The Brussels Post, 1917-9-27, Page 7arm (iop, (�ueries\-
Henry G. Bell
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,;, 'r,E''_ -`yam•'¢.•- w•� a. L illi
Conducted .by Professor Henry G. Bell
The object of this department Is to place at the stir -
vice of our farm readers the advice_ of an acknowledged
authority on all subjects pertaining to Bolls and crops.
Address all questions to Professor Henry G. Bell, in
care of The Wilson Publishing Company, Limited, Toronto,
and answerswill appear In this column In the order In
which they are received, As space Is limited it Is advis-
able where immediate reply is necessary that a stamped
and addressed envelope be enclosed with the question,
when the answer will be mailed direct.
WINTER WHEAT POINTERS
Ontario farmers at this time are - that it' would produce a good healthy
busy with their preparation of the plant.
winter wheat areas. They are taking -"You took good -care to feed up the
special care to give the ground the young calf or the young pigs early in
very best preparation, since winter the spring, because you determined to
wheat this year means money. Prices have strong, vigorous stock. The same
are high and there seems every indi- care should be taken in the feeding of
cation that they will remain so. In the wheat crop 1f best results are to
fact, wheat prices have but a very few be obtained,
times surpassed that obtained at the Many farmers are interested in Per-
- present time, The United States has tilizers this year,' but unfortunately
Just -harvested a moderately large crop not all understand what fertilizers -are,
and the government is calling for an or how they should be used. Fertile
increase of oyer 30%, -of the crop pro- zers are carriers of plant -food in such
duces in 1917. 'Uncle Sam aims at form that the plant -food quickly dis-
over a billion bushels of wheat this solves In the soil moisture and can be
coming year. used by the crop. Now, some of the
Now, there are ways and means by elements of the milk which the calf
which the average farmer can increase drank went- to building, its flosh,
both his wheat and his net profits. Be . Other food in the milkwent to bend.
sure to see that the seed -bed has very ing the bone of the animal, It is
thorough' preparation. A rough, luta- somewhat similar in the food of the
py wheat seed -bed leads to uneven plant. So that the farmer may know
planting, since many seeds are burled the relative amount of plant -grower,
too deep ,and others fail to get sue plant -ripener - and plant -strengthener.
flcient covering. that the fertilizer carries, the Domin-
If, after„the ground is plowed, it has .ion Government in 1909 decreed that
been carefully disked and harrowed, this should be stated on the bags in
possibly rolled and harrowed also, the which the fertilizers are sold, and that
kernels of soil are packed sufficiently the analysis should be guaranteed.-
' so that the moisture supply for the Now, the farmer reads that the Per-
young growing wheat will be sufficient. tilizer contains 2 to 4% nitrogen, we,
This.moisture supply is all important, shall say. That means that the mix-
because it is the carrier of plantfood. ture contains 40 to 80 lbs, of that kind
The plant obtains nearly all of its of plant -food, which causes the wheat
food through its roots, and this food plant to grow rapidly. Manure con-
can be taken up only when it is dis- tains to the ton about 15 lbs. of this
. solved in the soil moisture and root kind of plant -food. Of course every
juices. If this very simple explana- bit of stock manure should be care -
tion were fully comprehended by all fully spread on the ground and worked
Ontario wheat growers, it would ell• in, in order to increase the growth of
urinate a great number of failures. the crops. Fertilizers should be used
Winter wheat cannot grow in a pool to supplement the manure, or to make
of water. It' has to face the rigors.,of it go two or three times as far.
a rather severe winter, hence bad
drainage conditions tend to retard its
development and subsequently weak,.
ill -nourished wheat makes an unsuc-
cessful attempt to face the severity of
the ' Canadian winter. It will be, of
little avail to seed winter wheat in
ground that is poorly drained: Use
well -drained ground so that the plant
may have suitable growing conditions.
Volumes have been written about
'best varieties of wheat. a The Cana-
dian farmer is fortunate in that be can
refer to his provincial or Dominion
tests. On both the experimental fields
of Ontario Agricultural College and
the Dominion experimental farms,
leading varieties of wheat are care-
fully tested year by year. Only those
that show superior value are retained.
After these have been carefully
studied, recommendations are made'
on the basis ofthe resuits obtained.
- For Ontario the 'following varieties
have been found to give good results:
Banatka, American Banner, Imperial
Amber, Yarroslaf, Crimean Red. The
first variety of wheat is, especially Now the plant never uses pure nitro -
good milling wheat, since it is hard go, which is a pus, or pure phosphor-
us or potassium, which are metals.
We Bald a ton of fertilizer carries
from 40 to 80 lbs. of nitrogen, from
140 to 200 lbs. of phosphorus and post
sibly 20 to 40 lbs. of potash. The rest
of the ton is made-up of the carriers
of these various plant -foods.
Fertilizers will not supply humus,
as manure does. Theyeenduce rapid
root growth and consequently add to.
the humus of the -soil, in so far as
they produce this result, but they are
not essentially a source of humus.
They should be used then intelligent-
ly, knowing that they are concentrated
plant -food.
Fertilizers may be new to some On-
tario farmers, but they are not new in
their use in wheat -growing sections,
England has been using immense
quantities of fertilizers for nearly 100
years. So have the eastern provinces,
of this country • and the eastern states
of our neighbors to the South,- The
State of Ohio, whioh produces large
quantities of winter wheat, ,makes
wide use of fertilizers, 'Prof. Thorne,
Director ol,Ohio Agricultural Expert-
mental Station, has recently pointed
out that if the farmers in the county
where the bxpbriment station is
located followed the fertilizer prac-
tices
raytices of the station, they would have
increased their wheat yields 14 bush-
els per acre, It is -not a question of
theory, it is a point already demon-
strated, Ohio Deportment Station has
increased its wheat yields from 12 to
14 buehela per acre by proper ferti-
lizetion; Indiana, 11,8 bushels; and
Missouri, from 4 to 10 bushels where
careful tests have been carried out,
If such all increase can” be accomp-
lished on the Ontario Perms this year,
the farmers of the province can take
great advantage °of" the high prices
which must prevail this coining year,
Decide to have apoultry . house
this Winter. Don't let the birds
roost in the horse stable for an-
other mem.
We said that some of the food in the
milk which the calf drank went to
building the bone of the animal Bone
is composed of a combination of lime
and phosphoric acid. Now, strange to
say, it i8- the phosphorus from this
same kind of a compound which is
used by the plant to give strength to
,the growing plant and to hasten its
maturity. The per cent. of phosphoric
acid (P205) shown by the analysis on
the bag, will tell you how much of this
kind of plant -food there is in' the
mi,~ture,
Under present international condi-
tions, there is a great scarcity of the
next plant -food ingredient, potash.
Some fertilizers offer one per cent.,
but many are sold with only the first,
two ingredients of plant -food in them.
Potash causes the formation of starch
or the filling of the kernel. It also
gives the plant power to resist disease.
Speaking generally, wheat soils are
fairly well supplied with potash,so
the lack of this plant -food for wheat
is not seriously noticed, as yet.
and flinty and makes strong flour.
Most farmers know that Dawson's
Golden Chaff is one of the good varie-
ties. This is a heavy yielder, but pro-
duces
roduces a rather soft grain.
There is something beside variety,
however. All cows are not record -
breakers. There are some that give
ten, twelve and fifteen thousand
pounds of milk in a year, and then
again there are some that do not give
enough milk to pay their board and
are an actual expense to the farmer.
To counter -balance this, there are a
few that produce extraordinary high
milking records, upwards of twenty
thousand pounds or over a year. These
are very valuable and their calves are
eagerly sought as breeding stock.
;it is just the same story with wheat.
Just because a sample of wheat is of
a -particular variety is no criterion
that -it 1s of first-class quality. You
should use a fanning mill to sift out
the small and shrivelled grain, be-
oause inferior plants take up soil
room, absorii moisture, consume plant-
food and fail to, return the good re.
1lults obtained from superior seed. If
you have time, by all means test the
Vitality of the seed, that is, count out
100 wheat seeds. Place them between
damp blotters, and keep them near
the stove, In about four or five days
the wheat should have sprouted suf-
ficiently for you to count the number
that are going to grow, If you fled
that the wheat sprouts but 80%, in -
Crease your quantity 20%, 11 you ex-
pe4t to get a normal stand,
Kest farmers have wheat drilla, but
many good farmers have to rely upon
'owing the winter wheat on the her.
$.wed ground and then Covering it by.
parrowiug and roiling, If such is the
pse, be sure to take Bare that the
iseed.is thoroughly'. covered, There
ishould be yery little difficulty this
roar as to the seed sprouting after it
root
planted, because the land bee been
blessed 'with seasonable showers.
;{n preparing the seedbed, be very
Orgill to avoid using sprouted seed.
14 sprouted seed the little germ cover- An electMc shook is beit most at
issg •ie broken. If seed has been the elboW joint; the latter obetivets
Outed and tate sprout .has been 1
�Vt' the current, which leans from one
jegisiten off,. theseiii little ' likelihood bone to the o1Ite , �.
Lantic pure Cane Sugar, with its fine
granulation, is best for all preserving.
10, 20 and 100.1b, sacks
2 ,and 5.111. cartons
Send us fled Bell Tratlequerk for fres apples of
our throe frau Cook nooln.
Atlantic Sugar Refineries Limited
MONTREAL
Peaches
are the most valued
treasure on the pre-
serve shelf
"Pure and Uncolored"
119
;fir +. eeeM E R '', el
THE CHILDREN'S FOOD
Mothers and daughters of all ages are cordially Invited to write to this
department, initials only will be published with each question and Its answer
as a means of Identification, but full name and address must be given in each
letter. Write on one sIde of paper only, Answers will be mailed direct If
stamped and aderessed envelope le enclosed.
Address all correspondence for this department to Mrs. Helen Law, 233
Woodbine Ave,, Toronto,
Mother:—Here is a sample day's
diet for a three-year•old ehild. Break-
fast, scraped fresh apple or orange
juice, strained oatmeal and top milk,
milk to drink. Morning lunch, milk,
biscuit. Dinner, poached egg, tender
vegetable put through sieve, stale
bread and butter, corn starch pud-
ding, milk to drink. Sapper, rice and
top milk, seedless jam sandwiches,
milk to drink,
School Girl; -Try the following
Questions Every Mother Should Ask. Herself. games at the party for your school
friends:—
Did each child take about a quart Did each child have an egg or an Hands and feet guessing—To play
of milk in one form or another ? equivalent amount of meat, fish, or this game divide the party into two
Have I taken pains to see that the poultry ? bands. One is sent out of the room,
milk that comes to my house has been Did any child have more than this the other stays in it. Place a screen
handled in a clean way ? of flesh foods or eggs ? If so, might (one of the folding kind) in front of
*. If I was obliged to serve skim -milk the money not have been better spent an open door. The members of the
for the sake of cleanness or economy, for fruits or vegetables ? band that has been sent out of the
did I supply a little extra fat In some If I was unable to get milk, meat, room then walk past the open door
other way ? behind the screen holding up one of
Were the fats which I gave the child
of the wholesome kind found in milk,
cream, butter, and salad oils, or of the
unwholesome kind found in doughnuts
and other fried foods ? -
DId I make good use of all skim -
milk by using it in the preparation of
cereal mushes, puddings, or other-
wise ?
Were all cereal foods thoroughly
cooked ?
Was the bread soggy ? If so, was it
because the loaves were too large, or
because they were not cooked long
enough?
Did I take pains to get a variety of
foods from the cereal group by serv-
ing a cereal mush once during the
day?
Did I keep in mind that while cer-
eals are good foods in themselves,
they do not take the place of meat,
milk, eggs, fruit, and vegetables ?
Did I keep in mind that children
who do not have plenty of fruit and
vegetables need whole wheat bread
and whole grains served in other
ways ?
fish, poultry, or eggs, did I serve dried
beans, or other legumes thoroughly
cooked and carefully seasoned ?
their hands as they pass. The mem-
bers of the band left in the room must
then. guess whose hand it is, For
Were vegetables and fruits botb on every hand guessed correctly a point
the child's bill of fare once during the le scored for the band. After all of one
day ? If not, was it because we have side has shown a hand it is the turn
not taken pains to raise them in our of the other side to go out and do the
same. The side scoring the most
points in the end wins.
If the feet are to be guessed instead
of the hands, the screen should be
raised a foot or so from the floor so
that the shoes may be seen under-
neath and the rest of the body hidden.
Obstacle Race—There is plenty of
laughter in this game. Those who do
not know 1t are sent out of the room
and let in one by one. The boy or girl
who is called in is shown two or three
small objects, such as a footstool, a
vase, milk bottle, etc., that have been
placed, in a line on the floor. The or-
der is, "walk blindfolded past these
objects without touching them." The
player is accordingly blindfolded, but
before the hazardous trip is begun all
the obstacles are removed. The boy
or girl will pick steps very carefully,
home garden?
Did either the fruit or the vegetable
disagree with the child ? If so, oqght
I to have cooked it more thoroughly,
chopped' it more finely, or have re-
moved the skins or seeds ?
Was the child given sweets between
meals, or anything that tempted him
to eat when he was not hungry ?
Was he allowed to eat sweets when
he should have been drinking milk or
eating cereals, meat, eggs, fruit -or
vegetables ?
Were the sweets given to the child
simple, i. e., unmixed with much fat
or with hard substances difficult to
chew, and not highly flavored ?
Was the food served in a neat and
orderly way and did the child take
time to chew his food properly ?
INTERNATIONAL LESSON
SEPTEMBER 30.
Lesson XIV. The Goodness and Severi-
ty of God—Review. Golden
Text Psa. 103. 8,
1. The God of love, Modern
Christianity has been passing through
a period in which the love and festive-
ness
orave-
ness of God have been emphasized.
His relations to the individual have
been dealt with almost exclusively.
His lessons for the nations and for
humanity have only recently come
againinto prominence. With this
emphasis on the other half of the law,
and the gospel there comes a fuller
vision of the character and purpose of
God. As the old prophets, some of
them in exile, saw his character in all
its fullness, so we are beginning to get
an all-round vision of God as we see
him revealed in social progress. We
find the God of love is also the God of
law. We discover that he deals with
sin and evil not by whim and fancy,
but by fixed laws. In these Laws the
operation of divine love is -seen seek-
ing to save the individual and the com-
munity from the consequences of sin.
2. The God of strength. Law in-
volves retribution. Cause and effect
trying to sidestep what is really not
work out irresistibly in the moral there at all. At the end of the game,
universe. They operate constantly inryvhen all the players who have been
social progress. We discover famine tricked except the last one whose turn
and pestilence to be not the sudden it then is are present, there a very
whim of an angry God, but the dire ef-
fect of broken law. Nations have re- great deal of merriment.
fused to work economic righteousness,
they have refused to obey the moral
laws that are related to health, and
hence they pay the cost in suffering.
This is the severity of the moral uni-
verse, but it is still the strength of
love. It is not punitive, but correc-
tive. It is penalty, not merely punish-
ment. This makes it possible for men
who learn the consequences of sin to
discover and remove its causes. The
penalty of social sin is a challenge to
the community to discover and remove
its roots.
3, To whom vengeance belongeth.
Word game—Choose sides and ap-
point a scorer and a timekeeper. A
player from A's party is eent out of
the room while B's party picks out a
letter, The A player is then called in
and the timekeeper says "Go." The
letter is told and then he must say as
fast as he can a$ many words begin-
ning with that letter as he can think
of on the spur of the moment. At the
end of a minute the timekeeper stops
him and his score is counted. One of
B's side then goes out and does the
same thing. So on the game goes un -
t11 all players alternately have had a
turn. The scores of each side are
then counted, the one with the great-
est number of words winning. Z and
X may not be chosen.
Mrs. S. D.:—Lunch-box bills of fare
are very important, and you are a
wise mother to pay special attention
to them. Pennies spent in the candy
store at noon can undo all the good of
the nourishment taken under watchful
eyes in the morning and at night, and
a nice lunch is the very best rival of
a penny candy store. Here are some
bills of fare that can be made up from
dinner left -overs:
Crisp rolls hollowed out and filled
with chopped meat or fish; season
with a little salad dressing; a peach
and an apple.
Cold slices of meat loaf, soda crack-
ers, buttered; stewed fruit put in a
little jar with screw -on top, and a
piece of ginger -bread.
Baked -beans sandwiches, orange and
a couple of pieces of candy.
Hard boiled eggs, rye bread and
fruit.
Minced -beef sandwiches, apple
sauce (in jars) and cake.
Honey and nut bran muffins are a
valuable addition to the lunch box.
Here is the receipe: 'tiro cup honey, 1
cup Rout•, from 34 to % teaspoon soda,
ee teaspoon salt, 2 cups bran, 1 table-
spoon melted butter, 1e cups milk, %
cup finely chopped English walnuts.
Sift together the flour, soda and Balt,
and mix them with the bran. Add the
other ingredients and bake for 25 or
30 minutes in a hot oven in gem tins.
This will make about 20 muffins.
14,
re.
tLaJiffe
8!ori s
8
MENDING MELISSA'S DRESS
Elizabeth sat on a hassock mending
Melissa's dress. Melissa was her
oldest and largest doll, and Elizabeth
did not know how she had managed
There is a constant desire of men to to tear her new summer dress. Still,
take a situation of wrongdoing into it did not matter much how it happen -
their own hands and to punish the ed, after all. The only thing to do was
violaters of law. The result is evident to mend the dress, and since Melissa
in the old panel system, which, seek- was not able to mend it herself Eliza -
benefit
to work vengeance, has failed to or the beth was trying hard to ,do it for her.
crinileilnaleft We her n men learned that the Besides, it was Elizabeth's birthday,
consequences of sin for the sinner and she was going to have a party in
must be left in the hands of God, then the afternoon. Of course Elizabe!'t
they faced their proper task of re- not allow Melissa to wear a torn dress
claiming the sinner and preventing to the party.
the sin. It must be the same in the
relations between nations. Criminals
and crime must be prevented, but the
social conseggpnces inherent in the let alone mending a dress
sin of those who offend against inter -morning,
national justice and righteousness will that should not have been torn. Just
after all be visited most severely upon outside the windo. there was a robin
their own heads. The penaltycan be singing in a maple tree,
left+)with God. The prevention lies "Oh, come out! Oh, come out! 011,
with man. come out!" the robin was singing, al-
most as plainly as a person could speak
Olio a the wards.
sighed Elizabeth.
"Bat I
just must"I can't stand It much longer!"
Even though the hog furnishes themend this dress so that Melissa can go
most meat for a given amount of feed, to the party. 0 dear! It's such a
and will produce it in the quickest i jobl"
time, it is pointed out that this meat' Then, just as she was putting some
should bo produced mainly from food more thread in her needle, Teaser
wastes and not from good grainsthat came bounding in through the door,
would furnish food directly to man, "Don't you dare to bother me, Teas -
The great economy in pork production err" said Elizabeth. "I'm as busy as
comes from the fact that pigs furnish I can be!"
a food by-product from these waatee _But Teaser was not to be put off in
and do not need the high-grade feeds that way. He jumped round the room
that beef cattle must, have, in little, short leaps, stopped in front
Wastes on farms and in the towns of Elizabeth long enough to bar!:
make good hog feed; by-products from sharply, and then bocoded to the door
cmmeries, bakeries, fisheries, packingalid bback again, r
plants and the like can be utilized as Yes, yes, Tosser, said Elizabeth,
hog feed and to better economic ad_ I know that it is a beautiful day, and
vantage than in any other way, Dalry I want to go out and play with you,
wastes are particularly valuable as but.,,,, this dress simply must be mend -
hog feed and promote rapid growth edeas
Ter barked again, No doubt to
with a good money return for every g 1
gallon fad; knew very well what she said, but he
The farm orchard furnishes large had no idea of giving up so eUoily,
quantities of wind fallen or defective Suddenly he seized Melissas dress in
fruit, which is relished by hogs, and is I his teeth and pulled it.
beneficial if fed in small quantities' Stop Teaser!" cried Elizabeth,
frequently, and not ell at one feed.1 `Stop, I say, or you will tear it
Garden wastes, tope of vegetabies,l Worse►
culls of all'sorts, even weeds, are read -j But Tosser did not stop, He only
ily eaten, and such as may not be `'pulled the harder. Suddenly, with an
eaten will be worked over, going into' extra tug, he pulled tiro dress from
the bedding and adding to the manure.' Elizabetlls hands and dashed through
i4itchen wastes •are an excellent the door, with the dross flying behind
source of food for hogs, but should be him'Elizabeth leaped from her has.
ke tat a minimum because eactiea -+socand San after hila,
p. , P 1 !
It was a beautiful summer morning,
and it was the hardest thing in the
world to stay in the house on such a
.71.1„1.?
Do not feed the dairy herd as a
herd, for cows differ•in their food re-
quirements just as human beings do.
By feeding all cows in the herd alike,
some are sure not to get enough for
the greatest profit and others will get
more than they can use to advantage.
Cows need much watet and should
be induced to d Auk two or three times
a day if possible. The average Milch
cow requires nearly ten gallons of wa-
ter a day and more than two-thirds of
that must come es drink and the bal-
once from water in the food. • Always
provide clean fresh water,
Salt should be supplied at the rate
of five to seven ounces a week, given
as often ae twice during the week. Do
not use a common salt box"in the yard
unless all the cows are absolutely free
from 'disease, •
hpays in dollars and cents to,glye
the cow extra care. .The cow that is
kept comfortable will give the best
returns, •
It is always,desirable to grind all
grains for the 'dairy cow because of
the large amount of feed that a cow
must digest in order to produce well,
There is no advantage in cooking or
steaming feeds for dairy Bows, Some
unpalatable £eeds'may be consumed in
larger quatititiea if cooked but hook-
ing does not ordinarily add mbeli to
the palatability of grains and may ee-
rie decrease their digestibility.
It estimated that eighty per cent..
of the Canadian farmers sold jheir.
wheat last fall at $1.40 per bushel.
Who received the difference between
that price and $2.80 per bushel, tate
price which recently prevailed?
Come
ly all food prepared for tna.n's useI "Come back Con back I" she
should be eaten by him. cried. Como bank koro this instant,
Ts ser I"
Teaser looked over his shoulder and
Franklin observed that "lie wlro tried to bark, but, with the dress in
leaves the table with an appetite is hie ,mouth, he did not succeed very
'Sure to return with one," Hero is a well; Out Of the yard he ran and
-
point for food oonseeeers, 1 down the road, with Elizabeth, now
on the verge of tears, calling to him
in vain as she pursued him.
Not far from the house Teaser sud-
denly stopped in the middle of the
highway. He dropped Melissa's dress
and began to sniff at a parcel that
looked as if it had just fallen from a
Passing wagon. At first Elizabeth was
so eager to pick up Melissa's dress,
now more soiled and tore than ever,
that she did not see the parcel; but
Teaser barked again and danced
round her in such a way that she had
to notice it. She picked it up and ran
with it back to the house.
"See, mother!" she cried. "See
I what Teaser found in the road, where
Ihe had dragged Melissa's dress—the
horrid thing I"
The parcel bore no address, It was
a long box, wrapped in plain brown
paper, What could it be ? Who could
have lost it 7
Melissa's mother decided to open it,
Perhaps there would be a name or an
address Inside. And when they took
off the wrapping paper and removed
the cover, what do you suppose they
found ? A beautiful doll, about the
size of Melissa, dressed in thb love -
Beat clothes 1
"Ohl Ohl" was all that Elizabeth
could gasp; and Teaser, who was
much oxoited over the box and its
wrappings, barked two or three times
as loudly ae lie could,
Just then Elizabeth's father came
in.
"Would you like that doll ?" he
asked,
"Like itl" cried Elizabeth, "Of
oouree I would like it, but of course
I can't have it I Some little girl has
lost it—or some little girl's father was
taking it home to her."
Then Elizabeth's father laughed,
and took her on one knee and the won-
derful doll on the other knee.
"Well," he said, still laughing, "that
new doll bee come to your birthday
i party. I was bringing her home from
the village, and the parcel fell from
the wagon just before I got here,
Teaser saw it fall, but it was too large
{ for him to carry, and be made you go
I and get it before I could go for 1t my-
'
self,"
"Oh, then pile's mute, after all I"
said llllizabeth and elle seized the
i beautiful new doll front her perch on
her father's other linea and bugged
1thesame time
him an the doll t
1
n d h a ,
'"And Teaser knew it all tike time and
was trying to tell me j"
.A. little ]ater when Elizabeth
looked
despot into the box that the deli had
Ioome in, she foued -there several est tra dresses, One bf them she prompt-
!
ly gave to Melissa to bike the place
of the soiled and torn dross that war
now fit only to be thrown away. And
what a merry birthday party they hatj
'that afternoon, and Teaeer enjoyed.
it quite as much lie Melissa and the
new doll enjoyed it 1
I4,----•—•-
Out out acid burn the old blackberry
and raspberry canes lig seen as they've
fu%tsd, 1
HIGH COST OF LIVING
IN BLOOMFIELDi
, [ j
"1 suppose the Polka bank home ell
manage to get a living in spite of the
high cost of it ?" said the dweller in
the city to his boyhood friend, Reuben
Sparrow, who 'ball driven in from
Bloomfield' that morning,
"Why, yes," said Re-aben, "They all
seem to live along in pretty much the
same old way. Of course there Is
Some scaling down. Extravagant ones '
are tightening up a bit, and the close
ones are a little ihite closer.
"Take the Longleys for example.
You know how they always used to do,
Jim would get his pay Saturday night,
and then they'd begin to live on the
fat of the land, About Thursday, the
funds would give out, and then it
would be pudding and milk, or what
ever they could pick up, for the rest
of the week. Well, they do just that
same way now, First of the week
there's nothing too good for them, and
price is no object. Only difference is
that now hard times begin with them
long about Tuesday instead of Thurs-
day.
"Then there is Eben Titus, He goes
on altogether a different principle,
Eben says that it doesn't cost him so
very much more to live than it did
five years ago, He was always a great
figurer, you know. He's set what he
calls a fair price on each of the com-
modities. Of course he can't control
the price, but he can regulate the
quantity. So when sugar, for exam-
ple, takes a jump of ten per cent-, he
marks down the amount to be used in
just the same proportion, and so keeps
even with the game. You might sup-
pose that the family would be ou scant
rations by this time, but Eben says
not. According to his tell, not one of
em has lost weight, and they never
were healthier or happier. He says
the generality of folks eat too much
and too expensively, and that we
never can know how little is enough
until we have put the question to the
test.
"But most of our Bloomfield people
do their fighting of the high cost of
living simply by word of mouth. That
was what I found a lot of 'em doing
when I stepped Into Silas Pride's pro-
vision store the other night. They
weren't giving the monster a leg to
stand on. They all agreed that it was
unjust and outrageous and heart-rend-
ing the way prices were mounting up;
and that flesh and blood couldn't stand
it much longer. Silas himself joined
right in with the rest. He said it made
him fairly sick to have to charge such
Prices, but what could he do 7
"Just then old Peleg Dawes came
to buy hie Sunday sinner- I suppose
Peleg was the only man there that you
might say was actually feeling the
pinch of poverty. He's pant work,
with not much to do with, and it was
kind of- pitiful to see him pricing one
thing atter another and then shaking
his head. Finally he settled on half a
pound of tripe.
'A good piece of tripe, properly
cooked,' says he, 'goes about as well
as anything, this time of year. Some
calls it a little tough, but I tell 'em it's
tougher where there's none.'
"'Have to pay pretty high for any-
thing we get nowadays, Uncle Peleg,'
I says, as he started to go.
"Yes,' says he, 'but that isn't so
bad by half as not being able to get
it at all. Sometimes; says he, 'when
I'm setting down to a good square
meal at home, I seem to see some of
those hungry people across the water
looking on kind of wishful; and it
makes me feel real guilty, as if I was
getting more than my share.'
"After the old man lead gone out,
conversation seemed to take a dif-
ferent turn. I guess we had all been
reminded that there are some things
in the world a little more heart-rend-
ing that the high cost of living in
Bloomfield: "
Compost.
Well rotted manure or other organic
matter is known as "compost," or
when mixed with soil as "composted
soil." This last is invaluable for use
in greenhouses, hotbeds and cold
frames where a rich soil is necessary
in order to give quick action. The
compost is mainly used for top dress-
ing a growing crop, for fertilizing the
soil in seed beds and for melon hills.
If it has not already been done
measures should at once be taken by
the gardener who contemplates grow-
ing vegetables under glass next spring
to provide himself with a pile of com-
posted soil. Composted soil is pre.
pared by making a long flat topped
pilo of alternate layers of manure and
grass sods turned upside down, or if
this cannot be had use earth, The
sides of the pile should be made as
nearly perpendicular as possible and
the top flattened to permit of the
rains soaking in, It is well to build
the pile in a shady plaeo and, if the
water ie available, to give an oc-
casional good soaking,
After the pile hoe boon built ,,.and
'has been allowed to settle for a uouplo
i of weelce it ehould then be spaded
j over; that 10, throwing the entire pile
a ohovelful at a time Aver into en,
other place in order to thoroughly in,
corporate the manure with the soil,
All weeds and other vegetable do,.
brie from the garden should be thrown
into the Pilo, There is nothing bet,
ter for this purpose than leaves, De
not burn leaves that fall in the
autumn rake them into a pilo and.
permit thein 15 decay, as they matte g
splondtcj fertilizer, If a neighbor
wiebee to dispose of leaves induce him
to dump tech} on your compost pilo,
MApie iegvpe i7lako f e lnateiial fell
the 5 opnpost hap, If he wort up fi
teatto r ser . . te' @ y A .d
t v wain i and the 1l
> 4t Yw 1
}ea y or use as manure lit the
spring. A little lime spread after tile
leaves have been turned mules will li
sufficient to neutralize -tits soil 0
t r�
leaves ` }ire mare acid gad a propatr,
tionately larger quantity oC limo wilj
bo required,
Propel" gardenia regrslireg it long
�. gg
period of preparation, 1•joW' is th
time to begin preparations for anoth q
a3
eeeant-