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Ta — i —————— EE ————————— smsim————
ST. PETERSBURG A SERMON FOR SUNDAY or md sd entoncer, Woat orld bia young charse, and the othr going
WORKING CLASSES
Various Pursuits in Which They Are Employed
==2Bad Conditions of Life Ftom Which the
Industrial
Population Suffers =«= A Typical
Russian Ractory === Labor
Enactments in a
Very Backward State. = = - - -
EE TREATISE.
SOM. HE conditions of the work-
A ing classes in Russia are
1] T the outcome of certain pe-
o R culiar features of national
RX . economy which existed in
no other - country, at all events, in mod-
ern’ times. Russian industries were
originally either the result of State
action (the so-called “possession Tacto-
ries”), or that of the enterprise of land-
owners who. used a: part of their serfs
to work their mills (the ‘proprietary
factories”). In most cases the enor-
mous majority of the workmen em-
ployed were occupied in industrial pur-
suits only during the winter, returning
in the summer to their villages to at-
tend to agricultural labors. This state
of affairs was in part due to the serf
system, which tied the peasant to the
soil and only allowed him to leave it
temporarily; but it has outlasted serf-
age, and obtains to some extent even
to this day. Wages are 10 to 20 per
cent. higher in summer than in winter,
and there is usually a shifting of
hands at Easter and in November, so
that in many factories the majority of
the men are changed every six months.
But a permanent factory class has
gradually been growing up in Russia,
and -now there are few important
factories where the number of men
employed during the summer is appre-
ciably less than in the winter. This is
particularly the case in St. Petersburg,
where the ‘large factories are worked
on modern industrial lines, ‘and the
working-class population is’ beginning
to resemble that of other countries.
: Labor : legislation, however, is *still
in a very backward state, as the au-
thorities are always extraordinarily
nervous lest anything done in favor of
the working classes might forment a
desire for liberties of a political char-
acter,
Hours of labor, which were formerly
unlimited have now been fixed at
eleven and a half, but in some estab-
lishments they are voluntarily reduced
to tenandahalf or eleven, and in many
cases no night work 1s done at all. But
it is in the conditions of life that the
Russian industrial population is par-
ticularly badly oft.
The typical Russian factory was a
vast establishment, usually in a rural
district at some distance from a town,
but forming a large village ror small
town in itself. Here the workmen
were lodged, fed, clothed, educated,
amused, and policed by the factory
owners and formed alittle world to
themselves, But with the growth of
the industrial movement in the towns
these conditions have to a great ex-
tent ceased to be. At the. same time,
while agriculture no longer supports
anything like the ‘whole population, the
industrial development is not yet suf-
ficient to deal with the surplus, and
the supply. of labor is always far in ex-
cess of the demand. The conditions
of life for working men are exception-
ally hard in the large towns, especially
“in St. Petersburg, where the rents are
“wery high. The squalor of working
men’s dwellings is’such as would not
be tolerated in other countries. The
Government has dene nothing to bring
about an improvement in this connec-
tion. © It ‘regards ordinary artisans
with suspicion, and “actually places
difficulties in the Way of their settling
down, in oreey numbers in any particu-
lar quai town most con
‘to kK, as it fears ‘that
uu : nerate eens
political movements: ‘facilitate rev-
olutionary * ‘propoganda. Eyerything
that has been done to improve their lot
is: due to the philanthropic initiative of
certain firms, The ordinary lodging
houses of the Russian workmen are
simply unspeakable. To find seven-
teen or eighteen persons of four or five
‘different families is by no means un-
common, and, in fact, it is quite a com-
mon occurrence, to find corners of rooms
are let separately. ' Working men’s
wages range in .St. Petersburg from
sixty kopecks a day to three rubles-for
the foreman (37 cents to $1.60), but in
many instances they are even lower.
‘Rents, on the other hand, are propor-
'tionately very high. In one large
factory in St. Petersburg, in which
" soine 7000 hands are employed, a good
deal has been done for the benefit of
the workmen, somewhat on the ‘lines
‘the old Russian factories. Large tene-
ments Lave been built, sheltering 1500
out of the 7000 persons employed; a
certain number - of the employes
whose continual presence on the prem-
ijses is desirable are lodged free, and in
‘these cases there is no limit as to over-
“erowding. The rest are lodged at ‘the
rate of nine rubles a month ($4. 75) for
one room, and here the company has
‘fived a limit of six persofis per room.
The law. has established, no limita-
tion. The management of this firm is
trying to instil the necessity for clean-
liness into the workmen, but as a rule
their conditions ‘are ‘of the filthiest.
There is a difference, however, in fa-
vor of the workmen of non-Russian ex-
traction—Germans, Finns, etc.—who
seem to be better in every way. The
Russian workman works hard and
steadily, and learns easily, but he has
absolutely no ideas of his own or ini-
tiative. He will do what he is told,
but does not care to‘know why he is
doing it.
Another philanthrepie
taken by the same firm is the estab-
lishment. of schools for the children
of the employes. x!
‘Another factory which I visited was
- &
work under-
own ways of doing things.
‘day a party of four persons, arrived at
a large. cotton mill belonging to 8° Kus-
sian company, but worked largely un-
der English management. It ‘employs
some 600 or 700 men and women (no
children). The . English overseers
seemed to be satisfied with the Rus-
sian workmen as a whole, ‘and were of
opinion that if they were better paid,
lived in better lodgings, and had better
food they would he equal to the work-
men of most other countries; but in
the conditions in which they exist no
real improvement is possible. The
average wage being twenty to twenty-
tvro rubles or $10.50 to $11.50 a month
(In many cases it, is even less), a large
part of which goes in house rent, they
cannot grow up healthy or with highly
developed intelligence, In his ten or
eleven hours a day he does less work
and less good work than an English
or American workman in eight or
nine. Nor can education mend matters
to any great extent, as the Govern-
ment purposely discourages it, again
for political reasons. ;
Another system which tends to de-
press the Russian working classes is
the credit system which obtains in the
provision shops and eating-houses..
Each workman has a credit book at
the eating house which he frequents,’
and his debt is allowed to, mount up
until pay day (which is usually once a
fortnight or once a month). Then he
pays if he can, and if not the credit is’
but one-quarter of his
seized by the shopman.
carried on,
wages can be
‘If the artisan loses his émployment
supplies are cut off until he gets anoth-
er job. Thus theione possible-advan-
tage of the system --that of giving |
credit during bad -times—is done away’
with. If he obtains another joh the
shopman is down on him at once, and,
agains retains a. quarter of his wages
from his new employer. Owing to the
passport system dll escape is Smposki-
ble. In some cases the shop belongs to
the employer, and thus we have the
truck system in its worst form. If on
the other hand, the debt is paid and
anything remains over, it is all spent
in vodka. The Russian is naturally in-
clined to drunkenness—even in the
highest circles of society it is by no!
means uncommon for men to get drunk
every night after dinner—and for the
poor it is the only pieaosure in life. At-
tempts have been made in St. Peters-
burg by the Temperance Society to in-
stil a taste for rational amusements
unaccompanied by alcohol among the
lower classes, and the handsome and
well-managed Narodny Dom (People’s
House) was started for this object.
There one can enjoy musie, light,
warmth, and cheerful surroundings for
ten copecks, while at the same time
good refreshments are supplied, at
moderate prices. But the place has be-
come chiefly the resort of the lower
bourgeoisie. The working .man does
not go there, for he can seldom afford
the ten copecks entrance, and even the.
cheap prices of the food are not cheap
enough for him. If he has a, little
money to spare he prefers to spend it
on drink, and although the total qyan-
tity which he consumes in a year is
not large, he takes enough each time’
to make himself thorotighly drunk. It
may be said that the wretched condi-
tions of the industrial ‘classes are no
worse than those in which their peas-
ant fathers and mothers lived. 'But,
apart from the fact that the food, in
the latter case was often really: better
than in tHe former and the overerowd- |
ing’ less great, the country air’ and the,
country life tended to make up for
otherwise unsatisfactory conditions,
whereas Russian workmen in - the
factories suffer all the disadvantages
of industrial civilization without its
compensations.—London Times Corre-
spondence.
; No Porter Needed to Guard,
“Some people,’ remarked an employe
at Broad Street Station, “have.thelr:
The’other
this station from one of the summer
resorts. They were laden with 4 mis-
cellaneous assortment of luggage, and
the head of the family had an immense
white bulldog.
heavy that they were compelled to call
upon the porters for: help.
“When they reached the ‘cafe door
they directed the porters to .pile the
luggage in ‘a heap on the floor. Then,
their request being complied with,
they placed the bulldog on the .top of
the heap and went into the restaurant
and dined, failing to appear for two
hours. .
“In the meanwhile the dog was ‘mon-
arch of all he surveyed’ for none
dared go nearer than ten feet of him.
“The party finally toek a train to.
one .of the suburbs. *_Philadelphia
Press. ; x
\ Natural Ignerance.
Miss Marie Manning, the author of
“Judith of the Plains,” tells this inci-
dent of her recent European trip.
The novelist was seeing’ Rome for the
first time, and in the course of her
sight-seeing was anxious to include a!
Meeting |
visit to the tomb of Caosas.
a citizen on the street she inquired,
in
her best Itaiian, the location of the
temb. ’
The. man leoked greatly. embar-
rassed. :
“lL am desolated, Signorina,?. he
apologized, si » in excellent Eng-
lish, “I. do ow, Caesar has
been dead so long!"'—
The luggage was so.
Harper's Weekly. |
AN ELOQUENT | ‘DISCQURSE ay’ THE
REV. HUGH BLACK, M. A.
Subject: “Jesus His Own Sign and Mir-
acle’’—Mere Wonder Wozking is No
¥vidence of the Things. Christ Came
‘to Teach the World.
New York Crry.—Fifth Aventis Prés-
byterian Church, which is a very large
building, was filled in evéry part: Sanday
morning to hear the Rev. Hugh Black,
M.A. associate of Dr. White in the Fieo
St. George’s Church, Edinburgh, Scotlénd:
Mr. Black had.for his subject “Jesus His
Own Sign and Miracle.” The text was
from Matthew xii:38: “Then certain of
the seribes and of the Pharisees answered,
saying: Master, we would see a sign from
Thee. But He answered and said: unto
them, An evil and adulterous generation
setketh after a sign; and there shall no
sign be given to it, but the sign of the pro-
phet Jonas.” : Mr. Black said: .
-We gather from its source, as ‘coming
from the Pharisees, that this question ha
a malicious purpose to undeérmine the au-
gority of the new Teacher with- the peo-
ple by asking from Him ‘what He could
not’ or would not: ‘perform, but from the
I" historjeal connection in which «the evan-
gelists place it the purpose was not only
malicious, but almost insulting. Our Lord.
had been in the pursuit of 18 beneficent:
healing ministry, had cured many: suffering
men and women, and the Pharisees’ expla-
nation was that He had power from an
evil source; He did it, ‘they asserted; by
virtue of His connection with Beelzebub,
the prince of devils. And now, after this
explanation of ‘the signs and * wonders
Jesus did among men, they came with the
insulting question, “Master, we .would. see:
a sign from Thee.” at sort of 4 sign’
did they want, and what sort of evidence
could convince them if they could, attrib-’
ute His healing ministry to diabolic art?
The veiled insult of the demand“ is the
‘supercilious Tassing over of all He bad
been and of all He had done; as if it did
not count and as if He must now, begin to
do something of sufficient magnithde to
convince them that His pretensions were
trustworthy.
Now there is a Himbod for evidence
which ids legitimate, evitlence which is,
necessary for the highest faith, but: im this,
case, ee from the hypagrisy. of..the .ques-*
tion, there underlay a wrong conception of]
revelation and a wrong conception of the!
nature and the place of miracles. » They;
‘wanted Christ te perform some prodigy, as’
if a piece of.wonder-working could be real;
evidence of spiritual things}, hence, our:
' Lord’s rebule. : It, is ‘a religious rebuke.
God should he. recognized for what He is,
and the recognition of Hirh should -#1ot he
dependent upon’ external signs, .which in
themselves after all, have no spiritual sig--
nificance. "Christ's feeling as:regards this
is sgn {hrough a graphic touch recorded,
Nx Mark, who writes that sghen the
Pharisees. came seeking a sign from Hit!
Jesus sjghed deeply. in His" spirit. ¢ Its
showed ‘to’ Him ar lamentable dullness of
soul, to think that the recognition of the
spiritual should be made’ to hang on prodi-
es.and on miracle-mongering of any;kind.
“There shall no sign be given unto this
generation.” This attitude of our Lord,
notice, is not’ contradictory to the value
He elsewhere placed don miracles as evi-
dence. He pointed, you remember, to His
deeds of mercy to Authenticate His ‘claims
when, as in the case of John the Baptist,
there was a sincere desire to knpw the
marks of the Messiah, but His miracles
were moral acts to educate and to rev cal,
not to surprise and to astonish. (He new
from sad experience that it was possible
for men to believe in the reality of miracles
and at the same time lose all its true evi-
dential force, even to ascribe it to evil
powers as the Pharisees did.
“There shall be no sign given to curios-
ity mongers.” There can be no sign given,
to those who imagine that the spiritual
can be proved by the material. Mere won-
der working is no evidence of the things
whica Jesus came to teach the world. Men
are not to be led to God, then or now—:
men-are not to be led to God, in the sense
that Jesus medant—by displays and conjur--
ing tricks. The demand of the Pharjsees’
showed a radically false idea of the whole!
nature, and place of the miracle and: the
same mistake is ‘possible. to us, and possi-
le ‘to us in ‘many ways and forms: We
make the same mistake, for example, when
we think that faith’in God would be easier
to us if only some portent were vouch-
safed to us; if ‘only we could see some phy- |
sical evidence, especially sdesigned sto con-
vinee us. We fall into the Pharisees’ error
and merit. their rebuke when ‘we sigh for
the . certitude which we 1imagine: would’
come: from a celestial appearance or from a:
voice from heaven, or if we could put our:
finger into the print of the nails. ,
To understand Christ’s. attitude on ol
question, we need to have our minds dis-
abused of the idea that a. mere miracle in
the serie of prodigy is ever évidence of
Rinitel, phi Some: miracles arg signs
‘only when there’ is spiritual’
a in them; that is, wlfen they ark’
,more, than ,mere ‘Wondey:working, ; svhieh :
‘the Pharisees here desired. For example,’
our Lord’s healing ministry *was ‘a great
and constant sign: .of the love of God; gar-
rying a revelation with:as truly, as any lov-
ing word of €he: Master. ever did. This lets
light in upon’ the true way‘in which! to
view the whole question. Our Lord's mir-
acles cannot be separated, from the great
Prelajiom of] His whole’ life ahd teach-
ing. ; words dnd His works. are co-re-
lated; He miracles’ dre not to be looked on
as. isolated exhibitions of power, but as
themselyes conttibuting ‘to the revelation.
They werg not signs, but vehicles. of feach-
ing. ey dre not signs externally ‘at-
‘tached to. the teaching to give it weight,
and therefore to.make it. creditable; mot,
unexplained occurrences testifying in a’
mysterious fashion to the possession of di-:
vine power; they did not. eviden®e the
teaching, they themselves, are the teach-
ing.” They are
6fin words, moral®and ‘spiritual in their:
effect, not evidential at all, except by the:
way. . They are an integral part of the rev-
elation of oh love of God in Christ Jesus
.our Lord. - They have an essential‘ place in
‘the. yhole id, of the Christian -revela-
tion “as fruits—fruits of the pity of God,
as manifestations of the divine” love and
swvisdom; they. are part of the manifesta-
tion of Christ: they are not guarantees of
His message as. the Pharisees here meant
them, but part of the Ines sage itself, as
much evidences of God’s love as His gra-
cious, tender words are or ever could be,
therefore Christ's miracles are never to be
conceived of as mere displays - -of Wer.
e persistently refused from’ first £8 lust
to work wonders to make men Believe. It
is not that the demand for evidence is
wrong, it is a natural demand that proof.
should be given of all claims, hut we must
make sure what really is evidence. A mir-'
acle is in itself no proof of a moral truth,
and a miracle can never in itself engender
spiritual ,faith—not if one rose from the
dead would it.necessarily imply the exist-
ence of God and the soul’s immortality.
Of course, it is true that every miracle was
a sign—a sign designed to induce to spizit-
ual res to lead men to God, but, like
tho teaching itself, they could find no ’foot-
th
ing in the soul of man except th
spiritual su sceptibility the man hir L
We rig v ask for evidence, but
evidence, and evidence of what? We sav
we would bel lieve in Christ if ond y we
be convince ut convinced how, and be-
lieve what al hy Men have some-
times asked, air, why they
eonid not he C 1
gn f1 P01
be wi
Dy ‘na
belief and
4 heart? If.€od asks for tighteoysness. or
tous.
arables in ‘action instead |
mere. sensuous or intellectual gratification
whi t‘come froma sign from’ heav-
en would be quite outside the purpose
suadé the carnal mind fof the: spiritual,
what? not the carnal, surely.> Not %if one
rose fro’ mthe dead. - Christ: was accred-
sign er won er sorkins, but’ b
ministry, by. Himself, “by
teac, 2 I i self was the sign. If
1S Fon not. be to Jerusalem
nah wast. Nineveh;
“of astonishment at some.
wonder working > ritual. certitude?.
If the sign of Christ Tut now convince:
man of the eternal love of God, what sign
from heaven will2~* : f
In asking to be.eonvinced of the Bpirit:
ual by som€ ini Tessin of ‘the senses we
ask impossibl A. sign, to preye the
spirii must itself. be spiritual, If God
asks from’ man love, will some, celestial ap-
pearance~create love? If God asks from'|
man free allegiance of the;will, could
a voice. from heaven or a succession of
voices ‘subdue ‘the mindrand capture” the
loyal obediefice of the life ta, the law, ef
life could“anything material generaté ‘the
‘ mo#al? There’ an bh no sign given to men
who cannot ° i se the sign i Jess is
Himself, Aifhenticates thé. .spiritual
Soria im’ we must believe in’
God; or if not “how could we bé made nrore
sure of God? Christ is the revealer of the
Father. He is the sign:and symbol and
evidence of God. He is Immanuel, the
Sign and Seal of God. with us and God for
us, the proof of the ‘divine in our midst.
There shall be no sign given to: this gener-
ation other than that; there can be no
other.” He is the highest sign, and if the
greater: fails how ean the lesser convince,
and as a matter of fact Jesus has con-
vinced the world of God, and is convincing.
the world. . Through: “Him we, to, know
God. By Him we have access t6 God. In
Him we recognize God. For His sake we
love God. The vision of Him is the vision
of God.
This generation. thirsteth-for-a sign. We
think it an evidence of our spirituality
that we do so thirst, and so we 7) many
modern versions, of the demand :of the
Pharisees. Sometimes in the mame of
science, sometimes in the name of religion.
We, can even jnanufacture signs when Rhy
seem to be lacking. Sometimes by emulat-
ing the methods of medievalism, ia which
the so-called lives of the saints are floyted
before us, and asking us to believe in the
great realities of spiritual life because of
‘some ‘material, sign. Answers to prayer, it
may “bessprovidences which, .however co-
gent to the individual concerned, have lit-
‘tle’ meaning to others, or sometimes we
haxe a recrudescence of the crudest spirit-
‘ualism, ‘dpirit rapping, table- turning, teg-
cup manipulating, after which the devo-
tees go-home- feeling that they themselves:
-have been assisting at some act of pro-
found worship, as if the melodramatic vul-
garisms of spiritualism could prove any-
thing but the folly of the race. Or again,
we have the same claims appear in a more
pretentious garb im Theosophy, or Chris:
dian Science;” of whateverhappens to bethe’
fashionable iform. of it at the time, where
esoteric eries of some kind aré prac-
ticed. The<root of all such things is this
same unspiritual: “thirst for a sign, after
thaumaturgical wonders, faith healing ‘and
other things pretty much on the level of
conjuring tricks.
Ah, me.i All this is a sig n in itself, a
sign of the weariness and despair and
breakdown of the black materialism of our
day to satisfy the heart of man, but it has
the terrible "danger of inducing a worse
form of materialism still, deceiving the
carnal heart by wearing the dress of spirit.
ual religion.. How unstable it is we see
from ‘the constant swing of the pendulum
now from atheism and materialism to the
most outrageous supernaturalism as in the
case of Mrs. Besant and others, and now
in the opposite direction from ultra- -mysti-
cism to’ ultra- rationalism. The cause of"
these seemingly contradictory changes it is
not far to seek, as both are really based on
the same foundation—a wrong -conception
of what the spiritual is and therefore of
what is true evidence of the spiritual. This
generation thirsteth for a si There shall
be no sign, given.to it. o sign can _be
given to an unspiritual generation which
would judge all. things by material stand-
ards, a’ ‘generation’ that is blind fo the spir-
itual signs of which life is already -full.
Thére{gan: be no: voice from heaven to men
who are; deaf to’ the heavenly. voice of
whig] whole world is already full; if
the spiritual does not evidence itself; if
man will: not see God in Christ reconciling
the world to’ Himself; if the sign of the
cross cannot convince the stubborn heart
and bend it to acknowledge its-divine pow-
er.” Bf Jesus Himself 1§ not seen, to be, His
own ‘sign’ and miracle, His pi evidenge
and proof; there shall" be no sign ‘givens:
there can be:no. sign giver § hw TED
“There sha ‘be. nb si iven unto Shia
on “r Is that the, last word? .
that the clang of the oid door in Ye
face of a'seeking soul? “Master, we! would
see a sign from- Thee.” - That pitiful ‘ery
if truly asked, not’ as by, those Pharisees
but craving: for . spiritual enlightenment,
and spiritual' communion, that pitiful ery
hags.ever, been answered. Never turned He
ay from ‘earnest, sincere, honest inquiry
after light and truth. He condescenc d to
opr weakness when we cry, +:Oh, that I
ktiew w ete Lmight find Him.” He meets
us Ab way. He makesiour hearts: to
burn Within us as we walk with Him, con-
vincifig us. of: His love; convincin us. of
the phth, Showing: us the path, and it suf-
ficeth ug. hen the heart thirsts with a
deeper ‘thirst than for ‘a sign, when it
thirstd after the love of God,
when the:
heart, and Hesh cry out, He shows us the
signs of: ‘passion, as with Thomas, “Be-
hold My ands and My feet.” He rom-
forts us. "He ‘comforts us with the sign’ of
the cross; and before that wondrous mani-
festation of the eternal love, before that
revelation of the Father’s heart, we be-
lieve and worship, and adore and love; and
we say in penitence and in faith. “My
Lord and my God. » Do we believe?
ih “God's. Veils.”
Tittle Mary had just.come from. the wine
dow with evident pleasure,. and sat dewn
on.her little stool at her papa’s feet. It
was just, abisiinset, and a mest glorious
sunset it was, The ‘Western sky was man-
tled with clouds of the most gorgeous
hues, upon “which the little girl gazed
with thoughtful pleasure.
“Papa,” she said-at length, “do you
know w hat I think when I see those pretty
ouds?”
“Nos What do you think of them,
Mary?”
“I always think they are God's veils.
Doesn't He ‘have beautiful veils, papa,
to, hide Him ffom us?’
“True éndugh, my little one, thought
I.’ Thejklouds that veil Him from our
sight ar@ now beautiful. There is a rain-
bow on Phem if we will see it. They shine
with mercyeand truth.”
‘Was that not a pretty thought of little
Mary's? Bes it not remind you of the
time when" the veils shall be parted, and
He shall come without clouds and every
cye shall see Him?
>
Think I Sore of Others.
The surest criterion of our advanci ing
in real excellence and perfection of cha:
aeter, is our acquired disposition to thi
less of ourselves ar
ainied at by our Lord: What would per-}
ited" fo His generation, not by this or fast
is whole
life and |
fof a man v
\ Lah
Test the Cows.
The dairyman. .who does not test
every cow..in ‘his herd; and inform
i himself regarding her value as a milk
‘and. butter: producer, “works in the
dark, and iS unablé to. “determine.
which of the’dows give a profit. There:
‘is. no implerffent more" serviceable in
“dairy management thah the scdles.
‘When all food: is weighed - for each
;animal, and #lso the milk and butter,
not only for;a day or a week, but: ‘for
a year, the ‘unprofitable- “COWS will be
'disposed of and better ones take their
places. Daily. tests of the animals will
lead to improvement every. year.
tis Bestles on Melon Vines.
Relative ‘to the striped cucumber
beetle on melon” vines, a ‘bulletin of
the Oklahoma station: says: In addi-
tion to the preventive measures of
cleaning up rubbish and a thoreugh
cultivation of the melon - ground, the
‘use of Bordeaux mixture as a repel
lent, apd squash’ as a’tfap crop are
among the most promising of the rem-
edies recommended by those who have
successfully * dealt with this. -insect:
Squashes are “planted ‘about four days
before’ thé melons. One or’ {more rows
of squashes’ should be ‘planted, ‘ac-
cording to the size of the field. Some
of the trap plants may be dusted with
Paris green 'when the beetles: gather
on them. Others should. be left to
attract the beetles through the sum-
mer. It seems that spraying the young
melon vines with Bordeaux mixture
not only repels the cucumber beetle,
but also poisons some of the insects
which feed on the: sprayed leaves.
The Market Fowl.
© The market fowl is an insignificant
object. with thofe “who advocate the
standard, , and they boldly proclaim
their detestation of any mongrel grade,
or:rbreed that is: not recognized by
what they term the “infallible guide”
to success with poultry. -Our stand-,
ard friends may be sound enough on
the standard requirements, but we will
say to them that -when they begin to:
puild up the ‘breeds according to the
‘standard by pulling, out the pillars
that support the poultry structure the
falling ruins ‘will'"erush them as well
as those whom they despise. Like
Samson, they will die with the Philis-
tines, for the foundation of the stand-
ard breeds is the market poultry. But
for those who “keep chickens” the
fancy breeders would have no mar-
kets for their productions, and admit-
ting that they displace the scrub al-
together they ‘must create newer kinds
or find the markets all supplied. The
question as to the profitableness of a
breed and its use as a “thing of beau-
| ty” must, be discussed in-its plainest
sense. To retain ‘the standard and
keep up the purity.of the breeds it
must. be demonstrated that profit is
sure to result, and unless that is done
the labor .will be but thrown away.—
Poultry News.
Economical Handling of Manure.
The farmer who is:a wise man will
try fo save all manure made on his
farm and apply. it;to his land with one
handling. He will keep. ‘all the live
stodk his land’ will carry and in order
to increase his manure -heap will pro-
vide ja ‘quantity of bedding. A good
time to*do this, is immediately after
threshing; straw is thus saved that
is . .Toose | ‘around the stack ‘and the
stack. thereby shaped up. befter. By
bedding stock carefully, the quantity
of inanure is inereased and the stock
kept warmer, and .cleaner. When the
straw stack is adjacent to the barn
they should be allowed to run to it in
day "time. They. will eat a portion,
tramp down some, and more or less
droppings will be: mixed with it.. All
this. should. be hauyled--and scattered
‘on -plowed. land. = Of - course, a manure
spreader. is the thing, but many a
farmer cannot own one, so must de-
pend on -wagon or sled, If the haul
is short and you are hauling old straw
I would use a good sled, or.if,depend-
ing on a wagon by all means Have a
low one. dn hauling out manure the
volatile gases are best
placing’ it. in piles, say five or six to
the Toad, ‘and then seattering it just
before’ the plow reaches it, thus turn-
ing under the manure fresh before the
wind has carried off valuable gases.
This ‘makes extra work,. soto save
labor it will have, to be scattered di-
rect! from wagon; ‘again to save labor
in hauling manure, I would load direct
from’ stable and not throw out unless
unavoidable. :
Of course, a cow stable must be
cleaned out daily, but for horses I
would usé roomy box stalls, keep them
well-bedded and clean out and haul
when I had a load direct to fields.
Some will say it is a slovenly way,
but by using good bedding your horse
will be kept quite comfortable. and it
saves one handling; at best, it is a
hard, heavy job, so let ong effort put it
on ‘the field.—Hodsier, in The Epito-
mist.
Neglect of the Colt’s Feet.
A writer in the Horseshqers' Jour- |
nal, in speaking of the effects which |
neglect of the weanling
foal’s feet
may have, says? x
We will take, for instance, two colts,
weanlings, they are running together
on the and they-are eared
for m same. We will ‘st
that 1 > alike, maintai
about the increase in we
and -at .abeut manths old they )
separated, one falling into the hands
ho will take good care of
same soil,
preserved by!
| the rich man’s
to a careless, indifferent owner.
first, we will suppose, is-looked over,
and it may be noticed by the ‘owner
that he has the tendency, so common
to all colts, of an overgrown hoof and
the limb inclined, inward, which;; of
course, carries the foot to the outward
direction.
Turning to the case of the other
colt, the owner ig indifferent about
the formation of his hoof and limb;
he keeps on developing just as he is
‘inclined, and so we may expect in
- the one case to find any cFass of bad
conformation purely through the fact
that -he-has never +been watched. But
it is altogether different with the case ¢
of the first colt, for the owner, the
moment he realizes the tendency of
the little fellow’s growth, what does
he do? The first thing that a careful
owner will do is to reduce the hoof as
much as necessity will demand, "and
in case conditions will allow, and if
he ‘can do so, he will.produce from
‘pressure, let it be ever so slight. Now
this trouble remedied will be quite
enough in itself to enable the foot to
thrive in health and strength.” = «
But to the limb. Many colts take
the limb formation through the same
neglect that the feet take theirs. Ev-
erybody knows that there are cases of
toe-in, and many more of toe-out. The
intelligent man knows tha, a little
earlier care of.the colt will stop this
and produce a perfect shape to the
limb and foot. When grazing, the
colt throws hig weight on the front
limbs, which cakries the foot outward;
he sustains himself by taking this po-
sition, and as it will be seen at a
glance, the heels. are peinting inward
and the toes out. And as the limb is
thus shaped the hoof takes on (its
growth on the outside, which adds ad-
ditional weight to the interior of the °
limb. Continual strain of this kind
finally results in the foot growing just
as it is allowed, and In the limb taking
the for mthat it must because of the
constant strain thrown upon it.
The careful owner, reéogniizng the
shape which the foot or limb has tak-
en will at once set about to remoéve
the cause by both care of feet and giv-
ing the young muscles and joints that
care which will remove the possibil- ~
ity ‘of their becoming mal-formed.
Some “men wonder why there are so
many of the toe-out class of horses.
The above explains the reason why..
Eyen the colt which might inherit mal-
conformation can be straightened up
and be made to wear a perfect limb
and foot if he is carefully watched
in babyhood, for once the limbs are
set in their position, which is after
the colt passes about his ninth month,
it is useless to try and effect any
change for the better, at least it is
seldom: that any improvement can be
made after this period of age arrives,
but very much is possible before this
time.—Massachusetts Ploughman.
From a Shepherd's Note-Book.
Breed the best ewes to the best
rams. »
Sheep are always improving or they
are deteriorating.
The way to keep ideal sheep is- by
trying to improve them.
An upeven lot of good" sheep are bet-
ter than an even lot of poor ones. ]
: Stationary troughs and .racks are
not desirable in the sheep stable.
In fattening sheep, especially, pnne-
tuality in feeding should be strictly
ohserved. son
. ‘Tt it well to place.the ewes on short
pasture fora week or more item the
lambs are: “weaned. :
At weaning, if ‘possible, tHe" ewes
should--be-- placed in a field , out ‘of
hearing of the lambs.,
In many cases, after the corn is
laid by, the sheep may be turned into
the, corn fields to a good’ advantage.
If a radical change in the rations is
made too suddenly, growth of both
body and fiéece is liable ® suffer a
check.
Sheep are easily Bateeor are first-
class fertilizing machines, good farm
scavengers, and ‘yield two harvests
annually.
In some localities, at least, sheep
should be looked upon as auxiliaries
in keeping up the fertility of the land
rather .than a means of profit.
Sheep, independent of wool, are
worth more than their cost in what
they do for the farm and in the meat
they furnish.—Massachusetts Plough-
man.
The Duties of Friendship.
“When acquaintanceship ripens into
friendship, something sérious has
come into one’s life,” writes Mrs.
Henry Graham, in The Onlooker. “I
don’t think that any one can or ought
to afford to. have more than one or
two really intimate friends: If love
has gone with friendship—that- is, if
the gates of Paradise have been
opéned to you, and the Guardian An-
gel has sheathed his flaming sword,
and admitted you through the portals,
then you'must have given everything,
and you have very little left to give.
A man can have a man friend, and a
woman .a woman, because they are
places where men meet men and wo-
men meet women alone, neutral
ground where the other sex cannot én.
ter because of its limitations, and
there real friendship may live and
thrive on the crumbs which fall from
table.
“For friendship. implies
serious. , You must give yours
real selfy and:once given it can:
taken baek. One has no*r
1p a friendship unless t
ne