, PARKER’S WIFE.
or BARD couan AND:
The place is a summer resort in the
‘ South. The time eleven in the morn-
ing. The sun is warm, but a soft
breeze whispers from the mountains,
and kisses the hills’ purple quiver.
Under a -widespread water oak is
stretched a hammock in which re—
clines a‘woman. She is beautiful, in
alabaster, her only color tints red lips
and tawny hair.
Presently she gives utterance to a
yawn; one hand, in which she loosely
holds a book, falls negligently over
the hammock.
,Lil Parker—that is her name—-
throws first one ivory arm over her
head then the other. As the tiny
twins clasp she says,—
“Oh, dear!”
A man sitting somewhat concealed
by clumps of flowering laurel starts
at themumurous sigh. For the last
three hours he has seemingly been oc-
cupied with a book, but in reality
stealthily regarding the golden tressed
Titania under the spreading tree. He
is swarthy, handsome, well endowed
with physical nerve. There is love
and passion in his glowing eyes, for
Prince Parker has a volcanic nature.
He is the recognized proprietor Of the
“tinted Venus” in the hammock.
Lil half rises and looks around.
First toward the house, the long piaz-
za of which is filled with summer
guests. She generally has a coterie
surrounding her immediate throne,
wherever it may be, andat this mo-
ment is perplexed at the defection.
For Lil Parker is a married belle and
wonders that no cavalier is in attend-
ance to restore her fallen volume.
Another look backward; then a start
and quick blush as she subsides on her
air pillow, while the flush drifts even
to her pearly neck.
Thirty minutes elapse. Then Prince
Parker emerges from the crimson
bower, his black eyes glowing like
midnight stars.
“You wanted your book,” he says
rudely. “Why didn’t you ask me to
restore it?”
His tones are smothered fire.
“I didn’t,” falters Lil.
“Don’t say you didn’t know I was
here, because you did!”
How cutting his voice.
“I saw you, certainly,” answers Lil.
“I didn't care to disturb you was what
I intended to say.”
“Wives are not generally so consid-
erate of their husbands.”
“Prince, are you my husband, real-
ly?”
Lil’s childlike way has scored her
many a point with men.
“The law gives me that title, I be-
lieve.”
He stands with arms folded over his
broad chest, as if to keep down the
raging fires.
“Ah! I had forgotten!”
Her voice, silvery and
drives him to exasperation.
“Do you want to know the reason?”
he asks stormfully, “why no one was
here to pick up your dropped trifles?
Because I—your husband—was keep-
ing guard, and those cold-blooded,
shallow men will think twice before
they thrust their attention on a wife
inher husband’s presence, even if he
is only one in law. Yes, I have kept
them from you——.two,'three hours,"
mockingly. “They- are awaiting you,
your admirers, up there; and you will
whirl the night away in their arms.
God! Why did I bind my life to yours?
Cold? Arctic poles are warm, Lil, be-
side your heart."
He speaks in suffocated gasps.
“1 echo "Why?” She is stung at
last. “Let us sever these unhallowcd
bonds, cemented by wounded pride,
which-have grown hateful to us both."
.Her eyes, wide and strained, gaze
into his.
“Sever them?” he shouts. .“As the
Lord hears me, no! Do you covet the
publicity? I don't doubt it would suit
your plans admirably, but never mine.
~ . It i * t
This is the prologue.
Prince Parkerghad married Lillie
Blake under very peculiar circum-
stances. Lil , was the betrothed of
Chester Reynolds. Prince was me
aflianced of his cousin, Mattie Wey-
man. But the course of true 10ch
went decidedly wrong, and Reynolds
and Mattie found that to be separated
would be eternal misery. One night
at a ball‘they solved, the problem——
in other words, ignominiously fled.
Two hours later a note was handed
Prince. In the dainty, perfumed trav-
esty Mattie implored him not to be
angry. She was a’ weakling intellec-
tually, and awfully afraid of Prince.
careless,
Would he please not shoot Chester,.
and reconcile matters with papa, et
cetera. As Prince read the satire up-
on woman's faith a sardonic smile dis-
torted his handsome mouth. Ten min-
utes’ reflection, then he crossed the
ball room—it was thinning for the
hour was late—to Miss Blake’s side.
He knew her only by reputation; in-
deed, this was the first time he had
even seen her.
“Miss Blake," he whispered in an
odd, suppressed voice, “excuse the lib-
erty, but circumstances are impera-
tive. Will you spare me a few min-
utes'!"
Lil stared in surprise. He thought,
“The fellow’s a fool to leave such
sweet eyes."
She quietly slipped her hand
Prince’s” arm. “How strange! ”
thought. ' “What can he want?"
Ucder the star bright skies, away
from the lingering scent of the ball-
:‘Cnm’s crushed roses, by the flicker oi
an expiring Chinese lantern, be silent.
iy handed her Mattie’s note.
He anticipated a scene. He did not
know Lil! She might endure the scal-
.pp_l,‘but she would never betray her-
in
she
day; ater.dat we’s boun’ fur de Ian ob
self. And he admired'hcr for it,
“I hope, Miss Blake, you will mi be
offended at aircquest I am about '0
make. You will be startled, i know.
My pride is humiliated. You also are
proud. Will you marry me? w?
See, the day is breaking. No one can
‘.
1..-
swear who took the initiative in
‘Change partners‘ if we are silent. it
is merely an arrangement. I cl:2rn
nothing from you save to wear my
name.”
As yet Lil had not spoken. At last,
as if the words were impelled, 5:10‘
said weariedly,—
"I agree.”
But her words had the
shattered icicle.
As he almost lifted her to tizc car-
riage, he stopped, for the chill of be:
hand startled him.
“Are you sure you will not regraz‘.‘
ring; of a
he asked hurriedly. ’
“Quite sure. And you?”
“I am sure."
That was the “Wooing O't."
Six months passed, and Prince had
learned to love with all the passion
of his nature this cold, beautiful stat-
ue who had bound herself to him in a
pique.
When be compared her to others
and saw how she eclipsed them all, his
heart was filled with wild longing, the
lava tide would sweep through his
veins like fire if by chance his hand
fell on hers. They had been strang-
ers~—save to the world——since their
_ \- 1,3." -.».~.
‘2 g \ "-
i
“Love me?.’ she falters. “I thought
you hated me, Prince!” "
“‘Hated’- you? Lil!”
His swarthy face almost touches
hers. ' I
“What do you mean? Quick! I am
mad, I think!”
“You must have guessed that-that
Her‘crimson face tries to find shel-
ter on his heart, as he draws the lock-
et from its warm resting place. With
wild heart beats he gazes at his——
Prince Parker’s—handsome, strength-
ful face, glowing at him from the soft.-
hued ivory.
With an ecstatic cry of “Lil—oh,
Lil!” he kisses her soft, flower face
with a half-starved greed.
“Prince,” Lil whispers shyly, “I
have loved you almost since—well,
quite a while, any way. I don’t think
I ever really loved Chester.”
Will he ever loose her from his
clasping arms? '
It is hours after. Without the moon
weaves silver arabesques across the
trees; a mocking-bird trills his seduc-
tive song among the myrtles. With-
in is echoed the same love song whose
notes, first set to music in the far off
garden never to go out of ,fashion,
but will stilLbe new, even at the end
' of time.
HOW WORRY AFFECTS THE BRAIN.
Philosophical Reasons Given “Therein It
Is Injurlous.
Modern science has brought to light
fateful marriage. Prince fairly cursed
the men in whose arms Lil circled
night after night. For she knew she
was beautiful, was conscious of her;
power, and with the knowledge that.
she was safe, indulged, as did others,
in fashionable follies. Safe? Yes.
For to Lil Parker these men were as
moths that flutter for a night and die.
She rejoiced to meet Chester Rey-
nolds this summer; was glad that of
the old dream not one spark remain-
ed.
:3: It * at:
“Aunt Chloe, I’m so wear_'!"
“Spec you is,‘honey; you bin in de'
sun too much."
And the old woman brushes away at.
the golden fleece, that, as Lil sits,
down, trails on the floor. She is
dressing for dinner; her arms and!
neck, softened by webby lace, gleam
whitely through the vail.
A knock, followed by
entrance of Prince.~
In confusion Lil reaches
shawl.
“You needn’t.” He laughs meaning—
ly. “You will 'be in no fuller dress
to-night when you whirl in the arms
of the multitude.”
He draws a chair noisily to the Win-
dow.
“An apology is due for my intrusion,
but it is necessary that I should be
seen occasionally in my wife’s apart-
ment. Watering-place gossip is scath-
ing.” x
He worries his mustache as he re-
gards her, with disheveled tresses,
beautiful as the fairest picture, the
dainty finish billowing even to the
pearly ears. ’
s:
the abrupt
for a
t t *
He has passed the window again
and again. The ball with its kaleido— ,
scopic whirl is at its height. In vain i
has he looked for the perfect face!
that makes his heaven. Lil is not
among the waltzers, neither is she on
the dimmer lit balconies. God!
where is she! The woman who is eat-
ing out his life? An hour. No Lil!
Now raging, tortured, he enters her
room. It ‘is empty, and has a deserted
lock. Two notes are conspicuous in aa-
photograph’ holder. The first, in Lil’s
dainty, perfumed ink, he seizes and
reads.:—— . : ,
"Prince, there is only one course:
open to you and me. We must part. We
... e wearing each other away. I am
sale from harm. Chloe goes with me.
You will not care. I give you back
your freedom. “Lil."
, “0 my God!" he groans. “Where?"
His face is furrowed, as if tempests
of grief have swept it these last min~
utes. , - '
The other note, folded in a fantas-
tic, crumbled how, was written in:
crooked, misspelled capitals—Chloe’s
company hand—reads thus:—
“Fur de lub ob de Ark...angul_s, Mass
Prince, .git an engine an purspe.- Miss
Lil’s clean ’stracted. Do nothin but
cry an my. We’s gwine home fur one
Canaan'or he debbil. She mak me
swar not tu tell; an I' only jes writ it;-
“Chloe Sweetwines."
With an ,oath he thrusts in his pock-
et a tiny, deadly toy. Yes; if he can-‘
not have her living, he'll have her
dead. ‘No other man shall drain the
sweetness of those lips. V .
s t I t
Softly with a night key he enters his
house. Straight to 'Lil’s room he
stalks. A calm comes over him as he
enters the door.
On her knees before an old cabi-
net, sobbing as if her heart would
break“ is Lil, in her hand a locket
hugged tightly to her breast. Prince
softly closes the door. With a pas-
sion spent face he kneels behind her—
he will have the intoxication of her
lips before they face eternity—and
draws her to him savagely. ,
“This is done. Other men clasp
you in their arms—while I—by the
Lord, I say it’s done! Lil, Lil, why
have you treated me so? Whose face
is it you steal away to mourn over?
Tell me. I will know. He cannot
love you as I do, my matchless dar-
ling. Do not be startled! He is safe
—'—from me. I go on my last journey
to-night. See!" He lays down the
jewelled toy. .“I thought to take 3'31}
with me, but I can’t, Lil, for l. love
you so. You shall be happy; I awe-3'
it.” ,
Lil looks at him with startled, .1. -.,
nothing more curiously interesting
'than the fact that. worry will kill.
More rema-rkable‘still, it has been
able to determine, from recent discov-
eries, just how werry does kill.
It is believed by many scientists
who have followed most carefully the
growth of the science of brain dis-
eases that scores of the deaths set
down to other causes are due to wor-
ry, and that alone. The theory is a
simple» one—so Simple that any one
can readily understand it. Briefly
put, it amounts to this: 'orry in-
jures beyond repair certain cells of
the brain, and the brain being the nu-
tritive center of the body, the other
organs become gradually injured, and
when some diseases of these organs,
or a combination of them, arises,
death finally ensues.
Thus does worry kill. Insidiously,
like many another disease, it creeps
upon the brain in the form of a sin-
gle, constant, never lost idea, and. as
the dropping of water over a period of
years will wear a groove in a stone,
so does worry gradually, impercepti-
bly, but no less surely, destroy the
brain cells that lead all the rest—that
are, so to speak, the commanding of-
ficers of mental power, health and
motion. --
Worry, to tmake the theory still
stronger, is an irritant at certain
points, which produces little harm if
it comes at intervals or irregularly.
Occasional worrying of the system
the brain can cope with, but the itera-
tion and reiteration of one idea of a.
disquieting sort thecells of the brain
are not proof against. It is as if the
skull were laid bare and the surface
of- the brain struck lightly with a
hammer every few seconds, with me-
chanical precision. with'never a sign
of let-up or the failure of a stroke.
Just in this way does the annoying
idea, the-maddening thought that will
notbe done away with, strike or fall
upon certain nerve cells, never ceas-
ing, and- week _-byr-week‘diminishlng ,
the vitality of these delicate organ-
isms that are 50 minute that they can
only be seen . under - the; -microscope.
-—P-harmacentical Products.
Speaker Crisp and Old Tom.
The "following story" is told of the
late Speaker'Crisp, of Georgia: It was
election day, and the Republicans had
put up agstrong'flght. .Prominent in
their ranksuwaswanvold darky, Tom.
All day long he hovered around the
polls and _ in? an impromptu procession
carried a' transparency. .In the even-
ing. Mr. Crisp . was standing in front
of his hotel, «when old Tom sidled
bashfully up and requested the pres-
ent of a: dollar. “What, Tom," said Mr.
Crisp, “you have the audacity to come
here and ask me for a; dollar after
working hard against me. all day?!"
“Well, but «Manse. Chawles, Ilse known
you' eber‘ since youiwas so high, and
I suttinly dov‘need ”a dollar . bad."
“Tom,” said ’Mr.-Crisp, looking stern-
ly at him, .ffdidnftyouicast your vote
against me to—lday?". Tom looked cast
down “for a moment. ‘lDas’so, das'so.
Massa Crisp,"rbut~brightening up with
an inspiration} "yen know it gwine to
count foh you“, enn’yhow. Please gim-
me dat dollah, Massa Chawles."
A {interacted Bridesmaid.
At a very- fashionable wedding in
London lately one of the child, brides-
maids was barefooted, though robed
in silk- Children in‘bare feet are now
often seen in summer in wealthy Eng-
lish and Scotch families. Gloves also
for childish hands are omitted except
in winter. On this point the Pall Mall
Gazette recalls the comment of-a. West
Indian negro soldier when he put on
full uniform for the first time: “Bar-
racks for de feet bad nuff; barracks
for de hands too bad—too bad!"
In Lien of Solar!-
Heavy—By all the gods, sir, unless
me salary is paid I will not play the
villain to-night. Not on your life!
Manager—Very well, then, I’llplay
it myself.
Heavy—For the love of heaven, no!
I have nothing against the audience.—
New. York Journal. ‘
Cycle Salesman—Do you prefer any
particular style of handle-bu?
Gillighan—I do thot. {It's the Girls);
kind I’m afthe'r.
Cycle Salesman—Tine Irish ,kind?
Gilligan—Share, the cork handle-
zled eyes. . .
r‘fimfl' . ”O‘T‘Wffifi. .u
bark—New York World.
a.» at»; »-, .
.
A“ Japanese “'if'e. ‘
The Japanese young woman, when
she has passed the happy “mousmee,”
or girl-in-her-teens stage, has a. very
busy life. If she be married she has to
'rise at an incredibly early, hour to
wake her servants, and in most cases
to warm the water for her husband to
wash in and prepare his breakfast. She
has to make the cloth-es for the entire
family, male and female, if they dress
in the native style, and to keep them
in repair; she has to do the marketing
and exercise the minutest supervision
over the servants while they are clean-
ing the house, "doing the washing,
cooking and other domestic duties, and
generally performs a considerable, part
of.them herself; she has to be at the
heck and call of her husband and chil-
dren, and, if she be the wife of a shop-
keeper, she has often to do the most
of the shopkeeping. It is in the na-'
ture of a Japanese to be kind and gen-
tle to anything, and he is often very
affectionate to his wife, when he is not
tired of her. But after girlhood a wo-
man’s good time does not begin until
she is a mother-in-law, or has a sufii-
ciently grown-up daughters for her to
impose upon. To me (continues a
writer in the “Woman at Home”) the
least attractive feature about the Jap-
anese is that they attach no sentiment
to the marriage tie or even to court-
ship. And thisis reflected in their
poems and novels, which hardly ever
turn upon wooing of woman or the vi-
cissitudes of the tender relation of
husband and wife. It is filial affec-
tion, not marital or often even
parental, which furnishes the
love episodes of Japanese writings.
But this again, like everything else in
Japan, down to arranging wild flowers,
is largely a matter of etiquette. The
Japanese who marries a. European la-
dy makes her an excellent husband.
He is said to carry this even so far as
making a good husband to a Japanese
woman if she wears European clothes.
Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain and oth-
ers of the most accurate and intimate
observers of Japanese life say that the
same man will stand aside and let his
wife go in front of him if she is wear-
ing her ill-fitting and unsuitable Eu-
ropean clothes, but make her follow
him like a dog if she has gone back
for comfort to ’her dainty and elegant
native dress—Exchange.
Kreplng Roses.
It is worth while to know how to,
make roses last, especially at times
when the price of them is almost a
fortune. One instance which thor-
oughly demonstrates that these beau-
ties may be kept for many days might
fit» in here, although summer is at its
height. Roses need the same-treat-
men in the summer as in the winter.
A woman gave three dinner parties in
one week with the same dozen and a
half Mermet roses, and the flowers
were much admired each time. It was
after 11 o'clock each night before they
came off the table. They were re-
moved to a Wide-mouthed kitchen
bowl that held a generous supply of
.water, and with strong shears the rose
stems were nipped off an inch or ”so
under the water. There is a psycho
logical reason - for cutting under the
Water, but never mind that. Then
the bowl of roses was carried to the
coolest cellar, 'but not one that fell to
the freezing point, placed in the big
wash-boiler, a. little sprinkle of water
dashed over the whole and the cover
put on tightly. They were left un-
touched until the next afternoon, when
they reappeared as fresh as before. Of
course, if the florist had sold roses
that he had been‘ hoarding for several
weeks» in the dark: ice room, they
would not have endured the gas and
the candles and hot air, conditions of
a modern house so many days.
Flowers will'»'keep fresh longer if
their stems are in wet sand. Put the
flowers into a vase as usual, then care-
' fully sift .into the vase, by means of a
funnel, suflicient sand to fill it n-éarly
to the tom-shaking it_so that the sand
will settle down among the stems.
Gradually add water until it stands a
very little above the top of the sand
and replenish the water as often- as
needed—Boston Transcript. '
Do Not Bite the Llps. _
Biting the lips is a very bad habit
and one calculated to do harm, not
only to the lips, but to the expression
of a. face. Very often people bite their
lips from nervousness, and sometimes,
if a girl has pale, colorless lips, shtc
tries to remedy the defect by an occa-
sional pressure of the teeth to bring
the blood to the surface. . This, howev-
er, is likely, after a time, to develop
into a habit of nibbling at the lips un-
consciously, till by and by they get a
cracked, parched look, and the mouth
loses all its pretty curves through tax
constant distortions it has undergca..:.
The Patriotism of the Dutchess.
Speaking of flags and patriotism, i
is pleasant to learn that in some i.‘
stances, at least, an international m;.. -
riage does not entirely do away wit}.
the American girl’s pride‘and love of
country, even though she .may be “\-
ing in the land of her adoption. A;
the fancy dress ball of Queen Victo-
ia's jubilee, the young Duchess . ‘
Marlborough, formerly Consuello Va..—
derbilt, appeared draped in Americeu
flags, to represent Columbia. To 5 '
the least, it was a compliment to t:;.-
country of her birth, and showed th.
the spark of patriotism still bur...
3 tan. ,
brightly in some royal breasts.—— Pllll-- .
W E E K JAY/15 (5 R W A La. - G A92 Ext 11., .. j, .'
. . _ 1/
r .
FOOT FREIGHTING.”
BURDEN CARRIERS OF MEXlCO BEAR
ENORMOUS LOADS OF GOODS.
Without Them Many People in the Cities
\Vould Suffer for the Necessities—Their
Ancestor inthe Same Business for Ten
orMure Generations Back.
Nine of ten people who come back
from a tour through “old Mexico,” as
our sister Republic is called in the
West to distinguish it from the Ter-
ritory of New Mexico in our own
country, are full of wonder at the won-
derful dexterity andstrength of the
burden bearers of the old lard. In
Paso del Nortch—the thriv n: little
Mexican city across the Rio «Trande
from hereé—the earliest things that at-
tract the attention of visiLors from
the States are, first, the men and wo-
men who are hourly seen gcirg at a
dog trot up and down the narrow
streets with enormous loads of n:er-
chandise on their shoulders, and, sec-
ond, the ' prison-like closeness with
which every home, from 'the lawliest
plow abode to the aristocratic brick
residence, is barred and bolted to any
entrance of inquisitive eyes from the
street.
The longer one stays in Mexico the
more convinced is he of the fact that
the modern descendants of Montezuma
are a race of burden bearers. There
are in Paso del Norte several hundred
men who daily carry for 'a mile or two
at a time a load of 250 pounds or more,
and there are a few lusty young Mexi-
cans there who have frequently
brought envy to the hearts of their
associates by carrying packs of ore or
metal weighing over 400 pounds across
the long wooden bridge over the Rio-
Grande to El Paso—a distance of over
a mile. There are' a few who have
carried a load of 150 pounds twenty
miles in a day. These men are the
teamsters, the freighters and the rail-
roads of old Mexico, and without them
the ubiquitous burro or ass, hundreds
of mining camps and other enter-
prises away up in the mountains all
over the republic would be impossible.
Without them multitudes of people
in the cities would suffer for lack of
the very necessaries of living. ' The
burden carriers of Mexico are largely
peons, or the half-breed serf class.
They are far from being specimens of
physical beauty. As a rule they are
of small stature, thin of legs and arms,
haggard faced (probably from exces-
sive use of the powerful moscal and
tobacco), and prematurely old. But
their necks and chests are full, and
exhibit, when they are carrying a
heavy pack, great muscular develop-
ment. They are somewhat stoop-
shouldered from long years at their
work ,and have a peculiarly intense
and staring expression.
The business of burden bearing or
“foot ' freighting," as the American
merchants in Mexico call it, to dis-
tinguish the manner of carrying their
freights from that of mule teams or
the railroad, is handed from father to
son. Several “freighters,” in Paso 'del
Norte exhibit crude Spanish signs on
their mud houses informing the. pub-
lic that their ancestors ' for ten and
some for fourteen generations back
were'flrst-class “cargadores” or bur-
den bearers in the. City of Mexico or
Vera Cruz. There is probably no race
outside of Asia , that clings so ten—
aciously to old customs that has so
thorough a} comtempt «for modern ways
of civilization as the poor people of
Mexico. In the early history 01*
Mexico, since the occupation .by' the
Spanish, post-houses were established
on the great roads of the country
about two leagues apart, and regular
couriers were despatched at regular
intervals ' the 'mall and com-
merce of the country. - In the Mexican
National Museum, are dozens of pie-
tures of these couriers with their
despatches in the form of. hierogly-
phies running over the mountains and
plains, and the legends state that they
were trained so as to make four or
five leagues an hour, the league in that
land being a little less than 2% miles;
There are scores of mail carriers in
the sparsely Settled parts of Mexico
that walk and run' over 140 miles
every week. A few cover on foot forty
miles a day six days in the week, and
up and down rough mountain roads at
that. They do not seem to know what
fatigue means. The fact is that from
the Rio Grande river to the straits of
Magellan the peaceable Indian carrier .
bears on his back the commerCe of the
Spanish-American countries, the load
being held in place by straps across
the forehead or around the breast or
shoulders or’ by two or more of these
combined—Cor. New York Times.
______.____
NOTES OF INTEREST. __.
According to the Premier of New
Zealand, a homing pigeon recently
flew from Victoria to New Zealand in
three days. The distance is" about
1,000 miles, and the bird must have
flown without rest at a speed of about
fifteen miles an hour.
In Paris the trees on the public
streets are treated with as much at-
tention as are the plants in botanical
gardens. Ofiicials look‘ after their
welfare, and, as a‘result, the streets
are beautiful and comfortable.
Miss Stella; F. Jenkins, of Kansas
City, has been made a minister of the
Friends’ Church of that city. Her
mother, Mrs. Frances C. Jenkins, has
been a minister of the Church for
forty-five years, and her sister has al-
so occupied a pulpit in Richmond, 1nd.
There are several new trades it;
Paris. You find dog doctors, dog dent-
ists, dog barber's and dog dressmakers
advertised in the newspapers, and they
seem to be well ‘patronized. One
‘ American woman is said to have Spent
$80 for garments to dress a. 32 dog.
IL-JE.’ r ’1” ~ '
.L‘; in.» ”fig/i, ,, .
Essentiallty of Lime. \ .
,The best period for the application of
Slime is in the fall'of the’year. Lime is
essential to all soils. Though it does
not take the place of phosphates nor
is it a substitute for wood ashes, yet
its small cost and lasting effects in
the soil should induceall agricultur~
15:5 in states which need such fertiliz—
ers to use it more freely than is gen-‘-
erally done.
foods are not so urgently needed in
the west as in the middle and eastern
states. The tendency of lime is to
work down into the soil, every rain
carrying it deeper. Lime that is re-
cently soaked becomes soluble, and is
easrly diffused by the rains, but after
exposure in the soil it revertsto its
original condition as a carbonate, be-
coming then insoluble. During these
changes it compels other substances in
the 3011 to change their forms also.
When stone lime is burned, in order
(to-produce lime, the carbonic acid is
driven'off, and .lime is the result. When
the lime absorbs moisture from the
air, it combines chemically with water
forming a hydrate. In this condition
itus applied to the soil. ' But the lime
Will not remain a hydrate, preferring
toagarn become a carbonate, and it is
this desire or affinity which prompts
it to force the chemical changes i n the
soil, butxwihich plants cannot prcduce.
It requires quite a time for lime to
complete its work in the soil.
Applied in the fall, it will, with the
aid of the frost, have the'land in ex-
cellent condition by spring, especially
if the lime is scattered broadcast over
the surface of the soil after a green
crop has been turned under. It is
more serviceable when used with green
manurial crops than under any other
conditions. On light, sandy soils it al-
ways gives excellent results. Some
farmers apply lime once in every three
or four years. It is better to apply 40
bu. to the acre the first time and 10
bu. every year thereafter, than to omit
it at any time, as the most benefit
from lime is when it is a hydrate.——C.
L. Gates in Agriculturist.
Importance of “’indbreaks.
Next to irrigation the most import-
ant topic for the consideration of farm-
ers is windbreaks. In Oneida county,
N. Y., there is an orchard of Red As-
trachans one—half of which has a wind-
break of arbor vitae hedge and the
other none.
perfect condition; the other part is
nearly dead, not a thoroughly sound
tree in it.‘ The crops show the same
difference. At another place there are
on one side of the street hedges and
groups of evergreens, on the north and
west; on the other side is an open
sweep for the wind. The protected
land ripens’lima beans, Isabella grapes
and is as good as- a whole degree 'Of
latitude warmer than the other. Our
serious trouble is not from cold, but
from cold drying winds, and speedy
changes of temperature. ' '
I recommend evergreen screens ev-
erywhere; not only hedges but screens
of trees, allowed to grow tall without
clipping. The arbor vitae is generally
best, hemlock in some localities. Nor-
way spruce wantsmore room but is
valuable. The old plan Not letting
trees grow ‘up in fence'lines was right.
Too much economy in clearing land is
a mistake. The proper trees for. wind~
breaks vary in different" parts of the
country, but} this 'méans‘of' protection
is: veryL-generally'usefu'l.—'-E. Pl Powell,c
New York. ' ’ ' ' '
. Steel Country‘Roadsr L .
The steel country roads, with which
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture is now experimenting, will
practically be constructed as follows,
says Engineering News: 'The' present
design calls for an inverted itrough-
shaped steel rail, with a slightly raisu
ed bead on the inside, and eight-inch
Qread‘and 7-16 inch thick. These rails
would be bedded ’in gravel laid in well
drained trenches, 'andthe rails would
be tied together at- the ends and in the
middle. ”On ”grades "the rails would
be indented slightly to prevent the
horse-slipping 0n the rails; the joints
would be made stronger than the rail
vent the formation of ruts alongside
the rails each joint would form a “re-
mount” for the wheels. The advan-
tage claimed for these steel roads is
the reduction in traction' from forty
pounds per ton on macadani 'to eight
pounds on the steel rails. The ma-
terial for the heavier class of roads
of this design will cost about $3,500
per mile in- small quantities. The
amount of material required is less
than 100 tons per mile, and long lines
could probably be built for $2,000 per
mile. The lighter type of road only
requires fifty tens per mile, and would
cost about $1,000 per mile. These
prices are exclusive of grading and
track laying“
Prescription for Eczema.
The following receipt may be used
for young' pigs suffering with eczema:
Take tincture of green Soap and rub
a little of this allover theirgskin, then
wash it off with soft water. Then mix
sulphur, 1 dr. balsam of peru 1% o:
and vaseline‘ 1 oz; rub a little orthis
well in with the fingers; apply the
above treatment once a day for three
days, then skip a week and apply again
if needed. Change the food from corn
to milk, bran and ground.oats.—.-Agri-
culturist. " .
A Man of Business. -
Hiram—Will yer be my little. wifey,
’Lindy? '
Hiram—Huh! Did you think I wuz
courtin' yer fer six years for fun?-
Truth. ‘
"W
Fortunately, these soil '
The protected part is in_
to prevent “low join.ts," and to pre.
Melinda-Ch, Hi! this is so Sudden.,
§
, .
Norwalk Chronicler