THE PULPIT. A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON Y THE REV. 0. H. EGGLESTON IhHMI Unconditional Service. Brooklyn, N. Y. The Rev. Gordon H. Eggleston, paHtor of the Oreene Avenue Church, preached Sundnv morning on "Unconditional Service." The text wbb from Luke tORO: "Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou end nreaeh the Kingdom of God " Mr Eggleston said ; We turn our thought to u verse of Scripture thai leaves In manv Chris tian mind a wrens: Impression, or seems to be entlrelv meaningless: "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach th Kingdom of God." As we think of these words we must beware of nf reading Into Chris tianity an unnnturalness that savors not of a loving God "full of commis sion and plenteous In mercy " Tho Christian rellsrlnn. o' which Jesus Is the personification, doti not repudi ate n single humin emotion. Its demands are not thus harsh. It does not demand the renunciation of home life and human relations in order to be pure and good, as the monks and nuns of old awsprted No' in clois tered hill, secluded from curious eye3. Is the holiest llf lived, but out In the bus'' world, bearim; a shar of Its burden?. mtlng Its temptations, yet withal living a life that Is pure and good The nun in her seclusion and much prater Is not more righteous than the Christian housewife with her manv duties and 1 'ss prayer Nor Is the Christian business man living a less noble life than the cloistered monk Christ lanltv Is not for seclu sion. It Is for the evpry day life which you and I are living. It Is to lift common life Into the divine. It does not ask us to be unnatural. It does not deny us any legitimate rela tionship. It does not require neg lect of any earthly duty, for the Gos pel of Jesus Is a religion for this life. Some would make the test mean simtilv that we must not entanele ourselves with the affairs of the world This Is likely to misrepresent the Gospel of Jesus. Th true Chris tian has a duty in this world, nor is he to he separated from It. He has a part in the work of redemption. His the obligation so to enter Into the varied phases of life that he may help to lift It to higher Ideals. Business, politics, pro'esslonal life, should not be unrelated to Christian principles. Each needs more :nn to carry Chris tian principles Into those departments of life for their purification. When men shall have graand the idea that every nart of their life Is related In separably to their relleion. and that the man who is a Christian only when he Is inside a church is not a Chris tian at all. then will a mighty stride be made toward the r- allzatlon of the Kingdom of God in the hearts and lives of men. If It Is true the words do not maan the repudiation of natural affection, If It Is true they do not mean separa t'on from the world in order to be a Christian, what. then. Is the message of these words from the lips of Jesus? Two words suffice to state the propo sition. Unconditional service. "Let the dead bury their dead" voices the urgent demand of the message of Jesus on the soul of men. The occasion for the seemingly strange words of Jesus was a season of excuses. He had been talking to His followers concerning the kingdom of righteousness. Attracted by His personality, many gather to hear His words. To them Jesus said. "Follow Me." But they begin with one accord to make excuse. They would like to follow Jesus, but they are not willing to pay the price. Unconditional ser vice Their loyalty is tempered with conditions. Jesus says, follow Me now. this Instant, ere I depart. But one young man feels he must first say goodby to his friends. While he Is gone to his native village to say good by Jesus would have left the country. It would be too late to follow. His gooJbv would have cost him his fel lowsh.p with the Master. Therefore, Jesus said to him. "No ma'i having uu: his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God." We cannot believe Jesu3 had any ob jection to the young man's goodby to his friends, if at the same time he could have followed. Another young man must needs first go bury his father. But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their dead; go thou and preach the Kingdom of God." The performance of these duties, whicj were perfectly worthy In them selvee, would have separated them from Jesus. Then when they were ready to follow, Jesus would have been far away. Participation in the funeral rites would, according to the Eastern custom, entail a ceremonial uncieanness of seven days. Seven days it would have taken to bury the father Before the funeral is over Jesus would have been far away, and the young nian might then be Unwill ing to follow after Him. By this stange answer, luilen with spiritual meaning, Jesus taught that 0UB( man, and is teaching this age, .ha. His claims are paramount; tunc obedience must be Instant and abso lute K may be the path to hell is paved with good intentions; but of one thing we may be sure, the way Into file Christ life Is not paved with excuses. He who would be a follower o: that Perfect Man, the Son of God, must render unconditional service. The same tree does not bear the true and the false, the honest and the dis honest, the pure and the impure. The way of righteousness and the way of evil are two roads which lead to opposite conditions. Would man walk In the way of truth, he must even be willing to let the spiritually dead bury their nead. If the dearest friend a man has in the world would keep him from righteousness and Christ, then it must needs be as Jesus said that a man must disregard the desires even of bis father and his mother. How often in life we see the counterpart of the sad story of the young woman who would follow her Master In a life of service for the suf fering, but who met with bitter op position from a godless mother who desired nothing better for the daugh ter than the useless life of a society feefle. She was forced with sorrow to forsake the mother, to leavu the par ental roof, to let the dead bury their dead, while she did the work of the Kingdom of Love. The call of Jesus Christ to servo li unqualified Ex cuses do not pass muster. Whatso ever hinders service must be re nounced, If men would follow. Nor is Ibis a harsh demand. It doos not re quire that we be unnatural. It docs not ask the man to be lens a man, or the woman to be less a woman. But, on the other hand, no earthly July or relationship can ba pawned aa an excuse for neglect of duty to Hull, righteousness and the cause of humanity. Forgetful that excuse should have no place In Christian Hv Ing, many a one to-day who has heard the cal' the Master. "Follow Me.' like the. young man of old. has bribed 'he conscience with excuses. Many or the current excuses ars far less plausible than those of the men who would first say goodby to the friends nnd bury the father. Back of every life to-day that Is not Christian, that is not living for righteousness, there Is a reason, perhaps an excuse, certainly that stands In the way of following JesuB, which cross-examination would reveal. It may be Indif ference. Indifference to the moral and spiritual claims of Jesus Christ upon the life Is not commendable. It may be some pet sin hidden away from the knowledge of the world within the secret places of heart and life. To offer the love of a net sin as the reason for not following the Master is a sad confession of weak ness. We recall the words. "If thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast It from thee." The excuse may he that men think themBelvs not good enoimh But the purpose of Christianity is to make men good; not to take them after they are good. It mav be cowardly fear of crltlrlsm stands In the way. Bill the true man does not fear criti cism when dolne the right. "Go thou nnd publish abroad the Kingdom of God" was the message to the younc man wbo excused himself. It tells the nature of the service, That service Is essentially and pri marily personal. The first require ment Is. "Follow Me." That meant to believe )p Jesus as a personal Sav iour from sin. It means to live the princlnlcs oi tho Christ lift in our dal'.v life. Whatever hindcra the tangible ex pression of that Gospel we profess must bo cast out. Is there n secret sin? It must go. Is there a trick In business that does not square with honesty? It must go. Is there a net jealousy or envy that does not wli!h well in the scales of love? It inns' go. Is there even a deaire In lh heart that If not pure and true? It must go. The outward apparnnre judges not the man, but the motives and desires of the heart, thev are the judge. Time was when a man was deemed good If he rommltted nn overt art of wrong. It mattered little what he thought, or what the lusts of the heart might he, so long as he did i no wrong. But the searching truth ol Jesus reversed these values. Not an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but render thou good for evil. "If thy right eve offend thee, pluck II out and cast It from thee; for It Is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy Whol body should be cast lntc hell." Nor is ihia strenuous Ideal enoug'i. It Is not sufficient that the actions of the life cr,riffrm to th laws of morality and righteousness. !.istn to the words of Jams in which He states the great irtrnl: "Ye have heard how it was v'd by them of old thou shalt no; kill; but I say untc vou that whosoever is angry with nil brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: Yo have heard that It was said by them of old. thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say that whosoever deslreth thus u sin hath already done the sin in hi? heart." It is the noblest Ideal that has ever been given to man. It de mands the purification of the motives and desires of the heart as well as the actions of the life; for from the heart proceedeth all sin. It strikes at the very centre of wrongdoing. Thus ll service to Christ made first of all a matter to the heart. The heart must be right. Then, it becomes a mattei of the life. The life will be righteous If the heart is right. Follow Me. said Jesus. Get the heart and life In har mony with noble ideals. Then, "Go thou and preach the Kingdom of God." Thus -isus trrr.sfers the nature of service from th rrow limit! of the personal Into the great world-wide field of the social. The ultimate ob ject becomes not one's own Individual salvation, but the Kingdom of God, which is also the brotherhood of man. Jesus did not say to the young man, Let the d':ad bury their dead, but go thou and save thine cwn soul. But He did say, Go thou and save others Into life, publish the message of love hi that work for others In the name f God, he would save himself. There ,s no other way. He who seeketh to iave his life shall lose It; but he who acrifices his lite for My sake, the v le shall save it. The which is to a man cannot save his own soul Without teeking to save the life of a iroiher at the same time; a man can not be a Christian and care nothing tor the redemption of the world into he Christ-like life of llgnt and love. 3Tk INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM MlvNTS FOR .11 NK I I. lust Said About the lilble. The first book that was given me was a Bible, and In those far off gypsy lays, as a little nomad, a little stran ger, when I could not tell A from B, s used to open the book under a hedge Jr a tree, or In the corner of a field .nd very often it was the wrong way 'ip. But that did not matter; I. was I i there, and 1 used to kneel down I leside It and pray this prayer: "Oh, I iod, I cannot read Thy book, but i would You fill my heart with its spirit." And the Lord heard that prayer long before 1 could lead a letter; and I should not have been ' where I am to-day if 1 had not kept ' up that sort of attitude, and 1 have 1 tried to cultivate the art of living in I an atmosphere of talking to God. ! And. men and women, you will have j to net there if you are going to he of any service to God and Immunity. Gipsy Smith, in a recent address at ! Brooklyn, N. Y. Subject: The Risen Christ by the Sen of Galilee, John 21:1-2 Gold rn Text, Mntt. 2H:20 Commit Verse 1.1 Commentary. TIMK. May. A D 30 PLACE. The shores of Galilee. EXPOSITION. I. I.ovest thou Me? lfi-17. The twenty-first chapter of John is an appendix to the gospel The gospel naturally ends at 20:31 This appendix Is evidently also by John, with the possible exception ol verses 2 4 nnd 2 5. The dlsrlples had cone into Galilee because Jesus had bidden them go there (Matt. 26:32; 28:7; Mk. 16:7-10). There were seven of the apostolic company pres ent at this appearance or Christ (v 2). Thomas was one of the number Peter was the leader. Peter sug gested that they go a fishing Some have thought that this was a temporary desertion of his call on Peter's part This Is pure fancy. Secular occupations are not inconsist ent with a true devotion to the work of prophet, apostle or minister (2 K. 0:1-7: Acts 18:3; 20:34). It is well to be honestly busy while awaiting great events. God often grants HI? special revelntlona to those who are at the post of secular duty (Luke 2:8; Malt. 4:lS-20, 21). Jesus seemingly approved of this fishing ex cursion, at all events He took a hand in It (v. 6). Jesus disclosed Himself to the dlsrlples as at their first call of four of them by a miraculous draft Of fishes (Luke 5:5-11). Jesus did not come to their help until they had come to end of themselves and their own resources, having tolled long and wearily and fruitlessly. Aa day broke they saw Jesus standing on the beach. In Jesus standing on the beach wait ing for His weary disciples out on the seu to bring their fish ashore we may see a picture of Jesus standing on the beach beyond the sea of life waiting for us to bring ashore the fish we have caught. Alas! that so few of us are heavily freighted as were these disciples. Before Jesus came to the help of His disciples He drew out of them a confession of their own utter failure (vs. 3, 4). Everything about the story bears the marks of Its genu ineness and truth. The actions ascrib ed to Peter and John are oceedingly natural and highly characteristic. The story If fictitious would never have mentioned that the disciples for some time were not clear that if. was Jesus. When breakfast Is over Jesus espe dally addresses Himself to Peter. He was the one who eajieelally needed first to be searched and then encour aged and commissioned. He call; Peter by his weak natural name Si mon; for He is about to recall his failure, in which he had not appeared at all as Peter (Man of Rock). The first question brings up Peter's self confident boasting and sad fall. "Lov est thou Me more than these?" Pe ter had boasted that though all the rest were offended ho would not be, that he would stand by his Lord even unto death (Matt. 26:33-35). Peter had thought that his love overtopped that of all the rest of the disciples. Jesus asks him If ho still thinks aftei his sad denial that he loves "more than these." Peter did not say he loved Jesus more than the others did; he had learned humility. But ol his love he has no doubt and is will Ing to appeal to Jesus' own knowl edge of him, "Thou knowest that 1 love Thee." Are we so confident ol our love to Jesus? Can we say tc Jesus. "Thou knowest that I love Thee?" True love to Christ is shown by obedience (Jno. 14:15-21, 22). Jesus accepted Peter's profession ol hl3 love and on Ita basis commis sioned him, "feed My lambs." Jesus will set only the one who loves Him to feeding the lambs, and the way to Bhow that we really do love Him is by feeding His lambs. The lambs are the young of the flock. A minister's first duty and a Christian's first duty Is to feed them. The word of God Is the food toglvetliem. What wondrous forgiveness and compassion on JeBus' part to set falthlesB Peter at this glo rious work. He asks the same ques tion a second time, leaving out "the more than these," and gets the same reply. He gives another commis sion, "Tend My sheep." Love to Him is the condition of tending His sheep. tena is more than feed, it is all JUNE FOURTEENTH. -1 Kings 3: 1012. 4: 11. How to Choose a life-Work 3; 5-15. All should work. 2 Thess. ' With the hands. 1 Thesa 12. Hard work necessary. Heb. 2: 1 10. Man's first work. Gen. 2: 8-15. Two vocations Oen. 4; 1-7. Paul'B trade. Acts 18: 1-3. Do not despise the dreams of youth; they are more real than many so called realities of later life. Humility Is one of the chief re quisites for any ' succosa, because It means teachnbleness. The best business college Is a knowledge of God, for we are depend ent upon Him for the wisest guldnnce In all our work. Seek the first things first, nnd the second things will go added to them. Suggestions. Your life work should be In accord ance with your desire. If your desire is to further the Kingdom of God. Your powers, your opportunity, the world's need these lire the three fac tors thnt should determine your rhoice of your life work. Two causes lead men to press Into the overcrowded occupations they are too sluggish to pioneer, or they are too confident of their own pow ers. Of nil callings the noblest Is prench Ing; It la nlso the most difficult to succeed In, the poorest paid, and the best paid! Illustrations. Choosing one's life work for this life alone Is like the choice of a bunch of grape in preference to the title deed of a kingdom. Many men's life choices ure deter mined by the will of their partners. Tils wit alwaya be the case if your pnftner Is Christ. "My business"- these were the im mortal words of William Carey "Is preaching the gospel; but I cobble shoes to pay expenses." Holmes is a conspicuous Illustra tion of the value of nn avocation; for his vocation was medicine, and liter ature was only his side calling. Muring Hot Hays it should be remembered during the first hot days that a half-hour's work In the early morning will not only accomplish wonders among the flowers, but will also be the very best sort or nprlng tonic, and It Is certain ly wiser than attempting to do the I -rk In the midday heat. Strengthens the Rone. At the Utah Experiment Station, to determine the effects of beet pulp on the strength of bone, a lot of three wethers was fed ten pounds of pulp per head per day. while a similar lot received no pulp. The strength of a number of the more Important bones wns determined with a testing ma chine, and In every case It wns found that there was n difference In favor of the pulp ration. A Comfortable Milk Stool. Make a box of inch boards 12x16 Inches and four Inches deep. Make legs (hree Inches wide, nine Inches long. Then take u piece or grain sacking, nail to three sides of stool nnd stuff with excelsior or something similar. lu Wisconsin, where we milk three hours a day, writeB the correspondent of the Missouri Valley Farmer, we find the need of cushions. EPWORTH LEAGUE LESSONS SUNDAY, JUNE 11. To Bold, Bad Men. Many who fear to walk under a ladder have no hesitation In climbing ver the commandments of God. How They Got There. Many people who reside in hell got mere by restluj on the road to iaveu. Wandering Molecules. Even the most solid metals lose some of their molecules by dispersion from the surface, but some curious peculiarities are observed In the pro cess of molecular dispersion. For Instance, when a piece of gold is pressed against a piece of lead, some of the molecules of the former dis perse into the lead. The process la, of course, extremely slow, and years are required before Its effects be come evident. But, slow as It is. the dispersion of the molocolea of gold Info a mass of lead takes place faster than Into either air or water. The surface molecules of water disperse readily into air, but refuse to enter oil. The molecules ot salt disperse quickly In water, but refuse to enter air, or most solids, lu appreciable "uantttles I Cost of Eggs. Regarding the cost of producing ggs, Professor Graham, ot the Con lectlcut Experiment Station, said that Igures one year were an low as seven md five-eighths cents per dozen for the food only. the work of shepherding. Now Jesus alters His question and uses the same word for love that Peter had used, "Simon, son or John, do you have af fectlou tor Me?" The thrice asked question is such a manifest though gentle reference to the threefold de nial that Peter Is grieved at the sug gestion ot a doubt by the Saviour of his love, and he bursts out with all his soul, "Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." Jesus is satisfied, "feed My sheep." II. Follow Me, 111-22. A prophecy ui i-eicr a crucifixion iouows. feter will have again the opportunity of proving that he is ready to die for Christ, and this time he will not fail This might seem like painful Infor mation to Pe'.er, but under '.he cir cumstances It must have bee i highly gratltylng. Hu death should "glo rlTy God." Then comes the final and best commission ot all, "follow Me." The following wan to be very literal, right to the cross (cf. Matt. 16:24; 2 Tl. 3:12). Peter never forgot this conversation 11 Pet. 5:2-4; 2 Pet. 1:14). God's Revelation to the Awakened Understanding -(Eph. 1. 15-23, Hos. 14. 8, 9.) Eph. 15-23. Paul was alw.cys groat In his prayers. When he prayed for the Ephesian-a, as he records the pray er In this )art of his letter. It seems as though he swept the whole range of intercession for intellectual nnd spiritual awakening. Think what he has prayed for: that the Epheslan Christiana should know "what Is the hope of his calling, nnd what the rlcheB of tho glory of hlB Inheritance in the saints, and what Is the exceed ing greatness of hlB power to us-ward who believe, nccordlng to the working of his mighty power." Surely that prayer, If nnswered, would provide en lightenment and knoweldge thnt would satisfy the most aspiring candidate for sainthood; and yet the apostle knew, as we may know; that, when God gives unto us the spirit of wis dom and revelutlon for the acknowl edgement of Christ in our lives, all the rest ot his prayer follows In due time ns a natural consequence. Hos. 14. 8, 9. When a man turns away from his idols, whatever they may be, he Will find that In turning to the true God he has, In largo meas ure, liecome a new man Intellectually, as well as spiritually. He begins to be wise so ns 10 understand things thai beforetime were hidden from him; he begins to be broadened, so that he orders his life lu accordance with his understanding of God's power and purpose. The highest education is the only education which Christians have any right to seek. Every Christian la to be u worker with God, and every form of Christian work Is In sore need of equipped and skillful workers. So, In accordance with his opportunities and to tho measure of his abilities, every Christian must bo a student. That menus more than the sending of a young man to college and seminary, that ho may prepare for tho ministry, or the training of a young woman, that she may become a missionary. It meani that we all, no matter what our work in life Is to be, must be ready to do that work In the Chris tian spirit. Testing Grain For Sim: l . A correspondent at WllllamsviUo, 111., writes: "Should seed oats brought in from the Nonh be treated for smut; If so, how should it be done?" Smuts are caused by the growth ot minute parasitic plants that live with in the tissues of the grain. These black masses ot smut may be seen at harvest time completely replacing heads of oats or wheat, and the Infec tion to the succeeding crop is caused by these smutty aeeda. It will do no harm to treat oats for smut, even if they are not infected, and then we Will be practically certain that out crop will be clean. The best chemical to UBe is formaldehyde; it is the cheapest and most easily applied. In sist that It be at least forty per cent, pure, or else your treatment may not be effective. The solution should be made lu the proportion of one pound of formaldehyde to forty-five gallons or water. That amount will be am ple to treat seventy-five bushels of oats. The easiest method to apply the solution is to spread out the oats on the granary or barn floor and spray the solution over them with a common sprinkling can. Do the job on a rather warm day. Stir the seed ever several times, so that all Is thor oughly moistened. Cover it up with bags or horse blnnkets for two or ! three hours. Then remove the cover ing and allow the seed to dry before sowing. L. C. Brown, in the Tribune Farmer. Unsatisfactory Work. It's hard work fattening the soul on a weekly sermon sandwich. A Wonderful Railroad. Seeing Lightning Strike. In July last William F. Rigge of Creighton University had the unusual fortune to see u bolt of lightning strike an isolated Cottonwood tree about a quarter of a mile awuy. The flash appeared as a "superb column or shaft of light about 40v or 500 feet high and eight to twelve Inches In diameter, perfectly straight ver tical and steady." The -haft was white, but its base was tinged with red. This column seemed to stand between two diverging trunkB or the tree, and lasted about two seconds Afterward Mr. Rigge found that one of the two trunks of the double tree had Its bark stripped off in the shape of a ribbon six Inches wide and two yards long. The other trunk showed two furrows beginning ten feet above me ground. They looked as if thev u laaiuua emus ui limy, ijPnna v, , . , . ' and Milan, are to be connected by a ! t "T ? - -P eCe f Jtee" marvelous electric railroad eighty-five miles In length, which is to cost $47, 000,000. Th-? excessive cost Is owing to the nature of the country through which the line will pass. It will re quire nineteen tunnels, one ot which will be twelve miles long. There will be 3 72 bridges, and the road will be six years In the course of construc tion. The cost of the line construc tion alone will be $500,000 per mile. The line will bo double tracked and there will he no grade crossings. Trains will consist of three cars, each it i j.umodaUng fifty passengers. It U proposed to ruu twenty trains a day. and It is estimated that the dally IrMtfl will bo 6000 passengers. The Boy s World. There was no sign of fire. MAGAZINE ASTRONOMY. "What sort of telescope do you use for seeing things on Mars?" The eminent astronomer, hiffoitu ated to scanning the heavens at mag azine space rates, stayed his pen but an instant. "I have learned," he re plied, "not to rely on any telescope. Tho beBt of them sadly hampers the play of ihe iraaginatlon."--Phlladol- phla Ledger. Popinjay. The popinjay was a figure of a bird shot at for practice. Tho Jay was decked with partl-colored feath ers so as to resemble a parrot, and, being suspended on a pole, served as a target. He whose ball or arrow brought down the bird by cutting tho ring by which it was hung received In the Slavonic section of tho New York Public Library ihere are 8627 volumes and a very large proportion , the nroud title of "Cantaln PonlnUv of the Russian readers select hooks for the rest of the dav. and was e.. UB oclal ond governmental sublecta sorted home in triumph. Plow Points. The finer the soil, the better the vegetablt-s, both lu quantity and qual ity. Work the suiface soil over, after each raiu, and thus retain all the moisture. Vegetables delight in having a warm, deep and rich and mellow toll, aud will generously pay for the priv ilege. Two crops can often be planted on the same ground by planting early and late varieties, removing the early as soon as mature. It Is a good plan to apply the fer tilizer to the land a week or ten days before sowing the seed. In all caseB it must be thoroughly Incorporated with the soil; otherwise injury to young plants may result. At this season cows that r.re about to calve should have especial care. Should the cow be fat. remove all grain from her ration and give a hot bran mash and a dose of Epsom salts, ginger and molasses a day or two be fore she calves and also the day after. White Dutch clover is very desir able .is pusturuge for bees. The seed may be Bown any time in April. It ' resists drouth much better than most of the grasses, and forms a close green turr for the lawn, if kept cut after It Is well rooted. Horses (hat are worked to the limit of their ability should have all their grain ground and fed on moist ened cut hay. Home aud Farm. Keep Free From Dampness. There Is, perhaps, no one thing that will have so bad a general effect upon young chicks as dampness. Not only will It tend to cause disease and death among the weaker ones, but It also is apt lo stunt the itrongor chicks in their growih and aids in the increase of lice and mites. Tho position of the coops or brood ors should be well considered, to make sure that they are not lu a wet or damp spot. Ground with u slope is the heat, so that the water from steady rains or heavy showers will be readily carried off. it Is also a good plan to dig u small trench close to each coop or brooder, thus ullowing the water to be carried oft more read ily In sudden heavy downpours. Small platforms made the right slzo to fit lu the bottoms or the coops protect the chicks from the damp ground during wet spells of weather. The platforms are easily made from thin pieces of board nailed on two or three crosspleces. These crosspleces slightly raise the platform from the ground and thus form an air space which keeps the roopB drier than oth erwise would be tho case. Sand should be used on the platforint-, and earo must be taken to keep them claau. These plattoimn, while being of 'leueflt. will not auawer s)l purposes, however, for If the place where the coops are situated Is naturally damp or wet trouble will follow. oa is tne nesi piace on wnicn 10 locate coopa or brooders. Sandy soil is also a good place If It has not re cently been disturbed to any depth. When the hens and chicks are out, on bright, sunny days after rans. it Is a good plan to turn the coops on their sides or backs so as to let the sun have full possession and thor oughly dry out any dampness that may be present. H. E. Haydock, Lo cust Valley, N. Y. LIVED UPSIDE now N SIXTY-SIX tEAjtS. Vital Organs of Brilliant Ju rlst Topay-Turvy-- Hsart on Right Slrfo and Liver Capaizoa The Mllkin? Stool. What the Hired Man Say, Weeds, making the best of them possible, are parasites, not only ns to the soil and rarm crops, but also in the revenue of the farmer, as what ever is stolen from his crop is taken from his Income. A farmer who wears ragged nnd dirty clothes, whiskers that Invite the birds to nest and Is in his general make-up about as attractive as a tramp, is a curiosity these days. The aiuomobile is on the trail of the scrub horse, but it will never be able to catch the thoroughebred or even the high grade animal. An argument in favor ot a variety of food is found In the fact that no two animals will give exactly the same results from the same rations. Aside from the cost, of the seed and a little work, It's just as cheap to rals9 clover as ragweed. A New Jersey farmer, writing about his trials with hired men, says last - spring he hired a man who claimed to be a farmer and Bet him to work hoeing tomatoes in the gar den. Two hours later the farmer went out to see how his hired man was getting along, and discovered that he had pulled up all the tomato plants and nicely hilled up a lot of ragweed in an adjoining bed! No wonder this man is In favor of for eign labor. The hog is no dude, but he can make a bank account hnmp if he is given a chance. More boys are driven from the farm by an utter lack of sympathy and knowledge of human nature by the parents than by any other cause. Some men forget that they were once boys, with all the desires and ambi tions of youth. There is n loss of available income in raising any kind of stock which Is devoid of good quality, but this is es pecially true of horses. Home and Farm. Device For Uncapping Honey. I have a plan ot making a device for uncapping honey which I think will interest others, writes a corre spondent of Prairie Farmer. I take a An autopsy performed upon th body of the late Judge John E. Mc Kelghan, of St. Louis, who died at the Johns Hopkins Hospital of n mal ady which had puzxled physicians, disclosed a most extraordinary jum ble of the Judge's vital organ. The heart. Instead of being to the left, was turned to the right. In a peculiar transportation was the liver, which was bottom side up, with the gall bladder up near the heart. There was a union of kidneys by an extra ligament, which connected them In tho shape of a horseshoe. The spleen was also In an abnormal position and of unusual site. Many of the other organs were massed together amid entangling cords and fatty aubstnnces which produced a condition in th stomach both unique and interesting in the history of anatomy. Tho question that agitated the sur geons was how a man could live with such a conglomeration of the machin ery In his body. The case was con sidered marvelous, for the Judge had reached the age of sixty-six years. Judge McKeighan was one of the brilliant lawyers of the West. The condition of the stomach did not seem to have Interfered in any par ticular with the activity of his brain and he was said to have been a hearty eater up to the time of the illness which preceded his death. WheD the Judge was stricken the best phy sicians of St. Louis were summoned, but he did not seem to respond to their treatment. Consultations were held, and It was deemed advisable tc bring him to Baltimore. He wa; brought to the Johns Hopkins after arrangements had been made with Dr. Hugh H. Young, one of tho best known surgeons in the South. The physicians up to this time had diag nosed his case as a stomach ailment, but hla condition was such that il would not permit of an immediate op eration. He did not seem to rally In fact, he grew worse, and It war decided to perform an operation. When the Incision was made In thf lower regions in the vicinity of the kidneys the surgeons were startled by the remarkable condition ot these or ganB. Judge McKeighan seemed to im prove after the operation, but when night came on the malady began tc assert Itself. He grew slowly worse and his condition became so alarming that his relatives were summoned to his bedside. He survived another night, but early on the morning of the next day passed away. Balti more Special to the New York World. View of the Contrivance. pan sixteen inches wide, twenty-sli inches long and 'lx inches deep and cover with wire cloth having five meshes to the inch. A rough frame covered with the same wire cloth is set on this. The Bcreen1 allows the comb to rest with little or no holding and the honey drips into the pan be low. A person' can work It each side It desired. Mistakes in Potato Culture. In an address before ihe New York Central Club, Professor F. E. Stew art, of the Oeneva Experiment Sta tion, pointed out some of the most common mistakes in potato culture In New York. Too Large Acreage Many make the mistake of attempting to culti vate a larger acreage than they can attend to properly. Usually there Is greater profit from a few acres well cared for than from a larger acreage neglected. Lack of Underdrainage Many of our potato fields need underdrainage badly. Few farmers fully appreciate the importance of their underdrain age. Lack of Plant Food Potatoes, like other crops, need plant food. Stingi ness in the use of fertilizers is poor business policy. Lack of Humus Potato soils should be well supplied with humus to increase their capacity for retain-In.-; water. Drouth is a Berious enemy of the potato crop. Humut 1b best supplied by plowing under clover. If stable manure Is used It should he applied a year ahead of the potato crop. ' Small Potatoes For Seed The use of small potatoes, or "seconds," for Beed is still a regular practice with many potato growers. This is surely a mistake. Occasionally, when seed potatoes are dear, it may be best to plant seconds, but their continued use results In reduced yields. Poor Seed Seed potatoes should be stored where they will keep firm and unsprouted until planting time. Shriveled, sprouted tubers produce eak plants. Too Late Planting Late potatoes should be planted between May 15 and June 1. If planted later than June 1 they may not mature before frost. Drills vs. Hills Unless the land Is very weedy or much lacking in fer tility better results are obtained by planting in drills than in hills. High Hilling Many farmers still practice the old fashioned English method of high hilling, n, wet sea sons this may do no harm and on wet land It may be beneficial, but In dry seasons it shortens tho life of the plants. Many roots are destroyed and the rulu water drains off between the rows instead of Into the hills, where it Is most needed. The grov-' era who obtain large yields bill but little If at all Rural Life. A dilapidated picture purchased at Regglo Emillo for fourpence, and sold again for five fruncs, turns out to be u genuine Van Dyck, for which the present owner has refused 30,000 francs. Is the Oyster Becoming Extinct? The decline and fall of the oyster empire is th eatening the fond world of oyster lovers. Thus at least salth the professor, William K. Brookes. Every mature oyster mother lays about 16,000,000 of eggs for one hutching. These eggs are cast forth in the spawning season and drift hith er and thither with the tides until they are Impregnated. Then the life of the young oyster starts. If the spawn ot a single oyster mother were all fertilized, grew to maturity and reproduced themselves without any perishing, and this continued until the fifth generation, the descendants of the fruit oyster mother would be greater in bulk than eight worlds. Fortunately for other folks, from the time of spawning the oyster is beset with dangers so great that each one has one chance in 10,145,000 ot reaching maturity. So no matter how fertile the oyster may be there is lit tle danger of the bivalve ever block ading our harbors, but, on the con trary, if there were no artificial culti vation of these favorite morsels there would not be nearly enough to supply the demand for our tables. The oys ter Is a sedentary animal, never leav ing his home after affixing himself to some rock, log or shell, for the right valve must be free to remain open or the niollusk will be smothered and die. From the water which flows over him he secures everything in the world he desires, food, air, drink and building material for the stony house which he erects around himself as a habitation. He must secure all of these things, and in the proportion necessary, If he would live. The first need is an anchorage place, some shell or rock upon which he may erect his flat dwelling. It is the ab sence of such a foothold, or, rather, shellhold, that causes the greater number of the young which spawned to fall to develop to maturity. Biology and the Cilnal. At the recent mealing of the Amer ican Association for the Advancement of Science, in Chicago, attention was called to the interesting fact that the work on tho Panama Canal is chang ing biological conditions in Panama, and that its completion will enable the fresh water faunae of the Atlan tic aud Pacific slopes to intermingle. Undoubtedly many marine animals will pass from one ocean to the other. Thus a permanent change ot condi tions will be brought about, which may or may not possess much practi cal importance, but its scientific in terest is very great. In view of thess farts, the association resolved to urge upon Congress the necessity of an Immediate biological survey of the Panama Canal zone. Bird Returned to Its Cage. The Rev. Cecil H. Fardell, of Llan denny parsonage, Usk, Monmouth shire, writes that some years ago, finding that a caged bullfinch which ho placed out of doors every morn ing was visited dally by tho wild birds outside, he prepared a second vacant cage, which was promptly oc cupied by a- splendid wild cock bull finch. This bird was frightened one day by a dog, and the cage door belug open It flew away. Four months later a gentle tap at the window was heard. The bird had returned to captivity.' Ho again oc cupied his old cage. London Even ing Standard..