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The Exeter Advocate, 1898-11-4, Page 6ONE GM gra IONENZIRI4' .n Vt C CLAIRE 1 9P79Cati,T. 1597 t3Y a e v e e e .. a N a f FEetNO&c "That is to say," brusquely said Dan. lin, who hard listened with frowning brows and with au angry expression, "that Mme. Itioni€rhe accosts me or bay - trig murdered .1 i. Revere!" 'You are in too meth haste. 2Xme. llouiehe leas not said that precisely. She was only surprised ---surprised and frightened—at your expression as ,you looked at the deeds, bills and coupons," "Those coupons,,"asked Dantin rather anxiously—"have they, then, been stet-. atza?' "Ate that we know nothing about!" And the magistrate smiled. "One has feend in Revere's safe be the neighbor - heed of 460,000 francs in mavens, city sf Faris bends, shy -res in paining s tcie- ties, rent Mite butznothine to prove that there* was before the atouesinetien more tbau tllaat sum." "Hack it been farted open?" "No; but any one familiar 'with. the ,lead luau, a friend who knew the secret of the cozazbinatien of the c=afes, the leer letters firming the evercl, could bave opened it without troulble." Among these words Dantin beard one which struck Mian full in the lace— "friend," ;il. Ginone bad pronounced tt iu an ordinary tone, but Dentin bad seized mad read, in it a %acuate. For a moment the anan who was being ques- tioned felt a peculiar sensation. It iieemed to him one day when be load been Almost drowned during a boatdug party that same agony bad seized him ; it seemed that he had falleu into some abyss, seem icy peel, wicth was para- lyzing him. Opposite to him the exam. Wing magistrate experienced a contrary Wiles. The caster of a hook and line feels a similar sensation but it was in. tensified a hundred times in the nagis. trate* a cher of truth, throwing the line into a human sea, the seater pol- luted, red with blood and rained with enud. A friend] A friend could have abused tbe dead man's secret and opened that safe. Ana that friend—what name did be bear? Whom did 31. Ginory wish to designate? Dantin, in spite of Ills sang froid, experieuced a violent temptation to ask the emu what, he meant by those 'words. But the strange sensationwbicb this interview caused him increased. It seemed to him that he bad been there ea long tinge—a very long time since he bad croesed that tbrt:shold--and that this little room, separated from the world like a monk's cell, bad walls thick euough to prevent any one from hearing anything outside. He felt as if :hypnotized by that man, who at first had met him with a pleasant air, and who now bent upon him those hard eyes. Something doubtful, like vague danger, surrounded him, menaced him, and be eneebauically followed the ges- tare which M. Weary made as he touch- ed the ivory button of au electric bell as if on tbis gesture depended some event of his life. A guard entered. M. Ginory :said to him in n short tom,', "Have the notes been brought?" "M. Beruardet has just brought them to me, M. le Juge." "Give them to me." He then added, "IS M. Bernardet here?" "Yes, hi. le Jnge." "Very well." Jacques Dantin remembered the little man with whom he had talked in the journey from the house of death to the tomb, where he had heard some one can "Bernardet." He did not know at the time, but the name had strnok him. Why did his presence seem of so much importance to this examining magis- trate? And he looked in his turn at M. Ginory, who, a little nearsighted, was bending his head, with its sandy hair, its bald forehead, on which the veins stood out like cords, over his notes, which had been brought to him; inter- esting notes, important, without doubt, for, visibly satisfied, M. Ginory allowed a word or two to escape him: "Good! Yes—yes—fine! Ah, ale! Very good!" Then suddenly Dantin saw Ginory raise his head and look at him, as the saying is, in the w.iite of the eyes. He waited a moment before speaking and suddenly put this question, thrust at Dantin like a knife blow: "Are you a gambler, as I find?" The question made Jacques Dantin fairly bound from his chair. A gambler! Why did this man ask him if he was a gambler? What had his habits, his cue. toms, his vices even, to do with, this cane for which he had been cited—to do with Revere's murder? "Yon are a gambler," continued the examining magistrate, casting from time to time a keen glance toward his notes. "One of the inspectors of gambling dens paw you lose at the Cercle des Publioistes 85,000 francs in one night." "It is possible. The only important point is that I paid them." The response was short, crisp, showing a little irrita- tion and stupefaction. "Assuredly, " said the judge. "But yon have no fortune. You have recently borrowed a considerable sum from the usurers in order to pay for somelosses et the Bourse." Dantin became very pale, his lips quivered and his hands trembled. These signs of emotion did not escape the eyes of M. Ginory nor the registrar's. "Is it froxn your little notes that you have learned all that?" he demanded. "Certainly, "M. Ginory replied. "We have been seeking for some hours for acourate information concerning you; started a sort of diary or rough draft of your biography. You are fond of pleas- ure, . You are seen, in spite of your age —I pray you to pardon me; there is no malice in the remark; Iam older than your -everywhere where is found the fa- mons Tout Paris which amuses itself. The easy lite is the most difficult for those who have no fortune. And, accord- ing to these notes—I refer to them again—of fortune you bave none." "That is to say," interrupted Dantin brusquely, "it would be very possible that, in order to obtain money for my needs, in order to steal the feuds in his ircn safe, I would assassinate nay Weed?" M. theory did not allow lailnself to display: any emotion at the insolent tone of these swards, which had burst forth alnsest like a cry. He looked Dannon full in the face, and with itis bands ertened upon his notes he said; "Monsieur, in a clatter of criminal investigation a magistrate euger for the truth aaurht to admit that anything is possible, even probable, but in this ease I ought to recognize the fact that yon have not helped nze in nay task, A wit - nese finds you tete-a-tete with the vic- tim and surprises your trouble at the moment ^when you are examining Bo- vere's pa •ers. I ask what it was that happen,d netweeu you. You reply Clint that is your secrer, and for exlilanatiou you give me.yuur word of honor that le had nothing whatever to do with the mauler. Yen would yourself think that I was very foolish if I insisted any len- gar, True. there was no trace of any violence, in the apartment, whatever saaistreetiozz may have been matle ,noes the Fele. It, appears that you are in a la^ -:tion VI know the combination. It ul^;neeara Wee that you are certainly in nettl of money, as clearly .known as it is passible to leant in a hurried iuquiry such as bas been made while you have been here. 1 question you, I let you know what you ought to 1vuow, and you #iy into a passion, ,dud, note well, it is you yourself, in your anger and your violence, who speak first the word of which I have not pronounced a syllable. It is you vim Have jumped straight to a !coital conclusion of the suppositions, which are gill defective, without doubt, but are not the lese suppositious. Yes, it is you who say that with a little log - lo one can certainly accuse you of the murder of the one 'whom yon called your Mend." Each word brought to Dentin's face an weever atfrightened expression, and the more slowly 31. Ginory spoke the more measured his words, etepbasizing his verbs -with a sort of professienel habit, as a surgeon teaches a wound with a steel iustrument, the questioned man, put through a sharp cross exam. - ]nation, experienced a frightful auger, a strong internal struggle, which made the blood rush to his ears and ferocious lightnings dart through his eyes, "It is easy, moreover," continued 31. Ginory in n paternal tone, "for you to reduce to nothingness all these supposi- tious, and the smallest expression in re- gard to the role which you played iu your last interview with Revere would put everything right." "Ab, nlu- ~ we go back to that?" "Certeittly. we must go back to that. 1 The whole question lies there. Yce-, come to an examining magistrate ar' tell him that there is a secret; you speak of a third person, of recollections of youth, of moral debts, and you are as- tonished that the judge strives to wrest the truth from you?" "I have told it." "Tho whole truth?" "It has nothing to do with Revere's murder, and it would injure some ono who knows nothing about it, I have told you so. I repeat it." "Yes," said M. Ginory, "you hold to your enigma. Ob, well, I, the magis- trate, demand that you reveal the truth to me 1 I command you to tell it." The registrar's pen ran over the paper and trembled as if it scented a storm. The psychological moment approached. The registrar knew it well, tbat mo- ment, and the word which the magis- trate would soon pronounce would be decisive. A sort of struggle began in Dantin's mind. One saw his face grow haggard, bis eyes change their expression. He looked at the papers upon which M. Gi- nory laid his fat and hairy hands—those police notes which gossiped, as peasants say, in speaking of papers or writing which they cannot read and which de- nounce them. He asked himself what more would be disclosed by those notes of the police agents of the scandals of the club, of the neighbors, of the por- ters. He passed his hands over his fore- head as if to wipe off the perspiration or to ease away a headache. "Come, now, it is not very difficult, and I have the right to know," said M. Ginory. After a moment Jacques Dan - tin said in a strong voice, "1 swear to you, monsieur, that nothing Revere "It 2s possible," said Dentin. "It seemas. to resemble me." said to me when I saw him the last time could assist justice in any way whatsoever, and 1 beg of yon not to question me further about it." "Will you answer?" "I cannot, monsieur." "The moreyou hesitate themore rea- son you give me to think that the cone- munication would be grave." Very grave; but it has nothing to do with your investigation." "It's not for you to outline the du- ties of any limits or, my rights. Once more I order you to reply." "I cannot." "You will not." "I cannot," brusquely said, tbe man run to earth, with auacceutof violence. The duel was finished. X. Ginory began to Laugh, or rather there was a nervous contraction of his mouth and Ms sanguine faee wore a scoffing look, while a mechanical move- ment of leis massive jaws made him re- semble a 'bulldog about to bite, "Then," said he, "the situation is a very simple one, aucz you taste come to the ezzd of my task. a derstaud?" "Perfectly," said Jaeques paw!. with the impulsive anger of a main iv, stumbles over tut article which he Ii., left there himself, "You still refuse to reply?" "I refuse. I, came here as a witness, I have nothing to reproach myself witb especially as 1 have nothing to fear. Yet!must do whatever you choose to do," Call," Said the magistrate, "change a citation for appearance to a citation for retzlation. I will ask you once more"-.., "Ir is useless," intetrrnpted Dantin "An a :,a: eat, I! What folly! Rovere'; ,moor,! e1=r!! It et ams as if I were dreaen- ing le is alesa,d, absurd, absurd!" ""Tareree* to me that it is absurd in truth. Do you not with to reply?" "I bav, teal you all I ]tallow." "Ent you have said nothing, of what I have demanded of you," "IC is raet Illy secret." "Yes; there is your system. It is fre. queue, it is common. It is that gsf all the amend." "Am I already accused?" asked Dan - tin ironically, 3L Ginory was silent armament; then, slowly taking from the drawer of ids desk some paper upon which Dantin could disceru no writing this time, but some figures, eugraved in black ---he know not what they were --the magis- trate held them between his Augers so as to show them. He swung them to and fro, and the papers rustled like dry. leaves. He seemed to attach great value to these papers, wbieh the registrar looked at from a corner of his eye, guess- ing that they were the photographic proofs which bad been taken, "I beg of yon to examine these proofs," said the magistrate to Dautin. 1I0 held them out to hien, and Dantin spread them on the table (there were four of then!). Then be put on bis eye- glasses in order to see better. "What is that?" he asked. "Look carefully," replied the magis- trate. Dantin bent over the proofs, ex - endued them one by one, divined rather than saw in the picture, which was a little hazy, the portrait of a man, a ad upon close examination began to seo the specter a vague resemblance. "Do yon not sae that this picture bears a resemblance to you?" This time Dantin seemed the prey of some nightmare, and his eyes searched 3F. Ginory's face with a sort of agot.y. The expression struck Ginory. tete would have said that a ghost had sud- denly appeared to Dantin. "You say that it resembles me?" "Yes. Look carefully. At first the portrait is vague, On closer examination it comes out from the halo whioh sur- rounds it, uud the person who appears there bears your air, your features, your characteristics"— "It is possible," said Dantin. "It seems to resemble me. It seems as if I were looking at myself in a pocket mir- ror. But what does that signify?" "That signifi— Oh, I am going to astonish you. That signifies"— M. Gi- nory turned toward his registrar. "You saw the other evening, Favarel, the ex- periment in which Dr. Ondin showed us the heart and lungs performing their funotionsin the thorax of a living man, made visible by the Roentgen rays. Well. This is not any more miraculous. These photographs" (he turned now to- ward Dantin) "were taken of the reti- na of the dead man's eye. They are the reflection, the reproduction of the im- age implanted there, the picture of the last living being contemplated in the agony, the last visual sensation which the unfortunate man experienced. The retina has given to us—as a witness— the imuge of the living person seen by the dead man for the last time." A deep silence fell upon the three men in that little room, where one of them alone lost his foothold at this strange revelation. For the magistrate it was a decisive moment, when all had been said, when the man, having been questioned closely, jumps at the fore. gone conclusion. As for the registrar, however blase he may have become by these daily experiences, it was the de. oisive momeut, the moment when the line drawn from the water the fish is landed, writhing on the hook. Jacques Dantin, with an instinctive movement, bad rejeoted, pushed back on the table those photographs which burned his fingers, like the cards in which some fortune teller has decipher- ed the signs of death. "Well?" asked M. Ginory. "Well," repeated Dantin in a stran- gled tone, either not oomprehending or comprehending too mnoh, struggling as if under the oppression of a nightmare. "How do you explain how your face, your shadow if you prefer, was found reflected in Revere's eyes, and that in his agony this was probably what he saw—yes, saw bending over him?" Dantin oast a frightened glance around the room and asked himself if he was not shut up in a maniac's cell, if the question was real, if the voice he heard was not the voice of a dream. "How can I explain? But I cannot explain, 1 do not understand,I do not know—it is madness, it is frightful, it is foolish!" "But yet," insisted M. Ginory, "this folly, as you call it, must have some ex planation." "What do you wish to have me say I do not understand; I repeat, I do not understand. " "What if yon do not? You cannot deny your presence in the bons° atthe moment of Revere's death"— " -Why cannot I deny it?" Dantin in- terrupted. "Because the vision is there, hidden. hazy, in the retiva; because this photo graph, in which yon recognize yourself. deuouuces, points out, your presence at the moment of the last agony." (To xE CONTtWED,J Inopportune Deaths. ,Ialins Caesar was assassinated when. he had almost completed the task of consolidating the administration and dominion of the Retinae empire, end his death opened the way to that despotism and corruption which el innately undid his Work. Henry of Navarre was killed when he bad almost healed the differ- ences between Catholic and Protestant, which subsequeutly rent not only France, but Europe, and William the Silent also fell when be was on the point of uniting the Netherland prov- inces into a compact barrier against the encroachments of :pain. In English history Lord Clive died. at the moment when be was the one man wino could have saved the American ,colonies and kept the Auglo-Saxony race united, but there is the ease of Mire - beau. He was literally the one man in Prance who could have averted the hor- rors of the revolutiou, saved and re formed the monarchy and so spared Eu- rope tbe murderous career of Napoleon and all the devastation it brought. If be bad lived ten or even five years longer, tbe History met only of France, but of Europe and the world, would have been different. It is in feet suil'n- oient to say that he would have made both Robespierre and blapaleou iznpos- sible.—Strand Magazine. Pelican and Durk In a Duel. In Kew gardens, in the presence of a considerable number of spectators, as affair of honor was settled between a pelican and a deck, The birds bad bad words together, so to speak, and tbe pelican determined that the next best thing to snaking the duck eat his words was to eat the duck. So, after a little thrust and parry on the water, be made for the smaller bird and snapped it into his pouch. Then a battle royal began inside the pouch of the pelican. The duck strut;. geed, kicked, quacked and occasionally managed to get a leg or a wing outside, while his captor threw his beak high in the air, then dipped it into the water, and kept it there, as if trying to suf- foeate or drown its enemy. From the look of the agitated pouch it seemed as if the contestleas by no means one sided, but that the pelican was lnaviugrather II rough time. At last the duck got his head and one wing out, and then, with a magnificent' effort, managed to get entirely free Once again on the water, the duck de• cliued further combat and Sed, while.. the pelican romeilned, looking as if honor were thoroughly satisfed.—LoudonTel- egraph. Loving Cup Proprieties. I have not seen any loving cap passed that is true to its name. The loving our originated as a !matter of precaution in olden times, whcoi apparent friends had nu unpleasant method of killiug a friend who was a rival while he was drinking. So an immense heavy oup was made with a heavy cover. Tho method of using it can still be witnessed at banquets at the Mansion House in London. The person receiving it stands and turns to his neighbor, who also rises and takes the cover with both hands. The first person then raises the heavy cup to his lips with both hands, and, having sipped of the contents, holds it while the friend at his side replaces the cover and takes the cup, repeating tie same process in turn with his next neighbor. Thus, both hands being occu- pied, there is no possibility of one friend stabbing another. In our time the onstone has degener- ated, and the cover, as a rule, disap. peered. Nevertheless if both hands were occupied that would not prevent tongue: from waggiug later, and words are sometimes sharper than swords.—Phil. adelphia Times. ]line Stockings. According to an English magazine the appellation "blue stockings" originated in the dress of a Benjamin Stillingfleet grandson of the bishop, as he used to appear at the parties of Mrs. Montague in Portman square. He used to general- ly wear blue worsted stockings, and he was a very amiable and entertaining man. Whenever he was absent from Mrs. Montague's evening parties, as his conversation was very interesting, the company used to say, " We can do noth ing without the blue stockings." By de- grees the assemblies were called "blue stocking clubs" and learned people "bine stocking&" Excessive CoRee Drinking. The Moors are inveterate coffee drink- ers, especially the merchants, and they sit in their bazaars and drink continu- ously the whole day long. It has been noticed that almost invariably, when these coffee drinkers reach the age of 40 or 45, their eyesightbegins to fail, and by the time they get to be 50 they be. come blind. .One <is forcibly impressed by the number of blind men seen about the streets of the city of Fez, the capital of Morocco, and this is invariably at- tributed to the excessive use of coffee. New York Ledger. The Transformed Pythagorean. Some undergraduates once wished to play a practical joke upon a man who was a ,disciple of Pythagoras, so one day when he was a little sleepy by reason of the amount of brandy and soda that he had imbibed his friends smeared hie with honey and rolled him in the in side of a feather bed. When the disoipe of Pythagoras got up in the morning be looked in the looking glass - at bin, self and said slowly, with a whistle "Bird, by Jo"el"--London Figaro. 'Nb G ;WIDER CLIMATE FOLD STORAGE, valuable Notes by Professor F; William Bane of New Ha1npa10re. "The important question of supply and demand does not seem to be studied by the average agrioulturist as much at present as must needs be in the future. We are aware that the business of farming is of necessity changing to comply with the great ruling factors al- ready mentioned, together with the vitalquestion of cost of production. We also must recognize the advantages coming from these changes, one of which is cold storage, At present cold storage must be considered a great bless- ing to the country et large. Different sections of the country are of course differently affected. Where it is of ben- efit to one it may seem to be of detri- ment to another. Cold storage where systematically conducted would tend. toward making various motions more: self sustaining." 50 says Professor F. William Rano of the New Hampshire Agricultural col- lege in an address read before the So cloy For the Promotion of Agricultural Science. After enumerating methods of cold storage that are ill general use Pro. fessor Bane offers some notes upon a more simple and less expensive system which he thinks Blight be termed "veli- mate cold storage," and which consists in studying and husbanding the lowest temperature of oue'sclimate to do ape's bidding. Some extracts from these are as follows; There are few days at a stretch from September until late in spring, in New England, for instance, but that tbe tem. perique fails at some time suffloiently to utilize it for cold storage. Being pre- pared to retain this temperature in cel- lars or buildings constructed for the purpose until a similar or lower tem- perature is again realized is the key to its success. From experience it is be- lieved this simple method can with comparatively little care and expense be made more useful at present (in this our transitory stage) than all others. The ordivary house collar or portion of a barn cellar will answer for the stor- age room if the simple prinoiples of construction for the retention of dry. cold air as well as a proper system of ventilation aro cousidered. We commenced building a room for cold storage about the middle of Decem- bor, taking three 15 foot beats on the north side of the barn cellar. Wo first dug a trench about a foot deep whore the partition was to run. Into this trench was set the lower ends of the studding, spiking the upper ends to the floor timbers. Two by 6 inch joist was used for studding. This, with an inch on eaoh side for sheathing, made a partition eight inches thick. We then put down into the trench two planks, one on either side of the studding, letting the upper edge come just to the top of the ground. The top edge was leveled and then nail- ed to the studding. The earth was then trampled in ou the outside planks, In this way we secured a good firm bottom to the partition, with uo possible chance for the air to get in. We next put in the ventilators, which are the most important things to the system. The fact that the cold storage room was on the north of the cellar made it necessary to run the ventilator across the cellar. This was done by dig- ging a trench deep enough to admit a plank spout 12 inches square, to be cov- ered with six inches of dirt. Just out- side the cellar we connected on a vertical spout which came up about four feet above the top of the ground. The top of this was a trap which will admit the air and at the same time keep out the storm. Inside the cold storage room an- other vertical spout came up about a foot above the top of the ground, with a damper to shut off the draft when de- sired. Thus we had a good counection with the pure air outside. To complete the ventilation we made on the north side, about midway from eaoh end of the house, another ventilator of the same size, but made of matched pine boards, which extended to the roof of the barn. This is also fitted with a damper, so tbat the room may be closed and kept entirely free from connection with the outside air. The partition and ceiling are sheathed up on both sides of the timbers and the space between the sheathing filled in with fine shavings packed"as hard as possible. For a door we made a 2% by 634 feet bevel door, w hich was sheathed on each side and filled with dry shavings. This makes a perfectly tight fitting door. The cost of the cold storage room, in- cluding lumber and work, was $80, a figure whioh is within the reach of all. The system was found to work very well. Theyear of 1896 was an extraor- dinary one for apples, and when the crop was gathered it was impossible to sell them for enough to cover the cost of picking. About 300 barrels were put into the cold storage room. We exam- ined some of the barrels from time to time ani found them in :excellent con- dition. The percentage of decay from the time M picking until March was only 6.2 per Dent. The last of March the apples were sold on the spot, ones and twos together for 75 cents a barrel, a very fair price considering the abun- dance of the crop. The cost of keeping the apples was nothing, except the time required for packing them and the lit- tle trouble of turning the barrels and looking after the ventilators. The pota- toes that were raised from .the test of varieties at the station were also stored in the house and kept perfectly. Famous English Apples.. English gardeners have found no ap- ple to supersede the old Ribaton Pippin in popularity. This and Blenheim Orange and Cox's Orange Pippin they egard as their three best, says Meehan. EVILS OF OVERFEEDING. Ope of the Greatest Dani;ere of Poultry Raising, Aside from the lice pest, there is no greater hindrance to poultry raising than overfeeding adult fowls. My frieud who raises Leghorns may take exceptions to this, and I am willing to grout thein, for there is but little dan- ger with that variety. They oat, like wild birds, a few kernels and then take plenty of exercise. There is about as much danger of overfeeding a robin as the wily active Legborns. The big phlegmatic Cochin, the Brahma and the Plymouth Rock, which find plenty to eat without effort, settle back like fat aldermen and decline to make any effort to catch worms or hugs, but grow fat inside and tumble off the perch with apoplexy, which the poultry keeper calls cholera. Perhaps the corncrib door is left open, and they have a chance to gorge themselves, and a packed crop follows, or there may not be a sharp gravel stone on, the place, if the poultry run has been picked over by preceding gen- erations of fowl% and they cannot di- g, st their food, and a vile smelling bowel disease follows. This is sure to be called cholera unless long experience hes made the poultryman wise or he is observing by nature. Plenty of sharp grit, plenty of clean cold water, green fond and animal food in the form of bugs and worms, but not a kernel of grain will be the bill of fare for the Rocks not sitting or con- fined until late, when a little extra attention will enable them to pass the molting period safely and be ready for business when eggs are high. Once a mouth in summer will bo none too often to apply insect powder to adult fowls, and the egg supply will be increased thereby. Kerosene on the perches twice a week well poured into every crack and crevice will help to banish mites, The entire lower portion of the fowl's body should be well rubbed with pow- der, as the lower side sometimes fur. ziishes barker for enormous nests of lige while tbe upper portion is comparative- ly 'free. An etamivatiouis troublesome, but it is the only effective way to get rid of the pests. In what condition aro the bodies of your dens? Take a good look before you sleep and you may know if they are rolling in fat or cover- ed with lice if they have yellow combs instead of red and are not lousy, that enlarged liver may be present resulting from heavy feeding or lack of grit and exercise. It is a good time to look the flock over before the cry of cholera cones, as summer often brings an epi. dewio of that disease.—Ohio Farmer. Pullets as Users. There is no doubt that pullets are much more profitable as layers than old fowls. It is often wise to keep old hens because of their good qualities as breed ing stock, when they are fine in color, shape, size, oto., but tbcy are hardly ever profitable from the standpoint of the egg basket for market purposes. It is often well also to keep some matronly old "biddies" that arereliable as moth- ers for chicks, for the pullets are apt to be "young and thoughtless" and will have a disposition to neglect maternal duties, but as layers simply a pen of pullets is not very far from twice as productive as the same number of old hens, and on the fan» where egg pro- duction is sought for no hen should be kept longer than two years unless for some other reason than her egg produc- tion. Another point in connection with egg production should also be borne in mind, and that is that only winter pro- duotion pays. The time may comeas it appears to be coming in dairying, when the prices for winter and summer will be more nearly equalized, but just now it is the winter egg that brings a price, while the summer egg does not repay the cost of production, even though the cost of production in sum- mer be small. Observance of these two points—pullets as layers, and more at- tention to winter production—will go far to make egg production profitable. —Homestead. Green Food. Fowls closely confined in bare yards, unless they are furnished plenty of green food in summer, usually soon present an unsightly appearance. They are apt to commence feather plucking. Yarded fowls should be liberally sup- plied every day with green food of some kind. On. the farm there is not much excuse for keeping fowls confined in small yards. Where itis done the farm affords every opportunity for securing an abundance of green food, also varied in kind. The weeds from the garden, and, later on, the radish tops, early cabbage and beet leaves, should always be given to hens. The sweepings of the haymow, especially if the bay contains clover,. will be an excellent substitute for greens. This waste contains too mnoh dust and dirt to be utilized for feeding to other live stock, but contains nutri- ment that is especially valuable to hens that are confined in close yards. —Bos- ton Cultivator_ Valuable Experiments.' One of the best steps taken et the state university for years has been the building up of poultry houses and equip- ping of an extensive plant. Now let ex- periments be made, not to determine the relative value of breeds, but of types and foods. We are pleased to note that ex- periments are to be carried forward to determine individual production and then by selecting the best layers and breeding from there ascertain ` how much can be done in .increasing the powers of the egg machine. This is hel Pt service ul vice and will ' be watched with interest. ,In Professor Gowen we have the right man for this work; and The Farmer wishes him success. -- Maine Farmer. Eat Cockerels. As soon as the cockerels get large enough to eat begin on them. They make a most wholesome food and aro worth as much to the farmer as to the people in the city.