallons of maple syrup produced and
this sold for an average price of $2.25
per gallon, or a total of $306,749.25.
Somerset county led in the production
of maple products.
—No one person knows everything
there is to know about any one thing.
Even the most successful dairyman
can learn a great deal that is new
about milk and its products. Winter
evenings are ideal for the purpose of
studying some of the free correspond-
ence courses offered by the agricul-
tural school at State College. Far-
mers planning to expand on dairy
lines can learn much from any or ail
of the following free courses in home
study: “Silos and Silage,” in five les-
sons; “Principles of Breeding,” nine
lessons; “Milk and its Products,” sev-
en lessons; “Butter Making,” nine les-
sons; “Dairy Breeds of Cattle,” seven
lessons; and “Study of Milk,” five les-
sons,
—The owner of every unlicensed
dog in Pennsylvania is now liable to
arrest and prosecution. The new dog
law of 1921 became effective on Jan-
uary 15 and under the provisions of
this law a dog owner who does not
| have a license for his dog may be tak-
en before any magistrate, justice of
the peace or mayor and fined.
The old dog law did not provide for
summary conviction for violators of
the law and it was necessary to bring
a court action against offenders. The
new law, however, provides for sum-
mary conviction before any magis-
trate, greatly facilitating the work of
, the enforcing officers.
The campaign to round up persons
who have not complied with the law
will be taken up within a few days
and will be started simultaneously in
a dozen sections of the State.
—DButter made in Pennsylvania last
year sold for almost $16,000,000 ac-
cording to the estimates of L. H. Wi-
ble, statistician of the State Agricul-
tural Department. The farmers’
wives produced 36,011,500 pounds of
butter last year which sold at an av-
erage of 44 cents a pound and brought
a total of $15,831,458.46.
York is the leading producer of
butter churned on the farm, the
churns of York turning out 1,625,666
pounds last year, while Lancaster
county was second with 1,420,079
pounds. Armstrong, Bedford, Butler,
Erie, Indiana, Mercer, Somerset,
Washington and Westmoreland each
turned out more than 1,000,000 pounds.
Twenty-one other eounties produced
more than a half million pounds. The
highest average prices were in Bucks
and Delaware counties, where butter
averaged 93 cents a pound. The low-
est price was 32 cents, in Fulton.
. —Harness should be in good repair
if Dobbin is expected to So a
maximum amount of service.
Sewing of any kind should be done
with a strong waxed linen thread.
Every buckle should be sewed solidly
in place. Furthermore, the harness
Ton be washed and oiled frequent-
The washing of harness is best ac-
complished by the use of tepid water,
castile or white laundry soap and a
sponge or fairly stiff brush. A dull
knife may be used for scraping off the
“hardened deposits. After washing
| the harness thoroughly, rinse in tepid
water and hang in a warm place until
it is no longer wet but still damp. Oil
or grease should then be applied and
the harness hung in a warm place for
. twenty-four hours.
Oiling when the harness is still
damp prevents a great absorption of
the oil or grease which may cause the
harness to pull out of shape or accu-
mulate grit, which is injurious and
gives a bad appearance.
—Soil consists principally of small
‘particles of rock, nearly all of which
contain more or less potassium, calei-
um, phosphoric acid, ete. The soil
water each year dissolves off a thin
surface layer from each particle.
Plants take this water, and in that
way secure mineral plant food. Thir-
teen chemical elements are employed
in the growth of plants, nine of which
obtain directly from the soil. These
elements are known as mineral plant
foods and recognized as phosphorous,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, so-
dium, iron, silicon, chlorin and sul-
phur.
Besides these nine elements four
others—namely, hydrogen, oxygen,
carbon and nitrogen are needed by the
growing plants.
Ordinary plants depend exclusively
upon decaying organic matter for
their nitrogen. The nitrates are ex-
ceedingly soluble, and are washed out
of the soil unless utilized by the grow-
ing crops.
The cultivation of liguminous crops
is an economical and important meth-
od for maintaining a supply of nitro-
genous plant food in the soil. Com-
mercial fertilizers may supply nitro-
gen, but as such fertilizers are very
expensive, it has been found more
profitable to resort to growing le-
gumes, or by the application of stable
manure which, when properly hand-
led, is rich in nitrogen. It is good
farm practice to use both leguminous
crops and stable manure.
Crops grown to turn under as ma-
nure is also a valuable source of hu-
mus. The legumes are especially val-
uable for this purpose.