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Show jv-i- Reclaiming Alkali Land. In the United S.atc.i and Canada, as well aa in many other countries of the world, there are great stretches of land that are unfertile due to a too great proportion of salt or alkali in them. Usually these tracts of land are quite low, and some of them have lieen formerly beds of lakes and ponds. There are other tracts of land that have developed alkali spots from having being too long under a system of irrigation that permitted the salt and alkali to rise In the soil as a result of capillary attraction. It is therefore of Interest to American farmers to know what is being done In the matter of the reclamation of such lands In foreign countries. Egypt Is the country that Is at present attracting the most attention In this regard. Here some of the problems are being worked out. This has not been an easy matter. Quite a number of years ago, a French company bought 10,000 acres of this land, and uunk 14,500,000 In an attempt to reclaim It, but were unsuccessful. Yet the land they handled was and Is as easily reclaimed as any of the other land that has been reclaimed and made profitable. They showed how not to do It, and other companies profited by thtlr mistakes. The causes of their failure were first, the ditches were not close enough together to permit of rapid washing of the soil. The ditches were about 1,000 feet apart when they should have been not more than 150. Second, the ditches should have followed ine slope of the land. They were" actually laid out v.3 a. rectangular p'in regardless of slope. ' Third, reclamation was attempted on too large a scale, and thoroughness. Fourth, the lana was p .c Into cotton such crops as before it was sweetened freed from Its alkali and salt. This land Is now In process of correct reclaimed under being methods. On the other hand the success in r ttj claiming land )n Egypt has been most gratifying and profitable. An English company obtained a grant of 25,000 seres of this wqrlhless alkali land and Invested 12.60 per acre in its reclamation. The land now brings an annual rental of about $25 per acre and has a value of over $200 per acre, or a total of over $2,500,000. The English declared dividends of 45 company per cent last year. The soil before drainage was described as "heavy, dense, sticky, black clay, apparently very Impervious to water and difficult to underdrain. In fact the whole aspect of the land is one of utter hopelessness, and none but the most sanguine of agricultural engineers would bare undertaken Its reclamation." That land is now bright with growing crops and productive of an immense revenue. The most effective method of ridding the land of its surplus salt and alkali is found to be flooding, with tile drains. The drains are placed 30 Inches deep and 35 feet apart, and the cost Is $30 per acre. This is the latest and best method, but is not the method by which most of the Egyptian funds have been so far reclaimed. That method has been to use open ditches and flood the land for months .at a time till the salts have soaked out The water is then drained off. In some cases it has taken two years to sufficiently drain me soli of its salts to make the land productive. .American farmers will of course prefer the tile drains to the open ditches, as open ditches are a nuisance and keep much of the land out of cultivation. Besides, they have to be larger and cost more to dig. A tile -- drain does not have to be cleaned out frequently, as is the case with open ditches. An experiment of this kind is now being carried on near Salt Lake City, Utah, where the ditches are placed 150 feet apart In Vinegar Making. Temperature plays an important part in the making of vinegar. Some of our best vinegar makers declare that the best temperature for this work Is between 68 and 86 degrees. The rider should not be permitted to reach a higher temperature than 95 degrees nor should it be allowed to drop below 60. This rule Is not In keeping with the practice of those that permit thflr vinegar to freeze slightly before removing It to the cellar or other storage place. The matter I3 of importance, showing that we have as much reason to watch the temperature lu vinegar making as in butter making. The old system of vinegar supply of the farm that had a small orchard was to make a barrel of cider each year and let It ripen for over two years before beginning to use It, estimating that the barrel made one season would be used during the third season from its making. It was generally believed that vinegar bad about the right strength for the best service. According to the present makers of vinegar, this was a useless waste of time. In those days the. barrels were left out of doors till freezing time came, when they were bunged up and rolled into the cellar, being again taken out the uext spring and the bung removed to permit the entrance of air. On many a farm there waa one place by the side of a fence on one side of the farm house yard, where two or three vinegar barrels were always to be sera in summer time, the barrels being on their sides and end to end. Moss, of the work of the bacteria acetl was done during the summer months. Now the vinegar maker puts his cider Into barrels and stores it in a warm room long before the cold gets to it, taking care to see that the temperature Is not much under seventy degrees. Very often now the cellar Is not used for this work at all, at least, not the cellar that is used for the storage of farm vegetables and roots. It used to be believed that the cellar that was suited to the keeping of potatoes, apples and roots was also suitable for the storing of cider in process of changing Into vinegar. But this is no longer beieved. We need, for the keeping of vegetables, the temperature of the cellar to kept as near the freezing point as possible, while for the rnak-o- f vinegar we need a temperature of 40 degrees higher or -thereabouts. The man that has a small orchard and wants to make a Bingle barrel of vinegar will not find it advisable to have a room specially heated for the ripening of hts vinegar. He can, however, utilize the family kitchen, If he can spare the space for a keg or small barrel, but hardly for two. However, In such a temperature the ripening process goes on so raptdly that a year will give vinegar of the desired strength. The barrel should not be air tight, but should be uncovered enough to allow the air to reach it The "mother will then form rapidly and the process of ripening will be All farmers have seen accelerated. what is known as "mother," but few understand Its province. This mother is a - mass of threads of bacterium acetl held together by a. peculiar jelly. These bacteria are all the time drawing from the cider Its alcohol and from the air Its oxygen and combining them to form acetic acid, which Is then discharged Into the liquid. It will therefore be seen that the mother is not to be skimmed off but carefully retained, as the process of souring will not go on without It ; ; , store-hous- - A. Oemler: The cauliflower can never become a vegetable of universal cultivation, for the reason that it will not succeed if far removed from the moisture and the saline atmosphere of its native locality, the sea coast, unless Indeed, the required moisture can be supplied by irrigation. Erfurt, in the Interior of Germany, produces perhaps the finest cauliflowers of the y European continent They are grown between open ditches or .small canals, on lands so narrow as to admit of water being thrown by hand from each marginal ditch to the middle of each "land." "When accomplished, the Romanlza--.- s tton of the Japanese language will put he final touch of victory to the begun forty years ago. revo-'tlo- Hit Sympathetic Neighbors. "An Indiana woman who lost her voice several years ago was struck by lightning recently and the shock restored her speech They say she hasnt stopped talking yet. "Her husband must have been glad. I spose so. But all the other men are roasting him good because he rods on his didn't have lightning . house. The Aftermath. Customer You sold me a plaster a few days ago that you said would rid me of the lumbago. Druggist Well, didnt it do the work? Customer Yes, but; now I want something that will rid me of the plaster. ca-pa- THIS Corn Needs a Balance. Of the various feeds for pigs available to the farmers of this country, corn ranks first, says a bulletin of the Kentucky station. It Is a crop grown to some extent in all sections, is much relished by pigs, is easily handled, and lays on fat rapidly. With these qualifications it Is no wonder that it has largely superseded all other feeds and is used to a great extent as the single article or diet In the fattening ration. Not only has It become in most Instances the sole feed given to .pigs, but It has materially influenced the character of the animal In the corngrowing regions. There Is no doubt that corn alone Is in a great many .stances unprofitable. Investigations have shown that pigs not only make a better gain per pound of feed, but that the animals are more thrifty and less liable to disease when fed a combined ration. The original Southdowns, found on the chalk hills of Sussex, were much smaller than the breed we now possess, with gray or speckled faces and legs, instead of the more uniform brown that now prevails. When we are out of sympathy with the young, then I think our work in this world Is over. George I, rfn formation to reduce mutually expensive mis .kes. It te for mechanand commercial professional people ; the ical, consists employer , employe and customer ; and of extracts taken by permission from the copy libraries and books note . lectures the righted letters, of Dr. Earl M. Pratt, When you secure on any subject an idea personalty useful to you, and care you wish to give it to him , address him in of The John Crerar Library , Marshall Field world whole the is He hunting Building , Chicago. over for information of every day use to you, and he regrets hts inability, personalty to reply to contributors. So far as possible he wishes to have in this spare the very ideas you woufd like You are at liberty to send him to find here. The Comedian Hes an acrobat. Soubrette Whats his specialty? The Comedian Jumping board bills. Three Days Behind. that your son was an undertaker. I thought you told me he was a physician?' "Not at all. Not at all. "I don't like to contradict, but Im positive you did say so. You misunderstood me. I said he followed the medical profession. Beyond Help. Friend I hear that Mr. Boaster, the oldest inhabitant, is sick. Doctor He Is, and I fear that I can do nothing for him. He cannot remember a summer to match this one, end he seems to have lost all Interest in life. Tough Luck. Sandy Yep, I had a job near a mountain hotel as an echo. Cinders Howd yer come ter give it up? Sandy Why, a Chinaman came up der an yelled, and I couldnt answer back. Does she sing with feeling? He No; if she had any feeling she wouldnt sing. GOT OUT OF IT EASY. What Else, Indeed! Towne You never saw such a disgusted young couple. Their marriage is a dismal failure, you know. Browne Ah! they were married under the rose, as It were, I believe. Towne Yes. Browne Well, what could they expect to find under the rose but thorns? Strenuous Welcome. Yeas, said Remus Peach, "Ah ran away from home when Ah was little en last week Ah went back to see de old man. Did he fall on your neck? asked his friend. Yeas, he fell all over me, en when he got fro' he lifted me out on de ftdewalk." Mrs. Newwed George, dear, all last night you were crying in your sleep, Give me a highball! Give me a highball! Newwed Guess I was dreaming I was er er playing baseball. Rich Strike. One View of It Forgot Himself. Stringer Hardupp struck some"This offer of your heart and hand Englishmen are forever saying that thing rich a few dajs ago." is sudden, said the summer girl, but 'the sun never sets on the British Is that so? Marker Empire. What do you thing of that? I, will take it. s "I think they say that because its Ah! gasped the swell dry goods Stringer Yes, he struck old in the face aud the judge gave clerk, badly rattled, "will you take it so foggy in London they really cant him $10 and costs. tell whether the sun sets or not. with you or shall I send It home. Mon-ej'bag- His Joy Would Keep, No Great Loss. Same Old Symptoms. urse The tioetor says your wife "This drama, said the young auYoung Man Doctor, I feel wretchnot possibly recover, sir. ed all the time, nothing interests me, thor, is taken from the French. Well. I'm not going to "Well, replied the manager to have no appetite and cant sleep. npeek d up any hopes on what he says, whom it had been submitted, "I dont What would you advise me to do? tors are not infallible. believe the French will ever miss It Old Doctor Marry the girl, sir. As Revised. . Hopkins and Simpkins. "When 1 have trouble I .want a whole lot of different kinds to come at rowing Is a disease, remarked once. and he What for? Yes, rejoined Bifkins, "Oh, each kind diverts you from the might have added that lending is inother. Detroit Free Press. sanity. Even Worse. Stubb No, I cant get along with my wife. Everything I say she retorts: I beg to differ with you! Penn You are lucky, old man. My wife Just differs without taking the time to beg. He Would Know in Due Time. Nothing Doing. Edyth Is it true that you are enMaggie Say, Chimmie, I loves you wid a consumin passion. I gaged to Jack? Jimmie Now. datll do fer yon. Mayme Yes. but you are not to mention it. Im not quite sure that One plate uv cream Is all yer'll git Jack knows it as yet ternight. Judge. What He Cuts. Roper "I hear that Cashley gone Into business as a cutter. Sprouls "Garments or dress French savant says that REVIEW DEPARTMENT Appreciative. Miss Yerner Of course, when you were in Paris you visited the Louvre. Miss Giddie Oh, yes; I spent hours there. Miss Yerner It must have been splendid. Miss Giddie Simply lovely. I found a quiet nook there and just sat and read novels by the hour. A ACCURACY it for I heard Knew Her Danger. Smythe You say she had the burglar covered with her revolver while her maid went to call the police; then how did It happen that he escaped? Browne Well, you see, the burglar was a foxy chap, so he said, suddenly: While Look out, theres a mouse! she was getting on a chair he got out. 1952 j NO COMPASSION EITHER. Personal Liberty. So your family went to the sea shore this summer? Yes, answered Mr. Cumrox. "Did you have a good time? "Fine. Stayed home, smoked a pipe in the parlor, ate onions whenever I wanted them, and played ragtime tunes on the music box. But I wouldnt have mother and the girls hear a word of all this for the world. 5 WHERE OTHEKj GIVE VP IS JUST WHERE WE GET OUR SECOND BREATH. first-clas- s one-hal- Rotation a Local Question. Crop rotation is a subject that has engaged the attention and study of the very best talent among agricultural investigators and practical farm-- s era for a great length of time in all. pf the older parts of the world where Agriculture has reached its highest etate of development says Professor E. E. Chilcott In a bulletin of the South Dakota Experiment Station. If we could appropriate the results of their investigations and experience we e would find a rich of facts in the literature of the subject particularly the records of the long line of experiments carried cn by Sir J. B. Lawes and Sir J. H'. Gilbert at It would be Rothemsted, England. Almost Impossible to overestimate the value to the whole civilized world of the work of these Investigators, nor do we undervalue the work done by the army of agricultural investigators connected with the United States Department of Agriculture and the various state Experiment Stations. But, .unfortunately, in the matter of crop rotation their results have a value to us in only a very broad and general This la essentially a local probway. lem and can be solved only under local conditions. Nor is this matter of locality confined to a comparison of this state as a whole with other states or countries. Each of the several sections of the state has its local conditions, peculiar to itself, .and in the ultimate analysis every farm will have Its peculiar conditions, and every farmer his individual problems to solve. 1796 5 187? , Handling and Shipping Apples. From Farmers Review; Out of lath I make crates in three sizes f and one bushel in .y, mostly of one bushel The bushel crate is 11 inches high, 12 Inches wide and 2 feet long. A box of this size holds a bushel with ease, and with It you can place crate upon crate without Injuring the fruit They are easily handled and the fruit Is exposed to the air enough to make ventilation good. With these I can sort a larger quantity In less time and with less Injury to the fruit than In any other way. In taking them to market three boxes will pack nicely side by side in the wagon box. They are loaded quickly into the wagon and unloaded with ease and speed into the car or warehouse. I store my winter apples In this way In my cellar with good success, and can sort 50 to 75 bushels in a very short time. This sorting should be done every two weeks. Just take a crate in a good light and turn it from one side to the other, and If taere are any apples that should be removed they may be taken out without handling very much of the fruit A. T. Evans, Knox County, Illinois. For the Individual BETWEEN THE ACTS. Base Ingratitude. 5, had Just recovered from measles when her small brother took the same complaint. Upon becoming convalescent, he was sitting up munching a spongecake while his sister sat looking on. By various means she tried to Induce him to part with a bit of the dainty, but the invalid took no notice. He ate steadily on; but just as the last bites were disappearing Grade could stand it no longer, and she exclaimed Indignantly; Just look at him! He won't give me a crumb, and it was me that gavo him the measles!" Stray Stories. Grade, aged bor- Mif-kln- terns? Neither; coupons. has pat- Hts Arcade any suggestion you may care to. and now con-- , Index libraries were started in 1 to ljfiS back tain unpunished information dating 3 our with systematic pfans extending to short story of some example of forett ought de to posited in the Arcade Index collection may prove be your best monument. Dead Stock Possibilities Saturday morning I had a 10 a. m. appointment with a Chicago man and he had telephoned that he would be an hour late. After debating in my mind and waiting twenty minutes I decided to borrow paper and find a After desk and start this subject. writing a few words a man came in and laid a package on the desk and began talking with a man at a nearby desk. Thinking he used the desk I was at I left it and again sat down on the callers couch by the elevator door and before I had written a minute there, my 10 a. m. man walked i n at 10:25. Now, I had reasoned that as he had been detained beyond 10 a. m. he might be released before 11 a. m., and he was. When he came in he politely explained and as he had a man with him he said he would see me in a moment. Soon he came out and invited me Into his office, saying that he could give me a half hour. It took us about fifteen minutes to advance our subject a step and make another appointment for 10 a. m. Monday. I got there seven minutes late that morning, and he was much later, but I got at this letter again. Now politeness pays. Had I been indifferent to the man who put the bundle on the desk Saturday morning 1 would not have seen my man when he came In. Inquiry pays also, because just now by more thorough Inquiry than I made on coming In, I find my man Is sick at his home and not likely to be down this a. m. Waiting time Is "dead stock time' and it pays to be able to Invest it by thinking or writing. The skillful handling of irritating things produces pearls even an oyster knows that. A foundry salesman on the road told me if he had to wait two or three days to see his man he got so rattled that he seldom sold anything in that town that trip. If he had studied how to use his time aright while he waited he might have made an extra good sale. While speaking to some men at the Ravenswood association I asked the secretary If he had any cards which were printed on only one side and which he Intended to throw away. He said yes, and got a bundle for me. I passed them out to the men, explaining that the cauds were known as "dead stock In the stock room and that we could bring them to life, and as I talked to them I wanted tuem to write some thought or question on the back of the cards for my work. Then I collected the cards and secured some Information personally useful to me. I have rescued & strong catalogue from the waste basket and turned it into a $25 scrap-booAll of us see, hear, read and think of things every day which are worth saving and exchanging with The Solution or Difficulties! other people. There is such a thing as dead stock ideas, latent or Idle In your head, note book, or in bundles of papers and magazines which you 'frequently throw away and It is an occasional rescue of such a one you are invited to make for your continued growth, tue benefit of others and the success of The Arcade Index which is an index to Indices a continually growing, unpublished guide to the most reliable sources of information on any personal, mechanical, industrial, commercial and professional subject. Desirable Longevity Very old men with young hearts have always Interested me. When I began studying the daily sources of desirable longevity my ininterest in the healthy-elderlcreased. A few weeks ago I met In a Chigentlemai cago hank a who had been enjoying life for nearly eighty years. After telling him about my new Interest in longevity forces and asking him for a talk on the subject, he reWell, you have struck me at plied: a bad time, I am going East for three months. On suggesting that he might give me in a minute a few hints for young men, he told me this: In Extreme eating, regularity sleeping and working have been my rule. My Sunday is not as regular as other days and I do not feel as well on account of it. On a previous occasion he had told me that he ate what he liked and wanted and that he had not lost an office day on account of sickness In forty five years. He was a healthy man and enjoyed wholesome food. He had high motives and a shining face. He made money and used it wisely. You can appreciate myi Intense feelings when I read that a few days ago he was killed by a train while crossing a track in an Eastern town. Collected Paragraphs. Thomas A. Edison says: "I believe the life of a man can be prolonged. Man ought to live to be a hundred years of age. The Chicago Record says: Within less than thirty years the average duration of life has nearly doubled in Chicago. "As long as the world has existed mankind has been searching ways to lengthen life. Sensible people nowadays think the best elixir of life is fresh air, sunshine, the right kind of food and a good temper. "Dr. Holmes thought a mortal sickness an element of longevity, and It Is true that serious weakness Is not only frequently coupled with great ability, but with unusually long living also. Sickness Is intended to be one of lifes stepping stones and a kind warning, but frequently It, by perversion, becomes a millstone around a human neck. More machinery Is jerked out than worn out, and many more men are executed by useless hurry and worry than are consumed by necessary duties. , Discriminate, as suggestions useful to the sluggish are unreliable for the excitable. Even a locomotive must take a rest, but it Is better for It to run too far than to rest too long. well is like walking a You can fall off either way, and one side is as dangerous as the other. Keeping tight rope. Find your weak spot, as a correct knowledge of yourself is an essential in taking good care of yourself. Now, Is how the question of all questions to do as well as you know how and keep cheerful till moving to bones day when we say good-byand muscles. The Arcade Research Registers are for the registration of valuable scattered and unrecorded information, and you are invited to contribute a paragraph containing Information which ypu have read, heard, or thought of, which has enabled you to take better care of yourself. e know requires old truth. I can hear It, the rediscovering talk It, read it, pn it, and yet not have a quick on it Long walks, hearty meals, steady When we rediscover an old bi day and evening work are my ene- we think so much of It that It get: mies, and I know it. between the reflex action of our A very little steady day and evenvous system and ourself. work will put me into a sick bed, ing This month I received a very g though I do not miss an office day story of how a man acquired com on account of sickness for a r tration by discovering a plan as olt stretch. his ancestors. I have read about a man who But his discovery of It Is w worked day and night for a week to him make goqd use of it save a fellow workman his position. helped it had been forced on him he ml man I That and are extremes on phy- never have used it. sical endurance, though I may be He says: just My mind, which wa as willing to help another as he was. rabbit-patleading nowhere, beet If reasoning pro and con. improves a road leading somewhere. my final judgment I had better reason Ail he did wag to do volunta pro and con. for a few minutes a day just what However, if reasoning on a subject wanted to be able to do involunta always reasons it into the ground I all the day think effectively. had better handle it by spontaneous I can bat ball because I have Intuition. ted ball because I like, to bat bal So you see I must know myself, But If I wanted to learn how to is the beginning of the true sosomething which I did not like to lution of my difficulties. I would do It a few times for a And to really know or know that I times and repeat and continue. i five-yea- pat |