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THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL
Betcre* at tfce Atlanta PostoffW an Mail Mat
tw of tt» Second Claes.
JAMES *. OSAT.
Bditor and General Manager.
bVBSCBIPTIOM PBIC®
Twflr» month* *•*
Six moat»« **’
Three mrnttM
The Semi Weekly Journal is publiebed on
and FrMav and is ma Had by tbe abort- ■
est routes for early d«4i»ery.
•It contain* news from al! over tbe world. 1
brou<ht by speetal leased wires Into oar office
It has a staff of distinguished contributors
with *trvn< de; »rtn»enu of special value to tbe
borne and tbe farm
Ageet* wanted at eeerr pootofflce. liberal
eomaaiesx-n allowed. Outfit free Write to I
P. B. Kandoipb. Circulation Manager.
Tbe onlr traveling representatives are base
are J. A. Bryan. B F. Bolton C C. Coyle and .
M. R Gilreath We will be responsible only
for moatr paid to tbe above named traveling ,
representatives.
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♦ SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, At- ♦
♦ lanta, Ga ♦
Widening Peachtree street will be one
of the popular midwinter sports with At
lanta.
Macon's mayor says that he intends to
Stop the sale of liquors in
that enterprising city. '
Jack o* the Beanstalk wasn't in it with
tbe New Orleans negro who stole a SI,OOO
-for his Christmas dinner.
We are prone to remark with more
truth that regard to orthography that
“The melancholy ’daze - have come."
Germany, too. is threatened with an j
election, but we hope it won’t last two!
weeks and 'its result be unintelligible. |
The fact that Christmas comes on
Bunday this year will undoubtedly make
blue Monday a little harder to bear.
And now the melancholy days are
come, the saddest of the year—for Pa
who has to foot the Christmas shopping
bills
It wouldn't be a oad idea for Mr. Car- ’
negie to investigate and report on the
true inwardness of our preparedness for .
war.
We respectfully put our friends on no- '
ties that we don't want any more mani
< ure sets or cigar holders this Christ- :
mas. •
Not the least interesting of the holiday ;
offerings of literature are the circulars
sent out by the wholesale whisky
houses
It is admitted that Chief Justice White '
plays the piano; but the bitterest ene- ■
mies of the administration dare cot say
be plays ragtime.
The Teddy Bear of other days seems
to have been struck with the desire to
emulate Its illustrious “fore-bear" and
hunt tbe tall timber.
The man who said that "there is no
such thing as a pretty good egg" never
relied upon hash houses and prune saui- '
tariums for his daily bread.
The tfeather may be unpleasant; but
as long as it continues cold it helps tbe
peach crop and minimises the annual
spring "crop killed” report.
The visit of President T aft and Colo
nel Roosevelt next March should do
much toward bringing the golf and tennis •
players Into closer relations.
A woman and a pet cat fought for
jealousy of a neighboring cat tn New
York Monday. It must have been claws
against claws and the aharpest win.
Atlanta housewives put milk bottles and
other perishable liquids in the ice bogs*
Tuesday night to keep them from freak
ing stiff. That beats old Aesop’s fable.
A man from Missouri has just died at
toe age of M years without ever tell
ing a he or quarreling with his wife.
Verily, she must have been long-suffer
tn< '' I - 1
The overtures from “William Tell" and
“Parsifal" win make the Thursday night
organ concert at the auditorium-annory
thls week one of the finest of the winter
Mason.
Sixteen families have just moved to
Haselhurst from Anderson. S. C-, which
shows that Memphis failed to get all
the available! before the census was
taken.
A Pittsburg soman has blossomed
forth as a regular "hold-up." which is
merely an illustration of what every
man has known of every woman since
time began.
The ambiguity of the newspaper head
line. “Water Free to Wash Ladies ini
Milwaukee'** is almost a reflection on the
godliness of the feminine population of,
that middle western city.
As usual. murders, suicides. other'
bloody crimes and even battles, are mul-j
tiplying on the anniversary of the eve.
when herald angels sang "Peace on
earth, good will to men.”
Spell the Mikado. “McAdoo." and it
ought to get god patronage from the
Irish. It’s a bully attraction anyway, ac
cording to the verdict of people who
saw ft the opening night.
Atlantians will be relieved to learn
that the Christmas mail-order whisky
which killed two prominent Birming
ham men Monday did not come from
either Chattanooga or Jacksonville.
Cement coffins are being exhibited at
the Madison Square garden. They will
probably not become as popular as the
proverbial asbestos ones with people
doubtful of their future destination.
There seems to be sound legal sense In
the decision of the Philadelphia coroner
that killing a man in a prise fight Isn't
murder But it doesn’t at all condone
the brutality of that kind of fighting.
Roetan.i flatly refused to let Bernhardt
play “Chantecler’ in France, but .he
can't prevent Maud Adams from appear
ing in that virile role in America. Worse
luck for American theatergoers, perhaps
Cincinnati is suffering from a shortage
of dolls. And New Orleans is suffer
ing from a shortage of babies. Can't
some genius discover a means of adjust
ing these two conditions, the one with
the other!
. *
TWO HUNDRED MILLIONS IN CROPS.
In the products of her soil, Georgia is two million, three hun
dred and ten thousand dollars richer this year than in 1909. So
says Commissioner of Agriculture Hudson in an interesting state
ment just issued. The total crop value for the twelve months now
drawing to a close approximates two hundred and thirty-thret
million dollars.
This is brand new wealth. It has sprung straight from the
soil between April and October and the treasuries of sun and
shower and fertility whence it came are still waiting to pour out
other streams of gold as the season's wax. Such is the founds
tion upon which the prosperity of this commonwealth rests.
Commissioner Hudson’s report reveals a number of striking
details. The state’s greatest advance has been made in the pio
duction of corn. For 1909 Georgia raised sixty-one million, one
hundred and sixty thousand bushels of corn, thirteen and nine
tenths bushels to the acre; In 1910 she raised, sixty-four million,
eight hundred and eight thousand bushels, a gain of nearly on<
bushel to the acre. The total value of this one crop is about two
milljon, one hundred and ninety-two thousand.
In wheat also, material advances have been made. The pro •
duction of this grain has gone from two million, four hundred
and fifty thousand in 1909 to two million, seven hundred and
sixty thousand this year.
It is particularly gratifying to note that the cultivation of
truck and garden products has increased during the year. The
campaign diversification of crops is already showing results. This
is the sort of progress that has nature herself as its base and
which therefore is enduring in character.
OUT OF THE PUBLIC S POCKET.
In fixing lower and more reasonable charges for sleeping cai
berths, the Interstate Commerce Commission estimates that this
reduction will amount to nearly a million and a half dollars an
nually.
That is the sum which the people of the United States have
heretofore been forced to pay the Pullman company in excess of
the real value of the service they received. Such is the logical
inference from the commission’s statement.
The fact that this million and a half dollars has been dis
tributed over the entire country apd, as a tax, has been collected
piece-meal from thousands of different persons does not lessen
its injustice or the loss which it represents to the American pub
lic. Such is the case with all excessive transportation charges.
Because they are paid for in dimes and quarters, they are none the
less a burden upon the people and eventually upon the individual.
This is truth to which the public is just beginning to wake-',
as it is just beginning to waken to the evils of an extortionate
government tariff. Any charge that represents more than a fair
return upon the cost and value of the service rendered is harmful
to the interests of every man, every industry and every household
in the nation. The injustice which the people permit collective!},
they pay for one by one.
And so this million and a half dollars which went into the
Pullman company’s treasury when, according to the commission
it belongs rightfully in the pockets of the traveling public, has
been a national loss, trivial perhaps in its individual items, but
tremendous in the aggregate.
SOME CHRISTMAS MEDICINE.
In this season of generosity, let us not forget to be just.
In bringing special gifts, let us not leave behind the ordi
nary duties.
These are very trite observations, but like old household
medicines, they are good for divers ills, and this week nearly all
of us will need, them for one thing or another.
Christmas, indeed, is a tonic to the splendid virtues, but
often sorely trying upon the more useful ones. Our hearts warm
toward our friends and open to the poor. We are bent upon giv
ing particular happiness to the people we care for and to those
whose needs are brought home to us by the spirit of the hour.
But these are not the only folks in the world.
There are the people in the stores, working from breakfast
to bedtimg in order that we may buy our Christmas presents.
There is no halo about the part they play in Christmas, but they
have certain unwritten rights that w*e ought to bear in mind and
respect. We ought not to wait until the last hurly-burly, helter
skelter minutes to ask them to serve us, and in all our dealings
with them we should be as prompt, as patient and as kindly as
we can. This applies to the grocery shop as well as to the de
partment store; to the porter and the little ragged delivery boy
as well as to the most important salesman or saleswoman.
Every household, too, has its little outstanding accounts,
debts due various people who have done one service or another.
These are generally trivial in amount, but they may mean a
great deal to the ones who are waiting for them. They ought
be squared up before Christmas day and not allowed to run over,
forgotten, until the next week.
Now comes the season of the twelvemonth when the house
wife, in her brisk plans to make the home bright and merry for
a day, proceeds to make herself jaded and listless. The house
must be spotless and garnished. The dinner must be a Belshaz
zar’s feast. Os these things she thinks most unselfishly, but of
herself, who is to be the light and savor of it all, she is neglect
ful and selfishly so. This is one Christmas custom that ought
to be wiped out.
What we are saying here is about as commonplace as the
average sermon , but it is all as true as that next Sunday will
be Christmas, and as much worth thinking over.
WHEN THE EARTH FREEZES TO DEATH
The earth is slowly but surely growing colder, says Dr. Har
vey W. Wiley, of pure food fame. There will come a time, ac- ’
cording to his theory, when straw hats will never be in fashion and
when ladies will cafry hot water bottles instead of fans. Finally,
even that portion of the race that dwells along the equator will
give the furnace a good-by poke, curl up and freeze to death.
The terrors of this prophecy are somewhat softened by the
fact that its fulfillment is still a few millions of years away and
before the long cold spell settles down in earnest posterity may
escape in aeroplanes to a more genial planet. But according to
known facts of science, which are proverbially cold themselves,
Dr. Wiley’s prediction is far from merely fanciful. The earth
has been steadily cooling for many aeons and so has the sun.
Good astronomers and true have reckoned that the sun cannot
supply enough light and heat to serve man for more than ten mil
lion years. Every second, day and night, it is throwing off its
warmth at a prodigious rate, and even the sun can’t expect to
stand such extravagance forever.
So run our mortal theories. But we are reminded just here
of the story an old professor used to tell. There once lived a
race of little creatures whose abode was on a thermometer, and
each of whom lived but a second. They were an inquisitive lot
and of a most scientific turn of mind. And so they began making
a record of the readings of the instrument which was their uni
verse. For ten geaerations careful notes were kept. At the end
of that period, the Thermometerites found to their alarm that
the mercury in the tube was rising at the rate of one one-hundredth
of a degree each second. Ten generations later, these readings
were formulated into a theory and when the sixtieth generation,
that is, a minute, was reached no intelligent Thermometeritc
could any longer doubt that eventually the mercury would strike
the top of the tube, overflow and wipe their race out of existence.
But after the lapse of three hundred generations it was found,
to the chagrin of the scientists but the great joy of the populace
at large, that the mercury had actually started down again.
Whereupon, the story concludes, even the wiseacres among the
Thermometerites were constrained to admit that there more
things in heaven and earth than were dreamed of in their phil
oaophy.
THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA. GEORGIA. FRIDAY, DEC. 23, 191 G.
jy." timely tomcs.-'
TICE PENSION BXLX—OCTOPUS
It needed but an hour or less of con
gressional debate last week to pass a
federal pension bill carrying the enorm
ous sum of $166,000,000. This is the annual
sum authorized and it must come every
year. The civil war closed in April, 1860
—ls years old —to be exact, 46 years and 8
months. These pensions are supposed to
be paid to the survivors of the grand
army, the Federal forces that overrun
the now defunct Confederacy.
It is clearly evident that these pension
ers will never die, or at least there are
people who certainly step into their
places and continue to draw the money.
Every taxpayer in the union is - forced
to pay tribute to these pensioners, ip
greater or less degree. If they have but
little they must part with some of what
they do have. If they have considerable
they must run down deep in their pock
ets 'and pay it out. nllly-willy. There is
no option in this matter. This money,
this tribute money, has got to come.
Southerners as well as the northerners
and westerners must bring in tithes to
the Federal soldier, nearly 50 years after
the close of hostilities.
This $156,000,000 goes only to Federal
soldiers. In addition, Georgia (and the
former seceeding states) has to pay an
other enormous pension bill every year,
and it is a well known fact that an am
bitious politician will vote for any sort
of a pension bill, even though he knows
that the honest labor of this country will
be taxed thus unmercifully for another 50
years to come.
We also know that thousands of names
of pensioners" should be eliminated from
the pension rolls because they do not
come up to the requirement, do not be
long there in justice and In right. There
has been a violent and incessant scram
ble among pension attorneys to put on
names that should not be there, and It
costs every prominent politician his of
ficial position if he atempts to weed out
the fraudulent names.
Hon. H. Clay Evans, of Tennessee, is
a case In point. He is dead now, but
he as a United States pension commis
sioner, did attempt to revise these pension
rolls, and the people who are thus sup
ported from the United States treasury
demanded his official head and got it.
Like the head of John the Baptist,
which Herodias demanded—he was polit
ically decapitated and became a martyr
to that extent. I well remember meet
ing a Pennsylvania federal soldier, who
was among the first yolunteers, and was
a three months’ soldief under President
Lincoln's first call for troops. He told
me he only served three months and
was mustered out before the first battle
of Manassas. He never volunteered
again, and his war experience was sim
ply a picnic, as he expressed it.
Said I: “What a pity you did not stay a
little longer, so you might have had a
pension.”
"Oh,” and he laughed merrltly. “All
the same I got It, and also arrears of
pension” (which carried his service back
to the beginning of the war). “How so?”
I persisted. "Oh." said he, “they handed
it to me and I took it”
Here you, are. That’s where it works.
A little false swearing didn’t feaze a man
who thus imposes himself on a tax ridden
community.
Some years ago I was appealed to to
testify that a certain colored woman
who married one of our former slaves,
was really the person she claimed to be.
Imagine my surprise when I found out
she was seeking a soldier's widow’s pen
sion-claiming that this former slave
served in the war. To my certain knowl
edge he was not in the war at all, and
he did not take the woman, to wife,
until many years later. This is one case
PREPARING FOR AN EMERGENCY.
The boll weevil will reach Georgia about 1912, Anthracnose
and the wilt disease are destroying millions of dollars’ worth of
cotton for Georgia farmers each year. The cattle tick holds in
check the development of our live stock industries. The methods
of fertilization and cultivation now pursued tend to lessen the
crop-yielding power of our soils. Failure to select seed corn and
cotton results in reducing instead of increasing the yields ob
tained. A serious situation confronts the state. There are mil
lions of dollars at stake. The prosperity of the state hangs in
the balance. The place of Georgia among the states of the union
is being weighed.
Realizing the momentous character of the issues involved and
the prize at stake, the College of Agriculture has organized a
Cotton School and Stockmen’s short course to teach farmers how
to overcome these difficulties. It will take but ten days to secur?
eighty hours of definite instruction and demonstration concern
ing these vital matters. The cost of this instruction will be nom
inal.
Hundreds of Georgians will doubtless attend this short course
and broaden their point of view, become more successful planters,
advance the welfare of their families, increase their earning ca
pacity, build up their lands, and make their state permanently
prosperous.
Everyone should prepare himself to meet successfully the is
sues which changed conditions have imposed on Georgia agri
culture.
WHO WROTE IT?
Next to the weighty problem of whence Peachtree street de
rived its name or who really christened Atlanta no question of
recent date has opened such an inviting field for discussion as
that presented in yesterday’s Journal by one Mr. Randolph Kir
cher. He wants to know who wrote the popular poem, “My Life
Is Like the Summer Rose!’’
These verses, which all the young ladies of a few generations
ago sang of an evening to susceptible young gentlemen and which
are truly beautiful in their imagery and music, are commonlj
credited to the late Mr. R. H. Wilde, of Augusta, Ga. But the
inquiring Atlantian, who is evidently a saunterer in the by-ways
and curiosities of literature, has discovered that back in 1b34,
the American Magazine devoted considerable space to alleged
plagarism on the part of the Georgia poet. It seems that friends
of the Irish song writer, Patrick O’Kelly, contended that he was
the real author. Others asserted that the poem was a transla
tion from Alcaeus, a Greek bard who lived two and a half cen
turies ago. ; f
The settling of literary controversies is always a perilous
undertaking. There are still worthy people who believe that
those famous Elizabethan plays were not written by Shakespeare,
but simply by a man called Shakespeare; that undoubtedly they
were written by Bacon. And the quarrel will probably last sev
eral centuries yet. Our impression has always been that ‘My
Life Is Like the Summer Rose” was the production of the Au
gustan. The fact is we didn’t know anybody had ever called the
authorship into question.
Albeit, scores of other mortals have doubtless felt like a sum
mer rose and accordingly they have have said so in verse. We
therefore leave it to our readers to give Mr. Kircher whatever
assistance they can in solving thia problem.
1 in point, and I am satisfied the roll is
packed with a mass of fraud or impost
ure. But the turning down of United
1 States Pension Commissioner H. Clay
Evans, who being aware of these numer
-1 ous swindles, attempted to rid the pen
’ sion rolls of such fake beneficiaries,
proved to my mind the impossibility of
I cleaning off such filth from the pension
1 business.
1 No sensible person believes that it
li needs $156,000,000 to pay the annual
stipend of surviving soldiers and their
legitimate widows at this late day—
-1 nearly 46 years since the war closed.
’■ In defiance of common sense and com
mon honesty, the names continue to in-
1 crease and this pension amount does
1 not mean all of it, by a long shot, be
• cause half the pensions of lhe old moss
backs, who cry "more," more,” all the
1 time.
•I No reader of ancient history will fall
1 ; to see the coming doom of this repub
lic. One half the population is now
toiling to pay for luxuries and support
1; of the other half.
’ i It will take a revolution to wipe off
the slate and when the end comes it will
' be largely owing to the greed an<|
1 graft which has not only absorbed the
' taxpayers’ money, but made us slaves
•j to the Insolence of those who used po
litical influence to make one half the
| population support the other half. Buch
■ an abnormal condition prevailed in old
■ Rome, and Rome went down in ruins.
1 REAX CHRISTMAS WXATXXR
Since the closing days of October, we
in north Georgia have been having real
winter. In my extended life I do not
remember to have seen such severe and
steady cold at this season.
j We have had no Indian summer at all
)ln the year 1910, for it has been steady
freezing weather for two months gone.
Tonight there is a cold drizzle that hangs
lon the limbs of the trees and by tomor
!row we may find ourselves on slippery
' roads and sidewalks, and a season of
sleet.
i The coal dealers are having a fine
time of it, afid those who supposed they
jhad laid in a plentiful supply for tbe
winter may as well prepare to buy more
and pay a good price during the balance
of the season.
If this hard weather prevails all over
the upper portion of the United States
we may count on a record winter for
severity everywhere.
The fatality among invalids is also
Old people with thin
{blood and sluggish circulation, are not
I able to wrestle with long continued
1 heavy weather, and we hear of frequent
paralysis and defective heart action in
many cases quickly followed by death.
The freezes are good for the soil and
the steady cold makes fuel high, so we
have a small grain of comfort to make
the hard weather more tolerable.
But we must be thankful that it is as
well with us as it is, and that the clos
ing of the year 1910 has brought us to
a realizatiori of pur manifold blessings
in continued life and health. So I wish
one and all of you the best Xmas of
your lives.
The $7,000,000 Fifth avenue home of
ex-Senator W ? A. Clark, of Montana, hgs
been completed after eight years of work
anc| will be occupied early in the next
• year. It is to be the costliest residence
ever built in America. The taxes as
sessed on it by New York city amount
to more than S2OO a day.
The mansion contains 131 rooms, 31
baths and four picture galleries. No
building in the world, according to ex
perts, who have inspected the Interior,
carries so much bronze as has been
worked into this mansion.
p^ r^^'l2 THE
FOOD VALUE OF MILK
B7 Caroline X. Runt
It is a commonplace saying that milk,
or. to be more specific, cow’s milk, is
a perfect food. This may be taken to
mean that it contains, first, materials
which children need for growth; sec
ond, materials which young and old
alike need for the repair of their bodily
machinery; and, third, materials which
both need for fuel, 1. e„, to provide
them with heat and with the energy
necessary for work- It should not be
understood, however, to mean that it
has these Ingredients in such propor
tions that It can serve satisfactorily
as an exclusive food for a grown per
son or eyen for a child. Though it U
the best substitute for mother’s milk,
it must be ’•modified" more or less
before it can be used even for infant
feeding with good results.
It is likewise a commonplace saying
that milk is a cheap as well as a nu
tritious food. Just at present. with
prices of all kinds of ' foods rapidly
changing, it is not »o easy as It once
was to make the comparisons that
are necessary to show which particular
foods are really pheap, but' While' the
prices of food materials vary, the com
position of most of them remains un
changed. and it is always possible to
compare their nutritive values. A quart
of milk supplies practically as much of
both protein and energy ps three-quar
ters of a pound of bepf of average com
position or eight average eggs, and can
generally be bought for less money. In
case milk is 8 cents a quart, beef 20
cents a pound, and eggs 34 cents a
dozen, 10 cents spent for milk will buy
a little more protein and much more
energy than 10 cents spent for beef or
10 cents spent for eggs. Thus, while
other animal foods than milk (meat,
eggs and cheese) an desirable to five
variety to the diet it may be assumed
that milk may be used as an economical
substitute for any one of them.
Os the vegetable fop4i, many (flour,
for example) are found to be mueb
cheaper than milk, when both price and
nutritive value are taken into consider
ation, and, as a matter of fact, they al-
ways form tbe greater part of the bqlk
of human food; ‘but of the ftnlmal foods'
which are usually combined with the
vegetable millj is on£ of the'
cheapest.
In spite of the fact that milk Is recog
nized as a nutritious and a cheap food,
there seemfc to be a gjspergJ tendency
to think of it not ag a' possible substi
tute for other more expensive foods,
but rather as go addition to tbe bill of
fare. To illustrate, milk is frequently 1
used as a beverage without the reduc
tion of the amount of meat or other
protein foods served. From the point of
view of the need of tbe body, thia may
be considered extravagant and the serv
ing of a glass of milk or of a bowlful
of soup or of such desserts as cus
tards and baked milk, or tbe use of
generous quaiftities of milk or white
sauce on vegetables, offers an oppor
tuity t° cut down the allowance of
meats and eggs.
RAISE MORX XUZ.EB
The objection many farmers raise to
the use of mules Is that they do not
‘breed, that they are stubborn, often vi
cious, and that they are entirely unsuit
ed to pleasure purposes.
Those objections are worthy of con
sideration. but tbe many good qualities
of these sturdy beasts seem to more
than offset them-
M vl WP
A fiMQ VIRGINIA MULE
From a commercial standpoint, it may
be wgU to remember that a pair of 6-
; year-old mules, well matched, well bro
ken, and well grown, weighing from 1,100
to 1,300 pounds each, will bring from
$550 to S6OO.
More mules should be raised by the
farmers all over the country. Breed
your heavy-set mares to a good-s'.zed.
stylish jack, and when your colts come,
take' care of them and they will prove
to be about the most profitable stock on
the place, either to work or to sell.
A OOMFONTASXE STAXX
This style of stall affords a great de
gree of comfort to the cow. The dis
tinguishing features of the stall are the
movable manger and rack whereby tbe
length of the standing room in front
and behind may be varied to suit the
individual cow, and the fastening for the
animal, which consists of a rope or
chain across the rear end of tbe stall,
to keep the cow from backing out.
The stall should be tijree feet wide on
centers. Tbe entire stall, from A to B
(see cut), is seven in length. The gates
(which should all swing one way), are
about four feet long. The rear posts, I
if used, should slant, as shown in the',
cut. to allow the milker a little more
room. In some stables these rear posts
have been done away with entirely, the
gates simply being chained or roped to
gether. As usually bultt. the front rack
or pane Ils made of 2x4 framework, with
7-1$ Inch iron rods; and this framework
is fastened solidly to the manger; but
the manger and framework are not at
tached to the sides of thq stall, but left
loose, so as to be adjusted to tbe length
of the cow. In some cases, however,
the rack is hinged at the top and the
bottom allowed to swing in the manger,
So that it may be swung toward the
front several Inches. This allows the
cow a little more freedom in getting up
and lying down. Wooden slats may be|
substituted for the iron rods, or in gome:
cases a section of iron wire fencing is
used in place of the rods. The rope
across the rear of the stall is usually
stapled at one side and hooked w.tb an
ordinary harness-strap at the other.
Every farmer should grow hogs, if
only enough for home use. Os course,
we would not advise the farmer to grow I
more hogs than he can properly feed I
and handle. The farmer must grow
some class of live stock for meat, and
the hog is about the easiest and cheap- ■
-at to band>” ' •’<
SAVE FENCE POSTS
It has been estimated by the United
States department of agriculture that
the farmers of the single state of lowa
use every year $1,400,000 worth of new
fence posts, which cost the ■equivalent
1 1 of JQOO.uOO for setting them in the
ground. Without doubt a part of thia
1 1 expenditure might be saved.
The opportunity for economy is found,
' j first, in using the kinds of posts which.
1 ! taking info account both cost and dur
(ability, are cheapest in tbe long run.
1 wnd, secondly, by treating the posts to
■ 1 prevent decay. When a farmer sets a
' I post which will have a comparatively
short life, he loses not only through
having to buy a new post, but also be
-1 cause of the additional labor involve<l
in setting it. It is true that In both
> cases no money outlay may be involved.
I for he may set the posts himself, after
| getting them from his own woodlot. Os
; the posts used last year in lowa, 79 pe r
'! cent, it is estimated, were grown on
| tbe farms where they were used, or
j were obtained from other farmers or
1 ; woodlot owners, and only 30 per cent
■ 1 were bought from lumber dealers. Nev
l; erthelegs, tbe farmer is out his labor
1 ! and the part of the product of his
. woodlot which is used up, even though
■ he does not pay out any lash.
1 • The average life of a fence post is
stated to be 14 years, and tbe average
!I cost* 13.7 cents. There is. however, great
-1 difference in the lasting properties of
■ [ different woods. Osage orange last?
1 more than five times as long as wil
-1 j low, and for length of aervice it head:«
1 . the list of post timbers in the state.
The comparative life of other posts
' is shown in the following list, ranging
' from tiie longest period to the shortest:
Red cedar, locust, white oak. northern
1 white cedar (or arborvitae), catalpa,
black walnut, buternut, red oak and
» willow.
I The average cost of posts varies for
different woods, and for the same wooda
In different’ localities. Red cedar is most
expensive, at in average of 26 3-4 cent.s
each, and willow the cheapest, at 6
cents.
—■ 1
RAISING POTATOES
! Prijice TEfdward Isiarid is one of the
most successful producers of the potato.
'ltg total area under cultivation is lees
.than 1,800 square miles; the annual yield
Os the potato crop averages *,000,000
bushels.
The most favorable results have been
obtained in fields that have not been ma
nured for many years. The opinion pre
vails that manure pollutes the potato
and disposes it to rot before and after
1 digging. Newly cleared woodlandg yield
large crops for many successive years
without the addition of any fertilizer.
To aid exhausted soil commercial fer
tilizer is used. It has been found that
lime, clinkers, and coal ashes thrown on
a field will set up scab. It would thus
appear that this disease may be due to
mechanical irritation in the soil. To
prevent rot, great attention is given to
the time of digging. The best time has
been found to be when the tops begin
to grow a dark green, not when they
have turned black. When the latter
happens, the potato has already VcK UII
to rot- By observing these methods,
a white, smooth, pounded root of me
dium size is secured. The best potatoes
are shipped in boxes, carefully selected,
and marketed as No. 1 and No- 2.
IKTTJTX TAMMS
From time to time skunk farms have
been established, but from some cause,
probably iacfc of experience, cost of
feeding the animals, or fencing the in
ciosures, the induatr ywas soon discon
tinued.
The majority of people who start in
this business seem to think that the
animals will take care of themselves,
and do not appreciate that, to make a
success, they will have to devote a
great deal of time and energy. ,
This is true in regard to the domes
ticated animals, and ig doubly so where
wild ones are concerned. There is no
■ reason why a man should not suc
ceed in the skunk business, if he is fond
of animals and is willing to get well
acquainted with their habits.—H- K.
Fisher.
QTSTXTUTXS KZI>F THE TAMJCEBJ
Farmers’ institutes are to be found in
many states and are doing much to im -
prove the lot of those who cultivate
the soil. The first of these institutes
was established many years ago, but
the movement for adopting the plan in
as many communities as possible was
not begun until about 1895. The insti
tute resembles university extension
work, and Is of great value in educat
ing the farmers and giving them an
opportunity for an exchange of ideas.
When the farmers meet they are ad
dressed by experts, who tell them of
the latest advances in the various de
partments of agriculture and give them
pointer* regarding the improvement o<
five stock and the selection of seed. t
TVXA A* A GOOSE
But few know how the term, as ap
plied to a drinking man, "as full as *
goose.” came into use in the long tim*
ago. and is still in use. Close observ
ing farmers will gecollect that hungry
geese when turned on good grass o
other good feed, will eat until the craw
is filled to the fullest capacity, and tho
passage from the craw clear up to the
mouth, so that there is no room left,
even for water to saturate with. Hence
the term as "full as a goose" has got
to be proverbial. The goose doesn’t get
drunk when it gets full, but the man
does every time.
BAXL FENCE PHU.OBOPH T
It would be a pity, indeed, if the great;
forest reseves should be sacrificed to
the politician and the lumber stealer.
Neighbor Slowfoot seems to think that
when the crops stop growing he might,
as well stop work—and there are others
No man ever breeds patches on th
seat of his trousers by standing or
' walking.
I Many a country lad who is on the to
boggan. sliding down t othe devil, got
his first push at home.
Americans are beginning to learn that
the adornment of the house and sur
rounding grounds is an important ele
ment in the education of children, and
does much to cultivate good morals and
good manners.
Gasoline engines are rapidly finding
their way into the south, and on many
of the big farms of that section plow
ing Is done by this means.
One can destroy thousands of insects
one cannot see by raking and burning
all rubbish on the place.
Whoever heard of a farmer being
afraid of the beef trust? He can raise
his own beef.
Put up new "Shooting Forbidden”
signs.
The farmer's life is an independent
one.
The price of upper Pullman berths
will be forty cents less after January 20.
The forty cents we shall save about
once a year will go as a partial pagyMat
HJJ >, small steak.
