Bellefonte, Pa., September 27, 1929.
Deemer]
MY DEBTS.
I owe a hymn of praise to every sunrise,
I owe a cheerful smile to every sunset
hour; !
And to the bee that seeks for nectar in
my garden
I owe a flower.
I owe a light to shine in my small corner,
I owe a helpful lift to shoulders bowed
with care;
And to the blinded souls who grope in
sin and darkness
I owe a prayer.
I owe a loyal heart to those who trust me,
I owe a gracious manner to the pressing
throng;
And to the sad broken-hearted all about me
I owe a song.
I owe myself to do the best that’s in me,
I owe my God a soul that’s clean. and
free from guile;
These are my honest debts and paying
daily, I shall
Find life worthwhile.
meron ens ——
THE BOOMERANG GUN.
Rick Maynard examined the heavy
caliber repeating rifle which a neigh-
bor rancher had just returned, a
frown on his usually good-natured
face. He had never taken ' “Hen”
Collins’ pretense of being a gun ex-
pert very seriously, and now he
thought less of it than before. Hen
ought to buy a rifle of his own. -
Rick shook his head disgustedly as
he crossed to the door and set the
rifle down. Then he went out to his
job scraping fresh hides from last
week's catch. The weather was turn-
ing warm, and he mustn't take any
chance of softening the furs. He
seated himself at the bench behind
the cabin and went to work.
He was still industriously bending
to his task, an hour later, when a
shadow fell across the bench and
Rick looked suddenly up to see a!
young fellow of about his own age
but more slenderly built standing be-
side him. There was a pallor on the
face of the newcomer which gave
Rick the feeling that he had just
come out of a hospital. His eyes
were keen and intent, and there was |
an expression in their depths which
brought the boy working at the
bench slowly to his feet. It might
have been an expression of suppress-
ed excitement or of fear; and it might
have heen something more sinister—
a threat.
“Good morning,” Rick - said. “I
didn’t hear you come—must have |
been day dreaming!”
The flicker of a smile crossed the
stranger’s face, leaving it more som-
ber than before. He licked his lips
and hesitated. Then he spoke with a
plunge. rive
“T wonder if I could get something
to eat?” he queried. “I walked out
from town, and I'm getting so hun-
gry I could gnaw the bark off a pine
tree!” :
Rick turned with alacrity toward
the house and led the way to the
back door, through which he had re-
cently emerged.
“It won't take fifteen minutes to
get a fire going and fix you some
coffee and flapjacks,” he was saying.
“It’s a long walk out from town!”
But to himself he was thinking. “I
wonder why he didn’t get breakfast
before he left? And where is he go-
ing, over this road at this time of
year?”
The stranger offered no informa-
tion. He sat staring at the floor all
the time Rick was cooking breakfast,
and when the latter called him he
started as if he, too, had been ina
brown study—and not a particularly
pleasant one. But he ate as if he
had not seen food for days; ate and
ate, till he looked up to find Rick
regarding him quizzically.
A slow, unwilling smile spread ov-
er his face.
“Some breakfast!” he said with
somber earnestness. “As a matter
of fact, I didn’t eat supper last
night; wasn’t hungry then!”
He stood up and fumbled in his
pocket. Rick shook his head.
“You don’t owe me anything,” he
explained. “There isn’t anyone in
these foothills that wouldn't give you
a square meal, or a dozen of them;
and the only payment you can make
is to pass the kindness on to some-
one else, when you have the chance.”
The stranger considered this re-
mark broodingly.
“When I have a chance? Say.
that's a good one! When I have a
chance. Well, now if you'll just tell
me how far it is to Otter Creek, I'll
be going.”
Rick gave his strange visitor the
information he requested, and saw
him depart up the road that wound
higher into the hills. He was vaguely
disturbed by the other's manner, but
after all there was nothing Rick
could do about it. He shook his
head, glanced with a momentary ir-
ritation at the rifle beside the door,
and then went out into the yard and
struck down through the brush of the
slope below. He had set a mink trap
beside the creek the day before. and
this seemed a good time to examine it.
There was nothing in the trap, and
Rick tramped on down along the
bank of the trout stream looking for
a better place for a set. It was un-
usual for any fur bearing animal to
come so close to the house, and the
chances were that this was some
clever old citizen of the foothills who
had made an intensive study of hunt-
ers and trappers. He would be hard
to capture. Rick found a little mount
of bunch grass projecting from the
snow some. distance from his first
set; inside. it had been hollowed out
and pressed down as if for a sleep-
ing place. At this time of year, be-
fore Mr. Mink went to housekeeping,
he was perhaps living in some such
makeshift beside the creek; and if
not he was certain to investigate it;
on the chance of coming stealthily
upon a rabbit. The young man re-
turned to the place where he had
left the unsprung trap, and fifteen
minutes later had made the new set.
He walked briskly back to the
house after that and passed around
to the back door. Opening it, he
stepped inside to look at the clock.
Eleven—he had accomplished very
little this morning; he turned back
toward the door—and paused. His
eyes widened and for a moment he
stared incredulously. The rifle which
he had left leaning against the wall
was gone! =
Rick whistled softly and strode out
into the back yard. The road from
the distant railroad division point,
five miles away, looped around on the
farther side of the valley and came
diagonally up toward the cabin, so
that he had a clear view of more
then a mile of track in that direction.
There was not so much as acyvow
in sight. He turned and looked up
the road to where it disappeared
around the end of ‘the ridge: no one
in that direction.
For several minutes Rick stood
pondering this surprising develop-
ment. He didn’t want to be unjust
but it certainly looked as if the
stranger whom he had fed that morn-
ing had sneaked back to the house
and had stolen the gun. But what
had been his object? And who was
he and why was he so obviously run.
ning away from the little town in
the valley? Rick gave it up for the
present, which turned out to be the
wisest thing he could do. An hour
later, while he was eating dinner, the
news which he would have wasted
his time trying to figure out from his
meager foundation of facts was
thrust freely upon him.
There came a trampling of hoofs
from the direction of the lower road
and a stentorian voice called Rick to
the door. A dozen men, mounted
and most of them armed, were drawn
up below the house. As Rick appear-
ed on the front porch of the cabin,
which was raised six or eight feet
above the level of the ground, one
of the horsemen called to him.
“Seen anything of a fellow going
up this road, Rick? Fellow about
your age, but mebbe thirty pounds
lighter than you be?”
Rick deliberately made his way
down the steps. Ignoring the ques-
tion that had been fired at him, he
countered with another.
“What did he do?”
looking significantly at the rifles of
the horsemen and from the guns to
i a coil of rope hooked over the pom-
. mel of another saddle.
The man with the rope, a sinister
looking fellow whom Rick had never
| before seen, replied gruffly.
“He did a plenty. young fellow! He
robbed Merken’s store last night, and
most likely he killed Mr. Merken and
threw his body into the river. Any-
how we ain’t been able to find the
old man this morning!”
! the body before spring!” another man
chimed in. “You better keep your
eyes open, Rick—if he comes this
way he might take a crack at you
just for good luck!” |
|” “How did you find out who robbed
the store?”. Rick said, regarding
the burly man with the rope some-
what disapprovingly. : :
“Well, bub, I'll tell you,” the lat-
ter replied with evident gusto. “This
here young man fellow was hanging
around all day yesterday, looking
into windows but saying nothing to
no one. Then this morning when
the news got around that the store
had been robbed, he up and lit out.
We didn’t miss him for a couple
of ‘hours—everyone was excited. If
Seth Adams hadn’t remembered tell-
ing him about the robbery, and see-
ing him kind of keel over like it hit
him in the stomach we might not have
thought nothing about him. But
when we looked for him, he was!
gone. All right, men—we’'ll get off.
If he's on this road we'll overhaul
him before he can reach Otter Creek
and mebbe get aboard a train!”
The cavalcade moved briskly away,
leaving Rick looking frowningly af-
ter them. He had not answered the
question put to him about the
stranger, and in their excitement
they had not asked it a second time.
‘Probably they had the impression
he had answered it.
Rick went back into the house
and finished his meal. His eyes rest-
ed steadily on a point on the wall
just level with his nose. He had
formed the habit of staring at this
particular knot whenever he was
trying to solve a problem; and now
he had an important problem to
solve.
dinner dishes, and went over to a
trunk in the corner. tilting back the
lid, Rick took from the top tray a
long barreled, heavy framed revol-
ver, together with cartridge belt and
holster. For a moment he stared
at this outfit. Then he shook his
head and put the gun and its fittings
back into the trunk. Briskly he
crossed to the outer door and went
out into the yard.
He knew where he would find his
man. Trapping teaches applied
psychology in .a very practical way;
it teaches the trapper to put him.
self in the place of his quarry, and
to think as the latter thinks. He
learns to project his consciousness.
Now Rick Maynard had done that
very thing. He knew where he would
find the man who had appropriated
his rifle and who was accused of
burglary and murdér—because he
knew where he himself would have
gone from thé top of the ridge if he
had been a stranger in the country
and anxious to avoid pursuit.
Tt was a long climb to ‘the top of
the backbone. A stranger, making
this same journey, would have been
deceived many times "by ‘jutting
elbows which seemed to: terminate’
the ascent. When the climber came’
out upon one of these rises, he found
that more steep hillside lay beyond.
Rick swung up the slope with the
long, easy stride of ome accustomed.
to climbing. He was breathin
easily when he reached the top, an
he paused only an instant before
starting the plunge into the great
valley beyond. ‘There was still a
coating of snow over the ' ground;
, and against this dazzling background,
i scattered pines and firs stood out
black and lowering. Rick gave these
he demanded, |
“And if he done that, we won't find !
He stood up presently, washed the |
single trees scant attention. He was
heading for a fir thicket, two miles
distant.
He crossed the valley and ap-
proached the thicket without taking
any particular pains to hide his
movements. A desperate character
hiding here might easily have pick-
ed him off as he advanced. Rick
seemed hardly to have thought of
this, for when he reached the edge
of the trees he stood for a moment
vanced unhesitatingly toward a
shack which he was now able to dis-
cern. If he guessed correctly his
guest of the morning would have
seen the thicket from the ridge and
would now be resting in this little
building.
Rick approached the door. Then
he had reached it and was standing
looking into the room.
He was right—the stranger was
sitting slouched forward, his chin
in his hands, his elbows on his knees.
He raised his head—
And then he leaped erect and
swung the rifle to his shoulder. It
had been leaning against the wall
within reach of his hand.
“Don’t
in here—I won't be
that shook and quavered.
try to come
taken alive !”
Rick regarded him calmly. He
stepped up into the cabin, whose floor
was raised a foot or so he heard the
click of the hammer as the rifle
was cocked.
“I warn you !” the man of the gun
cried. “I'm desperate—"
Rick’s glance rested unwaveringly
on the face of the young fellow op-
posite him.
said calmly. “What would you gain
by it? Better put down the gun!”
He took another step forward, and
for a moment a light of determina-
tion sparkled in the stranger's eyes.
His finger trembled on the trigger.
Then, as Rick advanced another long
stride, he suddenly dropped the gun
to the floor and collapsed into the
sitting. ;
Rick crossed over and picked up
the rifle. His hand rested kindly on
the shoulder of the young fellow at
his side.
repeated. “It’s a poor argument,
Well, old timer, come on. We'll be
moving!”
Haggard eyes looked up into his
with amazement.
“Where do you think I'm going—
with you?” the boy in the chair
gasped.
“Back to my place, of course. Come
on!” :
Unwillingly, moved it seemed by
some force outside of himself, the
stranger stood up. He was staring
wondeéringly at Rick now, and some-
thing very like fear whitened his
cheeks:
“You mean—you're going to take
me back to jail? I'm a prisoner?”
“Suppose you tell me what you did
‘as we walk back. It all depends gn
The stranger fell into step at
Rick's side as they left the cabin and
- Presently they were in the open val-
ley, journeying toward the distant
‘ ridge. iy
| “My name is Norton—Leo Nor-
ton,” Rick’s companion began. “I
. was in jail—in the state reformatory.
'I used to hang around with a lot of
fellows in the city, and we began tak-
‘ing automobiles and going joy riding
{in them. At first we didn't get
{ caught, and we got to thinking we
were too smart for the police. Then
,one night they caught me and my
i chum. We tried to get away, and
the machine we were in smashed in-
to a lamp post. The machine was
wrecked, and we were thrown out
and hurt pretty badly. There had
been a lot of trouble with other fel-
lows doing the same thing, and the
judge down at the juvenile court said
we must be taught a lesson. I was
eighteeri then. He gave me two
years, and I just got out the other
day—I wish now I hadn’t!”
He paused, and Rick could see an
expression of bitterness creeping into
his face. He sighed and continued
despondently.
“T got to thinking about it, before
they turned me loose, and it seemed
like a good deal of my trouble had
' come from hanging around in the
| city with nothing to do but get into
mischief. I didn’t have any ties there
—my father and mother have been
dead since I was ten years old—so I
decided to start all over again in the
country. I used to have an uncle
down in the towr below here, and I
| asked the superintendent to send me
i there. I thought in the country ev-
erything would be fine!” '
Rick smiled sympathetically.
“Carbondale is a railroad division
i point and a mining town,” he com-
mented. “It’s a little "rough. But
what happened when you got there?”
“Well, first I found that my uncle
had been transferred to another divi-
sion—he’s an engineer. And then
this morning—"
He paused, shivering as if with
fear. i
“I knew they'd suspect me as
soon as they heard about the hor-
irible thing !” he cried excitedly.
| “When a fellow once goes wrong,
, they never give him another chance.
i ve heard the boys at the reforma-
tory say that—there’s no second
, chance ! And so when I heard thata
crime had been committed, I knew
I had to.get out. There was no
i train till night, so I started out on
foot. An I'd have made it if it
hadn't been for you! I'm sorry I
ever set eyes on that gun!”
Riek shook his head.
“You wouldn't have made it.
There was a bunch looking for you
at my place this noon. ey'd have
crossed over into this valley to-mor-
| row-—and the fact that you had
run away would have seemed to
them proof enough of your guilt.
You made a mistake in running,
Leo. It never pays to run away
from old man trouble——he can sprint
faster than you can!”
They reached the foot of the long
slope and started up. The stranger
looked sidewise at his companion.
iH
peering into their shade and then ad-
“Stand back !” he cried ina voice
“I don’t believe you'll shoot.” he’
rickety chair in which he had been
“I didn’t believe you'd shoot” ae!
that vo: 5)
‘ headed out of the shelter of the grove.
“You don’t think I did it?” he
‘ demanded. dh = :
“I know you didn't!” Rick re-
plied. “And in any case I wouldn't
turn you over to a mob!”
The city boy’s checks paled at this
ominous word. He seemed to cling
closer to his companion. Silently
they climbed a spur which diagonal-
ed toward the top of the ridge.
It was late afternoon before they
reached the cabin, and Rick at once
set about getting supper. The rifle
he placed where it had been when
Leo Norton appropriated it. Occa-
sionally he saw his companion eye-
ing it almost longingly. To the
young fellow with the menace of
mob injustice hanging over him, the
weapon undoubtedly represented
safety.
A tramping of hoofs sounded from
the direction of the road, and both
young men looked quickly up from
their plates. Silence had settled
over them, as if they had been ex-
pecting just this.
Rick stood up and crossed to the
front door. He threw it open and
stepped out upon the porch.
The red light of sunset flooded
the valley, turning the rims of snow
to a glowing red. It fell, too, upon
the somber faces of the mob. The
bearded man with the rope looped
over his pommel rode to the foot of
the steps and glowered up at Rick.
Plainly he was not used to horse-
back riding, and he slumped wearily
in his seat.
| “Seen anything of that fellow?”
he demanded pessimistically. “I reck-
os be didn’t come this way after
“He came this way, all right,”
Rick replied. “As a matter of fact,
he’s in here now !”
Silence greeted this announcement.
The mounted figures seemed to
freeze into statues, and for a long
moment not a sound came from any
of them. Then the man with the
rope threw his leg backward out of
his stirrup and leaped to the ground.
“Come on, men !” he cried.
Rick raised his hand.
| “Just a minute,” he requested with
ominous gentleness. “He is my guest
at Present, Better stay where you
are!”
i The man with the rope roared his
, amusement.
| “Better stay where you are!” he
yelled. “I see myself-——come on, men!”
|” Rick looked steadily down. He
,had stepped back a pace from the
ledge of the steps, and now his arms
"hung at his sides.
“Don’t come up here,”
again. “I don’t want you!”
| The man with the rope paused at
‘the foot of the short flight of steps.
His whiskered jaw gaped and his
eyes smouldered with wrath.
| “Why, you young whipper-snap-
per!” he snarled. “I'll learn you—"
“Better not be in a hurry, Hines,”
one of his companions suggested un-
easily. “If Rick don’t want you up
there, mebbe you better talk it over!”
The man called “Hines” snarled
‘ pack at them.
! “Come on, you cowards!” he bel-
lowed. “Or if you daren’t do that,
wait till I bring him out!”
He ran up the steps.
top he paused for an instant, shifing
{the coil of rope from his right hand
to his left, and with that big right
fist he struck suddenly at Rick.
. The latter stepped back with the
speed of lightning. He let the awk-
ward “haymaker” swing harmlessly
past, and next instant leaped in and
caught Hines by the collar. Jerking
him forward, Rick stooped and thrust
an arm back of his antagonist’s knee
‘drawing - him across his shoulders.
Then he arched his body forward and
hurled the intruder over his head and
toward the ground below.
+ Hines landed in a snow bank. For
a moment he lay quite still. Then he
i struggled erect and began to claw the
‘snow from his beard.
“Now, listen!” Rick said crisply.
“I wouldn't turn this young fellow
over to you even if he were guilty,
because there isn’t an officer among
1 you. You represent nothing but law-
lessness. But in addition to that, he
is innocent. The best thing for you
to do is to go back totown and see
(what has happened since you left.
i Very likely the thief has been discov-
ered!”
There was a restless movement in
the mob.
| “Look here, Rick!” one of the men
cried, “how do you know he is inno-
cent? Reckon he told you so, hey?”
| “Never mind how I,know. You
are neither sheriff nor jury. You
can neither arrest nor try this man
or any other!”
Hines was up by this time.
shook his fist and snarled.
“Go up there and get him. you
fellows! Don’t stand here arguing
with a kid that ain’t old enough to
know nothing—he admits he got our
man! Go get him! Here, you Mike
—give me your gun! I'll show him
fast enough who's boss around here!”
“The crowd was ominously silent.
Mike held on to his gun, but there
was a threat in their very immobility.
‘Then Rick heard steps behind him,
and turned swiftly to see young Nor-
i
He
ling hands.
“You take it!” Leo pleaded.
they're going to use guns—"
“They aren't!”
“Take that gun back and put it
Where you found it. I don’t need
it!”
A growl partly of ferocity and
partly of approval came from the
‘men gathered below the steps.
“Why won't you need a gun,
Rick?” one of them cried. “We're
coming up there and grab that fel-
low. ' I reckon you don’t know that
he robbed a store and killed a man
last night!”
Rick shook his head. He had not
moved .from his position at the top
of the steps, and his eyes rested un-
waveringly on the man below.
"41 don’t know that, and neither do
you! Now listen, you fellows. You
go back to town ' and if the thief
hasn't been found yet you get the
sheriff. Let him appoint a posse if
he thinks he needs one to arrest one
unarmed boy, and come out here. My
guest will be right here!”
“If
he said
Near the:
ton at his side, a rifle in his tremb-
Rick interrupted.
Hines raised his hands in frenzied
protest. ;
“Yes, he will!” he shouted. “Come
on, you fellows—go up them steps
and get him. It's your turn!”
But something had happened to
the mob. They were talking Rick's
proposal over in low tones, and pres-
ently one of them spoke.
“Rick, you give us your word this
fellow won't go away till we go into
town and look around?”
“I give you my word!”
“Then come on, men!
he’ll keep him here, he'll doit! And
if they ain't found anyone else that
might have killed old man Merken, '
we’ll have the sheriff come out here.
After all, that is the right way to do
i 42
Rick smiled down at the speaker.
“Now you're talking, Harry,” said
he “This is America, remember!”
Rick crossed over to the bucket of
|
If Rick says
spring water and took a long drink. '
His face was pale, now that the
emergency had passed; and his
throat felt drawn and parched. His
hand shook a little as he replaced
the tin cup beside the pail.
“Well old timer,” he said as he
turnd toward his companion, “we
came through that without lowering
our colors! That's fine!”
Leo Norton raised haggard eyes.
“But I don’t understand!” he whis-
pered. “Why wouldn't you take that
gun—when they were threatening to
use guns.”
Rick grinned.
“Perhaps I was too much of a cow-
ard to take it. Iknow these men.
They're pretty rough—they call
themselves ‘hard boiled.” If I'd tak-
en that gun, I would have been de-
fying them to shoot it out with me—
and that would have been twelve to
one. But as long as I wouldn't even
talk gun, without realizing it they
felt themselves bound to use the
same weapons I was using: Reason.
You see, I knew that at heart most
of them were he right sort!”
He paused a moment, glancing
whimsically at his companion.
“And there was another reason,”
he continued. “It gets back to a
question you've overlooked. How did
I know that you hadn’t robbed the
store and killed old Mr. Merken?
| Well, I'll tell you!”
Rick turned, crossed to the wall
where the rifle was leaning, and
picked it up. Throwing down the
lever, he thrust a piece of paper in-
to the aperture thus formed and
twisted this improvised reflector
toward the window.
“Look down through this barrel!”
he commanded.
Leo Norton obeyed.
“Why. there's something in it—it’s
almost plugged shut!” he exclaimed.
“Sure! You see, I loaned the gun
to a fellow who thought he knew
more about ammunition than the
ammunition manufacturers do. He
had some solid cased bullets, and he
wanted to make them into soft points.
He filed off the ends of the steel
jackets. Now, that might have work-
ed with a less powerful gun, but with
this 30-06 ammunition the first shot
blew the lead center out of the bul-
let and left the case in the barrel!”
Again Rick paused, and his eyes
rested curiously on those of the boy
who stood staring at him.
“See how it worked out? When
you were holding that gun on me
today, I knew you couldn't do me
any particular damage. If you pull-
ed the trigger, the gun would burst.
It might hurt you, but it wouldn't be
apt to hurt me. But I knew also
that if you were guilty—if you had
committed a robbery and a murder
last night—you would try to shoot
me, even when your liberty and per-
haps your life seemed to be at stake.
So I knew beyond argument that you
were innocent!” 3
Leo Norton sagged weakly into his
chair. :
“And that was the other reason
you wouldn't take the gun just now?
But you might have bluffed them
with it!”
“Yes, and I might not!” Rick's
white teeth showed in a baffling
smile. “My son” he concluded sage-
ly, “bluff is a good deal like all other
dope. Once you start to use it, you
have to increase and increase the
dose. The reason those fellows took
my word for things just now was
that they knew I wasn’t bluffing.
They knew I was telling the truth,
because I never lied to one of them
yet. I reckon this would have been
a poor time to start!”
It was several days later before
the two young fellows in the cabin
on the ridge heard that Mr. Merken
hadn’t been killed after all. He had
been called into the city, and had
taken the late train without having
a chance to tell anyone. And the
robbery of the store was the work
of a tramp, who was captured next
day with part of his booty still in
his possession.
But by this time Leo Norton was
beginning to lose interest in the af-
fair. He had gladly accepted an of-
fer Rick Maynard made him to stay
at the cabin, trapping during the re-
mainder of the winter and working
at Rick's mining claims in the open
season.—From the Reformatory Rec-
ord. :
EXPERT SAYS HORSE
| IS HODLING OWN.
The mystery concerning the dis-
appearance of man’s faithful friend
from the highways is cleared up by
Edward N. Gosselin, American horse
shoe king, recently returned from a
vacation at Lake Louise in
Canadian Rockies.
Gosselin says there are 30,000,000
horses and mules in the United
States, including 100,000 saddle
horses and several thousand Trace
horses. Although few of the ani-
mals are seen on the highways since
the coming of the “gas buggies,”
FARM NOTES.
—To make a horse life his foot,
pinch the wart just above the Knee.
: —There appears to be no economy
in trying to raise pigs without grain.
—Extra time spent with sows
when due to farrow will pay big
wages. Put in part of the night in
the hog barn when necessary.
—NLice should never be permitted
to remain on the hogs any longer
than their presence is known.
—Under winter conditions fish meal
is worth relatively more in compari-
son with tankage than when the
pigs are on pasture. Likewise it has
a relatively higher feeding value for
young pigs than for well-grown
shoats.
—Coarse straw is generally thought
of as the best material to use in
mulching strawberries. It is not al-
together necessary, however, because
any coarse straw-like material can
be used, but no matter what the ma-
terial is. it should be free from grass,
weed, or grain seeds. Marsh hay is
sometimes used and is all right if it
is of a coarse nature. Some think
that leaves can be used, but they
mat down too close to the surface of
the ground and are aptto smother
out the strawberry plants, and unless
they are used in connection with
something that is very coarse that
will keep them from matting, they
should not be used.
—Any time during the dormant
season when men may work com-
fortably out of doors, the pruning
work may be carried on with profit.
With large orchards one of the main
problems confronting the grower is
the matter of securing labor for the
pruning work. The question is not,
therefore, so much a problem of
when it should be done as it is a.
matter of getting the pruning done.
It is true, however, that labor may
usually be secured with less difficulty
during the fall and winter than dur-
ing the early spring just as growth
is starting.
—A special effort should be made
at this season to keep the fall litters
growing and thrifty. The sows and
pigs should be furnished with shelter
from the cold rains and the cold
nights. Experience has shown pure-
bred breeders that they cannot rely
on the temperate winters and that
shelter will prevent pneumonia, bad
colds, and general unthriftiness. A
moderate quantity of straw or leaves
should be used for bedding—mnot so
much but that the pigs will not be
able to get out of the sow’s way.
When the pigs are old enough to
eat feed them in a creep. A little
shelled corn or skim milk is a good
feed to start them on. Extra feed
pays at this time, the animal hus-
bandrymen at Clemson college say,
because the pigs are making a cheap
gain and will be in good condition for
weaning. Forage can be supplied at
this time by rye and rape. It ises-
' pecially desirable to have enough for-
age to carry the sows and pigs un-
til freezing weather. If forage Is
' not available, a more liberal use of a
the
good protein supplement is necessary
at this time because the hogs are
depending upon the feeder for their
supply.
Don't feed lice. A little ime and
trouble will rid the house and
hogs of these parasites. Crude oil
or a good coal-tar dip will give re-
sults.
The sow will get along best if she
some exercise and should be fed a
mineral preparation consisting of 40
per cent lime, 40 per cent bonemeal
or similar material, and 20 per cent
common salt. To this may be add.
ed .05 to .1 of a pound of sodium
or potassium iodine for every 10C
pounds of the other ingredients.
The sow will get along best if she
is not fed the first 24 hours afte:
farrowing. Her first feed can well be
the bran and shorts which she was
getting before she farrowed.
— The marketing season for tur
keys is fronj about the middle o
November to the last of December.
- Confining turkeys during the fat
tening season has not proved success
ful. They will eat heartily for twr
or three days, but after this they wil
lose their appetite and begin to los:
flesh ‘rapidly. Naturally they ar
wild birds and thrive only when the;
have access to open range. During
the summer and fall they find aj
abundance of feed on the averag:
farm; however, it is advisable to giv:
them a small feed at night for th
purpose of bringing them home tb
roost. Grasshoppers and other in
sects, weeds and grass seeds, gree
vegetation, berries and grain picke
up in the fields and about go to mak
up the turkey’s daily ration, an
when all These are plentiful they ar
in splendid condition when the fat
tening season arrives. 3
A satisfactory plan for fattening i
to begin by feeding small grain nigh
and morning, not enough at a tim
but that the birds will walk awa
still ‘a little hungry, and graduall
increase the quantity, addin
some corn, until they are given a
they will eat three times a day. Alon
at the close of the fattening seaso
corn supplemented with fresh sou
milk, may constitute the full ratio:
New corn may be fed safely provide
the turkeys are gradually accuston
ed to it, otherwise scours may resul
Various kinds of nuts are a natu
al fattening feed picked up by tw
‘Keys on the range. In parts of Texas
they continue indispensible to milk-
men, city trucking concerns and to
the farmer for certain types of labor
where tractors are impracticable.
That “Dobbin” is holding his own
in competition with the mechanical
monsters that threaten his ‘job.
indicated according to Gosselin, b
the great amount of horseflesh that
jis imported from Canada each year.
1
1
i
many growers, properly situated, de
pend solely on acorns for fattenin
their turkeys, and when the mast :
plentiful the birds are marketed i
fairly good condition.
—Loafing cows in the daily her
reduces profits and counteract tk
good work of the efficient milk prt
ducers. Cow testing associations It
cate the boarders so that the own
jg can dispose of them before they es
y , their heads off.
a ——————— A ————————
—We do your job work right.