THE PARROT IN TRADE. An Kduented Illrd Used by m Collector ft lUnl Pertinent Thiugs About Had Debts. "No use to dun Vm! No use to dun •em! They're deadbeats!" These words uttered in shrill pierc ing- tones, attracted a crowd in the vicinity of Lincoln park. A well dressed younj man emerged from the vestibule of a residence, where he had been conversing with a woman, and rushed down the steps to <» cov ered bugpv in front of the house. "No use to dun 'em! No use to dun Vm! They're deadbeats!" "Quiet, Polly! Shut your mouth." pried the voting man as he removed from the seat, of the vehicle a large cage containing a particularly vicious looking parrot. After several times repeating its un complimentary protests, the bird finally subsided and its master re ascended the steps to the vestibule, from which he soon emerged with fom( bark notes in his hand. "It's an original scheme of my own," explained the young man a little later, "and I'll explain the scheme if you keep it mum. Some time ago I was connected with an agency that employed uniformed collectors and (yellow wagons, the object being to in timidate the debtor, who would pay a just bill rather than be disgraced by having self-advertised bad debt col lectors calling upon him every day. "After a time legal proceedings were taken by a disgusted debtor who had been persistently annoyed, and the wagons and uniforms were promptly suppressed. I'.ut are deadbeats to es cape paying their just dues on that account? 1 thought not, and recently devised the plan I am now carrying into execution. "People whose names are on the blacklist are generally shrewd enough to understand the situation, and a set tlement is at once made or arranged for. I have been operating for over a month, and in but one instance has Polly been called upon to repeat her well-rehearsed act. I am told that complaints have been made to the police, and I must make hay while the eun shines. Good-day." "By-by! I'm a bird, I am." shrieked the parrot, as the enterprising col lector drove briskly away. —Chicago Chronicle. A CASE OF FRAUD. War T>ep-*rtment Discovers a Way in YTlilrh 8ol(lierx Secure Their I>l«charjje. The war department has just nn oorthed a case of fraud that it is sus pected lias many parallels. An ap plication for the discharge of her son was received by a Pennsylvania rep resentative from an old lady 84 years of age. living in Adrain, Pa. She wrote u pitiful appeal for the release of her only boy, who was her sole support «nd was said to be lying sick in Fort Washington. Md. The letter was for warded by the representatives of the war department with a request that the application be granted. The usual circular letter was sent to the old la*;&.. • Ron. J. D. EOTHIN, Congressman-at-Large frora Kansas. Pe-ru-na and. Man-a-lin. I hare beer afflicted, more or less, for a quarter oi a century with catarrh of the stomach and constipation; a residence in Wash ington has increased these troubles. A few bottles of your medicines hav< given me almost complete relief, and 1 am sure that a continuation of theii use will iffect a permanent cure. Pe-ru-;ia is surely a wonderful rem •dy for catarrhal affections. J. Jj. BOTKItf. TRIALS OF THEIR OWN. Boiitt'kecpcrM Have Them Juat as \\ ell, and an Many of Them, an Their 11 uitlia n «1». None of them had been married very long ami their interest in the mys teries of ho ustkeeping had not died out. "What is the most awful thing which ever happened to you since you kept house'.'" asked the dark-eyed girl. The group sighed as one woman. "We haven't time to tell," they chorused. "I think," spoke up the prettiest one, "that the time I most wanted to crawl under the rug and just die in lonesome r.ess was at my first card party. Five tables had been served with ice cream when it gave out. There were eight tables!" "Why, I never knew that!" cried her husband, who was on the outskirts of the bevy. "Of course not!" she flashed. ou happened to be at the second table and when I saw you placidly putting away the ice cream while your guests down til* room were starving I —l came near disliking you!" "What did you do'.'" asked the other wnmen. "Oh," she said, "I just told them brutally that the ice cream had given out and they couldn't have any. What else could I do? I felt as though red hot needles were sticking into me when I did it, too." "Tom brought a man home to din ner one night," reminiscently said the bookworm of the crowd. "Of course it was on a day when the cook had left and there wasn't a thing to eat, but 1 believed in doing my duty as wife, so I smiled and smiled and got hold of a beefsteak by threatening to massacre the butcher's boy, who wanted to deliver it at the flat above, where it had been ordered, but I was desperate. Well, I put that steak in the broiler and held it over the coals —we didn't have a gas stove. It was slow work, so I picked up the evening paper and began reading it. As I read I turned the broiler over and over constantly. b I i iii ! !l 'v. ' Iljll-'lllilii, s '■~ /Xw>~r i•, it i \i smi i'| Pipgr i v IT WAS SLOW WORK. for T remembered mother saying when you broil meat it must be done on both sides. 1 was in the midJle of th.; most interesting article when I no tired I was choking to death. My dears, that kitchen was smoking like b stpain engine, and the steak—well the charred bits were just kind oi rattling around in the broiler. I gave Tom and the man breakfast bacon!" "Have you ever gone down in a bath robe, with your hair like a wild In dian's, to answer the postman's ring and discovered it was your wealthy maiden aunt or your dearest enemj come to call on you?" asked the blond "Or complained to the janitor about Ihe noise your neighbor's childrer were making in the court, only to bf told the howling little savages wert your own darlings?"supplemented the mother of three. "Or had three people 'just drop in tc dinner.' when your meal was pre pared for two —with sm. II appetites?' "Or," said the prettiest one in a low ered voice and a glance at her hus band, "have your mother-in-law com* to see you when you had forgotten tc dust the piano and the pie crust woulc have been just the thing to make nice durable rubber boots?" Tli,'re was a sympathetic silence "Anyhow," sighed the one who has started the discussion, "it's bette: than boarding!" And everyone looked more cheerful —Chicago Daily News. Horns for Dniry Product*. By being boiled milk will usually keep good for nearly hours, if it is placed in a cool lard-er or cellar whict is well ventilated; but the peculiai taste it imparts to tea is a drawback to this means of preserving it. It wil be found a good plan to add half n teaspoonful of powdered borax to eact quart of milk, stirring it well, so thai the borax may dissolve quickly; Ihii should be done as soon as the miik i: brought from the dairy. Butter should be well washed in borax and water, and kept in a basin of cold water, to which borax has been added. Cooking but ter which has a rank taste may lit made sweet by this means, but plentj of borax should be used, and the but le~ must be well worked with buttei spoons. Month find Tootti \Vnnli. An excellent wash for the mouth and teeth and also for the hair is made b\ dissolving two ounces (about four ever tablespoonsfui) of borax in three pint« of boiling water; while still warm add to this a teaspoonful of spirits of cam phor. Hot tie and ke«p on the wash stand; when ready for use, add equa, amount of warm water. -GAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24. *B9B THE FINISHING TOUCH. A Word About llf«nl>'" Timing and the A|i|illi'Hlli»> «>' Powder to the Skin. There are hardly two women out of ten who properly apply the different lo tions and cosmetics to their skins. As a rule the finishing touches are left en tirely to the last, when they should be begun with the dressing. The proper time to commence to ap ply the powder and little touch of color to the skin is just after the hair has been dressed. The tinting should be done first and theu the powder should be put on with lavish hand. The cor- FINISHINO THE TOILETTE. set cover and silk skirt are the last garments to put on, so that the neck and arms can have full benefit of the treatment. After this is done put on the skirt and waist of your gown, and after all is ready brush the powder from your face until there is just enough to keep away the shine which 1 is so tormenting to the complexion. The powder should be left upon the neck and arms for comfort's sake and for the sake of the gown, as it absorbs perspiration, and thus the dress ma ■ terial is kept dry and fresh. This is the only method used by pro ' fessional beauties, and is the one which ■ will be prescribed by any masseuse beauty artist. If the treatment is left until your whole toilette is complete 1 never lasts as long, and your gown is apt to be spoiled. BRAINS OF CHILDREN. Scientific Experiment* Made to See How Much They May lie Kx erclned Safely. How much happier the lives of the thousands of children entering school would be if only women —mothers and teachers—better understood the na ture and limitation of their brain cells, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. Such knowledge is to be had, as very im portant experiments and deductions have recently been made by scientific investigators; but it always takes an unreasonable length of time for such knowledge to become general. After 25,000 tests by the best educa tors in America, it has been absolutely demonstrated, for instance, that the length of time that a child six years of age can concentrate its mind does not exceed seven minutes; and that all ef forts to confine its attention upon one subject beyond this limit are worse than useless. This power of concen tration increases slowly; at the age of eight a child's attention may be easily •held ten minutes. At the age of 12 hia mind should not be riveted upon one subject longer than 17 minutes. It is, therefore, a great mistake to keep a child of this age—say at the piano, more than 15 minutes; after a change of occupation, another quarter of an hour's practice will be of incalculably more benefit than the attempt to con tinue work after brain and nerves have become fatigued. Indeed, most of the inattention and restlessness of children ma}' be ex plained upon the physical basis. A boy's brain, for example, undergoes a certain shrinkage at the age of 14 or 15. It actually weighs less than at the age of 12 and 13. This fact explains the carelessness, laziness and general un reasonableness of boys of this age, Statistics show that a large propor tion of boys leave school at about this time. It is altogether probable that if parents and teachers realized that the proverbial lawlessness of boys of 14 merely evidenced a temporary con dition of brain cells, more of them would be patiently guided through the period, to take up their studies a yeat or two later with renewed interest. The same tests have conclusively proved that the brain of a child is al ways most active between 8:30 and 11:30 in the morning. All lessons, therefore, requiring ihe exercise of their reasoning' power—such as arith metic and grammar, should be at this hour. It has been further deduced that the average child, unhampered by grades and systems, may have easily mastered his arithmetic by the time he is 12 years old. Scientists have also discovered that if the brain centers governing the motor nerves remain undeveloped un til the age of 10, there is no chance whatever of any later development; which fact is a powerful argument in favor of manual training in the public schools. The majority of children are so active that they develop their own brains and nerves to a certain extent along these liues. Where they fail to do so. we get the tramp and the sloven. It is a physical impossibility to ac quire skill and dexterity in any art un less the foundation has been laid in the formation of brain cells and the train ing of the motor nerves before the age of 10. iilllS AN EXHIBITION COOP. It la Hoomy UnuMKli for the Illr«l» to Appear to Advantage and to lie Comfortable. We have several requests for direc tions for building coops for exhibiting fowls at fairs and shows, and give above an illustration of such a coop. The illustration explains itself so well that but little by way of explanation is necessary. This coop is 30 inches high, 30 inches wide, and 24 inches deep —but these uin-ensions are by no means obligatory, as coops are built of va rious sizes, to suit the taste and pur pose of the builder. We would urge, however, that exhibitors who supply their own coops make them roomy IT n ~ 1 f s JL EXHIBITION COOP. enough fo- the birds to be comforta ble in; nothing is so certain to make the birds appear at a disadvantage as too close quarters. We would make a frame o, 1 i/ a -inch stuff—the ends, back and top being covered with stout serv iceable duck, the floor being of half inch matched boards, and the front be ing made of half-inch rods set into top and bottom of frame 2'/ 3 inches apart, excepting that the two or three cen ter rods are set into a sliding bed piece at bottom, and pass up through the top frame, giving access to the interior. The bed piece of the gate should slide upon the rods on each side. Short rods are set in the front, upon which to suspend cups for food and water. A curtain for the front, to be let down at night, and in day time be rolled up as in the illustration, adds to the neatness of the structure; and ornamental brass-headed tacks to secure the duck ends, etc., improves the appearance. The rods in front look best if round, al though eight square rods are very neat. Many owners of private coops keep them neatly painted.—Farm Poultry. THE DUCK BUSINESS. It In Profitable When Conducted with Judgment and In the I*roper Locality. There is an unfounded prejudice against ducks and geese in the minds of many farmers. The usual excuse is that they have a habit of puddling in every bit of water they find until they make a mudhole there. Hogs have a similar habit but no one objects to them on that account be cause the hogs are kept in their places. Mud is not necessary to the happiness of either ducks or hogs. In fact both are better if kept where they cannot make mud. Ducks should be kept out of the door yard and they have no place in the barn yard or about the watering troughs of any kind. They are so easily shut out of any place that it is not a hard mat ter to keep them from getting into mis chief. They cannot crawl through a small hole in a fence and if the fence is three feet high they will never get over It. Ducks will drink more water than other kinds of poultry, but they do not need it for any other purpose. If they are given their water in a trough over which slats are nailed to prevent them from getting into the water they will not make any more mud than other fowls. Whether kept for eggs or hatched to be sold when ten or twelve weeks old, they are more profitable than chickens and much more comfort able to handle, as they are domestic in their habits, easily tamed and always ready to eat almost anything that is | given them and turn it to good use by growing heavier all the time. —Farm- ers' Voice. AMONG THE POULTRY. Ten weeks from shell to market is the time allotted a chick. Geese cannot be raised to an advun | tage without grass and water. Cull out the poor layers and give the prolific hens more room to work. Scalded sweet milk and cooked rice will stop diarrhoea in chickens. Avoid giving sloppy food when in this con dition. A breed of fowls kept for the eggs alone should be that one which can be kept with the least expense for food or support. Early maturity is an item with poul try, especially chickens and turkeys when raising them for market. —Prairie Farmer. Why Some Farmer* Fail. Do farmers in general appreciate the need of preparing the soil for a crop in time? They do theoretic-filly, but prac tically farmers are disposed to display that lack of exacting promptness that characterizes the successful business man. This is more frequently the line of demarkation between success and failure in farming than is realized. Farmers are usually always at work, out being employed at the thing most ueeding attention is what requires full understanding of"on time." —Dakota Field and Farm. Activity «F VHBTIBI. Much anxiety has been caused in Naples by the renewed activity of Mount Vesuvius. An overwhelming danger of this description produces universal terror. As a matter of fact there is little likelihood that Alt. Vesu vius will do any serious damage. On the other liand thousands die daily from stomach and digestive disorders, who might have sur vived had they resorten to Hostetter's Stom ach Hitters. It is the greatest of known ton ics for stomach and digestive organs. It cures kidney, liver and blood disordws. A Doubting Thomas. "Sound," said the pedagogue, "is some thing that a person can hear, but can neither see nor feel." "Oh, I don't know!" exclaimed the boy at the foot of the class. "1 think I can prove that you are off in your theory." "Very well, Thomas," retorted the man of learning, "go ahead and prove it, then." "Only yesterday you gave me a sound thrashing," said Thomas: "I suppose the other pupils saw ; t, and don't you ever think for a minute that 1 didn't feel it." — Chicago Evening News. Go South This Winter. For the present winter season the Louis ville & Nashville Railroad Company has improved its already nearly perfect through service of Pullman Vestibuled Sleeping Cars and elegant day coaches from Cincin nati, Louisville, St. Louis and Chicago, to Mobile, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, l hornasville, Ga., I'ensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, Palm Beach and other points in Florida. Perfect connection will be made with steamer lines for Cuba, Porto Pico, Nassau and West Indian ports. Tourist and Home-Seekers excursion tickets on sale at low rates. Write C. P. Atmore, General Passenger Agent, Louisville, Ky., for par ticulars. The UM tin 1 Way, More people make a fuss over mushrooms and less people like them than any other alleged delicacy.—Washington Democrat. If you want to be cured of a cough use ll,tie's Honey of Ilorehound and Tar. Pike's Toothache Drops Cure in one minute. In giving ear to flattery we not only fool ourselves, but fool the flatterer as well.— Town Topics. You may be sure Neuralgia will be cured by St. Jacobs Oil. We blame the devil for many things he couldn't possibly do unless men helped him. —Town Topics. The way out of pains and aches is to rub St. Jacobs Oil in. Fuddy—"Many wonderful things happen in one's life." Duddy-—"Especially in auto biographies."—Boston Transcript. What? A Cripple? Cure your sprain in a day with St. Jacobs Oil. A glass eye is the memorial window of the soul. —Princeton Tiger. t THREE HAPPY WOMEN. Each Relieved of Periodic Pain and Backache. IA Trio of Fervent Letters. Before using Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound, my health was gradually being undermined. I suffered untold agony from painful menstruation, |**C t backache, pain on top of my head and ovarian trouble. I concluded to try Mrs. l'inkham'a 1 P Compound, and found that it was all any wo man needs who suffers with painful monthly periods. It entirely cured me.—Mrs. Geobo* Wass, 923 Bank St., Cincinnati, O. * ?or y ears * Sl, ff cre( l with painful men* ' Btruation every month. At the beginning of menstrua tion it was impossible for me to stand up for more than /L /Jjßpfive minutes, I felt so miserable. One day a little book / lEjmP of Mrs. pinkham's was thrown into my house,and Tt TSosßjk I fiat right down and read it. I then got some of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and Liver Pills. I can heartily say that to-day I feel like a new woman; m y monthly suffering is a thing of tho past. I shall always praise the Vegetable Compound for what it has 112 done for me.—Mrs. Makgaket AndebsoN, 303 Lisbon St. / Lewiston, Me. Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound has cured me of painful saenstrua* tion and backache. The pain in my back was dreadful, and the agony I suf fered during menstruation nearly drove me wild. Now this 5s all over, thanks to Mrs. Pinkham's medicine and advice.- Mra» Cakrie V. Williams, South Mills, N. C. \ The great volume of testimony proves conclusively that Lydia E. Pinkham'B Vegetable Compound is a safe, sure and almost infallible remedy in cases of irregularity, suppressed, excessive or painful monthly periods. ■" The present Mrs. Pinkham's experience in treating female ills is unparal leled, for years she worked side by side with Mrs. Lydia E. Pinkham, and for sometime past has had sole charge of the correspondence department of her great business, treating by letter as many as a hundred thousand ailing women during a single year." lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Componafl; A Woman's Remedy for Woman's Ills |PAINTi=WAUS CEIUNBS j 1 MURALO WATER COLOR PAINTS I 9 For DECORATING WALLS and CEILINGS PAOKA