BRET RCI
Oliver
October
©
By
George Barr McCufcheon
(Continued from last week.)
“I'll have 'em put some planks over
those holes,” said the detective. “That
reminds me. Now that they’ve stopped
work under the porch, you might call
off your watchdog. Give the old boy
a little much-needed rest.”
Oliver walked to the corner. Joseph
Sikes was sitting on the back steps,
his’ coat collar turned up about his
throat, his aged back bent almost
double, his chin .resting on the mit-
tened hands that gripped the head of
his cane, his wrinkled face screwed
up into a dogged scowl.
“Better step into the kitchen, Uncle
Joe, and ask Lizzie for a cup of ho*
coffee. Work’s over for today.”
“The h—I it is,” growled Mr. Sikes
without changing his position.
“Let him alone,” said Malone, good-
naturedly. “He’s hatching out some
new trouble for me. As for Fink, he's
down there in the swamp from morn-
ing till night, supervising the whole
blamed job.”
“They are the best friends I've got
in the world, Malone,” said Oliver ear-
nestly.
“Well, we'll clear you so’s you can
have your committee meeting Ip
peace,” said the detective.
“I have put it up to county head-
quarters, Malone,” said Oliver, in an
emotionless tone, “as to whether I
should stay in the race or withdraw.”
“What do you mean, withdraw?”
asked the detective sharply.
“Well, it's only fair to give them a
chance to put someone else on the
ticket in my place if they feel—"
“Come off! You've got old Gooch
licked to a standstill, so what the
devil's got into you? We're not going
to find your father’s body, my boy.”
“How do you know you are not
going to find it?” was Oliver's surpris-
ing question.
Malone started. “What has caused
You to change your tone like this, Bax-
ter?”
“It’s getting on my nerves, Malone—
I don’t mind saying so,” said the
younger man, frowning.
“I get you,” said Malone, sympa-
thetically. “It does give a fellow the
shivers. But now about this getting
off the ticket. Don’t you do anything
of the sort, Baxter.”
“Malone, I can feel it in the air that
af great many people believe I know
what became of my father.”
Mr. Sikes, who had shuffled around
the corner, overheard the remark. He
fairly barked:
“It don’t make a particle of differ-
ence what they believe provided no-
body is able to find the corpus delicti.
They've got to dig up your father's
corpus delicti before— What in thun-
der are you laughing at, sir?”
Malone, to whom this question was
addressed in Mr. Sikes’ most aggres-
sive manner, put his hand to his mouth
and succeeded in replying with as
straight a face as possible:
“I've been reading an awfully funny
book, Mr. Sikes. It's about detec-
tives.”
There is no telling what Mr. Sikes
would have said to Mr. Malone about
detectives in general if the delegation
from headquarters had not arrived a
minute or two later.
CHAPTER X
The Corpus Delicti
The automobile came swinging up
the drive on the tail of Mr. Malone's
defensive explanation. Oliver hur-
ried off to greet the occupants of the
car, Mr. Sikes hobbling along in his
wake. Malone refilled his pipe as he
strode across the stable yard. In the
lee of the barn he scorched his fingers.
His gaze was fixed on the swamp. Far
out in the “danger zone” a number of
men were compactly grouped. A soli-
tary figure was running toward the
Baxter house, while from the main
highway to the right of the slough
a dozen or more scattered people were
picking their way gingerly across the
intervening space. The detective
dropped the charred match and start-
ed briskly down to meet the runner.
He was no longer bored. He was an
alert, vital, keen-sensed hunter of men.
Mrs. Grimes stood on the front
porch as the three committeemen en-
tered the house. Mr. Sikes ambled up
as they disappeared through the door.
He stopped short in the gravel walk
Just below where Mrs. Grimes was
standing. He felt that it was neces-
sary to lower his voice.
"We've only six more days to go,
derepty,” he said. “This is the nine-
teenth.”
*Yes. He will be thirty on the
cwenty-fifth. I hope you'll be satis.
fied, Joe Sikes.”
He pondered gloomily. “Setting
back there on the kitchen steps I gof
to thinkin" about the last time I was
up here before old Ollie disappeared.
said to me and Silas, setting right |
here on this porch.”
“I remember the poor old thing say-
ing he couldn’t go to sleep nights be-
|
“It looks pretty bad for you, Bax-
| ter,” he had said at the end of a long
| interview, “but there's only one thing
cause he was afraid a mob would come
up to the house and take Oliver Octo-
ber out and hang him for something
he'd never done.”
“I guess maybe that was it. And
another thing: Didn't he say he
wouldn't blame Oliver if he up and
beat his brains out for letting that
gipsy queen lift the veil and cause
all this worry?”
“What are you trying to get at, Joe
Sikes?”
“Oh—nothin’ particular. I just
chought I'd warn you not to say any-
thing about our talk that night, ’spe-
cially what he said about Oliver beat-
in’ his or«ns out. I mean,” he added
sternly, “that you and me aril Silas
never heard him say anything like that
---then or any other time.”
“What's got into you, Joe?’
“I'm just giving you a few inscruc-
tions, Serepty, in case anything does
happen.
You're so darned good and |
conscientious, as the saying is, that '
I've worried myself sick over you. I
mean about swearing to a lie.”
“I would swear to a million of
them,” she cried, “if it would be any
help to Oliver October.”
“Birds of a feather,” said Mr. Sikes,
rather proudly.
“Come in and have a cup of coffee,
Joe,” said she.
She came down from the porch and
together they started for the rear of
the house.
“Look out yonder, Joe—in the
swamp,” she cried suddenly, pointing
trough the fringe of trees. “There’s
a crowd—"
“Serepty !” he moaned. “They—they
have found something out yonder. I
feel it in my bones. The corpus de-
licti. I guess I won't have any coffee.
I'll just mosey out there and see
what’s happened.”
“Wait a minute. Isn't that Silas
Link coming across the swamp?”
They stood and waited. In due time
Silas panted his way up the incline
and came shuffling toward them. Mr.
Sikes stalked forward, followed by
Mrs. Grimes.
“Well?” demanded the former.
“They — fished — up — a—carcass,”
puffed Mr. Link,
Absolute silence—except for the
painful wheezing of the last speaker.
“Ollie’s?” asked Mr. Sikes at last.
*No telling. Unrecognizable.”
“It must have had clothes on ' put
in Mrs. Grimes stoutly. “Wouldn't
you know Ollie Baxter's clothes if
you—"
“Hasn't got any clothes on.”
“No clothes on?’ demanded Mr.
Sikes. “Then it can't be Ollie. He
had his new suit on.”
Mr. Link hesitated. “That detective
says the chances are that whoever did
the killing stripped the body and
burnt the clothes,” he said slowly,
weightily. :
A longer silence than before.
Link’s listeners seemed turned to
stone. Finally Mr. Sikes moistened
his stiff lips.
“What do you mean, Silas, by—by
killing?”
“If you feel sort of squeamish, Se- !
repty,” began Mr. Link considerately,
“maybe you’d better—”
“I'm not squeamish,” retorted the
redoubtable little woman. “Go on.”
“The top of the skull is smashed
in—split wide open,” announced the
newsbearer, in a hushed, sepulchral
voice. Then, apparently eager to get
it over with, he hurried on: “Couldn’t
have died a natural death. Couldn't
have committed suicide. Somebody
hit him over the head with a heavy
instrument. Most likely an ax or a
hatchet. Buried six or eight feet
deep in a mudhole. They pulled up a
hand first with one of them poles with
a hook on it. Then they set to work
scooping out the hole with shovels.
Wasn't long before they got down
where they could—"
“Don’t tell any more—don’t tell any
more!” quaked Mrs. Grimes.
“Lean on me, Serepty,” said Mr.
Sikes, who, if anything, was weaker
than she.
“They've sent for the police and for
my men,” went on Mr, Link. “And
they're telephoning for the sheriff and
coroner and everybody else. Look at
the automobiles rushing down that
way—and people running on foot—and
—oh, my Lord, Joe! If it should turn
out to be Ollie it will—it will look
mighty bad for Oliver October!”
* * ® ® ® ® ®
The news spread like wildfire. Be-
fore nightfall everyone in Rumley
knew that the body of Oliver Baxter
had been found and that he had been
foully murdered.
And then came the startling rumor
that old man Baxter had gone to his
safety deposit box in the vaults of the
bank three days before his disappear-
ance and had removed five $100 Lib-
erty bonds! Rumor, pure and simple,
yet accepted as fact by those who
roamed the streets. A grave, unan-
swered question, too, had to do with
the money so lavishly spent by young
Oliver—several thousand dollars in
cash. Where had it come from? Sim-
ple as rolling off a log! There wasn’t
much doubt as to where and how Oli-
ver got his ready cash! But to split
his own father’s head open with a
spade, and throw him into a suppos-
edly bottomless pit, and burn his
clothes!
For now all those who thronged the
streets were saying that Oliver Octo-
ber had murdered his father.
The street leading to the Baxter
residence was alive with people—curi-
ous, silent, awestruck men and women
who stared intently at the windows.
The sheriff had returned to the
county seat after cautioning Oliver to
I wonder if you remember what bg | keep his head and await developments.
for you to do. People don’t want to
believe you killed your father, and
that’s a big advantage. So it is up
to you to stand your ground and face
whatever comes. Don’t talk. Keep
your trap closed. I called your uncle
up on the telephone just before I came
here this evening. He is coming over
tomorrow morning to see if he can
identify the body. Of course he can’t.
You seem to be dead sure that it isn't
your father. So is Mr. Sikes and Un-
dertaker Link. You all claim that
: Lansing and Sammy Parr
your father was shorter by several i
inches and had lost several of his
teeth. But your lawyer will look after
all these points. Just sit tight, Bax-
ter, and keep cool. Don’t leave town.
Undersicnd?’
The company in Oliver. sitting-
room included the redoubtable and
venerable Messrs. Sikes and Link,
Judge Shortridge, Mr. and Mrs. Sage
and Jane, Doctor Lansing and Mrs.
Grimes. Sammy Parr was expected.
He was to bring In the news of the
. Streets.
Mr.
Oliver, a trifle pale, but with a stub-
born frown on his brow, listened calm-
iy to the animated conversation that
went on about him. . He sat beside
Jane on the sofa in the corner of the
room.
“I don’t see how you can be so un-
moved, so calm, Oliver, dear,” whis-
pered Jane in her lover's ear. “Just
think what they are talking about—
and as if you were not here at all.”
He stroked her hand. “I've been
thinking of something else, Jane.”
“Of me, I suppose, and the silly no-
RES. vol
He Stroked Her Hand. “I’ve Been
Thinking of Something Else, Jane.”
don you have of releasing me from
my promise.”
“I do release you, dear.”
“I refuse to release you—so that’s
that, as mother says. I am ready and
willing to have father marry us to-
night, Oliver.”
“We will have to wait, dear,” he
said, rather wistfully.
CHAPTER XI
Oliver in Danger
The front door opened suddenly and
in walked Sammy Parr.
“Excuse haste,” he said, tossing his
hat and gloves on a chair. “I'm back.
Say, gee whiz, everybody in town is
out on Clay street. Lots of them dowp
this way, strolling past—"
“What are the people saying, Sam-
my?’ Judge Shortridge broke in
grasping his arm.
“Well, I hate to tell you, but as far
as I can make out, judge, there seems
to be a general feeling that—that Oli-
ver did it,” sald Sammy, wiping his
moist forehead with the back of »
hand that shook slightly.
“Snap judgment,” sald the lawyer,
after silence had reigned for a few
seconds. “That is always the way
with the ignorant and uninformed.
Nothing to worry about, Oliver. They
will be on your side tomorrow when
they understand a little better. It's
always the way with a crowd.”
Josephine Sage spread her hands in
a gesture of contempt. * ‘What fools.
these mortals be” she declaimed
theatrically.
It was after eleven o'clock when Oli-
ver's friends departed. He stood on
the porch and watched them drive off
in the two automobiles. A few per-
sons had stopped at the bottom of the
drive to see who were In the cars. The
flaring headlights fell upon white, in-
distinct faces and then almost instans
ly left them in pitch darkness.
“I wish you had let Mr. Sage marry
you and Jane tonight, Oliver,” said
Mrs. Grimes, at his side on the top
step. “You have the license and every-
thing, and it covld all have been over
in a few minutes. And Jane begged
you so hard.”
“I couldn't do it, Aunt Serepta,” he
said dejectedly. “I don't know what
is ahead of me. I may be in jail be
fore I'm a day older. He gave her a
wry, bitter smile as he put his arm
over her shoulder and walked beside
her into the house. “Pleasant thought,
isn't it, old dear?—as the celebrated
Josephine would say.” !
Clay street was almost deserted as
drove
through it after leaving the Baxter
place. The Sages were in the former's
car. In front of the hotel Sammy,
who was some distance ahead and who
had dropped the two old men at Silas
Link’s home, slowed down and waited
for Lansing to draw alongside.
“I don’t mind saying to you that
there was a lot of ugly talk earlier in
the evening,” said Sammy uneasily. “A
lot of nasty talk. I didn’t tell Oliver,
but I heard more than one man say
he ought to be strung up.”
“Oh, Sammy, do you think—" began
Jane, in a sudden agony of alarm.
“Nonsense!” cried the minister, in-
stantly sensing her fear. “Such things
don’t happen in these days and in this
part of the country. The people will
let the law take its course. Have no
fear on that score.”
“Well, anyway, it looks mighty queer
to me,” said Sammy tactlessly shak-
ing his head. “I don't like this awful
stillness. It isn’t like this even on
ordinary nights.”
Jane clutched Lansing’s arm ané
shook it violently,
(To be Continued.)
Foolishness of Fear
Set Forth by Writer
“I'm afraid — I'm afraid — T'm
afraid!” A million times a duy we
say it—"I'm afraid!” And then we
wonder why we have so little Succes~
and =o little Happiness!
If you spend your whole life look-
ing for Safety, then you'll get Safety.
perhaps, and you'll find out how littl~
it amounts to.
Safety isn’t Success and it isn’t
Happiness. Safety is a negative thing.
It isn’t worth a bean by itself. It's
not getting hurt—that’s all, Yet mil-
lions of people waste their whole lives
trying to be safe.
The world of business is filled with
fears. It is filled with people who are
hiding—dodging—running for der»
life.
In business life, as well as on the
battlefield, men have shellshock and
spasms of fear—blind, mad, unreasor
ing fear.
Most business men have these
spasms of fear in times of depression.
Then they cancel orders and sack em-
ployees, and stop advertising and diz
themselves in.
Generally it is not what does hap-
gen that frightens men, but what
might happen. Most men squeal be-
fore they are hurt.
The truth Is that no man can es-
cape either criticism or risk. You can
never be blameless and you can never
be safe, so why worry about it,
Face your fears. Walk towara
them. And you'll be surprised to see
how small and weak they are.
Do what you're afraid to do.
Be brave enough to buy in a slump.
Be brave enough to sell in a boom.
And you'll have to hire a taxi to take
your profits home,
If you are in trouble, always ask.
“What is the worst that can happen?’
You'll usually find that the worst !s
not so terrible.
Courage! It is the rarest and mos:
precious of all our real possessions. It
is not taught in schools nor in
churches. Every man must learn it
for himself.
Danger is a tonic. It is a neces
sity of the inner life. You can never
learn to be a good loser until you
lose.
So here are unanswerable reason:
why you should adopt this tip as one
of the rules of your life—get rid of
fear. No one can hurt you if you are
true to yourself.—Herbert N. Casson
in Forbes Magazine.
The Adult
We adults forget. Food and drink
and sleep are the realities to us. To
us there is a yesterday; there will be
a tomorrow. I try to go back into
the dim and vasty past, but I do not
find myself there. I am an adult. I
have discovered philosophies that
never burdened the sweet conscious
honesty of childhood. I have dis-
covered obstacles intervening between
me and my God. The road to Para-
dise is no longer short and straight
and shining; it winds among the sha-
dows and may not lead to Paradise
after all.
Complexities have entered into that
gentle relationship between life and
myself that had no existence in the
days of babyhood. A hundred hands,
atavistic and primitive, pull me in a
hundred different directions; mocking
voices, stilled in childhood, hurl re-
peated questions in my puzzled ears.
Along that road to babyhood I do not
find the child I was; I find only my
present self. Knowledge of things I
may have gained, but only a great
bewilderment as to life itself.—Ar-
thur Somers Roche, in Heart's Inter-
national-Cosmopolitan.
Where God Is
Eddie, age four, is a veritable ques-
tion mark.
After attending Sunday school he
was at home, seated on the floor play-
ing with his sister, Virginia.
He looked up suddenly and asked:
“Mamma, where is God?”
“God is everywhere,” I answered.
Eddie held out his hand about
twelve inches above the floor.
“Is God here, mamma?” he ques-
tioned.
I replied in the affirmative,
Then again from Eddie, still holding
out his hand, “Come here, Virginia,
and put your hand on God.”
Those Dear Girls
Madge—Beauty is but skin deep,
you know.
Marie-—Then don’t despair, dear,
yours may come to the surface in
course of time, :
phenomena.
and are being exported b,
List of Regquisites
Needed for Success
It is possible to codify the qualities
that surely lead to success. Success
has often been termed luck, chance,
hard work, effort, application, ete.,
but we are now told that success is
a science as truly as che science of
health or the science of natural
And in line with this
trend of modern thought to reduce
success to certain rules fifty of the
cardinal principles or laws are tab-
ulated, obedience to which, it is held,
are as necessary to attain any degree
of success in life as it is for us to
obey the laws of nature to keep our
bodies healthy.
These fifty cardinal principles are
as follows:
Self-control, finding one's self,
morality, health, will power, love or
charity, knowledge of human nature,
perseverance, ambition, development
of inward richness and self-enjoy-
ment, understanding, co-operation,
optimism, self-reliance, rationality,
common sense, honesty, loyalty, de-
pendability, sincerity, love of the
beautiful, naturalness, patience, right
attitude toward life and work, al-
truism, industriousness, reverence for
God and elders, ability to see ahead,
contentment with nothing short of
the best. economy, ability to think
clearly and speak forcefully, discre-
tion, ability to execute plans, fair
play, broad - mindedness, courage,
imagination, system, initiative, thor-
oughness, punctuality, personality,
training, self-inventory, memory ac-
curacy, truth to one's self, courtesy.
determination.
No attempt is made to place these
in the order of their relative im-
portance with probably the exceptior
of the first one, self-control.
Recalls Big Theft
The arrest of Romain Durignac in
Paris recently for the theft of a pair
of slippers worth perhaps half a dol-
lar recalled the swindle he perpetrated
with his sister, Therese Humbert,
23 years ago. On the strength of an
alleged fabulous fortune left them in
a locked safe, which was not to be
opened until a certain date, the pair
borrowed millions on millions of
francs. They numbered among their
victims politicians, diplomats and
many of the leading figures of French
society. Finally, the finger of sus-
picion pointed to them, and the author-
ities insisted that they open the safe,
which ‘was found to be empty. The
brother and sister had fled, but they
were captured in Spain, and the pro-
ceedings of their trial in Paris filled
the French and foreign newspapers of
the day.
Tunnies Worry Fishermen
. Mediterranean tunnies have become
common along the Norwegian coast,
the thrifty
Norwegian fishermen. THe
giant,” as it is called in Norway, is
one of the strongest and swiftest fish
known, and it may run to 1,000 pounds
in weight. A comparatively small one
recently netted off Grimsby, England,
weighed 400 pounds. At Eszjerg, Den-
mark, a 600-pounder has been brought
in. Attributing their presence to the
warm summer, English fishermen say
that large schools are roaming about
the North sea, creating terror among
other fish. Some think that the ab-
sence of herring shoals from their cus-
tomary haunts is due to the presence
of these hungry Mediterranean ma-
rauders.
Worth Borrowing
Here is a story about Dr. William
Norman Guthrie, the well-known New
York minister.
At a dinner party a minister from
che West enthusiastically described
the success of a charity sermon he
had preached. Three and four figure
subscriptions, he sald, came in galore
at the sermon’s end. The collection
plate was massed high with bank-
notes of large denomination and some
ladies even went so far as to turn in
jeweled bracelets, rings and watches.
The silence was impressive when
the western minister finished. Then
Doctor Guthrie leaned across the
table toward him and said:
“My dear sir, could you lend me
that sermon?’
Boost for Johnson’s
The story about a certain pill manu-
facturer working the name of his prod-
uct into the hymn, ‘Hark the herald
angels sing,” may or may not be true;
but the following actually appeared in
a church paper:
*Why I attend prayer meeting. To
me the prayer meeting is an excellent
carbon remover for the heart, and as
Johnson’s Carbon Remover is for our
machines, so is Glendale Presbyterian
Prayer Meeting for me.—Mary R.
Milton.”
Planes Find Runaways
Army planes from Crissey field, Cal
ifornia, lent help recently to the aus
thorities of San Quentin prison when
six trusties escaped in a launch. The
planes scanned every launch in the
bay until at last they sighted the fugi-
tives. Then they signaled their dis-
covery to the officers on shore and the
prisoners were recaptured.
Rail Office Court
At Wolg Point, Mont.,, a railroad
office has, for the first time in America
probabiy, become the county court-
house. The Great Northern Railroad
company moved its division headquar-
ters to Havre, and Roosevelt county,
while it is erecting a suitable county
building, has mpved in ‘on a three
years’ loase.
“mackerel”
|
FARM NOTES.
—Feeding and milking regularly
increase dairy profits.
—Dahlia bulbs should be exam-
ined to see that they are keeping well..
If they are shriveling cover them with
sand; if they show signs of starting
growth they should be kept in a cool-
er place.
—When it is inconvenient and often
impossible for the farm family to
make frequent visits to local markets
during the winter months, the vegeta-
bles needed should come from the sup-
ply furrished by the farm garden.
—Poultrymen planning to buy day-
old chicks should piace their orders.
without delay. Practically all of the
reliable hatcheries will be booked by
February 1 with all the orders they
can possibly handle for the entire sea-
son.
—Succulent feeds, such as silage,
roots, soaked beet pulp, or similar
feeds, are important in maintaining
high winter milk production. They
stimulate the appetite and aid in keep-
ig the digestive system in good con-
ition.
—Have you chosen your exhibits
for the State Farm Products Show in
Harrisburg, January 18 to 22? There
will be classes for all kinds of farm
products. You may have the best in
the State but no one will know it if it
is not shown.
—Many evergreens are damaged
every winter by allowing a wet
heavy snow to accumulate on their
branches, thus breaking them down.
Take a wooden rake and shake the
trees gently to remove the snow after
every heavy storm.
—Have you saved the soil you will
need for plant growing early in the
spring? It is a mighty hard job to
dig frozen clods for this purpose dur-
ing the winter. This fall, before the
ground freezes too hard, take into the
shed a few bushels of soil to use in
the plant flats when seeding time rolls
around.
—With the crops in the barn, or
marketed, this is the season to look
to the woods for their annual returns.
Probably there are one or two mature
trees there that would make enough
lumber or timbers, if saved, to repair
the barn or sheds. This is the time
io get these logs out and to the saw-
mill.
—In what condition are the garden
implements? Were they discarded at
the close of the outdoor season and al-
lowed to deteriorate from rust and
dirt, or have they been thoroughly
cleaned, the metal parts well oiled
with crank case drainings, and per-
haps those worn wooden parts given
a coat of paint?
—During the next few weeks many
nursery catalogs will come to the
farm and city gardener. Placing
orders early for the seeds needed
means prompt service and less danger
of errors in filling orders. “Do it
now” applies to ordering seeds as
-much as to mailing Christmas. pres-
ents early in December.
—Artificial lights are now being
used quite extensively to increase
winter egg production. They give the
hen a longer working day. This en-
ables her to eat more feed which
leaves a larger surplus from which to
make eggs. Lights give good results
if handled properly. The birds should
be made to work about twelve or
thirteen hours a day.
—At the State Farm Products Show
in January, 290 cow testing associa-
tion members will be honored for
having herds which averaged 300 or
more pounds per cow during 1925.
Twenty-three herds averaged 400 or
more pounds per cow, 82 herds be-
tween 350 and 400 pounds, and 185
were in the 300-350 pound class. How
many more will there be next year?
—These poultry truths were stat-
ed by Prof. A. G. Philips, nationally
known poultry expert, head of the
pouty department of Purdue Univer-
sity.
. The first consideration in poultry
is the purpose for which the birds are
to be kept, according to Prof. Philips.
“If you want white eggs and not a
great deal of meat, choose the Leg-
horn or Ancona,” he said. “These are
nervous, active birds that grow quick-
ly and consume a small amount of
food, but you must be prepared to
house them so that their combs will
not be frozen. On the other hand, if
you prefer brown eggs and like chick-
ens that will dress out well for the
table, then you had better get the
Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red,
Wyandotte or Orpington. They cost
more to raise and maintain, but as
hens they will probably not freeze
their combs. They also can be hatch-
ed and raise their own chicks. Balance
the pros and cons of these two groups
of birds and choose the one that suits
you best.”
—Fertilizer left over from the fall
seeding in Centre county may be used
profitably on pasture lands. Where
there is a fair sod, pasture land will
nearly always pay for the applica-
tion of fertilizer and there is little
loss on such land from fall or even
winter application.
If the fertilizer is put on this fall
it will be well washed into the soil by
spring and ready to give the grass a
good send-off. Where the soil is very
sour an application of lime may be
necessary before the best results can
be obtained from fertilizer. A few
hundred pounds of phosphate or phos-
phate and potash will thicken and in-
crease the productive power of pas-
ture sod to a surprising degree. It is
also surprising how long the bene-
ficial results of such an application
will last.
It is better to use the left over fer-
tilizer for this purpose than to at-
tempt to keep it because unless it is
exceedingly dry and is kept in a dry
place it is likely to become hard and
lumpy by spring. This will make the
fertilizer almost useless without
grinding.