A Hard Pull 1
I IE ■■ IP
On the end of Long Wharf sat
Captain Holcombe, Nate Ryder, Peter
Simpson and Little Abner. The
wharf, gray and shaky with age,
■tretched out from the grassy bank,
over the pebble beach, out into the
blue tide, like a long arm of the small
town, ready to grasp from the broad
waterway whatever of life and Indus
try came within its reach. It caught
but little nowadays. Now and then
an occasional coaster took on a load
of Ice or flsh or lumber. Between
times Beachport went to sleep and
dreamed of her former prosperity.
Captain Holcombe's weather-beat
en face had smiled through a long life
voyage. It was crossed and recrossed
by bad-weather marks of contrary
g&les, but certain humorous llnee
spoke of northwest breezes and fair
winds. Nate and Pete were
bronzed young men, mates on coast
ing schooners, takh.g an idle day or
two between trips. As for Little Ab
ner, he was little only in name. His
appellation had stuck to him in spite
of increasing inches, and only strang
ers saw any humor in the situation.
It was a still afternoon. The only
sounds which broke the quiet were
the swash of the lazy waves against
the rotting wharf, and now and then
the insistent call of the August in
sect.
"The Byron P. Thorne will have a
good chance out to-night," remarked
Peter, languidly letting his eyes wan
der over the bay to the horizon-line.
Captain Holcombe remarked, "Dir
ty to the suth'rd."
"Guess It's only loom."
"Well," returned the captain, "meb
be it is and mebbe it ain't. If it was
anything else in question you might
calculate. But fog! Scott! There
ain't anything uncertainer in this
(world of uncertainties. A cyclone's
ateady-going compared to a fog. You
think you are in for it, and—whiff! the
sky's clear as a bell. Again, and you
won't see the bowsprit from midship!
for a week of days."
"That's so," asserted Nate.
"Speaking of fog," went on the old
man, "makes me think of the summer
Of '66. I never see anything like
that before or since."
"Where was you?" asked Peter.
Little Abner, who was fishing, edged
nearer and kept one ear turned to
ward the captain.
"Off East Point, whaling. I ship
ped that year as mate In the Ellen
Mary, but before I was through the
yoyage I'l be blowed if 1 wasn't every
thing, from cabin-boy to captain. What
with being sick and getting hurt, we
had BO many laid up that we all had
to turn to and get the day's work done
•omehow. First the captain he sailed
In with a spell of ailing, then Big Jim
broke his leg falling off the foreyarda.
I was ship's doctor!" and Captain Hol
combe chuckled.
"Know anything about doctoring?"
Mked Peter. The captain's blue eyes
twinkled beneath their shaggy brows.
"Well, perhaps not just according
to the medical Idea. My sUter she
married a man who was studying to
be a doctor. He give It up before the
first year was out, and went into the
canning business, but it kind of gave
us a feeling of belonging to the pro
cession. That's why they hit on me to
fix Big Jim's leg. I must say I was
Staggered for a bit. I'd never seen a
broken leg, much less meddled with
one. But common sense helps you
along all right If only you don't hinder
It, and I argued It out in my mind
that what that leg wanted was a
chance to mend itself. I made it fast
to a bit of broken oar, lashed it well
[With rope yarn, and wrapped it up in
• piece of old sail, and nature did the
rest of the business."
"Wa'n't he lame?" asked Pete.
"Well, not to speak of. It put his
ftcerlng-tackle a bit out of gear and
he couldn't point according to com
pass. But nothing to hurt. The boys
called me 'Doc' after that, and my
iwofr was cut out for me the rest of
the voyage. I never see anything
like it. Seemed as if we had a Jonah
On board. Bad luck with whales, too.
jThey was as scarce as barnacles on
the topmast.
"Then the fog shut down, and for
three mortal weeks we much as ever
knew where we was. Fog! It was
■oupl We ate It and drank it, and it
Kt into our heads until we couldn't
nk clear. We was soaked from
Stem to stern, and the men was fair
orasy. There ain't nothing lonesomer
than a fog. 'Mon,' says Angus McDon
ald. He was a big, red-haired Scotty.
'Mon, I'd gle a good bit o' siller to
hae ane o' ma gran'feyther's sermons
aUng!' 'Why?' says I. 'They're the
driest things I ken,' says he.
"Then Galley Joe's finger had to
•ome off, and I was the one to do it.
He'd got It poisoned with a fish
hook."
"I don't believe I'd have nerve to
do that," commented Nate.
"You can always do a thing you
have to do," returned the captain.
" 'Twa'n't so bad —that Is —not for me.
Galley Joe didn't seem to find It real
•musing. It got along all right and
healed up real pretty. But that wa'n't
my hardest job. not by a long shot"
"I'd like to know what you could
have harder'n cutting off a finger?"
asked Pete.
"Pulling a tooth."
"I should think that was easy sail
ing compared with the other," said
Pete.
"Well, It wa'n't I'd rather pug a
loaded gundaluw single-handed against
the tide than pull another tooth Ilk*
that. It was a corker of a double
tooth, with a hole as big as my flat
that Is, speaking comparatively. The
man had a toothache of about as big
a size as he could hold. It ached un
mercifully, and what with the ache
and the fog, he had about all he could
steer under. It never let up, night or
day, and all the poultices In the ship
would not stop it. I reckoned that
the right course was for It to coma
out, but the man wa'n't set on having
it done, and 1 wa'n't set on doing It.
I was getting kinder sick of the medi
cal profession.
"At last he couldn't stand It any
longer. Neither could the rest, and I
said I'd get it out somehow. All the
tools I had that was appropriate wai
a small monkey-wrench and a Jack
knife, but I thought that with them —
and me - I was mighty strong in those
days—the tooth wouldn't stand much
of a chance.
"1 was a consarned long time bring
ing that man to the point. He'd take
In sail as quick as I'd ever take up
that wrench. But after Jibing and
hauling and tacking about., he finally
dropped anchor, opened hla mouth,
and said, 'Let her go!'
"The Rock of Gibraltar ain't set
flrmer'n that tooth was. I screwed
on the monkey-wrench as tight as I
could get her, and then I hauled for
all I was worth. But it never budged.
Scott, but he hollered!
"I remembered that the gums kind
o' anchor the teeth, so I got In a little
work with the Jack-knife. Then I
took a turn with the wrench. After
a time I Jerked the thing loose in its
moorings, and out she came with one
big haul. Scott! I never was so
tired in my life."
"It couldn't have been much fun
for the other fellow," remarked Nate.
"But I don't see how it was worse for
you than cutting off a finger."
Captain Holcombe thrust his horny
hands deep into his pockets and look
ed up at the sky.
"Well —It was,"he drawled. "You
see, the finger was Galley Joe's."
"What has that to do with it?" in
quired Bete.
The captain rose stiffly. "My bones
feel as if we was going to have a
spell of weather," he remarked.
"About the tooth well, it made a
heap of difference. It's bad to pull a
tooth, and It's worse to have one pull
ed, but when both Jobs are put on the
same man at the same time, it's a
leet-le more'n human nature can stand.
You see, that tooth happened to be
mine!"
The captain walked away, and
silence fell on the little group. Then
the long, discordant bray of a horn
broke In upon the stillness. Little
Abner wound up his fish-line and leis
urely obeyed the summons.
Nate and Pete sauntered up to the
village store, and the old wharf was
left deserted in the soft, golden twi
light.—MAßY E. MITCHELL.
Function of the State.
Generations come and go. The life
of the individual is short; his plans
and ambitions relate to temporary
purposes and present profits. The
State goes on forever and the State
must safeguard "s own future. In
a recent notable decision, the United
States Supreme Court says:"The
State as the guardian of the pub
lic welfare possesses the constitution
al right to insist that its natural ad
vantages shall remain unimpaired by
Its citizens." In the developing and
carrying out this purpose, It Is natural
and proper that the State should em
ploy its own geologists and engineers
and chemists; that It should make use
of the facilities of its university; and
that it should teach the new purpose
to Its university students, as well as
to its matured citizens. -Science.
Twentieth Century Dugouts.
Dugouts are usually associated
with bygone days, but they still figure
In Maryland navigation. A few are
even being made today. The dugout
is the Chesapeake canoe of the East
ern Shore oystermen. It Is made by
placing three pine logs side by side
and fastening them together with
wooden pins. Then the inside Is dug
out with an ad/ and the outside simi
larly shaped. The result is a non
■lnkable craft, with bow and stern
alike, that Is rigged with two sails
and sometimes a "jigger" as well.
From these boats the oysters are tak
en up with tongs. When the oyster
season Is over these canoes are paint
ed and aquatic races are Indulged In
by the oystermen.—Harper's Weekly.
Death Rate Among German Babies.
The figures of the present Infant
mortality alarm Germany, where the
fact that there Is a notable Increase
Is evident from the statistics Just pub
lished. Out of 2,000,000 persons born
alive last year in the empire 351,000
died under the age of one year, a re
cord exceeding 17 per cent. The
highest mortality by kingdoms is
Bavaria, 22 per cent.; the lowest, 16.8
per cent., Is In Prussia. As compared
with the British Isles the Infant mor
tality in Germany is very high. In
the former the general percentage is
10.8, the rate of mortality varying
from 11.8 per cent, in England and
Wales, where it is highest, to 9.S
per cent, in Ireland, where It Is low
est. —America.
Negative Virtues.
Beware of making your moral sta
ple consist of the negative virtues. It
Is good to abstain, and teach others
to abstain, from all that Is sinful or
hurtful. But making a business of it
leads to emaciation of character un
less one feeds largely also on the
more nutritious diet of active sympa
thetic benevolence.—Oliver Wendell
Holmes.
ij Farm |
jj Garden ■
TREATMENT OF SEED CORN.I
Proper. Methods, According to Wash
ington Authority on the Cereal.
In farmers' bulletin No. 4ir>, on t
"Seed Corn," C. P. Hartley, one of the j
corn experts of the United States de- |
partment of agriculture, asserts that j
the same day seed corn Is gathered the
husked ears should be put In a.dry place
where there Is free circulation of air j
and placed In such a manner that the .
ears do not touch each other. This Is j
the only safe procedure. The writer
has repeatedly seen pood seed ruined i
because It was thought to be already
dry enough when gathered and that
HBHBMHHHHHHHnHBUi
U. . -•~^B
I.UEAII MKTHOU OF TItEATINO SEKD CORN.
[From bulletin of United States depart
ment of agriculture.]
tlio precaution mentioned above was
unnecessary. Many farmers believe
that tlielr autumns are so dry that
such care is superfluous. Seed corn in
every locality gathered at rlpeniug
time will be benefited by drying as
suggested. If left in the husk long
after ripening It may sprout or mil
dew during warm, wet weather or be
come infested with weevils.
The vitality of seed Is often reduced
by leaving it in a sack or in a pile fur
even a day after gathering. During
warm weather, with some moisture in
the cobs and kernels, the ears heat or
mildew in a short time.
The best possible treatment Immedi
ately after gathering is shown in the
illustration. Binder twine will sup
port fifteen or twenty ears on a string
arranged in the manner illustrated.
Ordinarily the best place to hang these
strings of ears Is In an open shed or
loft.
Permanent seed racks, with n sepa- |
rate compartment for each ear, are j
more convenient than the use of binder i
twine, and when they are located In a I
dry, breezy place the ears .dry success- j
fully.
There are no unsightly ash heaps
on the farm of the man who knows
their fertilizing value.
Keeping Away Moles.
I have noticed that moles will avoid
tarred corn putin holes. It occurred
to mo to guard pumpkins, squash and
similar crops in this same way. I
tarred stoues. chips and corncobs well
with gas tar and placed them about a
foot below the surface, so the roots
did not come in contact with the tar,
and for several years I have had no
trouble with moles, bugs or grubs.—
American Agriculturist.
, Poultry Pointers.
Forcing the molt by starving the
hens is not considered a good practice.
Clean the coops thoroughly before
you put them away. Get them under
cover, too, if you can. They will last |
so much longer.
Two parts lard and one part turpen- '
tine will often cure "limberneck" in
the afflicted bird if discovered in time
and the remedy given promptly.
Ducks Intended for breeding should
be separated from those intended for
market. It will be an advantage if
they can have plenty of range and
swimming water.
Cut hay into about one inch lengths
and pour enough hot water on It near
ly to cover. Allow It to stand over
night and feed in the morning. Feed
about three times a week during win
ter.
Warm wheat for breakfast makes
the Biddies shell out the eggs.
Fresh air Is all right for the hens,
but not when it is pitted through knot
holes and tracks between the boards.
Meat meal and beef scrap are rich
in protein and mineral matter and es
pecially desirable for molting heus
and pullets kept for layers. Where
insects are not abundant meat In
some form should supply a portion of
the rations of laying bens.
If the roosts in the henhouses are
high the heavier birds are almost sure
to suffer from bruised feet, commonly
known as bumblefoot. This is caused
by Jumping from the roost to the hard
floors.
EASILY MADE IN WINTER.
Plank Drag For Uae Later on Worth
Taking Up Farmer's Spare Time.
An effective plunk drag which can
be made easily In winter by any farm
er, in order to have it ready for later
use, Is thus described by an Ohio cor
respondent In the Rural New Yorker:
The writer hns used several kinds of j
drags on plowed fields and has seen a
D XI X />
i » * * *]b *" *
FRONT VIEW OF DRAG.
[From the Rural New Yorker.]
large number in use, ranging from a
sled upside down to the lever harrow j
with the teeth set back. Of all the
devices used for dragging (he soil the
drag shown In the diagram Is prob- I
ably most effective. The plank drag
made by lapping some 2 by 8 inch j
plank works all right in very dry soil,
but Is all wrong for soils properly
moist for best results in working. The
drag shown here will work anywhere
and at almost any time. Such a drag
Is easy to make and not at all expen
sive. In the diagrams a and b are
•2 by 15 or H inch plank 7 feet long for
two horses or 11 feet for three, a and
d are 2 by 4 pieces bolted to the plank, ,
c is a draft chain and may be fastened '
where shown or farther back, while '
xx are two short boards nailed in place
for the driver to stand on. The latter
pieces, xx, should not be too wide, as
they might cause the soil to collect
and pack underneath. The plank a
nnd b should be set at an angle of 30
degrees to d-d, nnd the joints should
be secured with two bolts each. This
drag Is simple and strong and will
stand a lot of rough usage in the field,
nnd its use will give satisfaction to
BIDK VIEW OF DRAG.
[From the Rural New Yorker.]
the user, and particularly where it Is
desired to level up Inequalities of the
surface. This drag cannot take the
place of a harrow, roller or disk har
row, but It can do a few things more
easily and quickly and in some cases
far better.
The farmer driving through town
with his prancing horses drawing a
fine rig is the farmer on parade.
The farmer in the field behind the
plow is the farmer proving his right
to be on parade.
Winter Keeping of Vegetables.
The matter of keeping Irish pota
toes, cabbages, onions, beets, etc., all
winter for family use depends on
climatic conditions. Irish potatoes, as
also beets, should be guarded against
freezing. Beets and carrots can staud
a little of it, but are better off when
kept from it. Cabbages stored in the
cellar should be wrapped separately in
double thicknesses of newspaper, fold
ing and tying it around the stem.
Hang each head upside down on the
Bide of the wall or from the beams
Dvet'head. Cabbages can stand some
freezing, but not too much of it, nor
much freezing and thawing. Onions
to keep well must be putin a cool,
dry, uiry place.—Farm and Fireside.
Manure From the Barnyard.
Manure from the barnyard adds hu
mus to the soil, and humus acts like a
sponge, retaining moisture in the soil,
making It more capable of absorbing
i heavy rainfall and of holding it there
longer. The moral, therefore, is to
lave and carefully spread all barnyard
manure over the fields. Manure is
worth dollars and will put dollars Into
the farmers' pockets.
Plants For Winter Pasture.
• Many plants can be used for winter
pasture. Of course It Is more difficult
to secure winter than summer grazing,
but with the proper use of bur clover,
rye, oats, vetch and crimson clover, all
fall sown, there Is little trouble to se
cure grazing areas through the winter.
—Home and Farm.
Why Clover Frils.
Clover fails to grow on many farms,
but the prime causes Is that much of
the humus of the soil is worn out and
an acid condition exists that is detri
mental to clover. A liberal application
of lime will be beneficial.
TRUST THE WOMEN FOLK
The farmer who thinks he can
"tun his business" without taking
his wife into his councils is pretty
apt to run against a snag before he
knows it. While women may not
always understand all the fine points
of farming, they are often able,
through some divine instinct, to tell
how things ought to be, and the
man who trusts that instinct is not
very apt to come out wrong.
||„ < I
NOTES
CMBARNITZ
RIVERSIDE
CORRESPONDENCE
SOLICITED /\
[These articles and illustrations must not
be reprinted without special permls- ]
slon.J
GIMME THE OLD COOK STOVEI
Folks kin brag about their furnace,
With heat shootin' through the wall; |
They kin sing about them gas stoves
That don't have no smell at all;
They kin chirp about their steam heat, ■
With them radiators line.
Rut with all their hot nlr preachln'
It's the ole cook stove fur mine.
Gimme that there ole time cook stove!
Gimme It though red with rust,
With its kittle slngin' merry,
Hoilin', steamin' most to bust.
Gimme that ole redhot cook stove
With big oven nice an' hot.
When my shins Is gittin' chilly
She's the stuff to lilt the spot.
Gimme that ole roarln' cook stove,
With the turkey roastin' brown
An' the sassage an' the ponhoss,
With their bully smells around! '
Gimme that ole red cracked cook stove! '
We shall snooze before its grate,
We an' mother 111 our rockers.
When the years are gittin' late.
C. M. BARNITZ.
THE WHITE EMBDEN GOOSE.
PERTINENT PARTICULARS.
If Toulouse geese did not beget
■white sports we might believe the
German legend that a wild white
swan ilew down, mated with a gray
gander, nested, and hence the White
Etubden.
The Dutch are goose epicures, eat
ing over a million a year, but to Eng
lish gander geniuses goes the credit of
improving t lie Einbden, and then
American rooster tinkers put 011 the
finish when they bred out foreign col
or, the dewlap, th<» deformed, fatty
abdomen, and gave the fowl more
grace, egg capacity and finer flesh.
White is a la mode for poultry to
day, and the White Einbden fits this
fancy.
America is entering the goose era,
and this is only the turning of a page
in goose history.
Classic Homer sucked a goose drum
stick, Caesar carried his "goose pot"
rt'HITE EMHUEN OANDIiB.
along to Gaul, and fashionable France
now revels in fat goose liver and gar
lic. So don't sidestep, for goose is
now the go and White Embdeu the
■whole show.
Wild geesi* pair, hut we nature fak
ers have made poultry polygamous, so
mate up your Knibden pmder to four
geese, and do this months before
breeding season. (loose sometimes
live 100 years and breed well to twen
ty-five, but after that they get too
heavy and the ganders dangerous.
Males from two to live years and
geese from two to twelve breed best.
Ganders are dog haters. So to tell
ses just put Fido in the coop and
watch them go for him while the
geese look 011.
Real Embdens are pure white; eyes
are blue; bills, shanks, feet deep or
ange.
The gander is larger than the goose,
but should be about same in shape.
They should be massive, compact,
deep, with broad flat back, full, wide,
round breast, long massive neck, large
head, strong, round thighs, short, stout
shanks, straight toes, big flappers.
EMBDEN STANDARD WEIGHTS.
Pounds. Pounds.
Adult gander 20 Adult goose 18
Young gander 18 Young goose 16
DON'TS.
Don't kick. Man is said to descend
from the ape, not the mule; but, If
true, it does not pay in this progres
sive day to play the monkey or be a
Jack.
Don't forget if you are starting an
egg farm that single comb White Leg
horns of laying strain are it for eggs
from California to Maine.
Don't pass by Light Brahmas if you
are raising capons. They reach the
size that takes the prize.
Don't sneeze at White Wyandottea
when you have broilers In view. They
quickly plump, are yellow too.
Don't keep a poultry menagerie.
Honks, quacks, buckwheats, gobblers,
coo-coos and cockadoodledo such a
conglomeration! . What a hullabaloo J
THE TURK AND HIS HAREM.
DEPENDABLE POINTERS.
Wild turkeys separate In the (all and
choose new affinities in February, na
ture's tif to you not to mate parent
and offspring, brother and sister, but
to head your pen with a strong unre
lated gobbler each season. Tame tur
keys do not fully mature in a year, o
hint that breeders should be two 01
more years old, one torn to eight hens,
all vigorous and as evenly matched in
size, shape and color as possible.
Start with stock rather than eggs.
With stock you know ancestry, eggs
are fresh, and Mother Turkey does the
hntching, brooding, rearing, a sure!
way to success than with the lousy
cluck.
As to breed, let your fancy, location
and market requirements decide that
Bronze is most popular, White Holland
next. Bronze is largest and does best
on wide range; Holland is more domes
tic and may be reared on more limited
area.
Buy in the fall. Birds are cheapest
and, right off range, are not fat, so det
•
liKAUTIPUIi MATES—MAMMOTH BRONZE.
rimental to success, and thus through
winter you may keep them normal by
Judiciously feeding a grain ration of
equal parts wheat, oats, barley and
corn. Wheat is standard for old tur
keys; much corn brings fat, infertility,
liver trouble and weak poults.
Waste apples, cabbage and sprouted
oats are good greens; good beef scrap
and fresh cut bone substitute for grass
hoppers and clover, or alfalfa steamed
and mixed with bran and rnids is ex
cellent. Grit, shell, charcoal, fresh wa
ter are necessities.
In selection note vigor, size, shape,
color. Size does not always mean
weight. Two toms may weigh the
same, but vastly differ. One may bo
big bone and muscle and later develop
Into a giant; the other may be small
honed and fatty, grow 110 larger aud
beget squatty, feeble offspring.
The turkeys In the picture are mod
el mates. The male is large In frame,
body long and deep, neck and tail long
and graceful, back broad and descends
in graceful curve to tail; breast full
and broad, wings large and strong;
head, caruncles, feet, thighs large;
shanks thick, long, straight and well
Lot.
The hen Is a perfect mate, of course,
being more refined.
The gobbler weighs forty pounds and
the heu twenty-three, just four and
three pounds respectively above Bronze
standard weight.
FEATHERS AND EGGSHELLS.
A flock of 3<X> or 400 wild pigeons
was seen by a party of lawyers aud
lumbermen near Slilppensburg, Pa., In
the fall, and their nesting places will
be sought in the woods of Forrest aud
Warren counties in April to give them
special state protection.
When one or two hens in a flock are
affected with indigestion quarantine
them, then study the rest and your
feeding method. Unless they are sick
don't quick put the remainder on a
starvation diet or you'll knock the egg
record high as a kite.
Lancaster county, the garden spot of
Pennsylvania and a great grower of
"pure Havana," has scored 011 alfalfa.
Some of her farmers cut four crops of
the finest. This is good news to east
ern fanciers who have been cheated
with chopped weeds and hay, through
which was sprinkled a little western
alfalfa to give it the smell.
Belief In the near approach of the
millennium rather dropped a notch
when it was discovered that the chick
ens served at a wattle supper at a col
ored church near Wilmington, Del.,
were swiped from a Baptist preacher's
coop. When it was stated that the
preacher had filled up with chicken 011
a complimentary and that he had no
business to keep anything but water
fowl anyhow the dark clouds on the
millennium dawn disappeared.
■ A Wilmington physician declares
there are so many backward children
in the public schools because their
mothers gave them so much "dope"
when they were babies. While not an
authority on baby farming, we know
there are lots of weak baby chicks be
cause their mothers are fed eg b *3'>ne
to rush winter eggs.
It is said the earwig Is the only in
sect that sits on Its eggs. It covers Its
fifty eggs until they are hatched and
then hovers its young. In Bughouse
row red mites often cover eggs, the
hens that lay them and the people
that gather them.