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Show DAIBY AND POULTRY. INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. Bow Successful Farmers Operate This Department of the Farm A Few Hints as to the Care of Live Stock and Poultry. Ringing Grapes. From Farmers' Re view: This process proc-ess Is the removal of a small section of the bark surrounding the cane for the purpose of obstructing the downward down-ward flow of sap, which ia thereby caused to accumulate in excessive quantities in the portions of the cane above the ring, and to supply these portions richly with food materials. Experiments were tried last summer to test the results of ringing on several sev-eral varieties. The rings of bark were removed in the period between June 27 and July 5, when the grapes were from one-third to one-half grown. The width of the ring removed in most cases was one-half inch, but on some canes only one-fourth inch. The following fol-lowing notes taken at the time of ripening rip-ening indicate the results on each variety: Concord showed the first on the ringed canes to be slightly larger and a day or two In advance of the fruit of the rest of the vine. Cambridge showed the fruit on the ringed cane3 to be larger, of better quality and two or three days earlier than that on other canes. Brighton showed no difference in quality or size, but three days difference differ-ence in earlicess. Columbian Imperial showed very great difference in size, the berries averaged one-fifth larger on the ringed than on the unringed canes, while the ringed canes ripened fruit two weeks earlier than otner canes of the same vines. Ag&wain showed only a slight difference differ-ence in size and earliness. Herbert showed no difference except that the fruit on the ringed canes was poorer in quality than the rest Moore"s Early showed no perceptible difference in size, quality or earliness. Niagara showed the fruit on the ringed canes to be two days earlier and slightly superior in quality to that on the unringed canes. The Delaware showed better and earlier fruit on the ringed than on the unringed canes, but showed the best fruit where only a small section of the bark had been removed. The best results were obtained on canea where the bark overgrew the sections from which it had been removed. re-moved. Where the bark overgrows the section about the time the first begins to ripen the surplus food material ma-terial in the cane is drawn away into the lower parts of the vine and the fruit ripens with only a normal quantity quan-tity of food material present. If the section is not overgrown, the excess of food remains, the fruit is forced to ripen with this excess on hand, and hence ripens improperly. The width of the section of bark to be removed should vary according to the vigor of the cane and the variety. On strong canes of vigorous varieties three-fourths three-fourths of an inch is not too much while on feeble varieties one-fourth of an inch may be sufficient. Tltrlolizlng Seed Wheat. For small quantities of seed, vitrio-lizing vitrio-lizing on a floor, in sacks, tubs, etc., Joes very well, but for large quantities quanti-ties it is too slow, writes C. H. Lester in Dakota Farmer. Heretofore I have used a wagen tank with the top removed, re-moved, Eft o:i two benches so placed that a lift of a hundred pounds at the front will raise that end ten or twelve inches to secure drainage. Place tank convenient to seed bin. Nail double thickness of wire screen on inside over plug hole at back end of tank. Place three barrels at back of tank into which put your vitriol solution, and also j.lace a large wash tub under the drainage vent. The vitriol solution will have to be constantly replenished as well. I would here suggest that when you buy your vitriol, you have it finely ground when it will readily dissolve In cold water, and don't use tin pails to handle it with as the action ac-tion of the vitriol will ruin them. Having Hav-ing thus made preparations, fill the tank nearly full of wheat and level it, then dip solution from barrels Into tank until the grain i3 entirely submerged. sub-merged. Let stand two minutes. No skimming or stirring is needed as the soaking is sufficient to kill vitality of smut balls. Knock out drainage plug and let fluid flow into washtub, from which dip it back into barrels to be used again. When the flow becomes sluggish raise front of tank and allow to drain. The action of the vitriol water generates a slight heat and a tendency of the grain to bake. Usually In about an hour after draining, the wheat can be scooped into a wagon box or sacked. If sacked, fill sack3 only two-thirds full and in a few hours change their position in order to move the grain in the sacks to facilitate drying. dry-ing. Handled in this way the seed dries very fast and In from three to four hours should be In good condition condi-tion to sow. For large quantities. 1,500 bushels, or over, I would use a grain tank, well battoned, and holding hold-ing about one hundred bushels in place of the wagon tank. Thin Seeding- of Grain, sprata ixsr mere la sown. In this country than by English farmers, with whom three to three and one-half bushels of oats are often deemed necessary, nec-essary, says American Cultivator. English Eng-lish summers are nearly always moist, and as farm land is generally rich It needs this thick seeding to make the plants crowd each other from the start and thus prevent too luxuriant growth. Here such a seeding on land of moderate mod-erate fertility might not produce anything any-thing but the straw of grain without any heads. We 'once drilled some oat3 in a field and found at the end of the row that a wider balk was made than the single width of the drill passing across the rows at each end would cover. cov-er. We were only sowing with the drill two bushels of seed per acre, so we thought, not to leave any balks, to drill twice across each end. But the second drill width, though it made a good appearance, early dried up and amounted to nothing about the time the oats should head out. If clean, sound, plump oats can be had, a bushel and a half drilled In with some phosphate is better than a greater great-er quantity. There is no crop, not even wheat, to which commercial phosphate is so well adapted as tha oat. With this light seeding of oats, which should always be drilled early, we gave the oats a light harrowing just after the young shoots began to come up. This broke down the ridges between be-tween the rows, and entirely covered the leaves that first put forth. Bat it gave a great stimnlcs to root growth, and In a few days two or three or may be more shoots would be pat forth by the root for every leaf that I loosened the surface soil, so that any ' ?rust formed hv rains will ha broken. The civ leaves will start up o quickly quick-ly and so plentifully that no more crust will form on the surface through the season. Such grain always covers cov-ers the ground at harvest with a better bet-ter crop than can be got from two to two and one-half bushels of seed sown per acre, but not harrowed after the grain comes up. The grain grown front such light seeding is nearly always plump and full, and is worth more for seed than grain grown in the usual way. On rich land with a fair season we have grown 91 to 100 bushels of oats from so light a seeding as one and one-half bushels per acre. Nor need this be surprising sur-prising as a single oat grain has been known to produce six to seven stems, bearing a head well filled with oats. It is plain that as usually sown much of the seed oats fail to produce anything. any-thing. Oats are often threshed while still damp from the field, and If such oats are put in close bins the vitality of their germ Is quickly destroyed by heating. To make sure of getting sound seed oats they should not be threshed until winter, and never be allowed to heat in even the least degree. Every such seed put into the ground will not only grow, but it can be made to produce a hundred fold, though this Is hard to secure under ordinary crop conditions. All our grains are doubtless doubt-less for our climate sown more thickly than is necessary. More attention to the qualUy of seed and its ability to germinato would pay farmers better. Grain that either will not grow, or that makes such a feeble growth that neighboring neigh-boring grain dwarfs it, is about the most expensive manure a farmer can use. Yet this i3 what many farmers are doing with a large part of the seed grain that they put Into the soil, where it simply rots and. furnishes plant food for the seed that could germinate. Irrigating Strawberries. Irrigation has two distinct advantages; advan-tages; it discounts the possibility of loss from drouth, and increases fruit production. Some commercial growers grow-ers have even trebled the average yield by judicious irrigation. But there are disadvantages, also. The fruit is likely like-ly to become soft and unfit for long shipment; a deterioration in quality usually accompanies an abundant water supply; and, again, the season is retarded several days. If one is catering to a personal and discriminating discrimi-nating market, where quality is appreciated, ap-preciated, it would be wise to think twice before irrigating frequently during dur-ing the fruiting season. None of these objections holds where irrigation is practiced during the summer preceding fruitage, and to my mind, this is its legitimate place in strawberry culture. I believe that crop production depends more on conditions during the first season's growth than the second, and that our aim should be to carry great lusty crowns into the winter with plenty of reserve strength. 8. W. Fletcher in Rural New Yorker. Meat for Growing Chicks. According to experiment, made at one of the stations meat is of great advantage to growing chicks, and the feeding of a ration containing a good portion of animal feed is found to be less expensive than has generally been figured out. This is due to the fact that while it costs more per pound, yet the results are so much better than with a grain food alone, that one can afford to pay more. This probably would not be true to so great an extent ex-tent with grown fowls, where the nroduct is to be eggs and flesh formed on a developed frame. The great ad vantage of the meat diet is to start tne fowls into life with vigorous constitutions consti-tutions and habits. It should be re membered that in their natural state fowls live largely off of insects and other forms of animal life. The whole grain ration is rather hard on the digestion di-gestion of the growing chick. It seems to us that ic would pay to feed growing grow-ing chicks more meat, especially where it can be purchased at a low rate. A few cents worth of lean meat scraps per day would not mean a large investment, in-vestment, but if fed for even a few weeks would richly pay in a more vigorous vig-orous habit of growth established in the chick. Food That Costs Nothing. During the warmer season, when allowed to forage for themselves, each fowl gathers gath-ers several ounces of meat daily. When the supply of grasshoppers, bugs, flies and worms fails, it may be furnished from the table, the scrap pot or the market. Green food may be furnished in cabbage, vegetables, apples ap-ples or cut clover. A warm breakfast should be given on cold days and there should be no lack in -he supply of drink. A meat diet with grain and vegetables is essential to the well being be-ing of fowls during the cold weather, when worms, bugs and insects are not to be found by the birds, but In summer sum-mer the fowls can secure such foods for themselves. American Gardening. Science of Cheesemaking. There are many branches of science that are intricate in-tricate and very difficult to acquire and understood, and if there is one more difficult than another the manufacture manu-facture of cheese seems to be that one. When we consider the hidden power of rennet action, the active effect of fermentation and bacterial influences, thje varied unknown conditions of milk as received at cheese factories and the intricate combinations that any or all of these form to effect the final result, re-sult, we see the many difficulties the cheesemaker must overcome. D. M. McPherson. Fattening Shropshlres. At the Oklahoma Ok-lahoma Station two Shropshire lambs made gain of 30 lb. in four weeks, eating eat-ing two pounds each daily of Kafir meal, aside from hay. One of these lambs was quite fat at beginning of trial, and made gain of only 10 lb. In second period of seven weeks. Three grade wethers, thin in flesh, made gain of 53 lb. in five weeks, an average aver-age gain of a trifle over one half pound daily. vThey ate 237 lb. of Kafir grain. Sheep digest unground Kafir grain better than do horses, cattle or hogs. Tomato Fertilizers. Nitrate of soda is usually very beneficial to the tomato plant in early stages of growth. Later, potash and phosphoric acid both may be used. Just before setting the tomatoes. to-matoes. 200 lb. per acre of the following follow-ing mixture might be applied: 100 lb. of nitrate of soda. 100 lb. of dissolved rock, and 25 lb. Of muriate of potash. Thoroughly Incorporate with the soil. Country Gentleman. A. Stock Melon. The large "stock melon" is believed worthy of more general cultivation in Oklahoma. It is easily grown, gives a large yield and the melons are well liked by rattle, rat-tle, hogs and poultry. . They haVe much Water; afe not suitable as to sole food of any class of animals, but make an attractive part of the ration In, late fall or early winter. CKVe th fcruls' a fwa, la. tb oTttartl. FARM AND GARDEN. MATTERS OF INTEREST AGRICULTURISTS. TO Some Cp-to-Date Hints About f!nl-tivation f!nl-tivation of the Soil and Yields Thereof Horticulture, Viticulture and Floriculture. New Treatment of Milk Fever. - - . ll ,1 k 1 . L. 1 uj u U . ' . ' - , London, England, says: "Favorable reports mostly, however, ffom continental conti-nental sources continue to come to hand of the success attending Schmidt's new treatment of miik fever. The current number of the Veterinarian contains a translation from a foreign contemporary which may be of interest in-terest to 'W. R.,' who makes some inquiry in-quiry as to the details of the treatment, treat-ment, and others who may be troubled with this pest of dairyland. The translation runs as follows: 'M. Yonker, who practices in a district where milk fever is common, decided to give Schmidt's treatment a trial. The sick animal is well attended to, and the teats are washed with soap i and water, and then disinfected with a ! solution of lysol. A tube of caout chouc, six feet or more in length, carries car-ries at one end a funnel, at the other a teat syphon, which is introduced in the teat. When everything is ready, seven to eight grammes of iodide of potassium is dissolved in a litre of water recently boiled, which is allowed to cool to 40 degrees or 42 degrees Centigrade. Cen-tigrade. Each quarter receives a quarter quar-ter of this solution. At the time of injection in-jection the practitioner should massage mas-sage the quarter in order to facilitate the penetration of the injection, and to allow it to penetrate along all the milk passages to the acini of the gland. When the pulse was weak, Yonker g3ve a hypodermic injection of caffeine. At the same time he gave a dose of aloes and saline enemata. But as the results might be due to something other than the Iodide of potassium, the author resolved to use nothing but the iodide, and in this manner discovered its real value. To this end he injected the solution mentioned above by means of a pewter syringe attached to a caoutchouc caout-chouc tube. The results obtained were surprising; five cows thus treated speedily recovered, although three of them were very seriously ill indeed. M. Yonker thinks that these results cannot be easily passed over. He thinks that the theory that attributes milk fever as due to the development of a toxalbumin In the udder is a true one. Lower organisms, still unrecognized unrecog-nized and unknown, may gain access to the udder by the teat lumen, and set up decomposition of the colostrum. Iodide of potassium acts upon these organisms as it acts upon the actino-myces actino-myces in a specific fashion. A certain quantity of the salt will be absorbed. and this may neutralize that portion of the toxin that has already gained the circulation. This last explanation may be offered for the rapid disappearance disap-pearance of the grave symptoms established es-tablished through paralysis of the pneumo-gastric nerve, due to the action ac-tion of the toxin upon the nucleu.3 of origin of thi nerve within the medulla oblongata. The author is of opinion that prevention may be established by either exhibiting the drug by the mouth or injecting In the udder prior to calving. "A modification or improvement in the apparatus for the injection of the potassium iodide solution into the udder ud-der has been introduced by M. Vinck. He employs a caoutchouc tube and funnel fun-nel into which the solution I3 poured, and along which it runs, and at the lower extremity the rubber tube terminates ter-minates In four narrower tubes, each having attached to it a teat syphon. There are thus as many syphons a3 quarters, and all the quarters are injected in-jected simultaneously. Schmidt insists on the superior benefit resulting from Injecting the solution of iodide salt with atmospheric air. "The idea that the cause of milk fever is a poison or toxin In the udder, which is produced in connection with the colostrum, is steadily gainins ground, and acting on this hypothesis Mr. W. Hunter. M.R.C.V.S., of New-castle-on-Tyne, Is employing a more direct agent than iodide of potassium in the form of chinosol. Fifteen grains of chinosol to each pint of water is stated to have been used in the successful suc-cessful experiments conducted by this practitioner. Heating- Poultry Ronses. Recently we clipped the following paragraph from -a paper published in the northwest: "The North Dakota station is one of the few agricultural experimental stations sta-tions that has a poultry department, in charge of an expert chicken crank. They began a series of experiments to determine, if possible, what effect, if any, heating the poultry house would have upon the production of eggs and the food requirements. On December 1 they put forty-six chickens, Including Includ-ing several varieties of birds, into the poultry house. January 20 a large stove was put into the house and a fire started with lignite coal. On January Janu-ary 31 the feed had decreased to six pounds in the morning and eight and three-fourths in the evening. The last of March four and a half pounds morning and four and three-fourths evenings. The total amount of fuel burned from January 20 to April 1 costs $4.50. During the month of January Jan-uary previous to the use of the stove, the average number of eggs a day was two and three-fourths, the remainder of the month from the 21st to the end It was six and three-elevenths, showing show-ing the Influence that heat exerted upon the production of eggs. The question naturally arises, can a farmer far-mer under the conditions existing on the ordinary farm afford to take care of his poultry by furnishing artificial heat? An examination of the figures shows that but half the food is consumed con-sumed and that the egg production is more than doubled. WTith eggs worth E5c a dozen at that season of the year and food at the ordinary prices, it should seem that it would not only be economy to heat the poultry house, but would be a source of great profit, especially after arrangements had once been completed so that it would require re-quire but ltytls extra work." If there ever was a more pointless experiment than this we would like to know about it. This comparison is made with two periods of laying, one from December 1 to 20th of January, and the other one from the 20th of January, when the stove was put In, up to the last of April. The conclusions drawn that all of the extra eggs are due to artificial heat is an absurdity. Every poultryman knows that all through this section of the country few eggs xe received in the period from the. 1st of December to the 20th of Jan-nary, Jan-nary, while about that time laying commences, in spite of cold weather, and continues except in periods of great cold. The only fair test would be to take two lota of poultry and keep Xtoem through t&t entire winter' tatter respective conditions of artificial heat and no artificial heat The conclusion that heating by stoves will pay largely is not to be accepted without further proof. It certainly will not pay in the atltude of Illinois. In the extreme regions of Dakota and Minnesota, H might pay, but that remains to be demonstrated. About Potatoes. TfcfcTe ia probably no crop largely grown UL.i yields a better profit than the potato Prop. Yet the per acre yield throughout the country is small, due very largely to poor methods in handling han-dling the soil. The potato accommodates accommo-dates itself to many varieties of soil and to all kinds of culture. Perhaps this fact is taKen advantage of to too Sieat an extent, and not enough care used in any part of the process of producing pro-ducing the crop. When we consider that more than 1,000 bushels of potatoes pota-toes have been raised on an acre in different dif-ferent parts of the country, and that less than 100 bushels is the ordinary yield, we are forced to believe that we .re not using all of our possible advantages. ad-vantages. The first requisite is well-prepared land, drained if it so requires. This good preparation means plowing deef enough to admit of the fullest growm of root. Whatever may be said against deep plowing yet it certainly has a usuuciicy 10 send the roots dywn beyond be-yond the summer drouth, which is oiten a thing of great importance. The writer remembers a little corner in a potato pa.c-h in which coal asnes had bten thrown. The ground thus increased in-creased in depth gave moisture to the plants when in ail other parts of the patch they were dying for lack of moisture. The probable reason was that in that part the soil was so porous that the roots had been able to strike deep and to reach into a stratum of continuous moisture. This is not to advocate the use of coal ashes asu fertilizer fer-tilizer for potatoes, but to illustrate the principle by which a loose soil permits the penetration of roots. As to hilling there is great, diversity of opinion. We know that it is becoming be-coming quite popular to advocate the doing away of the old style of hilling, hill-ing, and to say that the idea of hilling hill-ing was a barbarous one, originating among the bogs of Ireland. The whole settlement of the question must depend de-pend on circumstances. Some varieties have to be hilled anyway, unless we expect to have some of the potatoes on top of the ground. The question of moisture runs into that of hilling. A certain man some years ago abandoned the hilling process and planted all of hVs potatoes on the level. It happened to be an exceptionally wet summer and the entire crop was damaged by lying too much in the water. Hilling would have done some good in this case. Filthy Drinking Vtensiln. Dr. Woods says: The drinking water is a fruitful source of disease. Impure Im-pure water should not be allowed within reach of fowls. It is no uncommon un-common sight on poultry farms, otherwise other-wise well kept, to find the water vessels ves-sels in a filthy condition. Putting clean water into foul receptacles is labor wasted; yet we not infrequently see on poultry farms dirty wooden tubs or unclean metal vessels containing contain-ing uninviting drinking water. On a farm which I visited recently the fowls are supplied with running water In a metal trough. Judging from the condition con-dition of the trough, and the accumulated accum-ulated filth and slime, it had not been cleaned since the plant was built several sev-eral years; yet the proprietor was unable un-able to account for bowel troubles and other ailments to which his fowls were subject. We cannot be too careful about the drinking water. It should be such as we would be willing to drink ourselves, since it plays an important im-portant part in the makeup of the fowl and of the egg. Metal water dishes, if kept clean, are all right; but glazed earthenware ones are better. They should be so made that they can be easily and thoroughly cleaned should be well rinsed each time refilled, re-filled, say twice or three times daily. Once a week they should be washed and scalded. Inspection or Illinois Orchards. The state legislature passed during its recent session a law requiring the state entomologist to Inspect all Illinois Illi-nois nurseries once each year, and in all cases where these are found free from dangerous insects and fungous disease to Issue certificates to this effect ef-fect upon payment by nurserymen of the actual expenses of inspection. The sale or shipment of nursery stock without with-out such certificate of Inspection will be illegal after July 1. By the same law the entomologist is required to disinfect, dis-infect, at the expanse of appropriations made for the purpose, all Illinois orchards or-chards now infested by the San Jose scale. The office of the state entomologist, entomol-ogist, which has been by common consent con-sent of the parties concerned located at the University of Illinois since 1884, is now permanently established there by law. The Leaf of Young Grain. There 1 much difference in the breadth, size and color of leaf in young grain as it comes up. It is partly dependent on the character of the seed, as the plant sends up its first leaves mainly from the starchy matter which encloses the germ and which the germ uses until it is able to put forth roots into the soil. Barley being larger and heavier than oats has always a broader leaf, though if oats are sown on rich land and somewhat some-what late they will come up with a leaf that looks like barley. But this rank growth early is not regarded favorably by the cultivator, for he knows that it Is liable to be followed by rust of stalk or grain later in the season. Harrowing Har-rowing grain that comes up with too small and thin a leaf bruises these first leaves, and as it also stimulates root growth it causes the plant to send up new shoots with much broader leaves'. This dries out the soil, thus preventing the excessive growth later that invites rust. Ex. Condensed Milk. The New York Commercial says the quantity of condensed con-densed milk made in the United States ia assuming immense proportions, and yet the demand far exceeds the supply. sup-ply. No accurate statistics are obtainable, ob-tainable, but the latest estimates give an annual product of 2,000,000 cases, about half of which is consumed at home. The remainder is exported and the demand is constantly Increasing. Japan, China. India and the Hawaiian Islands are large buyers while the possibilities pos-sibilities for extension of trade with Cuba. Porto Rico and the Philippines are attracting the attention of shippers. ship-pers. Ex. Micro-organism, or microscopic organism, or-ganism, is a plant or animal too small to be seen without the aid of a compound com-pound microscope. All persons who milk the cows should have the fin$fer oaii closely cut. WELL WOIiTH A VISIT TOURISTS WHO STAY IN HOLLAND HOL-LAND MAKE A MISTAKE. Most Interesting Nation Ita Social Life, Domestic Habits and Manners and Political and Religious Views Dutch Ladles. (Special Letter.) The small country that lies east of England, just a hundred miles across the sea from Essex or Suffolk shores to its line of low sand hills between the outlets of the Scheldt, the Maas and the Rhine, stretching thence north along the coast of a peninsula to the huge rampart dykes of the Heider, is worth a visit. But tourists who spend the time there whoily in three or four notable cities, The Hague and Amsterdam, Am-sterdam, perhaps omitting Leyden and Haarlem, which - lie between, and Utrecht, which has no famous picture gallery, but is a place of much historical histor-ical interest, fail to get well acquainted with Holland or with the Dutch people. peo-ple. They see how a Dutch town is built, surrounded and intersected by canals or branches of a river, planted with long lines of trees, provided with a town hall and several churches, usually us-ually of brick with carved stone facings; fac-ings; the more ancient and romantic Gothic edifices being few in the seats of former Catholic bishoprics and in the "Sticht," or diocese of Utrecht, in North Brabant, and other inland provinces. This country is far less rich than Belgium and Flanders are in architectural monuments of high artistic artis-tic or antiquarian interest. The Dutch school of painters, indeed, is all that Holland can show of its own that claims great renown in the way of fine art. Elegance or crace 0f design or style is not a Dutch characteristic and the mere dilettante taste, after looking at the notable collections at the Mur-itshuis, Mur-itshuis, the Rijksmuseum and one or two others, with merited approval, can find little else for that sort of gratification. gratifi-cation. Nor does the modern sentimental or aesthetic delight in rare, wild and mighty aspects of natural scenery obtain ob-tain anywhere in the northern Netherlands Nether-lands that recompense for a very easy journey which one gets in many part3 of England, Scotland and Wales. The atmosphere and light are finer than ours, especially favorable to views of the sea; but Dutch coasts are mere rolling sand; there are no rocks or cliffs or wild forests of torrents or mountains in the whole country. Grand, wide rivers, vast meadow plains, woods, groves and plantations, gardens and parks in exquisite keeping, there certainly are. But in general it is rather as the home and field of a most interesting nation, probably more closely akin and congenial to the English Eng-lish than any other in Europe, that Holland seems most attractive to us. Its social life, domestic habits and manners, political and religious views, past associations with our ancestors in great struggles for liberty and in almost al-most every department of intellectual and industrial activity, bind that nation na-tion ar.d ours together with links of A FISHER CHILD OF HOLLAND, sympathy more intimate than we can own toward France, Germany or Italy, though we owe much to early French or Norman civilization. I have not met with any book In which such information is presented to English readers more accurately, or with greater judgment, care and candor, can-dor, in a fair and friendly spirit, but not running into sanguine enthusiasm. Without dwelling upon his clear description de-scription of the unique physical geography of Holland and Zealand, with their labyrinth of river outlets and sea inlets, so often delineated by other writers, 't la enough to say that his chapter on e Fight With the Waters" alone deserves an attentive reading, as a good account o the vast and costly work yearly performed "by the government, seconded by local authorities, au-thorities, to defend the land and its towns from Inundation. The great draining operations which have been successfully executed at the Haarlem lake and in the Y distiict and in the Beemster and Purmer levels, as well as the projected reclamation of a large part of the area of the Zuyder Zee, are sufficiently explained. Agriculture, pastoral and dairy business, fisheries and trades, the government and laws, churches and schools and everything of practical importance, find due place in this book. It is needless to add that the virtues and accomplishments of the Dutch ladies, to which even I beg permission to testify, are not overlooked; they are, indeed, just as good and amiable as Englishwomen, and they are taught in their schools to speak English well and to read our English books, preferring pre-ferring them to French or German. The volume is furnished with over eighty plates of small drawings or sketches by Dutch artists, two of which are here reproduced those of the dumpy daughter of a fisherman of Scheveningen and the woman selling apples at a street corner in Amsterdam. Amster-dam. Where Soldiers 3Iast Swim. In the Dutch army, says Stray Stories, Sto-ries, a man must be able to swim as well as to fight. Moreover, if he is In the cavalry he must have a horse vhich will take a river as easily as a hunter takes a fence. Swimming maneuvers man-euvers are part of the regular drill there. Collapsible canvas boats, manned by a few oarsmen, lead the horses so that they do not attempt to land on stone quays and other difficult points. The men swim across with their horses and on -them. They do it in swimming costume .md in all the accoutrements of war. There are few nautical emergencies for which, the Dutch army is not prepared. Some of the officers have , reached euch a degree de-gree of proficiency that not only" their horses and kit cross " with' them but their pet dogs sit npon their shoulders, shoul-ders, and are borne oVer akaost without with-out gfettlB Wet, . RUSSIANS IN CANADA. Among the small proportion of Russian Rus-sian subjects whose education enables them to think for themselves is a number num-ber of individuals who, from an intense dislike to the taking of life, consistently consistent-ly refuse to bear arms. This peculiarity peculiar-ity is inconvenient in a country like Holy Russia, in which every male is compelled to serve 23 years in the army, and as the refusal in question has always been persevered in, and as, moreover, the number of these eccentric eccen-tric people tended to increase, it became be-came necessary to deal with them by legal process. Accordingly, all Douk-hobortsoi Douk-hobortsoi (for such is the name by which these peace-lovers are known) were sent off to Siberia. Among the reforms introduced by Nicholas II. was a rescinding of the existing ex-isting order asainst the Doukhobort-soi, Doukhobort-soi, and rome eight months ago a rescript re-script was issued authorizing those oi the t".jects of the czar who objected to military service to leave the country coun-try without interference. Since the passing of this law several shiploads cf Doukhobortsoi have left Batoum for Canada, where they are making a fresh start in life, free from the "blessings" cf Muscovite rule. The Illustration shows a number cf emigrants who sailed for Halifax in the last vessel which reached the Canadian port a few weeks ago. Being almost entirely moujiks of the peasant order, the emigrants emi-grants are accustomed to work in the t4&&H& tibial sr. -mm Milk RUSSIAN DOUKHOBORTSOI. fields, and as soon as they become educated ed-ucated to the use of modern methods of agriculture, they will doubtless develop de-velop into useful citizens. The existence of such a system of emigration from Russia, among a people peo-ple whose only offense is a hatred of the horrors of war, comes as an eloquent elo-quent comment on the peaceful protestations protes-tations of the Russian czar. It would appear, if the DouUhobortso' may be taken as a criterion, that the only Russians Rus-sians who are honest believers in the efficacy of peace as a factor in the development de-velopment of an undeveloped empire are rapidly being forced to quit the country. LONDON'S LAZY CLUB. Its Rules Kequire a tiood Deal of De- terminut ion of Character. London contains many societies, from j the Christmas Goose Club to that for ; the Worshippers of Omar the Tentmak-er, Tentmak-er, but apparently there is another which has hitherto escaped notice, says the London Telegraph. It is called the "Lazy Society," and, no doubt, in the metropolis there are many people who are eligible for membership. Idle persons, per-sons, however, had better not enroll themselves rashly, or tley may find that the rules demand too much determination de-termination of character. Absolute laziness is a task in itself, and requires re-quires a good deal of living up to, besides be-sides involving one in unpleasant situations. sit-uations. Mr. Reason is one of the members of this curious community, and so earnest is ha that he informed Mr. Marsharn at Westminster that no punishment would induce him to break stones or pick oakum. He ws charged by the master of the workhouse with refusing to do any work, and he even carried his principles so far as to decline de-cline to wash or undress himself. He had been punished in every possible way (ominous phrase), but all to no account. He remained, in spite of all ; temptation, an obstinate member of the "Lazy Society." The jailer asked the : defendant to give some explanation and he answered, with great deliberation, that work was too hard and against his principles. The magistrate decided he j must suffer for his convictions, and sen tenced him to twenty-one days' hard labor. The martyr left the dock very quietly and slowly with a beautiful smile on his face. OLDEST- MASON IN THE WORLD. J Surrounded by three generations of ! children, Mr. Adna Adams Treat on, j April S celebrated his one hundred and second birthday anniversary. Besides ' the distinction of being the patriarch ' of Denver, Co!., he is conceded to be J the oidest living Master Mason in the United Slates, and probably in the j ! world. Old as he is, his mind is clear I and events which stirred the nation j . three-sccre years ago are as bright In ! his memory as those of yesterday. j All day he received the many friends who called upon him in his room at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. N. G. B-irnUm. No. 1537 California ; street. i Mr. Adams was not forgotten by his I brother Masons in his old home in Troy, N. Y.. nor even by the Grand Ledge of Colorado. From the former was received a lengthy telegram ex- 1 press-irig congratulations and from the I latter a letter came full of solicitude 1 for his future welfare and containing many beautiful tributes to this aged exponent of the order. Mr. Treat was born at Hartford, HtvA'.H. t r MR. ADNA ADAMS. Conn., April 8, 1897, and later move to Troy, N. Y., where he engaged in the business cf a picture frame gilder and looking glass merchant In 1825 he wedded Miss Jane Reilay of that place, to whom three sons and four daughters were born. Later he moved j to Ohio, where he continued in active business for a number of years. Tec years ago he took up his residence in Denver, and has since made his home with bla daughter, Mrs. Burnham. His XeighboT. ' You live next door to that distia-jKuished distia-jKuished pianist, don't you, Simpson?' No; he lives next door to me, and he lt distinguished in this neighborhood for pbundinc his piano flftefen hours a 4&y!" Detroit Fi-ee. press, THE WIFE OF GOMEZ. CUvKM GENERAL'S SPOUSE HIS CHIEF AID. He Is Ilsr Second Husband The Flnt Choice Was a Farmer Their Seoara-tinu Seoara-tinu and Her Subsequent Adventu-es Antipodal in Character. General Maximo Gomez and family are to visit the United States as soon as the general can make arrangements to leave the island for a month or so. This information comes from Shubuta. Miss., where Mrs. Gomez lived up to twenty years ago. Her brotuers and sisters are in Mississippi and she has written that she will soon bring her distinguished husband over to see them. She married General Gomez some years ago in Sancti bpiritus. They are antipodal In character. He, decisive, de-cisive, always cool, never excitable nor garrulous; she of a nervous temperament, tempera-ment, easily angered, disputative and quick to resent a wrong; she is light-haired light-haired and blue-eyed; he dark-skinned, with eyes as black as diamond coal; she talks rapidly and never seems to want for a word or topic. The general is not voiuble. To the contrary, he is almost sphynxiike. He never uses an MRS. GOMEZ, extraneous word. His sword, not his tongue, is his most formidable weapon. Mrs. Gomez is a handsome woman even if she is over 50 years of age. She looks much younger. She can speak English, Spanish and French and can get more music out of a piano than almost al-most any other person 011 the island of Cuba. During the late war she moved her home as often as General Gomez moved his camp and her piano was always carried along. Shi learned to play when a young woman while attending school in Wayne county, Mississippi. One of her classmates was a sister to the robber Murrelt and this woman is somewhere in Cuba, she also having married one of the natives. The gallows upon which Murrell was executed exe-cuted still stands at Waynesboro and his executioner. Dr. J. R. S. Pitts, is one of the prominent republican politicians poli-ticians of the south. He paid court and attention to Miss Parker, who subsequently subse-quently became Mrs. Johnson and later Mrs. Gomez. Miss Parker was considered the belle of her vicinity when she married Johnson. John-son. She could follow the hounds all night long in a fox chase, ride the wildest of horses, "coon" a log across a creek with the agility of a schoolboy and bring a deer to a standstill 100 yards away nine times out of ten and use but one rifle ball. She possessed all the accomplishments of an aristocratic aristo-cratic farmer's daughter. She knew how to use the huntsman's stealthy step. With a leaf she could yelp as a turkey and imiti. e the call or" a quail. She spent much of her time in the woods and learned to know the songs and habits of birds like a naturalist. She ran foot races with the girls of her "set," could row a boat and swim like an athlete. When Johnson married her there was great surprise in that part of Mississippi. He was just a plain sort of farmer's boy. He could whistle, play th9 banjo, call hogs, and take corn to the mill. So when Miss Parker Park-er married him society was somewhat startled. The couple removed to Johnson's John-son's home, some miles away, where the bride was compelled to abandon music mu-sic and books for the kitchen and wash tub. Their married life was not happy. hap-py. She saw her mistake. There were quarrels, a separation, and ultimately a divorce. Johnson went west and his former wife went to Mobile, where she received employment in a school of music. From the time of her separation sep-aration until she sailed for Cuba she was not the same woman. She had wasted from a bright, vivacious viva-cious creature to a mere melancholic skeleton when twenty years ago she met a milliner from Santiago de Cuba. Her first husband, "Fish" Johm settled in Taylor county, Texas, aft his divorce, at a time when the In habitants consisted chiefly of prairie dogs and buffalo. A few months later he was elected probate judge of the county, about the time Abilene, the county seat, was the wildest and "wooliest" village between Vlsalia, CaL, and New Orleans. If th.re was a day passed while Johnson was judge that there was not a tragedy of some character or other the citizens talked about It. He performed the functions of his office In much the same manner as did the Illustrious Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas, who, when a white man was brought before him for having hav-ing killed a Chinaman, discharged him because he said he could find nothing in the statute books which said a man mustn't kill a Chinaman. Johnson John-son never got through the third reader and it was with difficulty that he could write his name. In deciding a case he never looked at a law book, but rather examined the merits of the controversy con-troversy from the standpoint of an honest man. After his first term he went back to Mississippi, married again, and is now running a sheep ranch. Nervy Claim of a Kansas Veteran. A Kansas veteran of the civil wax has just filed with the government a claim for back pay to the amount of $51,000. He was captain of a gunboat on the Mississippi river. In 1865 he was officially directed to go home and await orders. He Is waiting yet. Not having been mustered out c' the aerr-Ice aerr-Ice at the end of the war, he holds that he has been on duty for the last thirty-four thirty-four years, and is entitled to his pay for that time. Naturally Enough, "I gave that poor man $l a few days ago, and told him to come around and let me know how he got along." "Oh, that was good of you! He was your bread cast upon the waters." "I suppose sup-pose he was. Anyhow, he came back 'soaked. "Philadelphia Bulletin. Was Hamas Weakness. "Didn't he say he would never speak to you again?" "Yes. But he saw I had a cold, and he couldn't resist the rnptatIon to tell me of a sure cure." Boston Journal. y?5V9'4,r',,i--1iiiVi' FIREMEN ON BICYCLES. Novel Appliances Introduced by ths Washington l ire Department District Commissioner Wight is improving im-proving the Washington (D. C.) fire department, says a Washington dispatch dis-patch to the Baltimore Sun. Several months ago the old fire-alarm system was replaced by a new one with keyless key-less boxes. Mr. Wight was then impressed im-pressed by the uselessness of having all the firemen in the city called out of their beds when on!- a few were needed, so he inirod-.it ed a noiseless alarm system. At each engine house a watchman is on duty Jay and night at a desk where tire alarms are announced an-nounced on an indicator. If the watchman watch-man sees the alarm is one to which his company must respond a switch is turned and the next call comes on a large gong. Otherwise the firemen have undisturbed repose. Commissioner Commission-er Wight next decided, to mount a fireman fire-man at each engine house on a bicycle, who, whenever his company is called out, shall precede it to a fire. It is estimated that the mounted firemen should be able to reach a fire several minutes before their companies and' be able to accomplish a great deal before be-fore the engines can arrive. Each bicycle bi-cycle fireman will Ik- equipped with a small chemical fire extinguisher. The latest innovation is a meeaphone. which will be efficiently wielded by Assistant Fire Chief Belt. Mr. Wight had noticed no-ticed that on many occasions it was almost impossible for the firemen to understand the orders of the chiefs, and each was therefore compelled to act almost entirely on his own responsibility. respon-sibility. The megaphone is fifteen inches in length, and through its use there should be no difficulty in distinguishing dis-tinguishing orders. It is expected that each of the foremen and probably the bicycle firemen will later be equipped with a megaphone. It is intended also to introduce automobile fire engines. A WISE PIG. This Feat of Hi Simply Ulstances All Keeords. Pigs that have amazed vast audiences audi-ences at the circus by their performances perform-ances are not to be mentioned in the same breath with the young porker the following account of which has been sent to the Philadelphia Record by a person who has heretofore been considered con-sidered thoroughly reliable and truthful: truth-ful: "Oiii 1 ' the big drays going down Tenth street on Thursday having to stop at the corner of Carpenter street, the boys who were utilizing the rear end for a riele were surprised and delighted de-lighted to see a pig try to scramble up beside them. Kindly hands helped him and he sat content among the free riders until a small street below Morris Mor-ris was reached, when he intimated by grunts and scrambling that he wanted to get off the dray. He was assisted to the street and immediately made his way to a doorstep, where he was at home, as he wras soon admitted to the house. He is a pet pig, owned by a dermatologist, who is making experiments experi-ments upon him with newly Invented hair tonics. Every few days piggy appears ap-pears on the doorstep with bristles of a different color, and it is said that his hairs really begin to curl owing to the application of castor oil and quinine. Recently, having been treated with peroxide per-oxide of hydrogen, he has been of a most beautiful gold color. Piggy is bathed every day, has his teeth brushed with listerine, and sits on the front with the children, occasionally strolling stroll-ing a square or two with them. The fact that he knew his way home and preferred to ride there has made him quite a hero in the neighborhood." A NOTED BRITISH DIPLOMAT. Sir Claude Macdonald, the noted British diplomat and minister plenipotentiary plenipo-tentiary to China, has returned to England Eng-land considerably advanced in public favor on account of the masterly manner man-ner in which he has met the wiles of LI Hung Chang in dealing with Oriental Ori-ental questions. Sir Claude is a K. C. B. of the creation of 1898, and for three years he has lived in the east as a diplomatic agent of the United Kingdom. King-dom. He is a son of the late Gen. J. D. Macdonald. He was educated in Sandhurst, and when a youth he entered en-tered the Seventy-fourth Highlanders. In 1882 he was given the brevet of major, ma-jor, and in that year he served through the Egyptian campaign. He was in 1 9 as :.,' IP- j. : :MI''Hifk." fS- SIR CLAUDE MACDONALD. the Suakim expedition (1884-85), and won the medal with three clasps, the khedive's star, and the fourth-class order of Osmanich. For five years he was a diplomatic agent in Egypt, and he was consul-general at Zanzibar in 1S87 and 1888. Blaine'o Discourtesy to Keed. From the New York Press: Tom Reed said before he sailed on the New York: "One of the little things of life that hurt me more than anything else that ever happened was a pass I received from Mr. Blaine when he was speaker of the house. Of course I never expected to hold that exalted office, and when it feli to me I remembered. He was exactly twenty years ahead of me In the speakership, and I supposed we were great friends. I wrote to him for a pass or permit to go through the vaults of the capitol with a few friends, and there came back a simple pass for myself, properly signed and countersigned, counter-signed, but not a friendly line from the speaker. It cut me to the quick, and I threw the paper away. It took me a good many years to get over what I regarded as a slight, but In the end everything was explained. The circumstance, circum-stance, however, taught me a lesson In courtesy of which we all supposed Blaine was a past master. If ever a friend or acquaintance a3ked me for a pas3 or permit, which it was in my power to give, I never failed to write, or to have my secretary write, a note expressing the pleasure It gave me to comply with the modest request. It has made for me more friends than anything else I have ever done since I went to congress in 1877." roe Only Waj.. The Bride I don't want to ..ve any trouble with you, Bridget-4 The Cook Then, bedsd, ma'am, let me bsar n jomplaJnt' Futk. r |