“Bellefonte, Pa. April 30, 1926.
———————————————————————
THE TRIPLE PLAY.
“Crack!” The ball shot downward
away from the bat to the ground, six
feet in front of the pitcher's box.
Then, like a glancing bullet, it bound-
ed upward against Jim Conklin’s
mouth and nose.
It was one of those unfortunate ac-
cidents that occasionally occur on the
diamond; unfortunate for Jim and his
team, for he was West High’s crack
pitcher; lucky, perhaps, for the visit-
ors from Middletown High School, be-
cause, with Jim out of the game, the
Middletowners had a much better
chance to over-come the seven-run
lead that West High had on them.
And Jim was out of the game, all
right. His cut and bleeding lips de-
cided that. His absence now, though,
should make little difference in the
_outcome, in view of West High’s lead.
“Go right home and to bed,” order-
ed the doctor, after bandaging Jim’s
mouth and nose in the dressing rooms
under the grandstand. “You had a
pretty stiff crack. Nothing sericus,
but it’s better for you to rest.”
“Yes, Jim, do that,” Coach Ham-
mond put in. “Your uncle is waiting
for you in his car just outside the
gate.
“You've already done your share in
winning this game—and in landing
the pennant for us. Middletown can’t
come up and over-come such a lead
in the two innings left to play. Tl
put your brother Jack here in the box
to finish up. The doctor will see you
to the car.
“Come on, Jack. We'll get back to
the game.”
As Jim made for his uncle’s auto-
mobile, Coach Hammond and Jack
Conkin headed for the diamond and
play was quickly resumed.
Jim and Jack were not only broth-
ers, but also twins, looking as much
alike as twins usually do. They were
well built, very black of eye and black
of hair.
The twins were fond of baseball,
Ji 1 being looked upon as West High’s
st.+ player. He was always steady;
so steady that often the other mem-
bers of the team spoke of him as
«Old Rock” Conklin. When he was
in the box every player felt that the
whole nine would work in unison.
At times Jack played as well as his
brother, but on the whole he could
not be relied upon. For several in-
nings he might play a perfect game,
fast and brilliant, then suddenly he
would go straight up into the air.
When this happened the team usu-
ally went to pieces with him. This
afternoon, however, Jack felt fit and
sure of himself. He would just clean
up the Middletown batters in one-two-
three order.
From the opening of the season
there had been intense rivalry be-
tween West High and the Middletown
teams. Hal/ way through the sea-
son it had been a toss-up which of
the two would capture the county
high-school pennant. And the uncer:
tainty had continued up to "the two
final games. Now, if West High
should prove the victor, there would
be no need of crossing bats on the
second game. But if the Middletown-
ers should, by some freak of fortune
during the remaining two innings,
pull out in the lead, they would still
have a chance for the county high-
school flag.
But as Jack faced the batter and
let his gaze wander on the players’
bench and the packed grandstand, he
felt, like Coach Hammond, that the
game was safely in the palm of West
High’s hand.
Winding up, he sent through a
straight, fast one. The batter swung
at it and missed. Whereupon Jack’s
fellow players and the West High
rooters yelled their approval.
As the catcher tossed the ball back
to the box Jack caught it nonchalant-
ly. Then, quick as a flash, he turn-
ed and made a sudden throw to first,
catching the runner so far off base
that he was tagged out.
Again a yell of approval from the
other players and the grandstand.
Jack was playing in his best form to-
day. Now, with good support, he
would give the Middletowners their
first shut-out of the season. The team
hadn’t been able to score off Jim.
“Nor,” said ,Jack to himself, “will
they, off me.” And, sure enough in
their half of that inning they did not
score.
Rousing cheers floated to the dia-
mond from all sides. With the score
standing seven to nothing in favor of
West High, it surely looked as if
Middletown were slated for second
place.
And it looked even more so at the
end of the eighth inning. For Jack
knocked a home run, which also
brought in a man who was on first.
When the side went out, the spirit
of conquerors was in the hearts of the
West High players, while gloom hung
over the Middletowners. Nine to
nothing was a big lead for the latter
to overcome. Yet they were fighters,
and had no intention of giving up un-
til the last ball had been put over.
Jack felt cocksure of himself as he
walked to the box for the first half of
the ninth inning.
“Strike one!” shouted the umpire
at Jack’s first delivery, and the West
Ign rooters broke out in the school
yell.
“Strike two!” shouted the umpire
again, as the ball thudded into the
catcher’s mitt.
A dancing light was in the young
pitcher’s eyes when he served up the
next one, a snappy curve.
“Crack!” Of a sudden the light
died away. The batter; had smashed
out a fast grounder toward shortstop
Frank Dillon, usually called “Whitey,”
on account of his light-colored hair.
Ordinarily Whitey gathered in his
chances without error.
But just then, hard luck! For, al-
though he made one of his lightning-
like springs off to the right, all he did
when his hands shot down was to
turn the ball aside as it touched his
fingers.
i
or -
By the time the ball was fielded the
runner had reached first and another
batter was on his way to the plate.
“Whitey ought to have got that
one,” Jack thought, getting ready to
step back into the box. “But it’s all
right. Middletown will have to play
some ball to make ten runs in one in-
ning.”
True enough, they would. And that
they intended to try was shown by the
way the players responded to the
school yells and the cheers booming
out from the Middletown section of
the grandstand.
“Kill it, Tucker!” one of the Middle-
town players called from the bench.
To which Tucker responded by grim-
ly raising his club.
“Swish!” Tucker had struck under.
“Swish!” again. This time over,
and the runner was still on first.
“pop!” This time he connected, and
the ball rolled slowly just inside the
third base lines, with the man on first
reaching second and Tucker reaching
first.
Jack fanned the next man and the
Middletown rooters looked glum. Still
they were not quitters, which was
shown by their cheers for the suc-
ceeding batter up.
In making the next delivery Jack
lost control of the ball and struck
the batter on the shoulder, thus giv-
ing him a base.
With all sacks loaded, Jack felt
just as confident of victory as he had
felt when they were empty. All he
had to do was to keep his head.
«Strike one!” called the umpire.
A minute later he called loudly,
“Strike two!”
Jack was keeping his head all right.
He wound up and let drive a tantaliz-
ing curve, thinking as he did so,
“Strike three!”
But instead—“crack!” The ball, a
moderately fast grounder, shot away
from the bat well off Jack's right,
making straight for Whitey.
Jack threw himself sidewise on the
ground, his arm outstretched. The
ball touched his fingers. He tried to
clutch it, but it rolled away from him.
Jumping wildly to his feet, he
bounded forward and scooped the ball
up. And then, instead of throwing
home, where he could easily have
caught the runner, he heaved the ball
with all his might away over the first
baseman’s nead, with the result that
four runs were made before the ball
was fielded.
Then and there Jack went to pieces.
And, to make matters still worse, the
rest of the team did the same.
Coach Hammond, doing his best to
steady the boys, smiled and waved
them encouragement. Yet he felt
downhearted, for he had no one to
put in Jack's place. West High had
three pitchers—Jim, Jack, and George
Hoover. But Hoover was out of the
game because of a badly sprained
wrist. With two injured pitchers, it
was Jack or nobody.
The result was that Middletown
spurred on by chance of victory and
by West High’s fumbles, poor team-
work, and bone-head plays, came up
from behind for a one-run lead over
West High. i
West High had a chance to capture
not only the game but also the pen-
nant in their half of the ninth. Still,
on account of poor stick work, no one
reached first base.
It was a gloomy lot of players that
filed into the West High dressing
room, with the cheers of the Middle-
town rooters ringing in their ears. Of
course there was a chance of winning
the final game. But it was a small
chance, if Jack were to pitch. And
what else was there for it? Neither
Jim Conklin nor George Hoover could
play the following day, when the
game was scheduled.
That evening Coach Hammand
dropped around to the Conklin home,
where he spent nearly two hours. He
found Jim, a bandage over his mouth
and nose, feeling fairly well. Yet it
did not seem probable that he would
be able to play baseball for a week
or two.
However, when he bade the twins
good night and made for the street
the coach did not feel so pessimistic
over the next day’s game. There
yas still a chance of grabbing: the
ag.
At two o'clock the following after-
noon, as loud cheers rolled out from
the grandstand, the Middletown play-
ers walked confidently onto the field;
while the West Highs, the lower half
of their younger pitcher's face hid-
den by a fresh white bandage, took
their place on the bench.
“How are you feeling, Jim?” asked
Dan Kidder, West High's catcher,
turning to look over the bandage into
the young pitcher's snappy black
eyes.
“Good!” was the prompt reply
through the folds over mouth and
nose that muffled the speaker’s voice.
“Good as I ever did. And we're go-
ing to win the game to-day. That
flag is ours.”
“Gee! but it’s fine to hear you
talk like that, Jim,” Dan replied
eagerly. “If that’s the way you feel
we're going to win, all right. All the
boys are steady when you are in the
box.”
One by one the West High bats-
man struck out. The Middletown
pitcher, as well as the rest of the
team, showed conclusively that all
hands were on their toes.
Then, as the West Highs were mak-
ing ready to take their places on the
diamond, Coach Hammond called the
boys around him and gave them a
short talk. “Watch yourselves,” he
said. “And don’t lose your heads.
“Remember, too, that you've got
to back up your pitcher if we're to
win this game. Play ball for his sake
as well as your own. For when any-
one gets a crack in the face like Jim
did yesterday it is bound to take a
little out of him. Your pitcher, al-
though he has a bandage over his nose
and mouth, is not shy on brains. So
play ball—and the flag is ours.”
This short talk gave the players
added encouragement. To them, an
injured, steady-going Jim was a great
deal better than a rattle-headed pitch-
er such as Jack had shown himself to
be on the preceding afternoon.
“If we had Jack in the box,” they
all thought, Middletown would get
the pennant. But with Jim—well,
they'll have to fight for it”
Never before had such cheers roar-
ed out of the grandstand as to-day.
Cheers that were entirely deserved,
too; for both teams played exception-
ally fine ball.
Cheers! Cheers! And still more
cheers, the loudest of them for West
High's young pitcher. He was the
star of the day.
He seemed to have perfect control.
He had great speed when it was need-
ed. But he apparently depended
most on a slow, tantalizing curve that
seemed easy enough to solve, yet the
Ball was rarely knocked out of the in-
field.
Still, West High was not having
easy picking, because Middletown was
also playing great ball, For eight
innings the score remained nothing
to nothing. Then West High’s pitcher
clouted out a home run, bringing in
a man who was on second. So when
the Middletown players walked in for
their half they had a two-run lead to
overcome.
“We've got them, Jim!” said
Whitey Dillon, as he passed the pitch-
er’s box on his way to the shortstop’s
position. “You never played a better
game than you have to-day. Out
with them! The whole team is be-
hind you.”
Snappy black eyes showed above
the bandages as the pitcher nodded.
Then was heard a muffled “Atta boy!”
“Qtrike one!” Umpire Franklin
yelled when the first ball sped over
the plate.
“Strike two!” at the next.
But not so with the third, for the
batter found it. Not, however, for
a long drive, but a pop-up fly, which
the first baseman muffed on account
of the sun shining in his eyes.
This brought the Middletown root-
ers to their feet yelling. Perhaps at
last Middletown’s time had come.
Three runs were all that was needed.
“Yow! Yow! Yow!”
The next batter, after fouling twice,
hit toward third. The third baseman
should have gathered in the ball with
little difficulty. But he fumbled, and
by the time the Middletown rooters’
cheers had died away there was a
runner on first and another on second.
It was then that West High play-
ers and rooters alike thought to them-
selves: “It’s a good thing that Jim
Conklin is in the box instead of his
twin brother. Jack would be clear
up in the air by this time. But with
Jim—it’s just two men on bases;
that’s all. And that's where they’ll
stay.”
Yet very shortly after the next
Middletown batter stepped to the
plate, he found the ball for a safe
single. And the bases were full.
Ned Mead, the hardest and surest
hitter of Middletown, sauntered to the
plate, bat on his shoulder, a smile on
his face, and confidence in his stride.
What he would do to the pill, if the
pitcher would put one over! Just one!
Then a homer, and Middletown would
have the game cinched by a score of
four to two.
West High’s twirler looked coolly
around. Other pitchers had pitched
themselves out of a hole like this, so
why couldn’t he? The whole team
was with him. They were ready for
whatever might come.
“Ball one;” sang out Umpire
Franklin, while Mead, grinning, yell-
ed, “Are you going to give me a
walk 7”
A minute later he set himself for:
a good, solid wallop, for the ball was
apparently coming up exactly to his
liking.
Then, “crack!” He found it. Not,
however, for a long line drive, as he
had hoped, but for a slow grounder
that was traveling toward the right
of the pitcher’s box.
The pitcher suddenly stooped over,
right hand down. He might stop the
ball and catch the man at home, or he
might fumble. The pill was speeding
fast, and was pretty well out of his
reach.
It was a situation similar to that in
which Jack Conklin had lost his head
and his game in the ninth inning on
the preceding day.
Just as quickly as he had stooped
over, the young slab artist straight-
ened up and let the ball zip on toward
Whitey at short.
The white-haired shortstop saw the
ball rolling toward him and he knew
what to do. Down went his hand, and
in almost the same sweep he tagged
the runner dashing for third.
Then Whitey whipped the ball to
second.
The second baseman relayed to first
for a triple play, winning both the
game and the pennant.
“Head work to that play,” said one
rooter to another, as the crowd began
surging from the grandstand onto the
field. But that’s Jim all over. He
always knows what to do. Come on!
We'll carry him around the diamond
on our shoulders.”
“No, fellows, no!” the black-eyed
young pitcher objected, as a group of
boys prepared to lift him up on the
shoulders of the two most stalwart.
Then, entirely forgetting his band-
aged face, a scuffle began, a scuffle in
which the bandage suddenly shot
down from the pitcher's nose and
mouth to his shoulders. And then—
and then the nearest boys gasped.
For, instead of seeing the swollen
lips and puffed nose of Jim Conklin,
they stared at the radiant face of
Jack Conklin, no longer a rattle-head-
ed player.
“It was this way,” Coach Hammond
explained to Umpire Franklin a cou-
ple of hours later: “We were in a
hole for pitchers. Nobody left but
Jack, as Jim was in no fix to play..
“So I thought of having Jack put
on a bandage and go into the box.
Jack is a brilliant player when he
keeps his head. Consequently, I
figured that if he knew his team-
mates believed he was Jim, it might
inspire him to play the steady game
he knew Jim would play.
“You see how it worked out. And
let me tell you this: From now on
Jack will be just as steady a player
as his twin.””—From the Reformatory
Record. :
—The “Watchman” gives all the
news when it is news. Read it.
Animals and Insects
Prepare for Winter
Ants, bees, wasps, flies and many |
other insects protect themselves dur-
ing the winter by securing food sup
plies and constructing retreats.
The wonderful work done by ants,
bees, wasps, spiders, butterflies and
worms has been studied by many nat-
uralists and researches have been
charmingly described by Lubbock,
Fabre, Maeterlinck and other able
writers. The underground apartments
and terraced homes of the ants, their |
domestic life, social organization and
thoughtfulness, are among the gres?
wonders of nature, :
These extraordinarily intelligent in. |
sects not only store away an abun-
dance of food for winter, but also they
provide aphides to be milked and they
cultivate fungi gardens and manufac-
ture many food substances while pass-
‘ng the winter months underground
Genius, individuality and temper-
ament in animals enable them to solve
all the problems of winter which they
may at any time encounter. These
vary in individuals of the same spe-
cies. Among any group of young ani-
mals or birds or insects you may no-
tice individuals varying in fear, timid- |
ity, curiosity, suspicion, sociability, |
aggressiveness and initiative. Hardly |
two will be found with simlar charac- |
ters and temperaments. They differ
as widely as the members of a single |
human family. The strong and fear- |
less members of any species give the '
leadership and develop the customs
which enable them to meet the cond’ |
‘ions of winter.
Birds and Mankind |
of Long Association
The association between certain
birds and man is immensely ancient, |
says the London Times. As with |
sheep and oxen and horses, and even |
more with the dog, the attempt to as-
sign a date to the origin of our farm-
yard birds is foiled by the mists of
antiquity.
The scanty company of farmyard
species has been recruited in very dif-
ferent ages. The turkey could not
join us until we discovered America,
and probably far the oldest is the
rock-pigeon. When man learned how
to grow grain, the dove found a nev
attraction in his company.
When man became a builder in
stone, he built also for the swallows
and doves. The swallow finds a
home today in the cowsheds that
mimic his ancient caves, while the
house-pigeon, like the house-martin,
clings to the outside of man’s mimic |
rock faces and builds its nests on his
triumphal arches and against his ca-
thedrals.
Gregorian Calendar
The present calendar was adopted in !
the Sixteenth century, the Julian or
old Roman calendar having become
greatly erroneous. Luigi Lilas Ghiraldi, |
frequently called Aloysuis Lilues, a
physician, of Verone, projected a plan
for amending the Julian calendar,
which, after his death was presented
by his brother to Pope Gregory XIII.
To carry it into execution, the Pope
assembled a number of prelates and
learned men. In 1577 the proposed
change was adopted by all the Catholic |
princes, and in 1582 Gregory issued a |
brief abolishing the Julian calendar in
all Catholic countries, and introducing
in its stead the one now in use, under
the name of the Gregorian or reformed
calendar, or the “new style,” as the
other was now called the “old style.”
The Gregorian calendar was not
adopted in England until 1752.
Men of Great Strength
ft is difficult to compare strong
men. Fach has his own special tests,
at which he is superior to the rest. A
recent newspaper article stated that
unquestionably the strongest man of
modern times was Louis Cyr of Can-
ada, who was considerably stronger
than Sandow. Bred®rt, who died in
October, 1925, is said to have come
nearer emulating Sandow than any of
the latter's many imitators. Certain
strong men excelled Sandow in specific
feats. For instance, Arthur Saxon
was the best lifter of weights ever
produced. Steinbach, Inch, Ashton,
Travig, Rolandow and Lurich each had
some unusual performance to his
credit.
Forces That Control
The tone of society is the result, not
so much of the deliberate attempt of
the members of it to influence each
other, as of the unconscious action and
reaction of their characters. Nor can
anyone easily measure how great his
own contribution has been to the good
or evil spirit that prevails around him,
or how, h:y casual deeds or actions, or
even looks, he may have influenced
the lives of others. We do not carry
on our warfare at our own charges,
but the whole weight of the evil that
ig In our society is dragging us down,
and the whole force of the good that is
in it is helping us up.—Edward Caird.
Lace-Making Old Art
Lace-making, embroidery and fins
ascdlework in general are credited to
tbe Greeks, and its antiquity goes
back to mythology almost. Minerva
tg seid to have originated the art of
pictorial needlework. Many books on
lace-making and embroidery have
been traced back to the Middle Ages.
The Greeks are thought to have
breaght it from Egypt, and the Chal-
deans, whose civilization was earlier
than that of the Egyptians, had de-
veloped it to a fine degree also. France
gave it wide popularity after the
(Christian era. {
HEAR
African Chief Gave
Name to Zulu Tribe
The name “Zulu,” Which means
“gky,” was, not further back than a
hundred years, confined to a small and
insignificant tribe, occupying that part
of the White Umfolozi valley which
falls between the Mahlabatina mag-
istracy on the north and that of Mel-
moth on the south, according to Ad-
venture Magazine. Zulu, son of a cer-
tain Malandela, flourished in Zululand
probably during the Sixteenth century.
This son is said to have quarreled
with his elder brother Qwabe, who
took exception to the former being
* presented by his mother with a cer-
tain white ox, with the result that
Zulu left with his followers to oc-
. cupy the White Umfolozi valley, while
Qwabe went to live nearer the coast
on the south side of the Umhlatuze
river and in what is known as Eshowe
' district.
It was with the help of the chief
of the Mtetwa tribe that Tshaka, who
was not the proper heir, became chief
of the Zulu tribe. No sooner did he
become chief than he began to build
up an extraordinary military organiza-
tion, and to attempt what had never
been attempted before, namely, to fuse
the various tribes into a nation.
| Lesson to Humanity
Found in Bee Hives
It is more than sweets and fruits
and many a lovely flower that would
fail us, lacking bees. We would lack
books—a few books. In fact, more
books have been written about bees
than about any other domestic ani-
mal. We should also lack something
of sympathy and history. Beekeeping
is the oldest craft in the world. As
a beekeeper I am continuing an an-
clent line; joining the oldest of hu-
man guilds; speaking a language
known of all lands; supporting and
practicing an art beloved of all peo-
ples; subscribing to a simple faith,
wider than any creed or color or
the folds of any flag. The bees are
a good first step in an ali-world broth-
erhood, and could well be included in
any world-peace plans. The symbol
of that plan might be the hive for its
universality, its unbroken continuity as
a peaceful occupation, no less than
for its social significance—its practice
of sacrifice for the common good.—
Dallas Lore Sharp, in “The Spirit of
the Hive.”
Curse Trademark Fakers
.n the latter part of October each
sear the English city of Sheffield cele-
brates its Cutlers’ feast, a civie func-
tion that has been held annually since
1648, when the first of the city’s mas-
ter cutlers was elected. The banquet
is attended by captains of industry
from ‘all over the empire, and by at
least one minister of the crown. Two
“toasts that are always‘drunk with en-
thusiasm are: “Eternal destruction to
all false marks on Sheffield goods” and
“success to the Hallamshire Whittells.”
This quaint wording is explained by
the fact that the park of Yorkshire
where Sheflield is situated was once
known as Hallamshire, while “whit-
tell” is an old name for a knife.
There is no public office more highly
esteemed than this. As head of the
ancient Cutlers’ guild the master takes
precedence next to the lord mayor of !
' Sheffield.
Prodigious Memory
One of the sources of the late Rene
viviani’s eloquence was his profound
knowledge of French literature. He
knew by heart thousands of verses
and could recite entire acts of the
classic tragedies without an error.
He demonstrated this at the time .
of his baccalaureate, when he agree- |
ably surprised the examiner by his
accurate analysis of the Cid.
“Can you recite a few verses ot
1t?” the examiner asked.
»Certainly,” sald Viviani, and had
recited the whole of the first act be-
fore he was halted. On another oeca-
sion he recited the whole of Horatius
and Phedre from beginning to end.—
Bulgarie, Sofia.
An Expert
“Julia, do you know what love it?”
The young man put the question in
an intense voice.
“Yes,” replied the girl, firmly.
“But do you really know?” he asked
again. “Have you ever been the ob-
ject of a love as undying as the sun,
as all-pervading as the air, as wonder-
ful as the stars? Have you ever loved
and been loved like that, Julia?”
In an agony of suspense he waited
for her reply.
“Have I?” she murmured. “If you
will come up into our boxroom, I can
show you a trunk full of letters, and
three albums full of photographs, and
in my jewel-case are seven engage-
ment rings!”
Transmitting Light Rays
The bureau of standards says tha:
the transmission factor of smooth,
clear glass is about 92 per cent in per-
pendicularly incident light, the loss
being that reflected at the two sur-
faces. The amount of light transmit-
ted varies with the angle of incidence
and the refractive index of the glass.
The reflector will absorb from 10 to
40 per cent of the light incident upon
it, depending upon its surface
Victor in Life’s Race
Life is a test of fitness. In running
ais race a man should be able to pass
the winning post with head up, heart
light, eye clear, and conscience at
peace. If he can do so he is not “one
who alse ran,” but the captain of als
own destiny. —Grit
:
FARM NOTES.
— Perennials require dividing every
few years. Especially is this true of
peonies and iris. Simply lift the
large clumps and cut into three or
four parts with a sharp spade.
—Japanese barberry is an orna-
mental shrub and not the host plant
for wheat stem rust. The common
barberry is the one that serves as the
host for the rust organism and should
be destroyed.
—How is your seed corn supply?
It will soon be planting time and the
assurance that the seed corn put in
planter-box will grow is a comforting
one. A test in time will save possible
disappointment and insure a better
crop prospect.
—Hotbeds may be used for the
growing of melon and cucumber
plants in paper bands or pots after
the tomatoes have been removed, say
vegetable gardening specialists of the
Pennsylvania State College. Such
crops also may be planted directly in
the hotbed, a hill to each sash, and
allowed to mature there.
—The lightning rod, when proper-
ly installed, is an efficient protection
against damage from this cause.
This does not include installations
constructed of poor waterials and as-
sembled in a haphazard fashion. The
chief function of a lightning con-
ductor is to provide a path over the
building itself and cause fire.
—Be sure the cabbage plants are
well hardened before setting them in
the field. They should have that red-
dish tinge that indicates a well-hard-
ened plant. A few gardeners treat
their plants with nitrate a few days
before planting “to give them a good
green color,” as some say. But
such treatment stimulates the growth
of tender tissue and makes the plants
less hardy to frost.
—Plan your garden for this year.
Use as a basis the amount of vege-
tables needed by your family for a
healthful diet. Plan for the great-
est quantity of the vegetables your
family particularly likes. Make
the location and size of plet fit the
garden you want, when ever possible,
rather than plan the garden to fit a
space that may be too cramped or in-
conveniently located.
—The ewes that are to lamb soon
should be separated from the rest of
the flock and, if it can be convenient-
ly done, each ewe should be kept in a
small pen by herself. After the lambs
are a few days old the ewes wit
small lambs may be allowed to run
together.. The ewes should be given
a small allowance of grain, which may
be increased up to about a pound
| apiece a day after the lambs become
large enough to consume the milk.
—Alfalfa is a valuable dairy feed.
' Many farmers who have alfalfa and
their own corn and oats are only pay-
ing about $35 a ton for grain mix-
tures. Alfalfa not only makes it pos-
sible to have a cheap grain mixture
but helps cows give more milk than
any other roughage will. If alfalfa
is not already grown on the farm, get
in touch with the county agent and
have your soil tested for lime re-
quirements; also obtain sources of
good seed and inoculation.
—Better sires for Pennsylvania
dairy herds continues to be a popular
movement. Four new bull associa-
tions have just been organized. Two
are in Centre county, one in Franklin
county, and another in Bedford coun-
ty. The latter will use Guernsey sires
while the other three are composed of
Holsteins.
There are now 43 bull associations
“in the State. This number puts Penn-
| sylvania well out in the lead in this
i phase of progressive dairying. Each
association has three or more blocks
, with a sire in each block. S. J.
‘ Brownell, of the Pennsylvania State
College dairy extension staff, is in
| charge of the bull association activi-
ties.
| —Mice and rabbits took an enorm-
“ous toll among unprotected fruit trees
of the State during the past winter,
‘early observations reveal.
Two hundred trees were girdled in
a single orchard near Pittsburgh,
Paul Thayer, fruit extension special-
ist of the Pennsylvania State College,
reports. In one group of trees more
than one-third of the stand was ru-
ined by the rodents. The owner is
busy bridge-grafting. In addition, he
‘has 500 poison bait traps, of the
type approved by State College and
United States Department of Agri-
culture specialists, set for the orch-
ard destroyers.
Reports from other fruit growing
sections add to the tales of destruc-
tion by mice and rabbits, most of
which could have been prevented by
proper precautionary measures, Thay-
er declares.
—Farmers who intrust the sale of
their products to commission men in
distant cities are urged by the Penn-
sylvania Department of Agriculture
to be extremely careful about the
type of dealer selected.
The farmer who consigns products
only a few times a year is the one who
is most likely to be careless about the
reliability of the commission man to
whom consignments are made. Crook-
ed commission men make a special
effort to secure the patronage of such
occasional shippers. They promise
unusual returns, but when final set-
tlement is made, if made at all, the
price is likely to be very unsatisfact-
ory. Complaints of such treatment
are received by the Department of
Agriculture from farmers in many
other States as well as Pennsylvania.
The best way to deal with the dis-
honest commission agent, is not to
deal with him at all. There are too
many honest men willing to handle
the farmer's shipments, to warrant
taking any chances with crooks.
Farmers who are not experienced
in desling with commission men and
are confronted with the problem of
knowing what commission agency to
consign shipments to, are urged to
seek the advice of their county agents
and local bankers or make inquiry to
the Bureau of Markets at Harrisburg.
It is always best to establish the re-
liability of a commission man who is
handling the farmer’s business for
the first time.