OF INTEREST ON ACR CUL- TURAL TOPICS, NOTES Cows and Pigs Pull Together—Irrigation Reservoirs Carrots Stunted by Crowd. ing, elc,. etc. Cows and Pigs Pull Together, A common mistake is in believing that the pig crop must be curtailed if more cows are supported on the farm. | Under good manageient the cow is step-mother to swine breeding. Irrigation Reservoirs. | Irrigation Reservoirs are used to | store water that may fall between ir- | elgating seasons. After the reservoir | is full any excess of water shouid be | allowed to flow down to the irrigated district and be applied to the land so that the ground will be thoroughly sat. arated before moisture is actually re quired. During an average year a res ervoir can be tilled several times each season from freshets, i ' J } Ensilage for Horses. | As many people have an idea that en- | silage not ao food for horses, we will call attention to the fact that the Virginia Experiment Station has been testing it, and they report that the trouble from its use has arisen from too much having been fed at the be | ginning, and as the horse likes it he is tempted to eat too much of it, as | he might of green grass or clover. This more apt be the case when It contains a large amount of corn. When they began by feeding small quantities and increased very gradually in the amount given no injury resulted, and after they were well accustomed to its | use they would not eat too heartily of it, even when given opportunity. Is good is to Carrots Stunted by Crowding. All kinds of roots are much better if ! given plenty of room in which to grow. Probably no root suffers more from crowding than the carrot, for the rea- son that when it germinates, the leaves are so small that It is hard to tell whether a cluster of leaves represents one, two or three plats. [It is a great | i038 every way to allow the roots to crowd each other in growing. The bulk of twe or three roots growing to- getaer is not nearly so great as one gogd-sized carrot. The short-horn car. | rots, which grow partly ont of ground, can be seen much better than those whose roots are entirely below the sur- face. And perhaps because the short- horn carrot grows partly above ground it Is not Injured so much by growing | in a clump. It Is also more nutritious | than the deep-rooted carrots, but it! need to be gathered before the soll | freezes very deeply, else the root will | not keep well. Parsnips can be al lowed to stand in the ground all win- ter, Feeding Young Pigs. For pigs just after weaning we find nothing better than wheat middlings and skim milk. Sometimes we cannot get all the skim milk we want. and bave to divide the limited supply among those most needing it. We have used ground oll cake and ground flax- seed in very small quantities, steeped with the middlings;: bot though they are better than nothing, they do not equal milk. Of the two, probably the ground flax seed Is the better, but | it'shiould not constitute more than about five per cent of the total food. By the time the pigs are about three months old a little ground grain is usually added. We like barley for this purpose, and often add a few ground as finely as possible. Soon after this, a few roots are add- ed to the ration. We have fed roots | cooked and raw, and have very little | preference, except that sometimes cooked roots are eaten a little more | readily, We prefer sugar beets, but turnips and mangels are also good. When potatoes are fed, they are al | ways cooked. When fed raw, the roots | are pulped and mixed with the meal ration, after which the whole mass is | moistened. As to quantity of roots, | we have fed to growing pigs as high | as fifty per cent. of the total ration: that is to say, equal quantities by weight of roots and meal mixture. This, however, is an excessive quanti ty, and probably the roots should not exceed 25 per cent. of the total weight of the ration (25 pounds roots to 75 pounds meal mixture), In these matters, however, the feeder must be guided by the condition and the whims of appetite of the pigs. — Farm, Field and Fireside, oats | i ¥ Quack Crass Hard to Cet Rid Of. Whether the season Is wet or dry, this persistent grass seems to thrive, Even on the most highly cultivated farms, It often gets the upper hand and the fleld must be rotated frequent. ly In order to be at all profitable. In eastern New York It seems to have been as bad, If not worse, than usual this year In spite of the fact that part of the season was very dry. It is especially annoying in strawberry tlelds, as it comes up In the rows and cannot be killed out no matter how frequent the cultivation or how care. ful the hoeing. The only way to hold it in cheek at all is to plow the land as soon as the summer crop Is off, then go over with # AA 2030 first time, but will check the growth that may be started. Continue this until the ground Is planted to some fall erop or until the weather is cold enough to prevent growth, In the spring put the land in some cultivated crop, cultivating early enough to pre- vent any leaf growth. In this way, the roots that were left in the ground of food secured through thelr leaves. A farmer in Dutchess County, New states that from five acres he hauled off four wagon loads of roots during the summer. This shows necessity of preventing the develop ment of quack grass.—American Agri- culturist. Planting and Sowing Asparagus. The best time to plant asparagus Is or more in length, and those who raise their own plants have, therefore, the advantage. When they have to he bought they ought to be sent for be- fore this growth has been made, otherwise the chances are the young shoots will be hroken and the new root fibres dried up. They need not be planted directly they arrive, but may be spread out on the surface of a warm border and covered with two inches or rather less of fine light soll, transplanting to the beds after top and If not already done, the beds ought to be prepared for either planting or sowing at once, sowing seeds where the plants Where forcing is resorted to an old feet wide, every case, If seeds are sown Dow There ls no particular art in grow. ing asparagus. Where the site is nat a gravelly nature, all that is needed Is a good depth, or say from twelve inches to eighteen inches of geod soll on this. When beds are formed mark out the site, which should be well drained, allowing alleys two feet wide between. Throw out all the good sur- face soll and break up the subsoil. If the latter is very clayey remove a good portion of this, substituting any free working soll, coarse mortar rub- bish, and strawy manure for this. not very clayey be content to add mor- tar rubbish, half-decayed manure, and decaying garden refuse. The top soil to be returned to its original pesition, of the mortar rubbish, leaf soll, well decayed manure and such life, Hints for the Beginner. When one attempts ralsing ducks mind that ducks are essentially differ. themselves, success or failure depends. The nest for hatching should be upon the ground, if possible, as duck eggs pose. In this way the eggs draw more unnecessary to sprinkle them, The eggs should not be washed badly soiled, as the surface is oily une natural conditions should be interfered with as little as possible. will REN skin which may become too dry. But such assistance should not be given un- less actually necessary. They require nothing to eat for twenty-four hours, when bread crumbs soaked In milk A drinking fountain Is necessary, or something similar, as from the first they will attempt to get into the water. They must be Kept dry until nearly feathered out. They require soft feed, a mash of corn meal, but it should net be sloppy and should be cooked or scalded, Johnny cake crumbled up may also be given them, They are very fond of milk, and either milk or water should be always ac censible to them, this is especially nec. essary while eating, as they want a drink with every mouthful of food. The water soon becomes filthy, as they drop food and dirt into it while drink. ing, and they should be kept separate from chickens so that the latter will not be compelled to drink the water and become lable to disease, Feed every two or three hours the firat few days, after that feed five times a day. Unless they have free range on a gravelly soll they must be supplied with coarse sand or gravel from the first or they will have ind} gestion. It may be mixed In their food-—about one teaspoonful to a pint of food. When they begin to feather out it Is really a matter of economy to feed them linseed meal, This great. ly assists them in feathering out and satisfies their craving for something of that nature, the lack of which will cause them to pull feathers. Rome. times there is one more backward In development than the others, and this one will annoy and seriously injure others In the flock by pulling feathers, and should be kept by Itself, Green stuff is a very lmportant item and should be fed every day. If the ducks have access to grass, of course, If comparative tests as to age are a part of your scheme, give the pullets a full year, True economy consists in well direct ed effort, for that Is economy of time, energy and strength, Chopped clover cut short, scalded and mixed with bran and oats, makes a frst rate morning feed. Alr is cheap, but not when it slides through an unfilled erack at a tem- perature far below zevo, Sifted coal ashes are good material {to fill up the low places in the poultry run, The fowls will eat many of the | cinders, Light Brahmas make good broilers if taken early enough before they get long-legged and rangy. At two Ibs welght they are plump and soft meat ed and make a dainty morsel, A barrel of lime is worth much more than its cost to a man who admires neatness around the place. When the old weatherbeaten shed Is whitewash ed, if there is any left over that has | become alrslaked sprinkle a little around the stables each morning and | notice the difference it makes. Linseed and cottonseed (cake or meal) Is excellent, but all olly foods are lable to cause moulting, Use lin. seed meal In preference. Begin with a spoonful per day to each fowl, and gradually increase to a gill. It cathartie, and may cause looseness of meal is rather constipating, bye is o good food, TWENTIETH CENTURY'S DAWN, i The Friendly Islanders will be the First People to Hall its Advent. tieth century will be the Friendly Is landers, for the date-line, as it may be called, lies In the Pacific Ocean just to the east of their group,” writes John Ritchie, Jr, In the Ladies’ Home Jour the rest of the world will be enjosring some phase of Monday, the last day of the nineteenth century (December 31, o'clock; at Manila it will be two hours earlier in the evening: at Calcutta the English residents will be sitting at their Monday afternoon dinner, for it will be about six o'clock; and in Lon don, “Big Ben' in the tower of the House of Commons, will be striking the hour of noon. In Boston, New | York and Washington half the people will be eating breakfast on Monday ily conscious of the dawn. At the same {moment San Francisco will be in the deepest sleep of what is popularly call ed Sunday night, though really the ear. ly, dark hours of Monday morning, and half the Pacific will be wrapped in the darkness of the same morning hours, which become earlier to the west. until at Midway or Brooks Island it will be but a few minutes past midnight of Sunday night” The White House Fighting Fish. A gamy, omnivorous fish with a can. | which sports In the White House agua Washington. In size it is no {longer than one’s little finger. The male is the fighter, though its mate “will not hesitate to take a fin against { anything that comes its way. i i House from Siam ten years ago, and : | tween six hundred and a thousand of kept in separate tanks, prey is the gold fish, and a tiny Para. i will tackle a goldfish treble its sine and i kill it with one blow from its fins, {| "The Paradise fish displays instinct that comes close to intelligence, knows its keeper and when he goes near the tank, which he never tie fellow comes to the surface and makes a peculiar noise which resem. bles a low whistle, This is continued until the keeper tosses in the food, When a number of these fish come to the surface at the keeper's approach the sound recnlls that of a flock of quail drumming. The Best Horseradish. Some Tple care for nothing but lemon on raw oysters, but there are others who desire horseradish. Usual ly such folk regard the strongest horse. radish as the best, but an experienced vendor of the condiment, Peter O'Neill, of Castle Valley, pooh-poohs this point of view. “Why should the strong horseradish be considered good 7 says he. “It brings tears to your eyes and lifts the top of your head off, and makes you want to sneeze. It has no taste whatever. The mild horseradish, that which has stood a while, Is the best and pleasantest always, There is nothing so foolish as 0 think that the strong, biting kind Is the fresh-—-that Is the reason why It Is preferred to the mild sort--for the very stalest, weak: est horseradish can be made in twenty minutes strong enough to blow your head off. All you need to do Is to add sn... to it. Try this some time, Just take any old horseradish, dump in a spoonfull of salt and then notice the difference. I don’t know why salt should have such a powerful effect on the stuff, but vo doubt a chemist could tell you that.” NEWS FOR THE FAIR SEX. NEWS OF INTEREST ON NUMER- OUS FEMININE TOPICS. min A Public Spirited Woman A Child's Sleep ing Women, etc., etc. A Public Spirited Woman, Mrs. Enriquita A, Rylands, of Man- chester, England, has just given a mag- nificent library building to that city. It Is of fourteenth century Gothle architecture and constructed of Pen rith stone, with cloistered corridors, groined roof and stained glass win. dows, that make it seem like a med. laeval monastery, The bullding was erected to serve as a home for the superb and almost priceless collection of books made by the late Mr. Rylands, and his widow has given the name “John Rylands Li. brary” to make it serve also gs a wonu- ment to her husband, A Child's Sleeping Hours. The baby should be taught to sleep regular hours. At first he will sleep ing. At the age of six the child should sleep ten or twelve hours at pight and two hours during the day. Between these ages the amount of sleep should diminish. The method of os as to leave are comfortable well, that they and are then may to such a rage as to have convulsions but infant may be trusted to “ery it in safety, and after the first disappointment is over will be happler and more contented to take the ups and downs of life uncomplain. ingly.—-Dr. A. 1. Benedict in the Wom. an’s Howe Companion, the young out” be An Odd Occupation for Women, London has a volunteer police force, like of which is not to be found outside the King of Dahomeys's ama zonfan guard. Friday is market day at Covent Garden, and in the early morning there is such a crush and con- fusion of traffic there, with its accom paniment of wrangling and unreason ing drivers, that the regular police force is powerless to preserve order But Covent Garden has a contingent of dart in and out among the carts catch ing at horses’ heads, ordering some of the drivers to stop, others to back orf to move until lines of traffic are cle The old women are paid small salaries by the proprietors of the markets, and they many tips besides from drivers, on, the Ted receive Courting Oom Paul's Neices The Boer g South to and irl of the country districts Africa Republic fown “is able to once fi to the communion, which is the chief festival of these deeply re ligious people,” writes Howard C. Hil in Ladies’ Home Journal. The journey U town is made in IX-lenns, and may reqaire a week's or a month's thwe, but It is always an only or twice go then it is attend or legas the » the is about sixteen, when is supposed to have attained the age Then some tall, robust Boer youth, whom she has met at for. she ask ber whether he may ting," which is a sort of ultimatum be. fore an ultimatum, young Beor will shortly afterward ride many miles across the For two Boers to arrive at this period of court ship is equivalent to announcing the bride begins preparation for the wed ding.” Tulle Toques for Evening About the prettiest evening hats this winter are the shirred tune toques, trimmed with butterflies or flowers. One of maize tulle Is covered with gui. pure, and has on the left side a glant butterfly painted on gauge, For theater wear satin and velvet bows, feathery algrettes, velvel-petaled flowers—sometimes whole tiaras of flowers—and sprays of fern have large. ly taken the place of hats apd even of the tiny theater bonnet. A favorite ornament is a velvet bon. net, tipped with dinmond dewdrope and harmonizing in color with the bright waist or theater bodice, Violets frost ed with rhinestones, a rose with toll flowers like violets, pansies or forget. me-nots is eminently fashionable, The hair is dressed altogether to sult the hat; or, when no hat Is worn, It is drawn as far forward as possible, so as to give a long line from the back of the neck up, and is slightly waved all wound, Young girls are wearing quaint cibbon snoods, the fashion having been set by the twin daughters of Mrs. Og- den Mills, The fashion of perfuming the halr Is spreading, but the scents used are apt to be disagreeably heavy, A lady who leaves in your room for days after she has left it an odorous reminder of her eT ! {thirty-five is still considered In some {quarters as the age after which wom. jen are regarded as unfit (6 take up serd ous respousibility, This absurd pre. Judice is an old-fashioved remnant of tthe ideas of the elghtecuth century, { When, as a writer in the Contemporary points out, men and women of forty and fifty were always spoken of ; { “aged.” and unmarried ladie yv-five were {old maids, fH of twen looked upon za A hundred years idren of six were supposed 19 have ds “ ago ¢hil {veloped moral sense, as all the grown up books for litle boys and girls pub lished in those days prove 10 us. Stories of horrible little prige of school girls {were common, and at elghteen a girl i was supposed to relleve her exhausted mother of house work, and to brighten her father's declining years uutil shonld worthy to wife of some worthy your she thie with be thought baer 1g man, whom she was to sink into premature old age. Nowadays all that is chang ed, nnd the period of youthfulness has been At girl {is still a child, and at twenty she is still a girl, Even at {the shelf sO far daughters largely extended ton i 0 thirty she is mot upon while the modern mother, her generally looks upon that as a reason for renew ing her own youth tivity given of nd life, n taught to use their brain from being decrepit when are grown up, Greater mental ae has freshness nnd Ox since girls foned econo ption of the nece ure of power after thirty tive come absurd London Globe — Ornaments for th What to function wear in the = = A Serious every wolnan A blonde white or black, while reap lide or feather is not improved Ly steel, benefit from black Blo a combioation hair is much very bene tie contrast There are dozens and dozens of tile satin and and gold and tinsel bows shown, they are somewhat different y ) velvet and silver and, though the from Louis XV. bowknot, which was so long the rage, cannot called There is great demand for these bows, but much th last The in jet on the Psyche bined with tulle ob ie they De Lew in less an at this time year newst hair ornament is ao snake +1 of knot The spake aigreties and choux The body of the snake encircles to the if t sirike, ott 5 aigrette and wl which is coiled around i= com of the bead is uplifted ure the Knot, front and On the tulle choux There are some pretty concelits brought i% as 0 side the in hol I¥. Not wuch of the green of the leaves th ii in Uned, the rich, warm red of the ber ries being combined with bows of the same effect dainty white tulle dresses Twists of is used wih excellent on vulle entwined with strings HELE of pearls ba a 4 head of pearls and ropes and pendants fore tulle a brupetie, A twist of the most delicate entwined with pearl and coral nnd little leaves satin ribbon, Among feather effects most popular seems to be the wnging down over the are also seen Une of these arrangements, intended for is made of coral beads white e Lt pointed the Prince of Wales. These three upright feathers may blue, pink. cream, mauve, green, black or any corresponding col or to the gown, and are certainly very | becoming, shown he Novelties in Stockings. The unobtrusive stocking is no long ier the fashion. The pewest hosiery is not only of the finest slik, but it gli. (ters with steel or spangles, is richly with costly lace. Black sik stockings all others, but they are plain no long or. A distinctly new stocking in black silk or spider web texture has scatter. ‘ed over the instep diamond-shaped or ~ {steel beads, This stocking looks ex. tremely well with a black patent-leath- er slipper ornamented with a cut steel buckle, i Black silk stockings elaborately em. i broidered In colzred flowers are much | the fashion. And the newest fad is {to have the floral design worked in | tiny ribbons, {the flowers will be made of the nar irow ribbons and the leaves and stems embroidered in silks, | The embroidery decorates the stock. ing In various ways. The lostep may (be a mass of embroldery—tiny flowers | like forget-me-nots or bits of rosebuds carelessly scattered over it. Or the instep is crossed with bands of lace open-work with just enough =pace of the plain stocking left between to act as a background for an embroidered vine, Then there are other black istockings decorated with vertical stripes, reaching from the toe to the knee, formed of the embroidered flow. ers. Other black silk stockings which are new and extremely effective are made conspicious by appliques of white lace, and oceasionallly the design of the lace Is picked out with fine gold or silver threads. The lace appliques are In the form of butterflies true lovers’ knots or flowers, vs FASHION NOTES. Taffeta coats are seen, particular] in black and sometimes dark blue, tuttons should be carefiMy selected, as they are sn most effective addition, and much may be achieved by the wise (cholce of a braid “set” lald over good isllk facings, For evening bodices gulpure and lace sure to be worn over satin and chiffon and mousseline de sole, em. broidered In open work with silk and chenille and many puaillettes, especially black and white, Whoever possesses unlined lace, mus Hn or chiffon blouses of a dressy char should keep them carefully, as will be very nseful WEeAr as wening dress duriug the winter vmall bome-gather fare to theaters or at Ings, in on boleros are much evidence which oe rt themselves admire. alily, when ootlined in che uille, Fringed scarfs are frequently need as ties and cravats to wear with mart Etons or bholeros indeed, It would be difficult what the sald Lace for slight evening easion they com wear, especially to say ting scarf ix not turned to Much Be, and braiding are to where collars and tunity for such deco but one thing, it is imperative that the Eton is of the same nterial no different col y Or Facings curse, are in upon ol ith, differ feature in all of f(oday-—Cos- the bolere plays no an- stitching Tue especially fevers gave oppor ration; bolero or as the siirt fabric nater:a and cloth only, is a is permissible, other in, of « rodueed, ing in color tallor-bullt costume % fn which tes : Important part low the Yarious Cuts of Meat snd Kinds of Fowl Should be Carved. is a real pleasure in follow. liful carving of a fine, well wruyvs Klla Morris Krets tiug “The Art of Woman's Home Com place the the neck , then separite the from the body. Next ngs at the shoulder-joint breast down to the long wedge shape P the ‘Emperor's Next the bone should be re moved whole, and then remove the oys- from th divide the jegs and thighs, and begin the serving. Re. 84 RBPOOn. less young and tender, bem, and even when tion is a deceiving meat the matter of quantity. The id of ducks, wild and tame, There 1s almost no meat on the backs of these birds; thewings and legs are far froin choice, having little meat, and that not often tender; so there re mains only the breast for satisfactory Cut the breast-meat straight A roast be thinly sliced a rid roast in the ribs, never parallel with the backbone, and make thin as possible, A fillet through in uniform thicker than from a A sirloin must have the thn. derloin removed ed separately. least or boiled legs of mutton, venison or veal are carved by cutting at right angles down 10 the bone, the thick side first, then turning to get at the thin side. In mutton and lamb the lowest bit of meat on the leg, the hock is the choice piece, being very tender and juicy 3 should be cut in | slanting slices, as thin as wafers. Ham, likewise, should be shaved rather than sliced toward the bone. When one un. derstands the exact location of joluts and the grains of meats the rest of carving is easily acquired.” GOR turkey, hmar when wri of Carving” in the panion. “The « fork firmly in the ead ing to the left arver should breast, two thigh-jolnts remove the w then slice the HM ters ¢ back, ' * tiling } move the ling with “A in a carving pre ZOORe, un in prime cond same may be sa servings, down paraliel with the bone. rou its face 11 he nd m from ACTORS Carve slices parallel with the slices as can only be somewhat out slices, rib roast. and sli veal gugue An Up-to-Date Infant. Harold, aged five, is supposed to have no conception of the value of | money, to the great anpoyance of = provident mother, and fhe amusement of an indulgent grandfather, who keeps | the little chap well supplied with | change. He was making a considerable nuls- ‘ance of his small self one day when guests were being entertained, and af- | tor suggesting numberless ways of amusing himself, in desperation his | mother said: “Harold, don’t you want to do some. { thing for mamma, something that will { belp her very suuch?” The child eyed ber with great ear. | nestness for several seconds, before aodding a wary assent, “Then put on your things” said the delighted parent, “and take your dear lite spade, and shovel away all the snow from the back porch, and if yon do it very nicely mamma will give yon 5 cents-just think! she added, im- pressively, “five--whole cents” “Humph!” said the young American, with infinite scorn, “do it yourself an’ I'll give you ten!" Harper's Bazar. Necktie Canght in Mer Boanet. fhe was large and majestic, and just purchased a flaming red for her husband, whom the