A POULTRY BREEDING PROBLEM. We think it is a doubtful chance of getting all the good qualities in one flock of fowl, one breeding pen, or one bird. If pullets that lay at five months old, and cockerels that crow before they are four months old are mated, we should expect to sacrifice size or some other desirable quantity to the one point of early maturity. If we mated our largest birds we should not look for the chickens to mature rapid. ty. If we mated hens that laid two hundred eggs in a year with cockerels from other hens that had as good rec- ords, we should expect a small pro- portion of fertile eggs. Selecting fancy fowl that were perfect in feather and form has not resulted in a corres. ponding increase in their capabilities | for eggs. Whether by mating early- maturing birds with those of large size, or with the prolific egg producers, or using all three to build up a strain, always keeping to the same pure breed, these qualities could be united in the forthcoming chickens we do not know. Some one who has more time to devote to fancy breeding may try to solve the problem, as we have not "ane to attend to it.The Cultivator. FEEDING GRAIN TO HENS. In order that hens may lay well, they should never be allowed to have full crops during the day. It is all right to feed them a light meal of mixed warm food in the morning, in troughs, but it should be only one- fourth the amount required. Why? Because if the hens go away from their troughs unsatisfied, as they then will, they will seek food more eagerly, devouring it grain by grain, and the healthy exercise thus engaged in will cause it to pass into the gizzard as it should and be properly digested. By applying grain in litter, they will | gradually accumulate enough to last] them through the night, and while | they are at roost, it can leisurely be forwarded from the crop to the giz- zard. i It is in the feeding of soft food that | the beginner is liable to make the | most mistakes. It leads him to over | feed and pamper the hens, and as a consequence they a condition | sooner later when they will not | jay. Even whole grain, variation, is preferable to too much | soft food; soft food, when | fed at all, should be care- | fully measured. As a matter of fact, a quart mixed ground grain, moistened and in a crumbly condition, | is sufficient for the morning feed of forty hens After they have sharpen ed up their appetites with this eral quarts of whole grain, more less, according to the kind of hens | kept. and also the condition under | which they are confined, may be scat tered in the litter for them to seek and for themselves. —Fred O. Sib | ley in The Epitomist reach or of sev or secure HOMEMADE STARTERS i On the farm milk or skimmilk is | the starter most easy to procure. Se. lect a good, healthy cow, put her milk into a well scalded can and keep at | a temperature of 85 to 90 degrees un- | til it becomes clabbered. Then use | about one part of starter in nine parts | of cream. The cream may be taken at | a temperature anywhere from 60 toi 75 degrees if care be taken to cool it | down as soon as the right amount of | lactic acid is developed. The start-| ers materially hasten the souring or | ripening of the cream. The lactic] acid germs in the starter are so much | more numerous and multiply so rapid- | ly that they very largely if not entirely | overcome any undesirable germs that | may happen to get into the cream. | By the use of starters good sweet cream may be put in good condition | for churning in from twelve to twenty- four hours. Using starters and check. ing the souring at the right point will undoubtedly go a long way toward bettering the flavor of our country but- ter~D. H. Otis in Kansas Farmer. The difficulty of finding fruit tree borers in winter when the snow is on | the ground makes it quite necessary | to make the hunt in the fall or winter, | when there is a general thaw. These borers are wintering in the tree trunks, roots or the ground nearby. They may not prove very destructive in cold weather, for they sleep quietly most of the time, but their pernicious activity in early spring and summer more than makes up for their winter slothfulness. | have seen many trees this fall that have been damaged by the borers. Some of these trees can. not withstand the winter, so badly in- jured are they, and they must prove a total loss. It is almost impossible to protect the trees from them. Nearly all attempts are merely makeshifts. The only proper method is to start an uncompromising warfare against them. Destroy them and exterminate thelr larvae, and then keep a watchful eye out for their return. In this way the orchard trees can be protected and kept free from them. The borers lay their eggs in holes in the tree and un der the bark, and in time they hatch out, The larvae do not suffer from the cold, but seem able to thrive un. der the bark and live there until full grown. It is necessary to get at these eggs and larvae in order to extermin: ate the worms. [It is impossible to keep down their numbers any other way. My method is to spend nearly all the mild favorable days of fall and winter among the trees, worm hunting. With a pail of soft tar, a good scrap. ing knife, and various lengths and sizes of wire, 1 procecd from tree to tree. I give the trunk a good exami: nation, going down even to the roots, I scrape with the knife, and punch the wires wherever there is any indica- tion of a hole. Then I generally slap on a dose of soft tar, which penetrates into the hole, and sometimes I let it drip down among the roots. The tar, I think, destroys larvae as much as the wire, but it must come in direct con: tact with them. When a trail is found it must be followed up to its end, even though it runs far up under the bark. It may be discovered then that the whole tree is honeycombed with wormholes. If so, it is better to know the worst at once and apply the rem: edy. There should be no half-way measures. It is better to destroy the tree. and burn up the larvae than to save it for a lingering weakness to die ultimately and spread the tree borers to other trees. Many a time I have been compelled to cut down trees and burn them in order to de- stroy small colonies of the pests. —S, W. Chambers, in American Cultivator, ONE WAY TO BRACE A GATEPOST. Many ways of bracing gateposts are laid before the readers of the agricul tural papers. I will offer mine, and will say that it does all that any one can ask. I set my post two feet in | the ground and tamp it well at the bottom; then I get a stone of some fifty pounds weight and plant it at the corner, so the post cannot sway for ward or outward. I tamp the out. side of the stone, level it off, my gate and the job it done. if I were hanging a gate where | stones were not plentiful, when [I had the post set | would take a piece of scantling or other timber and cut a notch in it to fit the corner of the post, dig away so it can be buried out of the way, tamp the back side, cover it, and the post is sufficiently braced. I set posts in the ground top down- | ward, for I have learned that an oak | post will last five years longer, and a locust post some fifteen years lon- | ger, when set in that way —E. 8S. Hu- | lin, in New York Tribune. hang | THEY NEVER COMPLAIN. Horses are the most abused of ani- | mals; not only because they happen to be the most used and the most use- | because nature, for some mysterious reason, has denied them the of audibly expressing pain, such as is possessed by the cat or the dog. Un- der extraordinary circumstances, says Road,” they have been to overcome the impediment. The extremity of terror, as when they | have been attacked by savage beasts or the sudden shock of agonizing pain, as when they have been horribly wounded on the battlefield, has some- times extorted from them a piercing, dolorous, almost human scream, which nobody who has heard it can easily forget Most which die in pain expire in silence, or utter merely power ‘he indeed known horses The galled jade may wince, but ut no cry. The cart horses of our busy cities make no audible complaint ters of the It but A exceptional instances no more the general truth of this rule than the case of Balaam's ass provides | a proof that all asses (of the four leg- | ged variety, be it understood), possess the power of speech. Practically their dumbness is absolute —Michigan Far- | mer. reing by ignorant drivers. fow SECURE WARMTH. A point that should have due con- sideration is to have the pigs com- fortable. They by their cries make | known their uncomfortable condi tion and by a quiet contentment their | comfort. The protest the pig makes of his sufferings. Without shelter | It | is hard to put a correct estimate on the loss to the farmer these cries of | misery represent. Too often what ! should have been profit goes out in this direction. By making the ani mals comfortable the food they eat goes to make flesh instead of being consumed to keep them warm. I well remember hearing in days gone by the frequent complaint by | farmers of loss by smothering of some i of their shotes caused by trying to | got the warmest place beneath the | heap or pile of uncomfortable crea- | tures out in the open. Doubtless this | still occurs in some instances, but the farmer that allows it should not be | the owner of a pig. Such valuable | property should be in better hands. [ think many farmers can be found that are disposing of their straw that could get very much more out of it by making their hogs comfortable, but they think it best to save this paltry sum, arguing that the hogs might die with cholera before they reach market, then all would be lost I do not khow of a single farm where hogs are grown that there is not enough fodder wasted which if proper. ly utilized would make the hogs com: fortable and contented. It is simply impossible in cold weather to put enough feed into a pig to make him comfortable without in some way pro tecting the outside-~National Stock: man and Farmer. Where the Firemen Are Women. In the town of Mont Clare, Ill, the women are the fire fighters, Most of the men are in Chicago all day at tending to business, and they leave the management of the suburban town's affairs largely to their wives and sis ters. So the fire captain is a woman, and #o is the fire marshal, and all of the women are trafned to fighting fire, LACE AND FUR. Furs are regal this season, the best wraps being of three-quarter length in sable, mink, chinchilla, seal and er- mine, while in the world of lesser furs green seal, beaver and otter end baby lamb are pressed into service. The latter lends itself admirably to the Russian blouse, which is going to re- main with us. Lace, again, is to be used freely with are of white and pearly gray satin, though a good many chine silks are also used. In boas sable ranks first, the most luxurious ties being those where five of heads and talls, The shooting exploits of King Chris- | Wilhel- | i i adepts with the rifle, One of received the German medal Her Majesty is a keen sportswoman, and can handle her gun with a precision which is positively deadly. Queen Helena of Italy is an- other clever shot. She spends much recently and is as clever with the revolver as the rifle. The Duchess Carl Theodore of Bavaria and her sister, Archduchess Carl Ludwig, the Grand Duchess of Hesse, are others who can hold their own with the gun. Our own Queen and her daughters pre may be fisherwormen. as expert FIRST WOMAN TO WEAR POPLIN. Lady Carew, who died the other day, was a benefactress of Ireland in this way: She was the first person to wear in Paris an Irish dress. | It was in primrose yellow, with a de sign in gold thread, and so much ad mired that the foremost ladies at the | coprt of Tulleries her where | she bought the poplin, and on learning | : 1 i i } poplin i asked i the address wrote for patterns Marie | Amelie ordered in lavender, i riched with a gold pattern; the Prin cess Marie in blue and silver, and Princess Clementine sliver Irish poplin was first manufactured in Dublin by Popeline, a Huguenot ref ugee., It became the greatly worn on occasions of high cere mony, as rain did not spoil it Poplin became a favorite dress for the public promenades at fashionable hours. The Princess Clementine wore a plaid pop lin gown the day the late Queen Vic toria first landed at Treport to visit | louis Philippe and Marie Amelie at Eu. Irish poplin is still much worn in England by the children of the wealthy, and is thought to go well] with Irish guipure london News One ed one rage, and was BEAUTY HINTS. During the cold season women Wind- itches intolerably. To vell the face and hair is pever so wise as dur. To wash the face in soap and water winds is very foolish. If the face is very soiled use almond meal and dry Red noses are due to the pores being especially open upon the nasal sur. faces. Massage at night and bathe morning with cold water and alcohol. The inflamed condition of the eyes A the eyes: a dotted veil irritates them Warm water baths for the eyes should be taken whenever thoy sraatt or sting. Bad soap and imperfect drying cause half the facial woes, bad cook’ng and foolish eating the rest of them. Care is the best cosmetic, and eating ony a sufficiency will scare away coarse neas of outline. A shiny nose and forehead gener ally denotes a butterdoving, oil-eat- ing person; and until the world onda the stomach will be the monitor of beauty. Glycerine and rose water 3 a gouwl otien for chapped !rps. Pretty throats are never yeilow: they are white, firm and smooth. Let nature come to the rescue. Dis card tight ribbong; they make wrin kles. Sleep on small pillows to avoid “three chins.” Keep the teeth nice; a pair of keen, critical eyes to watch a speck or dis coloration. A good brush to scrub them with after each meal, not for getting the back or under side of the teeth, CORONATION FROCKS. Queen Alexandra, always the most thoughtful and kindly of women has expressed her hope that all women who are to be presented at the coro nation ceremonies next year “will em. ploy for their dresses as much as pos sible materials made by British manu factors and embroidered by British workmen.” Such a wish la almost equivalent to a command, and there are many anxious feminine hearts in London to- » * day pondering the duty of patriotism and the temptation of Paris. “1 don't think it can be done,” sald the head of a great firm. “8ilks?”’ he continued. “Oh, ves, we can get English silks. They make pretty good silk at Macclesfield, and Irish poplin is a very beautiful ma. terial, and sufficiently expensive to be enticing. “But we have nothing in British silks to compare with those of Lyons. The question ladies will have to con sider is whether they will be patriotic vr—rather dowdy.” “But surely-—one can be well dress. ed in British manufactured goods?” “Certainly. Particularly in tailor made frocks-—a riding habit, a yacht ing costume-—anything in the way of woolens. “When we come to silks and laces, however, the continental people are miles ahead. Lace, for instance. You can get Nottingham lace, Scotch lace, Irish lace, but nothing like this.” He opened a box on one of the coun ters and showed a gossamer fabric that Titania might have worn as she fluttered over a rose. "Comes from Saxony, that,” he continued. “Where the continent beats us hope lessly is in the trimmings. Of course, you know-—or probably you don't, as you're a man—that the trimmings are the most important part of a smart dress. “Take: a certain sort of net dress, for example (I won't use the techni cal names), embroidered with sequins, “We make the net here, send it to Germany, where the expensive part of the ornamentation is done, and import it back again, multiplied in value many times over. We can do founda tions well enough, we English. Look at hats There is no better straw than we turn out ar Luton, and the basis of most of the hats you see comes from there. But the straw is an infinitesmal item best from the silk of the trimmings, flowers and feathers—and, above all, the clever Parisian fingers that blend the materials together into a harmon! ous creation.”—lLondon Express. A PROFITABLE OCCUPATION. pleasing voices find re employment in factories “talking dolls’ manufactur dolls contain a miniature and the girls are Girls with munerative are ed. These fitted into the dolls. familiar nursery rhymes folk of afterward the “Mother literature are They gles ther ¢ tube recite Goose” for with snail mall connects the mouth the PENNSYLVANIA BRIEFLY TOLD. Condensed Special Dispaiches From Maay Points. FATHER AND SON KILLED BY TRAIN. Sled Which They Occupled Struck by the Buffalo Flyer Minister's Wile Arrested Masked Burglar Cut Her Scranton Car Blown Up— To Asswer For Murder Hugger Fined $25 Charters. These pensions were granted Pennsyl vanians; Jacob Rhoads Shaneysville, $8; Isaac C. Saylor, Warble, $10; William Cunningham, Pavia, $10; Samuel H. Mays, Verona, $12; Henry Knepp. Fom bell, $8: George W. Vawn, Shade Val- ley, $8: DeWitt C. Lampman, Troy, $14: Mary Lower, Lewisburg, $8; Sayles, Wellsboro, $12; William Leechburg, $12; Chauncey C. Hays, Townville, $10: Andrew H. McDonald, Paterson, $12; John Sowers, Coyleville, $12; Anthony M. Marshall, Johnson burg. $8; George T. Hamilton, Indiana $10; Mary Ann McClelland, Lowville $8; Jane Reilly, Erie, $8: Elizabeth Zim merman, Shiremanstown, $12; Sarah D Clark, Millvillage, $12: Sarah A. Yard, Towanda, $12; William W. Reed, Sach et, $8; Ellis S. Young, Tyrone, $6; Chas Shaffer, Coraopolis, $8; H Little, Saxton, $10; John W. Ross Washington, $12: Theodore Stafford, Millerton, $8: William Roberts, Canton, $12; Andrew Weaver, Hol brook. $17; Mary E. Curtis, Smethport, $8: Mary A. Morrow. Bradenville, $3; Jane Emerson, Union City, $12; Marga ret Finn, Hollidaysburg, #8 Silas The dead body of Jonas A. Hodgkins was found along the tracks of the Penn sylvania Railroad, in Cumberland I n ship. He had evidently been killed a fran The Spring Shaft, at ocust Gag which has been storm of four weeks ago operations i he torm had over Lac i med idle ever since resu hate: 3 afte te shaft just alter ine 200 feet of wate: it in The Lawrence Colliery, at Mahanoy i the Shenar i Plane, an« erbocker ploying after an to the While saic £ 3 heard when the doll Is wound up Since with these and entHons have been dolls equipped other ingenious in put on the market the busin making has assumed vast p and in many the form a large There roportions of factories part of the employes demand for at and the of today would never be satis fled with the dolls of a few years ago “The is constant features tract! penne i ve new children are said a woman who understands business to a reporter, “that this close its eyes when it is laid down they'll invariably say ‘No, 1 want that. [ want my doll to go to sleep.’ They must have real balr on the dolis, and they are quick to notice whether the tiny toes and fingers are perfect.’ The work done by women consists largely of the finishing touches neces sary in completing the dolis and dress. ing them. Certain forms of work are assigned to each employe, and in. a factory which turns out dressed dolls one girl makes all the ruffles required, another the underwear, another the hoods, and still another fashions the dress or puts it on the doll Doll repairing is an exceedingly profitable branch of the work. Child ren are proverbially tenacious in their attachments to old dolls, and the repairer is kept busy supplying miss ing arms, legs, heads, wigs, fingers or other parts. The jointed dolls, which may be placed in any position require great strength to repair them, since all but the small. est are jointed by means of powerful elastic bands, passing through the body. These must be exceedingly taut or the limbs will hang limp. In the largest dolls there are heavy hooks on the ends of the elastics to be fast. ened inside the body, and since a sud: den unlooked for spring of this elas tic band has been known to injure seri- ously a man’s hand it is not consider. ed safe for women to engage in that branch of industry. Many of the most expert of the wo men doll repairers are Germans, who have been taught the trade by their husbands and brothers, and find it easy and profitable. Women engaged in this occupation have the advantage of being able to carry it on in their homes, or in Ctonnection with other work. The various parts to be sup plied can be obtained from the manu facturers, and the repairer makes her own scale of prices according tc the amount of repairing to be done and the materials supplied. Those en- gaged in this Industry frequently carry on in addition a brisk business of dolls’ dressmaking and sell little handmade garments at fancy prices —New York Tribune. Colorado and lowa have both re stored the death penalty for murder. There are now only four States in which the death penalty is not in. flicted— Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine and Rhode Isiand. There is a total of 3805 commercial horticultural establishments in the United States, with land and bulld: ings valued at $38,000,000, sadly ¥ running over dynamite that was placed on tl mngton Avenue ter Cosgrove and Motorn indicted They are McAuliffe weeks ago car strike track Detective & Officer Frank Kupchins) Frank Kinsley were for murder by th charged with m one of growing 1 the few out strect Charters wer~ issued hy the State Ds partment to the following corporations: American Manufacturing & Novelty Company, Erie; capital, $25000. Wil- liam T. Leggett Company, Pittsburg capital, $1,000. McKeefrey Coal Com- pany, Pittsburg; ccapital, $100,000 Bruening Cork Company, Pittsburg capital, $1,000. Domerman Rivet & Bolt Manufacturing Company, Pittsburg capital, $10,000 Nelson Rosa, of Ulster 1 was arrested and lodged in the county jail, charged with the murder of M. Ves. pasian Mills, of North Towanda, who was found dead on his barn floor on the night of Dgcember 20 possession of the officers was not made known. It is said that Rosa and Mills were very friendly : 8 J 1) MID wnshig A masked burglar entered the house a bread knife attacked the housekeeper Stella Yost, who was alone in the din ing room. Her calls for help brought in the neighbors, and the intruder es. caped, taking several pieces of jewelry Miss Yost received a few slight cuts, Governor Stone fixed the dates of exe. cution for the following: Amos Sterl ing, Philadelphia, Thursday, February 27. 1902. Eugene Clements, Philadel- hia, Tuesday, March 11, 1902. Jacob desendorfer, Philadelphia, Thursday March 13, 1002. While Mrs. Collins and Thomas Mil- ler, of Nesquehoning, were on their way to catch a train at Lansford, both fell Mrs. Collins” leg was broken, while Mil- ler's wrist was fractured. George W. Rorapaugh was arrested for hugging women on the unfrequent- ed streets of West Scranton. He was identified in police court by a number of his alleged victims and was fined $25. Judge Lynch notified the Grand Jury that there is too much gambling, dog and cock fighting going on at Pittston and that body will investigate the mat. ter. Felix Dornsife has confessed that he is ‘guilty of several of the burglaries recently committed in Williamsport, but denies that he had anything to do with the Cochran jewelry robbery. Ray Riegle, anthony Omish, John Rokasky and Wally Split, whose 5 range from 12 to 15 years, were de- tected stealing from stores in Shamokin and were sent to jail to each serve thirty days. at Roanoke, Va, for steali $2,000, which he spent in two days in Philadel: phia, was sentenced at Pottsville to two years in jail by Judge Bechtel COMMERCIAL REVIEW. Genera! Trade Conditions. RG Dun & Co.'s weekly review of rade says: With the unprecedented ioliday business ended, transporting acilities are more nearly adequate for regular requirements. Merchandise noves to consumers ore promptly, and n the iron region there is less mterrup- jon to work because of insufficient fuel. Normal conditions have by no means turned, however, and it will be some ime before shippers can safely guaran- ee deliveries on a specified date. Euy- ng of staple commoditigs 1s on a large icale, fully sustaining quotations at a sigh level, except in the few instances shere efforts were made to hold prices hove the point warranted by the ratio of needs to supplies. Activity continues it cotton mills, although domestic buy- ng is on a moderate scale. Exporters ire bidding freely for heavy goods, but 1s a rule fall short of hoiders’ views, and little new business is recorded. Jobbing trade in wollens gradually ex- yands, new lines selling fairly at moder- ite OVEr prices prevailing a year ago. Wheat, includng flour, ex- sorts for the week aggregate 3.507.710 | sushels, as against 4RB18471 last week ind £901,005 this week last year. Wheat exports, July 1 to date (twenty- sight weeks aggregate 153.334.2710 yushels, against 102827640 last season | Corn exports aggregate 136873 bushels i$ against 270,236 last week and 4.8q7, 145 last year. July 1 to date, corn ex- | ports are 20,957.624 bushels, as against | 102,545,210 last season Business failures in the United States | for the week number 346, as against 270 this last year 1899, and 323 in 1808 advances Te ial $ s x ast weex, week | 295 In 1900, 322 In 04 In LATEST QUOTATIONS. Patent, $4.90; $4.40; Minne High Bakers ur, —- pest srade Extras | $3.2523.45 Nheat—N | Philadelphia i No. 2, Bria Corn New ¥ sOta , Q07%C; ew 2 A 2: Baltinmy 2.1 d0ss | sdeiphii { x41 ats shia Ni £43 "ruits and Vegetables | ~Western Mass land and | sacked, per brl, $3a$3.75; do New ! 1ssorted { $3 5034.50; do : i ill varietic 82 do y Easter Green { New Yori 19.50; do ~za200: do, Marviand, clear Pac bulk slates, gc; ander, gic 25 ham butts, ¢f sugar