VOL XXXIX Great After-Holidays J Clearance Sale 11 AT Miller's J We have just finished up to the Holidays by far the !arg- R est business \sc have ever had. Now for the after part ol the B season —we w*nt it to equal or, if possible,. surpass the fere- I part. W are aware most shoes for winter are sold before the H 1 Holidays, but we are ijoing to offer inducements which anyone who is thinking of buying footwear the next two or three months cannot aflord to miss. We are determined to turn every pn'r <>t boots and shoes in this store into money between now and spring. Greatest Bargains Ever Offered in Butler. January 10 we commence to take stock. We want to re duce our -took before that time, and from now till then we i aie •> sell gods regardless of cost. Our immense trade I • nect ssifated us carrying a very large stock, which must now ■ Le -u ne«l i to noney. These are all clean, new goods, bought F this winter for spot cash and made by the very best manufac- I turers in the ruuntry; they came in all the different- materials B and nia e after the very latest and prettiest new designs. ; EVERYTHING MUST GO. S ; s ii- a genuine after Holid «ys cle .ranee sale, and will w hi i: every pair of boots and shoes in this store is turned E into n» tie.-. It includes everything in the line of footwear — I women's fine and every day footwear, men's fine and every !"> t>* or, boy's, girls' and infants' fine rnd ever; day .... j All in.' -1 go; do not wait till you are nejding them. . |j come a' »-nte. as the best are always picked out first. 2. Two Large Bargain Counters. 2. We h tve put up two larj;e bargain counters; have gone I through t.u t- stock, picked out all lines which were short some and have put them on these counters at a fraction of what it cost to make them NOTE FOLLOWING PRICES Which are only a few of many great bargains we One lot of the well known Herrick (3.00 shoes for ladies—s3 00 stamped on sole—go at 24 Ont lot (sizes slightly broken) of the $3 50 Delsa:te thoes for ladies - ?3 50 stamped on sole—go at 169 The above two well known makes come in enamel, box calf, patent leather and vici kid; light or heavy soles and button or lace. A lot of Men's box toe shoes, made for drillers and tool dressers, go at $1 24 A lot of Men's gr>o«l solid every day shots, tap sole, pegged, buckle or lace, »0 »t 98c A Irt of Men s fire show in vici kid or c«lf, were $> 50 and Si 75, n«w bo at ... ?. 1 15 Afft of Mf'V fine shoe-- in caH skin, lace or Congress, were |i 25 an ! 50, now go a* 95c - A lot of VV'.men's eveiy calf skin shoes, were fi 00 and fi 25, no- go at ...*. 65c A lot of Mioses' calf skin shoes, were $ oo now go at 50c FELTS AND RUBBERS AT A SACRIFICE. The weather man telh us the hardest of the winter is yet to come, and far i «»r= imncme nniount of felts an-' rutJbcra. we bought lout fall w - -ire still r,ver-lo« The many inquires we are receiving daily asking if we in-X ( to have our sale testifies to the popularity of these Sacri-X < Sales among our many patrons who have been benefited by jC . .attending them in the We are anxious to make this saleV the biggest success of all previous sales, and shall do so byjt offering our goods at prices you connot resist. We cannotjr quote all prices—only a few — consequently it will pay you toV ' 'make us a personal visit. O 4 •«■ I Wraps, Suits and Furs. < O TIOO | Waists, Wrappers and Dressing Sacques.# j All Dress Goods, Silks and Satins. j . I . ■ ( All Muslins, Calicoes and Ginghams. j ( • j Underwear, Hosiery and Gloves. J ' Oil/ aces ' SmbioideriescSr Dress Trimming?,^ < ► 1 I IvvO will AH Blankets—woolen and cotton. A 1 All Lace Curtains and Portiers. Cf . Sacrifice prices for cash only. Come early to secure first choice. X ' 'Sale begins WEDNESDAY, JANUARY Bth, 1902 V Mrs. J. E. Zimmerman! »000©000000«0000©0000000 ■ ness Oil. It re- * r v . ■g E WiifIARNESSi Fs| do not break. \ v \ i m&e , X V (JIL I |1 The . \V | | | harness r« t r -idard Oil" jl. mpany // Nasal TT^s. CATARRH IBISP^ In all itß stages. /P; 4 l *&/ Ely's Cream Ua:el rush to the I.ag '! years ace •:au!at!t:n of ase a: d del is. Tlie wealtti a'i i ultra fashion were out wii : I--1 hi s of (1 • such an extent that he knew betn r than to trust his future to a hand that trembled if but in the pres ence of her he loved. But the Seuorita Isabella's royal beauty as she now sat enthroned in the midst of her maids of attendance, the lovely face with its brilliant eyes peep ing from the meshes of exquisite lace, the hand wrought mantilla without which no queen of the bullfight is regally arrayed, lips ripe and red as the heart t.f a pomegranate, were fast arousing In him the desire to bring upon himself not the mere smile and victor's wreath, the applause of tha audience, but a tribute to daring that should carry with it herself and her love. ' What did she want of the love of a gringo? Because she had lived in their coun try a few months did she know them with their heart of ice? Did think her lover tropical enough to warm a home in the north into any semblance of her country? He had felt so unnerved, so wearied with the pacing to and fro in heat and cold, day and night, in front of her dwelling, walking where she walked, waiting where she rested and seeing the smile that belonged to him by ev ery precedent of their race given to a l>ig Americano, a gringo from over the line! But jealousy, strong as death in Mexico, can also give strength. Two bulls had already been slain, and the third had dangling from his shoulders sis gnyly decorated bande rilias, or sharpened goads. Furious and snorting, lie was waiting to attack the red cloth, this time to his death, when a shout, lost in a roar of fear, sounded far up and down the city. A man, placing his hands on the bar rier dividing the attdieuce from the arena, had as deliberately leaped over it to death as a schoolboy to play. Snatching the red rag, he approached the maddened beast, who was pawing the ground, bellowing with pain and anger, gathering his fury for a final Charge upon those who dared to so tor ture him. The noise of the audience died into appalling silence as it recognized Don Enrique. There was no time for conjecture as to the cause for his action. Ili.s fate Would -be decided in one moment of time. When within two feet of his victim, Sir Toro closed his eyes in a murderous lunge, while the man from whom En rique had taken the red cloth made a dash for safety behind the grating. But there was hot blood in that sou of the south, too, and the red tlag of jealousy iiad flaunted itself in his face, and the audience with wonder saw him skip to one side safe, and before the bull could recover from his disap pointment leap from the side into the Very embrace of death. Two arms clasped the animal's throats like bands of steel. The as tonished beast lunged and tossed In a vain endeavor to free himself. The goads bout and snapped, dropping one by one. Then the dazed people woke to a re alization of this bit of daring, and groans and hurrahs rose again aud again from 15,©00 throats as those two struggled in an encounter uifheard of before in the history of bullfighting. But never since the days of Ursus has jealousy or desire for revenge, nor. love even, matched human arms with the strength of a bull, and Enrique's grasp must surely weaken. To drop now w#a certuto death b«- neath the angry hoofs which had paw ed the ground so that man and beast were of the earth's color. Then the young seiior who, in the role of niatadore, was to have dispatch ed this bull, came to his work with a coolness hardly less notable than En rique's daring, and braving the usual disgrace of attacking the bull when not charging approached the pawing animal, watched his chance and point ed the sword. The bull, seeing a.more feasible en emy. charged to his own death. For, opening the fingers so that the hilt rested in the palm of his band, Don Enrique so steadied it that the onward impetus of the animal forced the kee® blade into the very arch of the aorta. One moment, as if daring even this r-' 1 (• i;e g:>ve a bound over the neck a'ighting 011 his feet, walked f, :>r receive the re w: ' ft r his daring f r her sake. '! !:.• crowd roared and how'-d and y; 1:' in its excitenieiit. Beautiful pi;•:> s *1 ed or*" tli ir silken shawls, th- '• ' rs: < rs. hats canes and b i's tiv the thousands came it v r into the arena. • v < all 'h 'eding. He u- - 1 • eh: • • more. Sure -1 -• • w h jl done it for her ...k her American lov . e done as much? . even as she placed the crown on his brow with hands that trembled and with eyes shy and beautiful he saw that she, too. had seen Carter rapidly threading his way to them between the benches. "Querida mia." Enrique whispered as her eyes dropped to his. Hut he knew the sudden flush that dyed her face from throat to brow was not born of that endearment. That evening old Don Jose, the land lord of the Hotel del Jardin, met Don Enrique coming from Philip Carter's apart mejits. "No esta aqui." said the old man. "lie is nit lure. His American seno rita and her father came for him this morning, and they have just taken themselves away on the train." The disappointed anger on Enrique's face did not lessen any. "I have left 11 remembrance for him. When lie returns, he will find it, and do you tell him Enrique Costillo left it."' "Diablo!" said old Don Jose when he found Enrique's dagger driven to the hilt through the covers of Philip Car ter's bed. Two weeks later he received word from Carter to forward his traps to the office of the Mexican Central. Possibly Carter considered that in Guanajuato there was nothing of suffi cient interest' for the American girl who was to be his wife. —Vogue. The End of the Benn. Heau Nash, like Beau Fielding and ■Beau Brummel, was to expiate his con temptible vanity in an old age of ob scurity. want and misery. As lie grew old lie grew insolent and seemed insen sible to the pain he gave to others by his coarse repartees. He was 110 lon ger the gay, thoughtless. Idly industri ous creature he once was. The even ing of his life grew cloudy, and uoth ing but poverty lay in the prospect be fore him. Abandoned by the great, whom he had so long served, he was obliged to fly to those of humbler sta tions for protection and began to need that charity which he had never re fused to any and to learn that a life of gayety finds an inevitable end in m'sory and r^cret. A new generation sprang up to which Nash was a stranger, llis splendor gradually waned. Neglect filled him with bitterness, and he lost thereby the remainder of his popularity. His Income now became very precarious, so that the corporation voted him an al lowance of 10 guineas, to bo paid him on the first Monday In each month. He long occupied a house known as Gar rick's Head, subsequently occupied by Mrs. Delaney, but he died In a smaller* one near by.—Nineteenth Century. AlliKiitorN find Crooodile«. Alligators, according to the lato Pro fessor Cope, belong to a much more modern genus than that of their cous ins tiio crocodiles. No undoubtedly ex tinct species of alligator has ever been discovered by geologists, but those ani mals are fast being exterminated at the present day on account of the val ue of their hides. Alligators are found in China as well as in North America. The crocodile exists in Africa, south ern Asia and northern Australia. The crocodile differs from the alligator in preferring salt water to fresh and in being more vicious in its disposition. Smokliiß I'nder Water, Says an expert swimmer: It looks very strange to see a man go under water with a lighted cigar in his iuouth, smoke calmly at the bottom and como to che surface with the cigar burning as nicely as if ho were smok ing in his easy chair. Apparently he defies all natural laws, but of course he doesn't. It is a simple trick, but it requires practice. Just as I throw myself back ward to go down I flip the cigar end for end with my tongue and upper lip and get the lighted end in my mouth, closing my lips water tight arouud it. A little slippery elm juice gargled be fore goiug in prevents any accidental burning of the mouth. Going slowly down backward, I lie at full length on the bottom of the tank and blow smoke through the cut end of the cigar. Just as I reach the surface again another flip reverses the cigar, and there I am smoking calmly. The reversing is done so quickly that nobody notices it. Japanese Feru llalln. The lack of success of which some people complain in the care of fern balls is duo probably to one of the fol lowing causes: Either a cheap and worthless ball was purchased or it has not boon kept properly damp, says Home Notes. It is no good to give the fern an oc casional soaking and then let It get bone dry. It must be kept steadily damp. A good plan is to put up a hook over the sink in the butler's pantry and to hang it there to drain after its daily tub. The daily tub of lukewarm water is necessary for the well being of a fern ball kept in the dry air of a living room, and care should be taken to se cure it a place where it will have plen ty of light, but little or no sunshine. Even in the hottest weather it should not be kept out of doors, aud drafts, be It remembered, will ruin It. Hl* Idefi of it Sermon. Robert Morris, a man celebrated for the part he took in the American Rev olution, was once asked by Dr. Rush: "Well, Mr. Morris, how did you like the sermon? I have heard it highly ex tolled." "Why, doctor," said he, "I did not like it at all. It is too srnootk and tame for me." "Mr. Morris," re ' plied the doctor, "what sort of a ser mon do you like?" "I like, sir," replied Mr. Morris, "that preaching which drives a man up into a corner of his pew and makes him think the devil is after hiiD." | THE VOICE OF j AN ECHO A =vir j Out of the window of the old wooden bridge, whose hooded tunnel threw a dark bar across the moonlit mountain stream, a man and a woman stood looking into the pine clad amphithea ter of the cliffs, which lay In stillness beneath the spell of a September night. The black hollow of the bridge, wit'* its one moonbeam sharp across the fionr, contrasted u irli the awful splen dor of the granite gorge, buttressed " • nacled in every rising tier, un . . • tlood of ghostly light, and if i: ily object of the couple in coming e was to see the view they were 1.-.ply repaid. From their conversa on since they left the hotel, which now lay behind them hidden by a fringe of the forest, it would have been difficult to say that this was not their only object. The small talk of ac quaintanceship, friendship and even love is within certain limits and among -people habituated to eafh other's con ventions practically indistinguishable. Frequently it is difficult to deci'le why the degrees should be of so much con sequence to the parties. It was knowledge of the world and the good temper of experience that kept Mrs. Ilugonin and Arthur Kiu naird 011 perfectly unruffled terms with each other. The conviction that he had long ago forgiven her, gratifying as it otiee had been, was now of such long standing that it had become confused with her earlier and less justifiable conviction that he ultimately would forgive her. Thus secure in vindica tion. the lust for which the dying Eve bequeathed to all her sex, Mrs. Ilu gonin could without the slightest re flection upon her widowhood accept once more the companionship of a man who tolerated life as comfortably as Arthur Kinnaird. The imminence of the climacteric which she knew to be threatening him was not to be read from his figure. His step, was alert, his cheeks were bronzed, his tastes were rational, and what more could he desire? She pushed back her dark hair under its somewhat youthful cap, and, lean ing her elbows on the ledge, gazed without speaking at the haunted delile. Kinnaird gave a little laugh behind her. "Margaret," he said, "upon my word, it seems as if we were boy and girl again." "Why, particularly?" she asked, without turning l:er head. "Oh, all this summer," he replied. She did not ask liini to be more ex . plicit. "It is certainly an ideal place," she said with a half sigh. "Yet it is foolish to say that the beauties of na ture restore one's youth. One may feel young again, but one is not really any the less dispassionate." "I am not so sure of that," said Kin naird. "I should i'Ue to argue the point with you—if it could be argued." "You men are all alike," said Mrs. Ilugonin with an inconsistent shrug of 'her shoulder. "You give up. to logic what was meant for conversation." Kinnaird stroked his mustache thoughtfully for a momunt. "And so you think me dispassionate?" he ob served. "You?" said Mrs. Ilugonin, turning with a dtrllgUtful laugh. "Why. Ar thur, there isn't a sentiment or a con viction to whose support society could order you to contribute!" "If you mean that," he said slowly, "it is quite as I feared." "As you feared?" "You still believe me capable of as much mistaken self control as I once was. And," he added calmly, "1 don't wonder." Though there was no bitterness ap parent in his tone Mrs. Ilugonin was startled. "Really, this is unlike you, Arthur," she said gravely, but yet with a sense of amusement. "You petulant with your past? You provoked with your recollections? Indeed, I have mistaken you." He laughed, but gently. "Come," he said, "you have no right to be ironical. Though 1 once let you go, it was be cause I thought you wished to be re leased." "Upon my word, Arthur,'fc said Mrs. Hugonin, "I did not know you were serious or I should not have taken this as a joke." "I am entirely serious." "Really?" said Mrs. Hugonin, and she spoke with some irritation. "I thought all had been forgotten and for given years ago." Then she drew her self up proudly. "Can it be that after all this time you have conceived the childish whim of forcing me to a—to an apology?" "No—hardly that." "I am ready to make it," she went »n. "But if 1 do" — Kinnaird moved to the window he fide her and laid a hand on her arm. "You are much mistaken," lie said, in the undisturbed voice \yhich so pro voked her. "You must indeed think that 1 am taking leave of my years. I never had much vanity, I think, but what 1 had when I was younger I nev er made a pet of. Look over there at the rocks, and what do you see?" "Rocks —and moonlight. But, Ar thur"— "The rocks make me recollect," he went on, unheeding," ."that one day when you were about seventeen you and 1 climbed Lone mountain together. And when we reached the ravine you insisted oil going first, and I let you. Now, I did that because I reflected that If you fail I could catch you." "Well?" "You see, that was my first mistake. 1 should have gone first and made you sling to my—pardon me—coattails." "Very likely," said Mrs. Hugonin, half laughing. "But I can't think it does us any good to talk it over now." "After that," said Kinnaird. pursu ing liis- subject, "1 acted consistently on the tunc mistaken theory. And when it ratne to the question of giving you up ( thought always of you first. That was why I gave you tip—which you naturally considered a weakness." It did not escape Mrs. Ilugonin that a dormant weakness of her own was Reviving under the continued stress of this absurd conversation, :i weakness for sentiment. But it was checked by her vexation with her fried for break ing their tacit understanding, and I«y the feeling of hal.<" contemptuous pity that stole over hot as he sp< ke. Were she a man, slit thought, she would never confess at forty to the in competence of t wenty-iive. That Kin naird did so. but absolved her again. Also, site reflected, she had had a head ache yesterday, and there lobe it was very lucky this conversation had not hoen started yesterday or she would have been much more provoked than |lio was now. "I shall not stop you." she said In a half mischievous 1 one "Coon I won't bo angry. You will perhaps uhiii' 'hat if there is anything rankling it is as Well for you to abuse me aud have it over, even after all these years, whose obituaries you have written." "My dear, my darling," he said. hi» hand clasping hers so quickly that involuntarily her arm struggled like a bird's wing to wrest itself away, •'lt is well for me to tell the only wom an I ever loved that I love her still and do not mean to let her go again." "Arthur!" "Margaret. I love you more than ever." "It is impossible!" "I love you!" "You cannot, cannot be in earnest," Fhe stammered. "Why, you have nev er told me." "Never—until now." he laughed. "I learned something when I lost yon the first time —my darling!" "This," said Mrs. ilugonin, partially recovering herself, "is folly, Arthur, nii'l it is most unfair." "Unfair." he said, "to want you for my wife? \'o; you mean unfair to take you tiff your guard. I will not quibble with your words," he said, smiling. "May the hour and the scene suggest to you all that they will: may they bring you back to it was twenty that y. ii were—when it all happened! Mar gi.r.t. when you were twenty-six I went away from the eitv of all my hopes, but before I turned my back on it I did as many a refugee had done ln-fore nit- I scaled up my treasures and hitl them, and my store is where I left it. That is why 1 want you to marry me. All that I had looked for ward to telling you—when you were twenty—all that 1 had to say to you, the secret hoard that I had been piling up for our married life, is intact, and now I want you to share it with me." lie pa us d a moment and then went 011: "My dear. I have simply had to wait: that is all. Hut, please heaven, we will begin again." Poor Mrs. Hugonin's breath came and went, an unwilling messenger of passion—or. tt might be. of sentiment "Perhaps 1 was in the wrong," she s.>i(t. "Hut why did not you think more of yourself?" "I am thinking of myself now," said Kiunaird. Suddenly, as Mrs. Ilugonin hung dis- Uftcted and In doubt, the cliff before them rang faint and sibylline with an echo. It was the town clock of the vil lage striking over beyond the trees. They could not hear it, but, sent from ledge to ledge in the still night air, it struck silvery and remote ou the gran ite facade. As it sounded they both started, lie at its elfin suggestions, she at its material reminder. "Good gracious!" she exclaimed. "It "is 11 o'clock;" "It is," said Kinuaird. "And we must positively go back to the hotel at ouce. We are a scandal, Arthur—and you know it, for I saw you start too." She began to smile. "I>o you see nothing in the augury?" she asked. "The augury?" "We are two old fools," she said. "Think of iny boy in his bed, Arthur. "Think of my thirty years—be quiet, if you please. I choose to be thirty for formality's sake. It is only the night and the moonlight. When 11 o'clock strikes, we recollect that we ought to be respectably at home. It is only an echo. Ah. my dear old friend, we have had our past, and it is over. Yours has been unhappy, and I am, oh; so very sorry! But you are contented now and. what is more, you are kind and strong—it is better as it is. Take mo back to the hotel—and we shall be w»m» vf uciinPS I**- figure-" "I thought you said you had grown old," said Kinnaird. "It is only youth that refuses the echo." And lie took her in his arms and kiss- Id her. Lord Kelvin's Inventive Eyeglass. Soon after' Lord Kelvin had assisted in laying the Atlantic cable, when he was yet known as Sir William Thomp son, his mind was greatly troubled in devising some method for perfecting the ordinary teli'graj)hic apparatus used on overhead wires, as the old method, or the one then in vogue, was not suited for the varying currents passing along the cables. The laying of the electric current had the effect of making them run together In one bottom current, with surface The difficulty which Lord Kelvin had to overcome was to invent a. means of clearly distinguishing all ihe delicate fluctuations. One day the great inventor's eyeglass dropped off and swHing in front of the magnet. The glass deflected its move ments, and from this simple and unex pected incident the "mirror instru ment" was invented. Incrednlons. Literary. . . The Janitor— '<£» [fejETi " ~ The parties in '[ this room are CX literati. I won- Tl J d° r what that J/jppuK'&bl means? _Jn' ' TheScrubwo i4f\. .V~—man—Maybe It • V\' • k° v some «'VV 'ASPHv t'ing to do wid ' \ " \ tlle litter they \\ \V-yy make, I dunno. f\. i »® ~ Detroit Free * rV j Press. After the Lec -1 tare. "Now, Molly, that , that the devil little girl is a good , s worge tLaQ girl. She does not cry those who ulk when she goes to bed, about him?" I know." "Well, sub, "But, mother, won't bit 'peuds 'pon you turn the picture who doin' de round? Then we could talkin'!" At see her face and make lanta Constitu sure." tion. Betraying HI" licnorance. "I am always putting my foot in it," said Mr. Cumrox sadly. "What's the trouble?" "I am always displaying the fact that I have no taste or refinement. Mrs. C. asked me which of two gowns I preferred, and I immediately betray ed my ignorance. 1 admired the one which cost at least $75 less than the other."—Washington Star. Snfe Occupation. Bridget, the pretty young maid of all work employed in a Boston family, confided to iter mistress when taking service that she had lately become en gaged to be married. She stated, how ever, that she and Tim would have to wait two years, and iu the meantime she wished to be earning money. When Tim made his first call one evening, the family remarked that they had never known so quiet a man. The sound of Bridget's voice rose now and then from the kitchen, but Tim's words were apparently few and far between. "Tim is not much of a talker, is he, Bridget?" said the mistress of the house the next morning. "I should scarcely have known there was any one with you last evening." "Jle'll tail; more when we've been en gaged :i while longer, I'm thinking, in.. <1 little Bridget, "lie's too basii. t i do anything but eat, ma'am. \vt,' n he's wid me!"— Youth's Com nan ion. TOMATO FORCING. Training to a Single Stem and Three Stem Training. Difficulties are to !*• met with In to mato forcing which do not confront the winter grower of lettuce, radishes anil other plants which come to perfec tion in spring and early summer. The tomato loves light and heat, and to compel It to ripen fruit during the short, dark days of midwinter, when its beautiful red globes are most at tractive and command the highest prices, requires the gardener's most %gf lr 2i 1 TOMATOES TItAI>.'ED TO SINGLE STEMS. careful attoution. Some of the requi sites to success and methods used huve been stated by the Geneva (N. Y.) sta tion. as follows: Tlie grower must have vigorous, healthy plants to withstand the artifi cial cotuliti.iiis of forcing iiouse life, but he must injt feed his charges too richly or too heavily lest his harvest prove '.'nothing but leaves" until the oncoming < f Florida grown tomatoes makes his ripening crop a profitless one. The problem he must solve is to check growth sufficiently to cause ear ly setting and ripening of fruit without lessening the vigor necessary for a full crop. , Various plans are used by growers to accomplish these purposes. Some set the plants in limited amounts of soil to retard their growth until fruit Is set, then stimulate with commercial ferti lizers or liquid manure, others limit root development by growir 5 the plants in pots or small boxes, aud oth ers check the growth of the main stem by leading out the first shoot Upon each side. From tests at the station mentioned it has been concluded that single stem training is clearly superior to three stem training for winter forcing of to matoes. The fruits on the single stem plants are heavier and greater In num ber for equal areas, so that the total yield per square foot of bench surface is decidedly larger. It was found also that the amount of fruit ripened dur ing the first sis weeks of fruiting Is much greater for the single stem plants, although in many instances the first fruits ripened were upon the three stem plants. In comparing plants grown in pots and on benches very slight differences were found when the plants were trained to single stem, but with the three stem system retaining the pots FIRST STAGE OF THREE STEM TRAIXINO. seems to be a decided disadvantage, as shown by the less number of fruits and smaller total yield of plants thus check ed in growth. The Lorillard was the variety used in all tests, as this is conceded to be one of the best sorts for early winter forc ing. The cuts show plants trained to single stems and the first stage of three stem training, together with the man ner of pruning off part of foliage to prevent too vigorous growth. Corrent News and Notes. The cabbage crop on the whole Is dis appointing. Prices for new broom corn are con siderably higher than usual at this season of the year, says Orange Judd Farmer. A clean, dry bed pleases the sheep. An attempt is to be made to grow East India mangoes on the Indian riv er, Florida. • Foreign buyers want good fruit. Fumigation of trees under twelve feet iu height is generally recommend ed as the most effective remedy for keeping San Jose scale in check. Cut green bone has given better re sults in egg production at the West Virginia station than meat scraps and meal. It has been estimated that the Bab cock milk test effects a saving of 5 per cent of the butter fat of all the milk and crearo handled by all the cream eries. RESISTANCE TO FROST. A Study In Strawberries—Nine Strong Varieties. Throughout a large proportion of the strawberry growing localities light frosts often occur In the late spring, killing a variable percentage of the flowers and recently set fruit of the strawberry. The injury from such frosts appears first in the blackening of the pistils, which occurs within a few hours after the frost. Fruit upon which the pistils have been injured by frost either fails to develop or produces a small berry of irregular form. On tin 1 grounds of the Montana sta tion it was observed that a consider able variation prevailed in the resist ant power of different strawberries to frost. In general it was found that Injury to such fruits was confined to the aeheues or seeds of the strawberry. The pulpy mass or receptacle was in uo case Injured, and the surface of the pulp (lid not become blackened or show any other changes which would indi cate injury from the frost. The s eds In varieties which suffered injury were killed by the frost and rapidly showed discoloration aud a decomposition of No. 3 thilr tissues. Upon studying thin sections of In jured atul uninjured strawberries of different varieties at the same Imma ture stages of development it was found that in those varieties which did not suffer from the seeds were more deeply imbedded iu the substance of the pulp than was the case in those varieties which were Injured. In thosa varieties in which the seeds were so deeply imbedded In the pulp that they were protected from the frost by a lay er of tissue the protruding styles or tips of the pistils were killed by the frost, as in the case of varieties where the seeds were also killed. It was noted h iwever. that, although the sur face of the berry at first exhibited the bla'-kened tips of styles, the fruit pro ceeded with its development, and ulti mately all trace of the Injury disap peared. In the varieties which were most damaged by the frost the seeds were most exposed upon the surface, and they were least exposed in those varie ties which suffered least. In general it was found (hat a somewhat regular se ries of gradations prevailed extending from varieties which were uninjured to those which were most damaged. It was found during this study that nine varieties of strawberries had es caped all injury from the frost. These v rieties were Bisel, Crescent. General Putnam, Priuceton Chief, Parker Earle. Robinson, Stevens, Shuster Oem and Warfleld, all of which have t?seeds deeply Imbedded in the pulp. Varieties with short fruit stalks and long leaf stalks are less liable to injury from late spring frosts from the fact that their flowers are to some extent protected by the foliage. It may be found upon further investi gation that the conditions reported fop Montana do not prevail in all localities. CURING BACON, Ctrrtnl Trimming, Scalding an* Packing In Straw or Hay. The hog having been properly fatten ed and killed and the offal removed, let the carcass hang until the flesh Is flrm enough to cut well. Cut up as usual. The first point of importance is to care fully trim each piece, using a sharp knife. Make the flesh side as smooth as possible. There Is no waste In this, as all the trimmings go to the lard or sausage tubs. As far as possible try to have the surface of lean meat. Rub well and pack down. Use an ounce of saltpeter and three to four pounds of sugar to fifty pouuds of salt. Arrange for drainage and cover well with salt When well salted, which will be within three or four weeks, according to size of hog, hare a kettle of boiling water and immerse each piece in this for about one and a half minutes. This will make a hard crust on the flesh side and will also harden the skin, making It almost impervious to insects, and the scalding will destroy all insects and fermentation germs that may be on the surface. This I consider the second point in Importance. Then hang and smoke thoroughly with hardwood sawdust, If can be had. Oak of any sort is excellent, because it is rich In pyroligneous acid, which gives to smoke Its value as a. preservative and also contributes Its characteristic flavor to the meat. When sufficiently smoked, scald again, rub with black pepper and pack in boxes with straw or clean, sweet hay, and the meat will keep indefinitely. Hams and shoulders should be salted sep arately or, as is usually done, placed on the top of the pile. In the southern part of the state I would stick a knife straight into the joints of the hams and shoulders, let ting out the sinuous fluid and filling the hole and joint with salt I have cured as nice breakfast bacon as any person could wish* in the city of Gal veston and In midsummer by packing in salt for three days and scalding and smoking In a sugar hogshead. These sides were, when cured, about two Inches thick. This meat was cured more by smoke than by salt. Every farmer Is supposed to know how to both salt and smoke bacon. The only points 1 insist upon as im portant are the careful trimming, the scalding and the storing in straw or hay. The trimming destroys the favor ite hiding and breeding places of dele terious germs, whether animal or vege table. The scalding destroys all such germs on or near the • surface, and packing in straw or hay prevents the entrance of such germs after the cur ing process is complete and protects the bacon from atmospheric influences, dust and mildew, as well as putrefy ing germs and destructive insects.—A. A. Pittrick, Texas, in Orange Judd Farmer. As to Respectability. "What 1 said to her was the truth," she protested. "Admitted," he replied. "And the truth is always respect able." "Admitted again." "And therefore should be welcomed." "Oh, I don't know. Aunt Jane, who has such peculiar ways, is the very es sence of respectability, but I don't no tice that she gets an effusive welcome when she comes to visit us, although w always speak well of her vlen she Is absent."—Chicago Post Preparing For m. Siege. Father—Well, James, what do you want for Christmas? James—Let's see. In the first place, I want a big house, and then- Father (Interrupting him)— Dear me, James, you just got a new house. James I know, but that's nearly full, aud I want lots of room for the new things.—Brooklyn Life. Blocking the Goulpi. "Now, my dear," stdd Mr. Longhead, "I want you to make the acquaintance of all the neighbor women at once." "Why, we're barely settled here," re plied his wife. "What's your hurry?" "So that you may tell them our true family history. If you don't they'll be spreading all sorts of stories about us." —Philadelphia Press. A Matter of Principle. "Is you all gwine to hang up any mistletoe dis Christmas?" asked Mr. Erastus Plukley. "Deed I lsn'," answered Miss Miami Brown. "I'ze got a little too much pride to advertise foh de ordinary cour tesies dat a lady has a right to ex pect."—Washington Star. Lubrication. Little Mary was discovered one day by her mother vigorously applying the oil can to the kitten's mouth. On be ing reproved she replied, "Why, mam ma. kitty squeaks so awfully when I pull her tall!" Postponed. "What, boys! Fighting on Sunday?" "This fight was to be pulled off yls tlddy, but Jlmmle here couldn't git town to weight!"— New York Journal. Crusty Old Bachelor. "Well, the child's getting Its teeth." "Is it? What a pity a child doesn't get its teeth first aud Its voloa after ward!"— Puck.