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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1931-10-16, Page 1'Whole Number 3331 Seventy-second Year SEAFORTH, FRPAY, Colonel Anthony VanEgmond and the Rebellion of 183T In Huron County. (By W. B. Kerr, M.A., Oxon., Ph.D., Tor.) CHAPTER IV AN EARLY VISITOR TO HURON In the year af grace, 1833, a tray - eller set foot in the Huron Tract, Patrick Shirreff, man of means and ,gentleman farmer of Musgeswells,, East Lothian, Reflood. Being intee- ested in the pioneer communities of the American continent, Patrick had crossed the ocean in the spring of than year, heel landed at New York and bed spent the summer visiting the .outeosts of settlement, as he ,viewed them, in New York State, in Lower and Upper Canada. He had ascended' the St. Lawrence River, inspected. Kingston and York, and had reached Guelph after the middle of August. Thence his travels took him into the Huron Tract, of which he writes -a comparatively full account. In own - (piny with a friend, he left Guelph (apparently) the 26th of the month by the Huron Road, made stops at Smith's Creek (near New Hamburg), at Avon Creek, which seems to be our Stratford, and at Seebach'ehtavern by Sebrirrgville. Late in the afternoon of the 27th, •the two arrived at Van Stgmond's tavern, for which Patrick has words of tepid praise, neverthe- less the only words df that nature which he has for •anything in the Tract. Van Egmond'she found "a Wealthy -looking place for the coun- try 'with a store of. miscellaneous goods, 'large barns and , a tolerably good garden," all of which were rare indeed in Upper Canada west of Tor- onto in 18331 He makes no mention of the Colonel •or the Colonel's numer- ous family, from which fact it is per- haps to be deduced that they, or the more important portion of them, were not at home. At all events, Patrick and his companion had dinner at the tavern, after which, they travelled by night. to Goderich, a distance of "five or six miles." This curtailment of the actual mileage between Clinton and .Goderich by more than a half would seem to speak well for the qual- ity cif Van Egmond's dinners if not for the accuracy of those who made the estimate. At Goderich he had completed a sixty -mile journey from Smith's Creek, two-thirds of which wai'performed aver corduroy or cross- way and .none of which had roused in him any sensation of pleasure. He re- marks that occasionally a tree had been left standing in the middle of the road as if for the purpose of at- tracting attention. The • hypothesis( that these trees, usually rock elms of the blest description, had •been left for future' conversion into timber he thought unlikely, in view of the fact that trees equally good'couldbe ob- tained a few yards from the edge of 'the road. One may be permitted to guess that it was nothing less than the physical difficulties of removing formidable rock elms which induced Van Egmond and his men to refrain from disturbing ethern. The problem, however, was yet unsolved when Pat- rick IShirreff and hist companion ar- rived at their temporary destination. Once in Goderich, they sought ac- commodation for the .night at the best hotel, Reid's, but here they received information that there was nothing for them unless they were willing to share a bed between them. The pro.s- pect of such restricted space did not greatly attract Patrick and his friend, who sought elsewhere, in the second hotel of •Goderich, Fisher's. Again, however, beds 'were mete be obtain- ed; but the; landlady laid a pallet for them on (the floor, meanwhile infer/In- ing them that ,Goderich .was a poor the Eagle's Nest (Gairbraid), a name, he remarks, quite characteristic of the owner. He discovered the doctor him- self in° the office of the Canada Corn - pant with his brother the captain, only recently arrived in Goderich, and made himself known to his fellow Sootsmen. But he found the doctor busy, little, inclined for conversation; and in a short while Patrick took his departure, consoling himself with the thought that he eould, and should, see with his own eyes everything of im- portance in that community. With memories of Fisher's butter in his mind, he went for dinner to the prin- cipal hotel, Reid's. There he receiv- . e.d an invitation to be seated at 'the same table as the twelve or fourteen inmates, boarders and travellers, oompany not altogether to his 'liking, but obligatory if he were to dine. Dm - lag the meal a diversion was preve.ded, an adventure of Mr. Reid's fingers immersed in the soup as he stirred 'it with a short -handled ladle, but a diversion ignored by 'the worthy host, who promptly and courageously serv- ed out the soup so flavored. It is not e -matter for wonder that Patrick fount/ the "entertainment" or fare poor; nevertheless, he took consola- tion in the not extravagant' price, six pence. By this time Patrick was ready to sum up his impressions of Goderich, obtained on this 28th of August, 1833. There were about forty "mean wood- en houses" scattered irregularly over a considerable space. Half a dozen of these stood on the shore near the pier, the rest of the village on the height two hundred feet above the lake 'level, partly situated on a cedar swamp through which ran a street of corduroy. There was a "coarse rawness" about men and things at Goderich, which the visitor found far from agreeable. The' land of the Huron Tract, however, he found ex- cellent, except e few miles around the village. During his journey to Lon- don, commenced next day, he formed a very favorable impression of the soil from Van Egmond's tavern south, "particularly fine clay, especially near the Hayfield River. The whole sur- face level excepting the margins of the creeks," The roads were simply straight lines formed by felling trees, the branches and trunks of which had been burnt or made into corduroy, the stumps, two or three feet high, left standing. As for the corduroy, he -continues, "most travellers speak with' horror; but, without meaning to praise it, I must say it was the best and smoothest portion of the Goderich roads. The roots projecting from the stumps in a 'slanting direction kept the wheels watt axles of the wagon moving up and down like the beam of a steam engine," a movement which, with good reason, he found "annoying to us, fatiguing to the horses, espec- ially 'between Van Egmond's tavern and London." Only near Goderich was there better prospect, where peo- ple were burning out. ate stumps and throwing earth from the sides into the middle of the road to make a con- vex surface, a turnpike, as they call- ed it in American fashion. It will be surmised that Patrick saw little to praise in the Huron Tract; nor is it a matter of wonder that a gentleman of East Lothian should find the cir- cumstances of a pioneer community not to his taste. Of some importance are the worthy Patrick's remarks about the Canada Company and its' settlers. He found Dr. Dunlop a favorite with all, but the company unpopular, and the set- tlers "of the poorest clase, without in- dustry or energy of any kind." The Company charged seven shilling six- pence per aore, payable in instalments; place, an estimate with which Patrick if the settler took a. certain minimum was probably not inclined to quarreld area, they allowed him travelling ex - The good lady, however, produced a penses out of the second instalment. moderate refreshment in the -form of tea and cream. Patrick and his com- panion at once searched for the sugar but without success until an enquiry elicited the information that the seg- ar was present but invisible, having beer- mixed with the cream. The in- novation must have seemed doubtful to Patrick, a heretical disturbance of the natural order of things; but from the fact that he makes no disparag- ing remarks about the resulting bev- erage, we may conclude that he was not displeased. At the time workmen of all descriptions, probably laborers for the Canada Company, crowded the hotel. The noise occasioned by their presence and the roughness of the pallet troubled the newcomers so that they "slept uncomfortably." In the morning, however, they received an invitation to breakfast with the fam- ily. This honor resulted probably from an extraordinary effort ,at hos- pitality on the part of the excellent Tikr. Fisher but it met no due apprec- iation ,since Patrick soon found the butter nauseous. Lest this be inter- preted es a unique quality of Mr. Vieher's butte:, Patrick hastens to .add that the butter of Upperi Vanada - generally was of the worst quality. Breakfast over, the soul of gentleman Patrick yearned for a shoeshine, a / luxury denied him for several days while he had been travelling in the wilds of the Huron Tract. The re- quest must have seemed unusual to the proprietor of the Fisher Hotel, who nevertheless found ;meant- to rant it for the sum of threepence. orse than the price was ther fact that a few minutes' walk in the deevy grass made the shoes as brown as ever to the ehtire wastage d fully theeepence, which must have been a sore blow to this good Seatem.an. In the morning Patrick atoned the Maitland which he found dieappoitit- ing, a mere brook, unable to float a canoe, and approached Dr. Denhep's Mew cottage on the north tide called t in the first three years it was dif- It for the settler to do, more than keep his farnily, a real strain ,to make the payments. Even when all the in- stalments are paid, Patrick adds, the price of the forest land, quite un o- ductive, remains an overw ing burden on the few acres cleared. To make tnatters worse, the first settlers were people of limited means, mostly paupers, who eoon became so involved with the Company that they abandon- ed their holdings. In fact only one of the original settlers continued to oc- cupy his land in 1833. The people were apt to despair of overcoming their pecuniary difficulties, to fall into indolence and dissipation. They lived in habitations "of the meanest des- cription, equal in wretchedness to the worst hovels in Ireland and Scotland," the poverty of which be attributed in part to the notions of the settlers, their shiftlessness and lac & of desire for anything better. The 'Company had modified its policy, however, and was now permitting forty or fifty of the recent purchasers to work off' part of the price on the roads, by which means only the settler could pay. Nevertheless Patrick found the source of the evil in the system under which the settlement was being made, in the plan of absentee landlords, of a monopoly of land in the Company's 'hands and the consequent enhance - met of the price. •The Company, he predicted, would soon lobby in the legislature for favours to itself and for the rejection of ally projected lo - cel improvements which threatened its pbeition; it would, in short, act as an obstaele to arogrees. It is evident that Patrick looked with no favourable eye on conditions in thel Heron a 1833. Yet he makes it clear that antagonism had sprung up between the settlers and the Com- pany in the Trait. He reveals a state of effaies which left something to be desired; payments oh insufficient time allowance, diseoutagetrient on the part of the settlers, a transient population, ill -will to the Company in spite of the personal pepularity of Dire Dunlop. The decter's dawillittigness to talk to5 his fellow-Sooteraan seems another in- dication'that something was amiss in this little pioneer cornmeal -4% The of- ficials of the Company doubtless would have. pleaded that they had not un- limited money to spend, that they must have regard to their profit -and - loss accounts, that they were. doing their' best for settlers who expected too much. But right or • wrong, a, 'general conviction that:the -System of company settlement was not the best that could be devised even if share- holders, directors and agents were men of excellent intentions had de- veloped by t833 into a feeling of posi- tive hostility. In this sentiment Van Egmond be- came involved. He had a private quarrel (with the Company in 1833, in that they were refusing to pay him the balance duet for his road contract - ting; and he appears to have filed an action over the matter at law. But this affair seems insufficient to ac- count for the bitterness with which ne henceforth assailed the Company in all its works endways. Probably he entertained motive s in great part disinterested, believing like Mr. Shir- ref, that the Company was not dealing fairly with the settlers and was re- tarding the development of an excel- lent section of the province which, of course, included his own holding. Whatever the motive, Van Egmond .became a determined opponent of the,. Company. He proceeded from senti- ment to action; as the:Misses Lizars inform us, in 1833 he "tried' to disaf- fect" the•Eas•thope Highlanders and to that end summoned a meeting of the settlers at Helmer's Inn, where all discussed and presumably de- nounced the high price of land in the Comparny's territory. The Easthope men appointed a delegation who went to Toronto -and visited the Company's- Commissioner in his office. But this man overwhelmed them with his words and his presence and ordered them out, after which they retired ignominiously. This affair was a small humiliation for the men, a re- buff for the Colonel who had evident- ly chosen his men badly, and a small .y,ictory for the Company. But this petty skirmish had opened a war be- tween Colonel Van Egmond and the Canada Company. Meanwhile the agents of the Com- pany at Goderich had decided that all was not well with their settlement. Mr. Prior found the root of the evil in the character of the inhabitants, and took two steps, one negative, the other positive. According to his state- ment to Mr. Ferguson at Guelph (Tour in Canada, 1831) he sent for a vessel and shipped off by force four- teen families, who he had decided, were undesirable. Next he made re- presentation to the Company to be much more circumpect in choosing its settlers, to serve none but "sober, moral, correct men for a good neigh- borhood." The Company accordingly changed its immigration policy end directed appeals to the better class of Englishmen anti Scotsmen. Thus it happened that after 1831 Huron began. to receive an influx of settlers of high quality, who established standards which have .left their mark to the present day.' How. MY WORLD WAGS By That Ancient Mariner Caledonian games were Held at Kamloops, B.C. Even the serious Scot likes to have his fling—his highland fling. * * * To ee-stock water around Timmins, Ont., the Fisheries Department re- cntly sent four truck loads of trout firtgerlings., There's be some hand- ling. * * * A crabapple tree at Vegreville, Alta. bloomed four times this seasa: Sure- ly, after that, the blooming thing has nothing to crab about. * * "The McIntosh Red movement com- menced Monday night," reports the CRevelstoke, B. C., Review: "Migosh!" exclaimed Obtuse -Oswald, "are the Soots tinning Bolshevik, or is it mere- ly that raincoats are blushing?" - ose lberta, Goal The Proper Fuel For Present Use N. CLUFF & SONS When the old stove smoked, And declared that the beans swell. * * Fantaisie-Impromptu. (Not Exactly by Chopin) A friend of mine among the pub- licans, bohunks and sinners, that I sometimes. associate with, called vvith his vvife to she me the other day.• "Pliz, Mista Hurindy, my man want ver' bed getta jop," his lady pleaded. His name is Petros Mickowski, or something. Anyway, we call him Mike. Of iron physique, a hard, wotker; born in Canada, he has. ahnost 'no English, seemingly from a bewildered lack of ability to acquire it --but he. has the heart of -a child. His wife is his mouthpiece. Having several small youngsters, their need, appeared ur- gent. Mike supplemented hie wife's ap- peal with an energetic hut unintelli- gible salvo. "S'ure Mike," says I, "I'll help you: You go 'to Mr. Doe and he'll register you, and 'probably put you right to week. He'll ask you three questions. Whate- your nettle? Married or alio gle? Where *ere your born? I know John Doe. He's a good fellow, al- though a bit cranky. Don't be afraid to speak up when he questions you." His wife translated. It struck me I'd better coath' Mike a bit. "Mickowski" sounded pretty bad, so I -changed it to "MacKenzie." The ne-are-st Mike could get to that was .."MacKensakie." When he got excited, trying hard, it almost sounded like "MacKenzie King." To the question, "married or single," his answer sounded like "marred" Or evee "mud." I had to let it go at that'. Sometimes they're all much the same thing any -way. In attempting "born in Canada," Mike seemed obsessed with the idea that the phrase was "born at 'Can- ada." He made it sound like "bonnet can't." And sometimes produced sounds like "Bennett can't." Well, I gave Mike a package of arettes, told him to be of good cour- age, 'and sent him on his way. Here's what -occurred, as bystander§ after- vrards related it. Mike enters' timidly, offering arettes placatingly to all and sundry. Doe (gruffly), "Who the heck told you to pass around cigarettes when you're out of work?'" Mike (brightly), "MacKenzie King." -Doe (getting mad), "Hey, no more of that cheek, or your name will be--" Mike (yelling excitedly), "Mud." Doe (getting clovvn from his stool. Fire in his eye), "I'll show this guy how to smoke cigarettes." Mike (running for his life), "Ben- * * The Graphic, of Campbellton, N.B. contains a despatch stating that the lost ten tribes of an.cient times have been found. Well, by the jumping bull frogs, is this another bunch of unemployed to look after? * * * Indians and Eskimos were thrilled at their first View of a locomotive at Churchill, Manitobah northern sea - poet. Better beware of that strange complaint "locomotor ataxia," Or pay- ing taxes for locomotives. The New Glasgow, N. S., Eastern Chronicle in delving into the mean- ing of the ancient word "cordwainer," dismisses the idea of its applying to rope -making or cordwood -surveying, and declares it referred to a worker in cordovan leather. Our philology may be a we bit oobwebby, but we aren't averse to taking a shot at de- riving the word. "Coed" is evidently an Englishman's unaspirated version of "chord," therefore "English mus- ic." And "wain" is the ancient term for "wagon." Thus "English musia- wagon." Or translatin,g freely, "an Englishman riding on the band wag- on." Selah. * * Our Own Thanksgiving. We couldn't afford a turkey, We couldn't afford a goose. We couldn't afford a chicken, We couldn't—oh, what's the used But all of tie kids were together, And Mother and Dad as Well. And we bantered and joked 47 nett cant." eeeea.e< ; q•A<<V,'" Aff were —Dean B. Hurmdy. become efficient. • It •ie pd* busineee: to fam: land that is lacking in UM( and stavagly acid in rp4otio; Ttio produetive power of the' soil ie. mew- ed Wien it becomes acid. Comae -ling this eendition. with ehe use of ground limestone• increases the efficiency of the • manures and fertilizers applied and therefore contributes to the cut- ting down of costsofcrop production. The Ontario Agricultural College annual auction sale will be held on Thursday, Odeber 22nd. A very choice bot ef Sock are in this year's offering, which should prove attractive to the buying' public. Plans are going ahead for, the tenth annual 'Royal Winter 141e, termed the Commemeeative Show, November 18th to 26th, when the choicest of Canadian field products and livestock will be on display. The International "Plowing Match is being held near Peterbaro this week, Oct. 13th to 16th. A good piece of land was selected a few miles south of the city on the high- way running toward Port Hope. As the location was central far several counties, the usual local events were thrown open to residents of Peterboro, Durharne Victoria and Northumber- land. The last three days of the competition are open to the world. This event never fails to draw a great throng of farmers and the present year is no exception. Injurious to Wire Fence. Many times the advice is given in the fall of the year to "burn out the fence rows" to e get rid of harineul weeds and insects. This, no doubt, is a good policy from those standpohits, but it should be kept/ a mind that it is distinctly harmful to any type of wire fence. Zine melts at a camper- tively low temperature and the heat from burning grass or weeds is often sufficient to scorch the protective coating and will probably shorten by several seasons the useful life of the fence. Tobacco Prices Lower. Purchase of the record flue -cured tobacoo crop in the Norfolk -Elgin - Oxford area began last week. The top price has dropped from 4.0 cents ast year to 30 cents a pound this will the prices for inferior gra. es r: respondingly low. Owing to the fact that the tobacco is of uniformly high quality, the average price sheuld at least 25 cents a pound. While the price is a disappaintneent to the grow- ers and will have serious results in many instances, it will have a salu- tary effect upon the industry in that tt will prevent undue expansion next year. The acreage in this district has climbed from 200 acres in 1926 to 20,000 acres in 1931. The crop this - year was estimated at 16 million pounds and the anticipated revenue at four million dollars. ROYAL BIRTHDAY CARDS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS Every boy and girl in Canada whose tenth birthday falls between Novem- ber 18th and 26th, inclusive, will re ceive a personal birthday card from the Royal Winter Fair Toronto, if it is requested. This is because the Virinter Fair on those dates also cele- brates its tenth "birthday." This year the Fair is designated a "commemorative show" to recall the inspiriting influence it was to Canad- ian agriculture when founded ten yaars ago. And it is to help in spreading a cheery outlook respecting agriculture that the birthday party ie being held. Ai joyous birthilay greeting, neatly engrossed with the child's nanie, will be sent if parents or guardians will write to the Royal Winter Fair of- fices, Toronto, giving clearly the childs full name and address, with the exact date of birth and year. In addition eligible children who are able to attend the Winter Fair will be giv- en a complimentary ticket in their own -name entitling them to free act miesion to every department of the Fair. The Hog Market. A review of the hog market sit- uation states that there is no juti- fication for the practice which has been all too general this season of trying to beat the market by selling off light -weight unfinished hogs to gain a few cents per pound at cur- rent prices. The principal effect of sueh practices has been to demoralize the market and force prices much be- low what they otherwise might be. With Canadian hog prices drastically realigned both to suit domestic condi- tions and export market prices the common sense practice at present is to finish hogs up to the proper weight, around 200 pounds, This is one ef- fective way in which to develop a steady hog market, to regularize mar- ketings and at the same time to im- prove quality. PLOMEN erowd estimated et 5,00011.1t49, out last Thursday to witnees the on County Plottrmen's Acede/lion; aehl at the farm of Thonate 6th line, Morris.' There were 35 teems and nine Iractore at work during the day and fine plowing was done by the various cconpetitors. The prize for the youngest boy went to Gordon Seett, aged 15, of Cron:arty; and the best dew' teara was won by Frank Hamilton, Crom- arty, The awards in the regular classes were as follows: High cut plows—Alex. McKercber, Wroxeeer; Beira Hemingway, Brus- sels;WIlliam Dennis, Walton; Gor- don Yeo, Wroxeter. General purpose plows (10 entered) —James Hoggarth, Cromarty, (best crown); W. J. Linton, 1Vlitchell, (best .finish); WilliTn Mitchell, Molesworth, Balto, Q, mon Itarleurrii Dennis, Pang • Chaffe, Under la, stubtla Fadden Milbank ; retne Cannerly; IVICNeiete tele; G. Edert, Milbank, ": athe Sngle riding eleetet atthblat•.;), William McMurray; Hruipeis ; uether, Crabrek; Glen Sinith;-' Brussels. Open tractor or me Me e../ , • a ti`'41/4, • Walton (crown); ' Paul , Axneetrong, St. Mexys (finish); T. P. CriVral4te Teeswater; Thernap Miller, Ipiss,a1a.: Heavy tractor, sod—William ePer- rie, Cranbrook;' Res§ ,Ca -diff; %ire - gels; Everett Hoover, Brussels. EAST HURON TEACHERS' ANNUAL CONVEN110N The fifty-eighth annual convention ton Normal School, who spoke On of the East Huron Teachers' In- "Literature andWorldPeace." She slitute was held in the Owen Mem- deplored the fact that teachers do oriel Hall, Clinton, on Thursday and not read more than they do. In op - Friday, October 8th and 9th, with a ening her address MissMoCreatly re - full attendance of the' teachers of ferred to the dark side of world con - the Inspectorate as well as a num- -ditions, the Eastern countrieg ap- parently ready --to fly at each others throats, the Wrld's finances in cha- otie state, and even solid eid Britain in turmoil. On the other hand the League of Nations continues to func- tion with some degree of suecess, conferences on disarmament a r e being called, and thousands are sign- ing a demand against wax and pet- itioning for disarmament. In liter- ature, peace sentiment is to be found in the Bible, in Shakespeare, Milton; Dean Swift, and much of the older literature. Longfellow, Bryant and Whittier deery war. During the Great War literary men wrote of war themes, but have new turned to producing books of peaceful senti- ment. This trend in literature caus- es a hope to spring up in bur breaste that the war spirit, if not dead, is at least dying. President Kenneth Ashton with a beautiful set of slides gave an littera esting travelogue. 11 -Ile conducted the ber of visiting teachers. Mr. Ken- neth Ashton, erindpal of Blkth Pub- lic School, president, occuttied the chair. • Rev. K. McGoun Anglican rector, of Clinton, conducted the opening ex- ercises, and in the absence of Mayor Cooper, actingenayor Reeve George B. Elliott, welcomed the, convention to the -town of Clinton, and expressed his good wishes for the success of the Convention. The records of the last convention were read by the Secretary, and adopted. Inspector Field then named the fol- lowing committees: Nominating Committee; Miss Viola Fraser, Miss Agnes Mahod, Mist Minnie Wheatley. Resolution Com- mittee: Mr. Peter Moffat, Miss Edna Jamieson, Mrs. Aitken. Manage- ment Committee: President and Vice- Presidept of 1931-32, staff of Brus- sels Public School Miss 'Christens, Dickson, Mr. Kenneth Edgar. teachers on an imaginary journey Mr. Jack Edgar, Breese1s, delegate through Canada from the shores of to the Ontario Educational Associa- the Atlantic to the fastnesses of tion from the Institute, gave the British (Columbia, visiting points of - teachers an account of some of the interest and beauty in the various,. proceedings of that body at their pro-inces of the Dominion. This ex - Easter sessions. He suggested . that hibition closed the session for the owing to the size of the Association day. t might be in the interests of the 1 On Friday morning the teachers Institute to send two delegates in- convened at nine o'clock, when re - stead of one, as it is impossible for . ports of committees were received. one to attend all the sessions whose The report of the nominating com- proceedings might be of value to the mittee, given by the chairman, Miss teachers of the Inspectorate. Fraser, presented a elate . of officers The diseussion of "Discipline in for 1932, which was adopted by the and around the School" was led by convention es follows: A. L. Pasliff, Principal of Wingham President, Normen Hoover, Bees - Public -School. He stressed the im- eels; vice-president, Ella Elder, Sea- portance of Discipline in building forth ; secretary -treasurer, George H. character. The home iS the place for 'Jefferson; Delegate to 0. E. A., Lydia discipline to begin and the teachers" Reid, Blyth; Eorecutive (Committee, difficulties in this direction a r e Staff of Brussels Public School, Ken- neth Edgar, Christina Dickson. Next place of meeting is to be Bras, tele The .report of the Resolution Com- mittee was presented by Mr. Moffat, Seaforth, as follows: Resolved - 1. That the thanks of the hti- tute be tendered Rev. Mr. McGoun, aid Acting -Mayor George H. Elliott for his kind words of welcome; also to the managers of St. Paul's Church for the use of Owen Memorial Hall. 2. • That the thanks of the Insti- tute be tenered Rev. Mr Foster for his excellent address to the teachers, also to Mrs Daugan and Mrs. Ag- new, who delighted the audience with their pleasing music; to the Blyth orchestra for their relightful selec- tions, and to the Girl's' Club of Wes- ley -Willis Church for the excellent dinner provided by them. 3. That the thanks of the Instie- tute be tendered the staff of Clinton Public School for the splendid music rendered so creditably by their pupils. 4. That the thanks, of the Insti- tute be tendered to all those who so ably assisted in the programme, es- pecially Miss McCready for her ex- cellent addresses. 5. That the memorization selec- tions for entrance he changed fre- quently. T ntl yhat a moratorium ' be declared in regard to second year Normal Course allowing those teachers with Second Class certificates two years_ extra teaching and those holding first olass certificates four years extra. teaching before having to return to Normal School. 7. That the third readers be re- vised as many selections are too dif- ficult. . That the grants be revised as they are working to the disadvantage of the counties. 9. That the teachers of East Hur- on forward to Mrs. Trealeaven a let- ter of condolence in leer bereavement. 10. That the by-laws governing the Superannuation Funds be revised to allow teachers to withdraw money paid into the fund after four years rather than after five years teaching as at present. Miss McCready' was again heard in an address on "Helpful Hooke for Teachere." She gave in brief outline eeme of the best books for school mueic, plays; poetry, gegraphy, history, refernce, esychology„ Bib- lical lore fairy stories, gauttnat* Nature .atudy, health, garnets and art: She was listened to WW1 %tel. - est, and could not fall'to have belie*" s' fitted her audience. (Continued on page 4) Crop conditions throughout On- tario -continue very satisfactory as far as yield is concerned. Excel- lent crops of potatoes, roots and corn, both for ensilage and green, are being harvested. Sugar beets have been moving to market in good condi- tion and tobacco growers were favor- ed with excellent weather for har- vesting their crops. New fall wheat is showing a greater amount of growth of top than usual and will go into the winter iri good condition. There is a fairly largei yield of small seeds such as Red Clover. In most counties fall plowing and after -har- vest cultivation is well advanced. PriceFl for such crops as potatoes, turnips, grains and the majority of farm products, as reported by repre- sentatives, are very discouraging. FARM NOTES When to Apply Lime. A test of the soil should be made to make sure that it requires lime. If the soil proves 'to be acid then the answer to the question when to apply lhoe might be "when you have time." Lime is for the benefit of all crops in the rotation, but particularly of bene- fitto legutmes. The best time is pos- sibly just before sowing a grain crop that. is seeded down with altalfa .,or clovers. Liming land plowed far fall wheat which is "to be seeded with clover in the -spring is a ceervenient and satiefactore paetiee. Lit* is not a fertilizer, but aimply Ineatralizes the acidity a the soil and eliould be thoroughly worked bay the soil dur- ing the preparation bf a Seeded to greatly increased when the home neg- lects or fails in this important re- gard. He would make good discip- line the reason for reward, rather than that bad behaviour should be the reason for punishment. He de- plored the lack of courtesy, some- times displayed' by the youth of to- day, and attributed it to lack of pro- per discipline in home and school. He gave a short account of his meth- ods of dealing with some difficul- ties coming up in the common round of his daily duties. Pupils of Miss Cud:more and Miss Courtice of the Clinton Public School staff, under the direction of Prqfes- sor Anderton, enlivened the morning session, and the work of these little ones received merited applause. At the noon hour a dinner was served in Wesley -Willis Church by the ladies of the Girls' Club. While dinner was being served, the Blyth Orchestra, of which President Ashton is a member, rendered much appre•• dated mitsic. Mrs. Dougan, soloist of Clinton, rendered beautiful and well chosen vocal numbers, accom- panied by Mrs. Agnew, and their music delighted the audience. The dinner speaker wasthe minister of Wesley -Willie Church. Fr. Foster, himself a former public school teach- er, in hie address, h4 called for whole -hearted service of the teaching body in the life of the community, more eepecially in the church life. His address was listened to with in- terest by all preserit. Resuming their deliberations in the afternoon, Norman Hoove-r, of Brussels, spoke on "Agriculture in the 'Public Schools," urging its adop- tion in rural schools because of its possibilities in developing the power of observation, providing real and practical information related to the particular community in which the pupils reside, and tends towards pro- ducing a sympathetic attitude to- wards plain farming. He tecom- Mended the use of concrete material whenever possible, and pictures for things impossible to obtain. He recommended the making of collec- tions of weeds, weed seeds!, woods, and insects, as well as carefully kept notebooks and scrapbooks as inter- esting and beneficial. He felt that there should always be a definite time for this study on the time -table and that short periods were much preferable to long, Miss Arnett and Miss Jamieson continued the diseus- sion describing the methods used in organizing ane conducting school - gardens, and the benefits, derived theeefrom. Dr. Yield then introduoed Miss MdCready, Librarian of the amil- Proper Ration Needed. A hen may lay a few eggs early in the spring witheut receiving much feed or attention or she may lay at the end of the season when feed may be picked up in the fields, but the ben has not yet been devel- oped that will lay without the Dee- per ration during the fall and winter months. A good mash is. important if the hens are to) ly, and it should be before the birds all the time. If any one of the necessary elements re- quired for the making of eggs is ab- sent, production is impaired. Pullets require a little different mash' than the old hens and it is a mistake to house them together and have them feed from the same hopper. Home- grown feeds with the addition of some purchased concentrates may be mixed or a commercial mash may be pur- chased that will supply the neeessary inkgredientt to the bird. Chickens will pay dividends if properly housed and given the right rations. 44