HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1920-4-8, Page 2The "Quality" Char ;a to o
this brand h . s an
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eer,f
ATrial Packet will bring speedy. conviction
BUDDY THE MASCOT
By MEADE iVIINNIGRODE.
PART h
Buddy stood before a tree in the
middle of a broad space of grass,
gravely inspecting a brightly colored
poster.
Buddy was ten years old. He was
very freckled, his hair was straw-
colored, and his eyes were blue. He
stood resolutely on two rather grimy
bare feet. Seen from in front he ap-
peared to be clad solely in a large
pair of blue overalls. Seen from the
rear, it developed that his costume
was further enriched by a faded,
sleeveless jersey. He had a novo
which continually pointed skyward,
he had a mouth set in curves of the
gravest solemnity, and his gaze was
ane of constant wide-eyed speculation.
He rather looked like an angel. Of
coarse, he was not an angel at all, but
people often mistook him for one.
netuahy rruauy was a ausiness man,
but we must not pry into the nature
of his business until we know him
better.
The space of grass. in which he
stood was enclused by ivy -,.'lad Gothic
buileinMs in stately rows. In one
corner a spire rose above thetrees.
At the other end a vaulted passage,
led to :i. great bronze gateway. Across
th aeress, like cracks in a window -
pence r n little ton e-ataerged rattle.
A:nn..• the four borders of the groes
theta recr, a Bence with square, flat-
tr:np•xl post., and double wooden rails.
Tee . treet cars that came to this
pin,e were marked •'Co ipus."
All these thing's were very familiar
to Buddy, and he thought very little
o, them. But the posters fascinated
him. Every year, as far back as he
toted remember, along in June, these
Testers had appeared. Most of them
bore numerals in tremendous type,
and the word "Reunion." One by one,
in the night, they blossomed forth,
and Buddy knew that they signified
the coming of joyous throngs, and the
blare of bands, processions and ben-
aers. and the costumes. Ah, those
testrntes! Green and yellow clowns,
and pigtailed Ch:nnmen, and Jack
Canucke, alai firemen, and sailors, and
once ct :oarless. dancing crowd of sing-
ing pirates, with a ship that ran on
wheels, and a cannon, There had 'pen
joy enough to last a year at the eight
of them. And then there was a day
when all the bands played at once,
and they all marched away to a field
somewhere. And in the late after-
noon, with the sunset at their backs,
they all ease tramping home through
the dusty, crowded streets, and one
was able sometimes to march for a
block or so with one of the bands, and
even pick up a hat or a sword, And
if they all laughed and said. "We:
wen!" as they went by. it meant that
in the evening there would he torch-
light parades and fireworks on the
broad space of grass.
Duddy had not the faintest idea
what it was all about, but it was ex-
traordinarily pleasant to watch those
laughing fellows in their costumes
every year. and the brass bands mad°
him feel delightfully jumpy inside, so
that sometimes he almost forgot hie
business.
But to make things absolutely per-
fect he understood that they must win
out there at the field, because only
then would there be fireworks, Last
year, and the year before, there had i
been no fireworks, But this year—
oh, this year there must be fireworks.
They were eminently desirable for:
their own sake, and after all. it is per-
missible to be an idealist as web as
a business man. At the age of ten
sometimes a brass hand will interfere 1
terribly with one's .business.
So Buddy scanner' the posters as
though hoping to find some promise
of skyrockets sarong them. And sud-e
denly he noticed that that broad space
of grass was being invaded from all
sides. There were shouts and out-
cries, loud peals of laughter, and the
sound of feet running along the stone -
flagged paths, A medley of bright
colors flashed by in the sunlight, The,
costumes had come! Budcly abandoned
the posters and -transferred• his atten-'
tion to the new arrivals. They were
swarming in now. In twos and fives
and twenties. Here a long bee of
clowns were dancing around in a ring.
Over there a rote of jockeys were
running races on little wooden horses.
Some hilarious Turks were riding
madly up and down in a delivery
wagon. At the far end a gang of
convicts were playing leap -frog with
some very unorthodox Crusaders,
Somewhere hi the distance a band be-,
gan to play.
Buddy very carefully stood on his
head in the grass. The posters were
there, the costumes had conte, bands
were playing --and he was only ten
years old! Then he sat down rather
maidenly, arms and lege apart. This
year there must be fireworks, and
was that burliness of his o at-
tend to,
u
that hehr,
I was then t t ..aw them for
t
the first time. They were Highland-
ers with splendid tartans and funny
little caps with ribbons, Their bare
knees shone in the alit, and they car-
ried jaunty little carie. It seemed to
Dailey that they were the finest cos -
turves he had ever seen. They had
E just arrived, and were all tramping
by, singing something at the top of
their lungs about ".. .Bangl Bang!
1 Bang! And we'll fire off the fireworks
to -night!" Buddy clapped his hands
together. This was a happy omen..
These fellows knew all about it evi-!
dently. Buddy cast a last appraising'
;look at the hilarious Turks, then pat
tered off after the Highlanders.
They were all filing through a door -I,
way into a big room full of seats, row;
after row ris,ng from the floor, facing
a platform and a blackboard. Muddy'
had never seen a room like that be-
fore. As the Last of them passed in,I
Buddy managed to squeeze himself in
after him and concealed himself in a.
corner. They were all far too busy'
laughing at each other to pay any at -1
tendon to him. Far a while they did:
nothing hut sing and stamp their feet
nn the wooden floor. Once or twice;
Buddy tentatively stamped his own to
see what fun there might be in it, but
his bare soles made no noise, and it
seemed foolish to hini. He hoped they
would say something soon about the
ilreworks.
Then a great strapping fellow got
up on the pletfornr, and they all yelled
like mads The din in the echoing room
was terrific, and Buddy clapped his
hands for sheer joy at the noise. The
big fellow waved Ids arms at them,
and they all began to shout something
very fast. Buddy knew what that
was. That was a cheer, They always
cheered when they had fireworks.
Buddy came out of bis corner and
went to the edge of the platform. The
fellow up there had begun to talk.
"Conte on now," he was shouting;
"Got to learn this class song. Got to
have fireworks to -night!" Buddy be-
gan to clamber up on to the platform.
"Haven't had any for two years. This
' le the big year and this is the big
song that's going to do it. Every
time we sing it out teem this after-
: noon we're going to make a run—"
He was interrupted by the crowd.
"Hey, who's the Meer they were
shouting at him. "Throw him out!"
"Beat itkid, beat it!"
The big Highlander looked down
' and saw Buddystanding beside him.
Such a ferny little boy do blue over-
alls, and very frightened the he seem-
ed in the midst of the din.
"Make him lead the song," the
crowd was demanding, and the big
fellow laughed.
"Hello, kid!" he said. "Don't get
scared. Want to lead the song?" He
had nice eyes and he was smiling. The
big hand on Buddy's shoulder was
gentle. Buddy smiled back at him.
"Sure, mister," he said; "an' then
you'll tell about the fireworks?"
"Never mind about the fireworks,"
the other laughed, "they'll cone later.
Got to learn this song first. Go on,
you stand up there and lead them!"
He put a cane in Buddy's hand and
pushed him to the edge of the plat-
form.
"There you are," he said. "You:
just wave the cane and make them
sing with you. Come on, boys, watch
the kid! All right, one, two, three—"1
They began to sing and the chorus
came swelling up to hint as he stood 1
there solemnly waving his cane, a
:lonely little figure in his bare feet
and overalls.
The big fellow turned to a friend
on the platform.
"Look at the kid," he said, "Having
the time of his life. He'll talk about
this for days. Cute -looking young-
ster."
Buddy could not understand the
song, but he knew when they came
to the Bang! Bang! Bang! part and
stamped his feet. The erowd went
wild. Buddy went right on without a
stop, ami they began again, good-
naturedly. Three times through they
sang it for him, and then they stop-
ped, out of breath. Buddy looked em-
barrassed. He was still waving his
cane, but they had had enough. He
looked at them hopefully—wistfully,
had he known the meaning of the
word, It was all over. He looked
batik at his friend and then again at
the class. Suddenly, in the lull, the
little quavering voice rang out:
" ...Bangl Bang! Bang! And we'll
fere off the fireworks to -night!"
Buddy was singing the class song,
(To be continued,)
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11l1
1-1(pio-17
The Coon of Curiosity
Nature has filled the child with
curiosity for a purpose. 1t is just
as essential to the growing mind as is
hunger to the eturdlness of the body.
Parents who would not think of re-
fusing food to the hungry youngsters
often thoughtlessly deny to the devel-
oping intellect the very element upon
which it thrives.
The young mind demands its right
to grow into a kaowledge and training
that will make life worth while. This
ever-present demand is in the form of
curiosity; and because of its persist-
ence, parents, burdened with other
cares, are many tines harrassed into
denying it,
It is the parents whose child lacks
this natural tendency, who should wor-
ry, If theeir child possesses not that
eager, questioning voice, trembling
forever on the brink of some great
unknown mystery, as thrilling to him
as are some of the big unsolved ques-
tions that perplex and lure us grown-
ups; if this be true, then these parents
have cause for real alarm, A child
without curiosity is mentally sick;
and should he grow up without gain-
ing this gift to pry, he is deemed to a
life of inferiority.
Happily most children are supplied
with an abundance of this quality.
Scarcely two months of their life has
passed before this trait is reflected in
the gleam of intelligence that posses -
es the baby eye. From then on till
maturity it assumes a multitude of
shifting, tantalizing forms that have
hidden beneath a system which, puzz-
ling as it may seem, will if encourag-
ed, work marvelous results when the
child reaches adulthood.
Nor need parents have a knowledge
of the by -ways of child psychology in
order to bestow the greatest benefits
on their children. They have only to
follow the course that nature has viv-
idly marked out. Whatever the child's'
curiosity leads let the parent follow;
and if that curiosity be running in
wholesome channels, supply the
craved for information, or if unat-
tainable frankly tell him so.
True, this requires an expenditure
of patience; but parents will be re-
paid, knowing that ,they are rapidly
building a foundation which is stable
because of sound training and correct
information.
Nature has not intended that a child
shall always exercise curiosity solely
for the knowledge of the moment. No
matter how trivial and useless the in-
formation sought may seem, the par-
ent has but to remember that the
youngster is keeping bright for future
use that tool—curiosity—which is the
only instrument that will open an av-
enue to his brain. It is through this
trait alone that he learns, and this is
the only means by which he will ever
learn; consequently the effort he puts
forth is worth far more in training for
later life than in the small amount of
knowledge he might gain,
There comes a time in every child's
Life, about the age of three or four,
when nothing but question marks fall
from the lips. All their sentences
seem to be equipped with an initial
"why." Many of them are unanswer-
able and appear to be asked just for
the pleasure of asking, Parents are
often puzzled as to just what attitude
to assume, The writer has known
parents to become humiliated at the
inquisitiveness of their child. Instead
they should have been proud. These
questions were but the sign of a bril-
liant mind in the making, They had
behind them the driving power of men-
tal growth. The child was utterly
unable to restrain them,
This probing trait is found in the
youngster at every turn. The child
that begs to help at grown-up work,
even for a moment, is longing to sat-
isfy that subtle power. They have a
curiosity to know how it goes to peel
potatoes, piek cherries, or cook a cake,:
It is work of nature storing up for
them rich experiences,
The child that has the fortitude to
peer into silent recesses, explore a
cave, or climb the highest tree is so;
urged by nature that he might develop
a courage to do the big things of
later life.
Because of the varying succession
of outlets that curiosity employs, par-
ents are apt to slight this important
trait and think it but a passing whim,
It is natural that the activity of yes-
terday should be discarded for the one
of to -day; for the small mind has ab-
sorbed all that is new and moves on
to some fresh object. In time, how-
ever, after it has grown by further
experience, it will return to the old
and will then comprehend features it
could not grasp before.
Concerning Domestic Affairs
Boil celery stalks with your Cab-
bage, Two or three will be sufficient
for a head of cabbage, The celery
improves the flavor of the cabbage
and lessens its odor.
Maple sugar sauce is timely, It
requires one-third of a cupful of
butter and one cupful of maple sugar.
Dream the butter and gradually add
the maple sugar. Form into halls
over
and chill thoroughly, hl , Serve o v
steamed rice for dessert,
A whole meal in one dish: Fry
slightly a thick slice of ham, cover
thickly 'with raw potatoes, sliced thin;
season with a little salt and pepper,
epreneie with grated cheese c ever
whole with milk and bake in a mos: n
• ate oven for an hour and a halt'.
'erve with corn bread and cabbage
salad,
! Many peo;.le have the habit of tell-
' ing and re -telling the mishaps of the
1 east, They seem never to be ,able to
let bygones be bygones. Long stories
of struggle and sickness roll off their
tongues as though they enjoyed the
thought of unpleasant experiences,
When we learn clearly the old, "Suffie-
'!ent unto the day is the evil thereof,"
we will be prepared to do our life
work sweetly and to some fine pur-
pose.
Hew have your children liked their
cold, sometimes frozen and usually un-
appetizing school lunches this winter?
Have you thrived on them? Wouldn't
you feel more content and less selfish
as you sit down to your good hot
dinner at noon if you knew your boys
and girls were also getting something
hot to eat? Not only would you be
happier, but your children would do
better school work, would grow sturd-
ier and have fewer colds and spells of
sickness if you make the little effort
which is necessary to get a hot school
lunch started. The children will like
it not only because their noon lunch
will taste better, but also because
they can form a school lunch club and
take turns in cooking the hot dish.
It does not require much money and
if there is a will there will always be
a way to get the little equipment that'
is needed.
A Ribbon 3o Gay
It was only a bright gay ribbon the
new teacher revealed when she took
off her coat that rainy morning in the
dingy little schoolroom, but it seemed
.to scatter gathered rays of sunshine
among the assembly of county child-
ren clad in typioal rainy -day gar-
ments. Because of the rain it would
seem that each mother had dressed
her child in his oldest, darkest, least
becoming clothes, with the result that
a gloom seemed cast on the school-
room from within as well as from
without.
But the new teacher was pleasant
to look upon. Her black skirt and
white waist were relieved by the
bright red ribbon tied at her throat,
and the children, noting the addition,
smiled and forgot the rain. Perhaps
the teacher, too, felt the effect of the
bit of color; at any rate, her cheery air
was even more pleasant that morning.
Now, rainy days must come occas-
ionally everywhere, but they need not
be days of gloom. Why send your
children to echool in their drabbest
"duds"? If ever cheerful hues are
needed it is on sunless days. Think of
that when you awake to the patter of
raindrops on your roof. Dress a bit!
more carefully yourself that morning,
think up some especially well -liked
dessert for dinner, don't clutter the:
house with disagreeable odd jobs, but;
endeavor to make the least cheery!
day out of doors the cheeriest of them!
all within. And help the district
teacher keep tihe little minds under
her alert by dressing your children in.
sunny calors, to make up for the ab-
sence of the sun's rays.
. S
The Troublesome Ground -
Hog.
Nearly everybody has heard of the
ground -hog. It is too bad this mar-
mot has to be mentioned as a farm
foe, because farmers have always
placed absolute confidence in his
ability as a weather prophet—so much
so that they almost sacredly looked
for his appearance February 2 each
year,
Unfortunately, as is sometimes the
case with people, unlimited confidence
has made this friend presumptuous.
He is taking far more than Just eom-
pensation for his services as a weath-
er expert. His inroads upon garden
and truck crops are devastating. The
damage due to 111s burrowing in mea-
dows and cultivated fields 1s enorm-
ous, for the burrows hinder farming
operations and often start gullies
down the hillsides.
After pillaging gardens and feasting
indiscriminately on beaus, peas, cu-
cumbers, cabbage, forage crops and
other tender plants during the sum-
mer, it is not surprising that the
ground -hog is able to put on a thick
layer of fat to keep him warm while
he sleeps through the winter until
Candlemas day. His long sleep af-
fords an opportunity to make °rope
and fields safe for next year. Take a
piece of cotton or moss, saturate it
With earbon.bisulphide, place it down
in the burrow and close the openings.
The groundhog will not see his•sltad-
ow on Candlemas day, and according
to the old proverb, which says that in
such cases "Winter is gone for all the.
year," there will be an early spring,
Then the burrows can be filled with
the assurance that they will not be
dug out again.
Her Army,
"There's one thing I've always want-
ed to ask you about your life in
Trance," she said.
Fr
s
s
,
"Yee?" prompted the ex -buck tremu-
lously,
"What lid you anti the colonel usutil-
ly talk about at meal time?" '
Seep Dflnar`d+e LflWneat In the hones,
Kicking Over the Traces.
A man may feel that lie in merely
Jo .r;ing along day after day in rho
shafts, hell up by the harness—•yet to
be a faithful tractor, alone or as a
yokt•foilow, is meritorious, and the ad
J.,rtive "tractable" is soot the worst
th t can be beetowocl. The tractor
pulls, and the tractable is passive and
t nc uresistaut; but whether one leads
et' is led, if the going is in the right
lir,re tlun, all is well.
The world Is not so usefully served
by the suddenly eccentric persons as
by the safe and sane majority. In.
sp!rations and surprielug inventions
are not to be decried, though coinnton-
ly those who have thought out new
things have been pilloried and stock-
' ed. We need those who dare to toll
unwelcome truth, who possess and ex-
press their souls, who speak out with
neither fear nor favor when Clio cru-
' tial hour strikes.
i But those who do the extravagant
and spectacular sort of thing merely
to advertise themselves by "the noble
inoise they make" area different breed,
The great, humane works of relief per-
formed In wartime have by no means
been free from those who masgnerad-
edin the splendid game for the sake
t of headlines and men's praise,
Before we kick over the traces, be-
, fore we abandon the careful routine
I wherein we prove, let us Le circum-
spect and make very sure of what we
I are doing,
! You do not like the work you have,
perhaps. You think it engages the
' least part of you. You believe your
employer has a blind eye on the side
toward your merit. The lament of
being misplaced or not appreciated is
as old as human toll. You look about
j and the labor market seems to bristle
with opportunities, and everywhere
i are hands that becItou. Any place
looks good to you but the ane whore
you happen to be standing. The dis-
tance lends enchantment, and the sin-
ployement and employers seem con-
genial because you do not view them
at close range.
But before you fling yourself out
of your post in a springtime spirit of
insurrection it is wen to bo calm and
consider. Not every change is for the
best. The development of our abili-
ties to their highest and finest estate
comes by steady toil in a poised tran-
quility and not by restlessness.
s
Chinese Buglers.
The rank and file of the Chinese
army can outbugle any army of the
world, Nathaniel Peffner, in writing
of the two buglers to every squad
system of China's doughty fighters,
says:
"One thing the Chinese soldier does
do. He bugles. The one great, in-
satiable, unconquerable passion of;
the Chinese army is bugling. I have
never investigated, but I venture that ,
one out of every three men Las a
bugle, that one out of every two hours
he blows it, and that not one time in
three thousand does he blow it to the
resemblance of any recognizable call
or tune.
"He begins at 3.30 am., he being
now used collectively. Ile plays the
same note, he now being used In-
dividually and each he playing a dif-
ferent note, till 6 am. Then he switch-
es to another. He stops for meals and
for a few hours of sleep—that is an.
"When a regiment moves into a
town foreigners living in It resign
themselves to insomnia. • The Cbinese
don't. Noise to them is one of the
normal and pleasurable phenomena. of
existence, the more deafening the
More pleasurable.
A Smooth skin
in arty weather :---
Wash well in warm water
using absolutely pure soap:
by's wn
Soap
--rinse well—auti dry carefully.
In the interest of
your skin, use
Baby'sOwnSoap.
"Bert for Baby and
Berlfor You."
Sold everywhere.
Albert sorra llmlted,
moa„ a1onWlel,
iso
"But don't jump to conclusions. The
Chinese is no coward. IIe has proved
again and again in his long history
that he can fight, and he w111 so prove
agaiii. Even the professional soldiers
are not cowards, They aro only the
victims of a rotten system, a system
that has corrupted the whole army
down to the lowest private, exactly
as it has the rest of the Chinese goer -
eminent, and everything else it has
touched. Of some units this ie not
true; those are the 'show' units sta-
tioned in Peking and other big cities
where foreigners can see them,"
v
From Salt to Vinegar.
It is a rule with the Mohammedans
to begin a meal with salt and Web
with vinegar. If they begin with salt
they think they will escape tho con-
tagion of 70 diseases. If they finish
with vinegar, their worldly prosperity
will continue to increase.
Minerd's Liniment used by Physicians.
Women administering property in
their own right will be permitted to
vote at the first national election in
Jugo-S'lavia next month.
5h/ % interest
PAYABLE HALF YEARLY I
Allowed on money left with us for
from three to ten years.
Write for Booklet.
The Great West Permanent
Loan Company.
Toronto Office 20 King St. West
COARSE SALT
LAND SALT
Bulk Carlots
TORONTO SALT WORKS
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The Beauty
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parable to the perfect
beauty of your skin and
complexion If you will use
PAINTAND VARNISH
Moan lees frequent painting. Seventy-eight
years of increasing demand has proved the
value of
"The right Paint and Varnish to Paint and Varnish right."
ASK VOUR DEALER
At Y ur Service
Wherever You Live.
The woman in town, or country, has
the same advantage as her sister in
the silty in expert advice from the
beet -known firm of Cleaners and
Dyore in Canada.
Parcels from the country sent by mail
or express receive the same careful
attention as work delivered personally,
Cleaning and Dyeing
ue Clothing or Household Fabrics
' For years, the name of "Parker's" has
signified perfection in this work of
Making old things look like now,
whether persona] garments of even
the most fragile material, or house-
hold curtains, draperies, rugs, eta,
Write to us for further particulars or
send your parcels direct to
,Dye Works Limited
�+� rit1 r• ,tl ,, ,
EXTERMINATE THE
DANGEROUS RAT
VARIOUS METHODS O
KILI.,ING.
Very Effective in Conjunction]
When Concerted Connpaign
is Launched.
The rat le a great nuisance, but not
a necessary one, He can be got rid
of by concerted action and can be
fought and kept within Yimits even
by individual action, If means for
the control of the poet are not taken,
the rat's fecundity, combined with an
increase of his food supply and hiding
places as population becomes denser,
will mast certainly result in his be-
coming nothing less than a nattonai
menace. Indeed, he ie that already
and rats do an incalculable amount of
damage wherever food 1s produced,
stored or transported.
The various means at man's dispos+
al for combatting this cunning and
prolific rodent are:
A. The encouragement of the rat's
natural enemies.
(1) Domestic animals, e.g., eats,
terriers and ferrets.
(2) 'Wild animals, e.g., owls, hawker
snakes, weasels, ata
As to eats, the ordinary pampered
house pet is useless as a rat catcher,
while a semi -wild eat is liable to be
dangerous to game, poultry and small
insectivorous birds. Nevertheless,
the fact that the cat has been associa-
ted with ratan since the days of ancient
Egypt shows that, on the whole, It
lies been found more beneficial than
harmful. Terriers are commonly used
by professional rat catchers and can
be trained to be exceedingly expert.
Female ferrets are used --the males
being too large --to enter the holes
of .rats and either drive them forth
or destroy them there.
Farmers' Friends.
It is strange that, though man har-
hors the cat, he should generally show
such an antipathy to small wild carni-
vore, Few creatures are more bene-
ficial to ratan than the owl Ile preys
principally on rats, mice, gophers,
squirrels and other noxious rodents.
The damage he does to poultry Is
negligible, Even the hawk, though
he does take a chicken occasionally,
sloes infinitely more good than harm.
Only the Sharp -shinned and Cooper's
hawks and the Goshawk aro excep-
tions to this rule, The weasel and his
congeners may indeed worle sad havoc
in a poultry house, yet, if proper pre-
cautions are taken, they can bo ex -
eluded and their bloodthirsty inclina-
tions turned against vermin. As to
snakes, the common species found in
Canada are all non-poisonous. They
certainly destroy many field trice and,
if given a chance, there Is no reason
why they should net be valuable allies
against rats.
B. Traps.
Rats are exceedingly cunning- crea-
tures and no trap nus yet been de-
vised which Itis been Mere than tele-
porarily successful 10 uny one locality.
No doubt many rats ctrl be caught
with them by a slcbful man. bet, as a
means of extermination, they are not
to be seriously depended 00.
C. Poisons, e,g., arsenic, strych-
nine, squills, etc.
Mr. E. G. Boulenger, Curator of
Reptiles, Zoological Gardens, London,
states that, to kill rats, he has obtain-
ed the most satisfactory results with
squill poison, which. in the small
quantities necessary for rat extermina-
tion, is harmless to domestic animals.
It 1s best used by soaking bread in a
solution of the poison nixed with
milk, Barium carbonate, of which lee
to 2 grains Trill a rat, though 10 to 16
grains are harmless to a ehickeu and
100 grains to a clog, is next best. It-
should
t"should bo mixed with tallow and
smeared on bread as it mattes the rats
thirsty. It can be used effectively
with squills. After it has been put
down, bowls with squills and milk
should be placed where the rat will
go to drink.
Other Means of Extermination.
Strychnine is too dangerous for
general use. Phosphorus and arsenic
are also very dangerous, and are less
successful than squills and barium car-
bonate.
Since the war, tho suggestion has
been made that poison gas should be
employed against rats. No doubt this
would prove very effective in confined
spaces, such as cellars and the holds
of ships.
D. Bacterial cultures.
fit Denmark, where a vigorous, na-
tional campaign has been waged
againet rats, a virus discovered
by Dr. Neumann, of Aalborg, has been
found very etltcacious, Cultures of
Neumann's bacillus aro put up in tins
under the name of "ratan," It is
simple to use and has been found to
be an attractive bait, Its harmiese-
;tees to domestic animals has been
denionstrated. Among rats, however,
except in isolated instances, it pro,
duces a. virulent opidemto, with ti very
high mortality. Experiments with
this culture in Scotland, Dermally, and
India ere also reported to ;rave proved
sntlstartery,
Britain exports about two million
pounds worth of furs tacit year.
A single female potato beetle is
capable of producingbotveen 1,800
and 1,900 eggs during its life. During
midsummer it takes a little over a
month for these to develop into adult
beetles. nonce if they are unmolested
they increase in numbers enormously.