The Exeter Advocate, 1897-2-18, Page 6Wort.
i,� % vialout start a:anin blank wondoiment,
aJ#A ark �a
"Theo he had escaped?"
,,Rather, gone away. With him was
missing the bottle front whioh I had
administered the etinaultiting medicine.
Ican now satisfied that the tramp had
By Paul.Ingelow.
(CO>`rrlgusD.)
After remaining in the neighoorhood
for over an hour, Le Britta became inn-
patieut. There had not even the slightest
trace of activity about the vilia—no
;lights, no servants visible. He coin*
nearer to the house. It was oiosele
shuttered. He penetrated the grounds, he
even peered in at unguarded windows..
Therewas no sign of life about the
gloomy place.
Just leaving the grounds. he came to a
halt as a carriage and two horses came
toiling along the sandy road.
He • recognized `the driver on the box
----it waft the steward whom Ralph
Durand had employed a few days pre-
views, and as he dismounted to open
the iron gates be spied Le Britta. 4
"Looking for anybody?" he queried,
in a suspieloua tone of voice.
"Yes," Le Britta was forced to say,
"Mr. Durand,""Oh, him! He's gone.
"Gone where?"
"Away on business. I just drove
Mm over country to catch an east bound
train. He's ordered me to close the
Villa for the next month. He won't be
back for some tune."
"Where will a letter reaoh him?"
ventured Le Britta.
"Address iu my Dare," was the keen
respouse. "Say, I know you, and I
know that you're after --a trace of Miss
Vernon. Well, I've this to say to you,
and that ends it—she's been sent to
some frieuds by Mr. Durand, several
hundred miles from bere, and you won't
be very likely to find her by seeking"
As he spoke the man coolly led his
horses into the grounds, and closed the
gates on the dismayed Le Britta,
Ralph ' Durand had scored another
victory. He had got the whole game in
his hands, and had covered his tracks by
a timely disappearance.
1 "Beaten—thrown off the trail!" mur-
mured Le Britta, slowly walking down
the road. "1 can do positively nothing.
Gladys has been spirited away,'Vance,
too, probably, and, at a distance, Dur-
and will mature his plans whatever they
may be. A month! Why! in that time
the scoundrel may force Gladys to marry
him, dispose of Vance, realize on the
mortgaged real estate, and so complicate
affairs as to leave nothing but wreck
and ruin in his wake. I give it up at
last, I have tried to help the poor girl,
, and"—
Lo Britta paused nbruptIy and started
`with a shook, for at just that moment a
wild form rushed down the road, fairly
colliding with him.
Then, with a quick, excited ejacula-
tion, the new -comer grabbed Le Britta's
.arm, and peered into his face, keenly
.and excitedly.
"I've found you—good!"
Le Britta started and thrilled, for
, wonder of wonders! the speaker was—
Dr. Richard Milton!
"Goner` cried Le Britta, with a
possessed his senses all day. kis watched
rue. He realized his situation. His
wounded arm was no detriment • to
getting around. Tt was the. fever; the
frequent fits of d iiriuni that bothered
hem and 1 believe he
reeallod how he had imparted his secret ! "No matter about that now,'
c" u3. 1. thick he regretted it. At all "We must try to And the tramp,"
events, he had arisen, dressed himself, "It will be more difficult to trace a
and taking the stimulant and a beetle man unknown than a person like Ralph
of brandy with him, had disappeared"
"You followed him"—
"I tried to. At first I thought be bad friends were at the village.
waudered away its delirium. I, never
imagined he •could. go far in his terribly Promised reward spurred the town
weak condition, Then in a 'flash, I officials to send out their men in quest of
thought of an impelling motive for Ms the tramp as described by the photog-
flight --the hidden treasure: I knew not raphes.
of the success or failnre of your effortsAll the nest day both Le Britta and'
to senors is copy of the missing half of the dootor personally scoured the oaun-
' `You are sure?" breathed . Le Britta,
anxiously.
"Positive."
t i tyhy?,
"You see this piece of cloth?"
"Yes."
"It is one of the bandages I placed on
his arm,"
"'Which he dropped here?"
"In bisrough haste in securing the
treasure, yes. That is the poly solution
to the affair. The tramp has antiolpated
us. The treasure is gone."
"Ob!. why did I not coma here early
thismorning," groaned Le Britta.
Durand. Le Britta, I fear we are at
odds with fate... We have lost the game."
It looked so. Within an hour the two
CHAPTER XXV1IL--GONE!
{ The last man in the world .Tera Le
'Britta would have expected to see at
• 1awthorno villa, Dr. Richard Milton,
gazed fixedly at his friend.
The photographer was almost too
,astonished to speak, but he managed to
gasp forth:—
''Dick—Doctor, Dick t What in the
,world"—
"Brought me here?"
"sus."
"After you."
"After me!"
"Exactly, I have been looking every -
:where for yon."
"Why"—
:; Doctor. Millan took his companion's
1,arm and walked on with him.
"/ followed you to the city," be ex-
,plained. "I found you had left the
tooneiave; I imagined you had come here,
i"not having gone home. What news
',reran'
Le Dritta felt positive that his friend
j had some important disclosure to make,
but ho repressed his curiosity and sue-
,penso and briefly narrated the develop -
tenants in the Vernon case since last they
'bad met.
The doctor was an interested Iistener,
estartled one too, as he learned of the
ast move on the part of Ralph Durand.
"The scoundrel has indeed check-
»lnated your every move„" he com-
xrlented. "It's plain to me what bis
flans are."
"Then you think?"—
"That he has terrorized Gladys Vernon
•
;completely, has removed her to some
'iteoluded retreat, where she will be a
:virtual prisoner in the hands of paid
!emissaries, that be has removed the lover
Vance likewise to a new prison -place.
Jae holds Vance's life and liberty in his
'keeping. By this means he silences the
! girl. Meantime he will proca id to
',negotiate a sale in the mortgaged.
!porperty unhampered by lbs girl's
interference, probably armed with her
{written consent to do so, and without
!fear of you or her other friends troubling
;Aire."
"But the ready money, the fortune,
)the hundred thousand dollars—he bas
not that!"
"No, he has probably considered that
as lost to hires."
i "And we have it—we know where
lit lsP'
"No I fear we do not," interrupted
i Doctor Milton, seriously,
"Eli:: Why! what do you mean, Dick?"
Ie Britta came to a sudden standstill,
'and viewed his friend with a startled
look, for the voice and manner of the
•Iattee bad grown decidedly ominous.
. "It was that money—that bidden
treasure of old Gideon Vernon's that
1t'P3rfd tat zee down here,"
"Toe money --the hidden treasure?"
as .., slztoger.
" r�;;.� treen . Izt #anger!'"
lettinefey en."
i "It:I do recee endear ld yo J
'Sl.xaot3;r. leen Icxww fee condition
tee left ,..Ln i dsi.14o tx. Wei?, that
day :be Vet a'eeetdenly better: The
:apse per lened. rata eta Esus!'• he would
Se saaelont&"I„ 'the e $Ltd aaalso i : eT7 41zr
a:.Y,t I tivce termer movie': ae i the
1 !:teeing of lids: *Annan next tattoo to
,ondeadwleteo e. altennett ceenneeillant '.Fester-
iiday e'4en? dab 'fie L!9.'" Ort '.iet'ly'
r"'w'.hen I lef`t ' Ube, .j: treat, to call cm a
'';patient< When T
`"--
I Doctor Mfltclt fro. s,dively
ft d sighed-•�a ar :ed, e s> fat ;sigh,
"When I refJfi i`,e^" he repested, in
,eoaelusion, "the transij ares---.,gonstr
his written secret I had men search in
the vicinity of my ace and throughout
the town. No trace. I started for the
conclave after you. I hoped to find you
here, and here. I came. That is how I
happen to be here."
The doctor's graphic story bewildered
and yet aroused Le Britta.
His eyes scintillated with anxiety and
excitement.
"Dick!" he ejaculated, "we must
And that man."
"I should say ,o!"
"You think he came here?"
"I think he started for here."
"In quest of the bidden treasure?"
"Wbat else?"
"He may have 'fallen by the way."
"That is probable, but this Is the
end of the trail to guard. Possibly I
am here ahead of him. He would have
to travel slowly. There ism doubt in my
mind but that he has changed his mind,
and, his strength returned and his old
covetousness revived, he wishes to secure
the treasure."
"We must stop biml"
"Rather anticipate him. You see, Le
Britta, he may not have arrived. If we
secure the treasure or find it intact, ens
of us will remain at the spot where it is
hidden and await the tramp's coming.
'the other, if he does not soon arrive,
will go back toward home, and try to
And him on the way hither."
"Dind you are a jewel to pian!"
spoke Le Britta, gratefully. "That will
be the move to make. for if the tramp
has his senses again, all the more reason
than ever that we keep him closely
guarded and near us."
"You mean?"
"That we may as soon as possible
confront that villian Durand with him,
and clip his wings effectually by
proving him, on the tramp's clear
evidence, to be the murderer of, old
Gideon Vernon!"
The two friends hurried on, Le Britta
leading the -way toward the nearest
houses
"Wait hero," be said, upon reaching a
small cottage.
He disappared down the graveled
walk, and the waiting doctor beard him
knock at the rear door. Then there was
a brief parley, and Le Britta reappeared.
"I've borrowed a lantern," he
announced
"Then you intend"—
"To go at once to the ravine."
"You think you can locate the spot?"
"Where the treasure is secreted?—we
must!"
"And at night!"
"The tramp may arrive at any
moment. I have explicit directions from
the message be had written. I looked
over the ground to -day, but believed the
treasure to be safe enough for a later
visit, and my thoughts and time were
occupied with poor Gladys Vernon's
affairs. If we can only recover the
tramp, her persecutions are over."
"And Ralph Durand's just begun."
"Yes. .Here we are. Down the path
here—this is certainly the way Gideon
Vernon came the night of the murder,
according to the tramp's statement.
There is the large stone described. Hold
the lantern. Here is a clump of bushes.
That's lit Hold• the lantern higher.
Now, then, hand it down to me."
Le Brittn, with the contents of the
written key to the secret treasure well
memorized, had led. his companion down
the ravine. ,
Step by step he had traced out the
location of the spot where Gideon
Vernon had put away his ready cash
fortune to prevent it falling into un-
friendly hands, and had died ere he could
communicate the secret to his niece,
Gladys.
"Here is the rock described,"
Le Britta, eagerly. "Yes, this
exact spot, but"—
An ejaculation of consternation escaped
bis lips. Dr. Richard Milton leaned over
the edge of the ravine, thrilling at its
ominous echo.
"What Is it?" he queried, In suspense.
"You have located the right spot?"
"Yes."
"And the treasure"—
"We are too late!" announced Le
Britta, in a hollow tone of voice; "the
treasure is—gone!" -
spoke
is the
try for some trace of the man who had
rewarded their kindness by parrying
away a royal fortune.
Two nights later, discouraged and
baffled, the friends left the vioinity of
Hawthorne villa.
The doctor was nettled at being
Neaten; Jera Le Britta felt disoouraged,
disheartened.
As a sudden storm sweeps a hill -top' of
verdure in a moment of time or a
swooping breeze changes the whole
aspect of a placid pool, so had the past
two days disintegrated and demolished
the fabric of plot, counterplot and colo-
plication whioh had presented itself as a
tangible Labyrinth to. Le Britta.
Not a clue was in sight. Durand had
disappeared, taking with him Gladys
Vernon and Sydney Vance.
The tramp had secured the hidden
fortune, and was not to be found.
Justice slept; the right had been
defeated; wrong and cunning were
seemingly triumphant.
All that Le Britta had done in the
interest of justice had, it seemed, been
of no avail.
Home and its endearments looked
dark, with a return signalized by dis-
aster and defeat, and duty half accom-
plished. -
"That is the end of the Vernon case!"
sighed Doctor Milton, as the train neared
home.
"No," replied Le Britta, "I cannot
believe it. It only sleeps—we are shut
out from further present investigation,
villainy is triumphant, innocence
persecuted, bub—'the mills of the gods
griud slowly, but they grind exceedingly
n m
t that we shall
' Naar h
email! I feel Iy
yet be called upon to champion anew
the cause of poor Gladys Vernon. I feel
that yet, fano to face, skill for skill,
plot for plot, blow for blow, I shall meet
that double hearted sooundrel, Ralph
Durand, and vanquish him i"
Prophetic words! The hour was to
dawn, the great Vergon case was to be
revivified, but at a time and in a manner
little dreamed of by the true -hearted
photographer1
For tho present it slumbered, for the
time being all its obscured issues were
hidden completely from the publio view.
• And Jora Le Britta resumed his duties
as citizen, friend and a man of family,
with many a longing thought of the
lives held under the cruel domination of
Ralph Darand's wicked power, until
one night, one dark, stormy night, when
the wind howled dismally and the rain
beat frantically at casement and
threshold, and the great wings of the
storm flapped out the light of moon and
stars, the gifted artist opened the book
of his life at a new and an eventful
page.
CHAPTER XXIX.—IN GLOOM.
Gone!
Yes the treasure was gone. The dis-
mayed Le Britta knew it at a glance,
the startled Doctor Milton realized the
fact in a very few moments of time.
Ie had been these, and recently too.
The correct hiding-plaoe ofthe fortune
had been located. All these facts were
soon verified, but—the situation could
be summed up in five little words—.
They had come too late!
The tramp, Dr. Milton's mysterious
patient, bad preceded them.
As Doctor Milton sprang down the
rooky ledge to the side of his. friend, and
viewed the spot in ,the flickering rays of
the lantern, he saw at a glance that
there was real cause for anxiety and
consternation,
There lay a b eatflat stone overturned.
In she soft yielding earth beneath was
the impress of a broad wallet.
The dirt was disturbed, and the spot
showed evidences of a recent visit.
Ab first the two friends feared' that
their startling discovery. might !lave
some connection with the flight of Ralph
Durand.
They momentarily chilled as they
reflected that he might have discovered
the hiding -place of the fortune, have
secured thetreasure and have disappeared
with it: -
But, no! Lying on the ground near
the stone was a piece of white cloth,
and, picking It up, Doctor Milton
announced:—
"The tramp was here!"
proceeded to the nearest livery-stob]e,
and obtained the fastest light turnout in
the establishnxent.
It was dusk when he started. One
hour later the storm overtook him, . The
darkness was intense, the road. unfamil-
iar.
Crash 1 off went a wheel in a deep rut.
With a neigh of pain the horse sank
down, its forefoot disabled by a slip.
ATO ]31t eoNriennao.)
Cocoanut Lay.
Cocoanut day—the conoiliation of, Nep-
tune -has just been celebrated in India.
God Neptune is a most important deity,
and it is always advisable to keep him in
good humor. There is no saying other-
wise how his friend Varuna may blow
the monsoons. The eoccanut day, of
course, marks the subsidence of God. Nep-
tune's playfulness, when the hoary deity
amide some fun by leading the "floating
palaces" of the humans a nice little dance
on his frisky waves, says an East India
correspondent of the London Times.
We seg about about god Neptune's pro-
pitiation in right"royal style. Brahmins,
of course, colic in as the pivot of the
affair. We all of us --unless we are too
old, or sickly, or lame, or too much en-
grossed in self-admiration—repair to=the
seashore, taking with us a lot of materials
of worship, as au offering to the water
deity. We move. some distance into the
water, the Bralunin stands in the middle
and recites hymns, and we, surrounding
him, respectfully offer cocoanuts, and
flowers, and mill: and sugar candy, and
fragrant powder to the sea gad. One
supremo honor still remains behind, and
we render it. We make lights and wave
them before the pacified divinity! Most
of us formerly used to throw cocoanuts
right into the sea, but as the Brahmins
took them up and made them their own,
we now, in order to save trouble to the
holy men, give them straight into their
hands.
In ]Iurraohee and other ports they
throw the cocoanuts into the sea, where
Musulman boat people get hold of then
and sell them later to the Bunnies in the
bazaar, whence they wine back to as
edibles. Those Mohammedan boat wallahs
are expert swimmers, and though the
little .Arab fellows at Aden and Port
Said, we are told, perform some marvel-
ous feats of diving, in .bringing up silver
coins thrown to them, their Moslem
oonferrees of the Indian ports are not less,,
expert in personal navigation. Once our
offerings to the deity are made, it matters
not to whom they go. SA it is perfectly
indifferent to us whether the Brahmin
youngsters eat the cocoanuts of Moslem
boat people or collect them in boatfuls.
There is no particular reason why
cocoanuts of all nuts should be offered
the water -deity. Any other fruits, too,
may be offered. Only the cocoanut is the
tropical fruit par excellence, and as it is
pre-eminently "watery," we imagine god
Neptune may just fancy it better. But
we do not simply give the cocoanuts to
the Brahmins, we accompany them with
some money present. Nothing pan be
given to the Brahmins unless her Maj•
esty's coin accompanies the gift. But they
eminently deserve it, on some occasions,
in ceremonies in which ablutions or any
.sort of "water -taking" comes in, we do
the. thing and pass on. But the Brahmins
remain constantly in the water, minister-
ing to every succeeding batch—which
means standing several hours together in
wet. And yet tIley never developo bron-
chitis!
ronchitis1 I suppose it is a case of adaptation.
to the spiritual onvironmelit,
=CHAPTER XXX. --A STRANGE
GUIDE.
Fierce rose the tempest; darker and
wilder grew the night.
Such a night! Jera Le Britta drew his
coat closer about bis neck, drove his hat
down over his brow, bent his head to
the storm and plodded along the muddy
road, splashing in and out great ruts
and puddles and almost blindly forcing
his way forward on his mission.
.A mission in keeping with the night
and its devastating influences. A mis-
sion of life or death, a self-imposed duty
that stern necessity had urged upon him.
For over a month he had been busy
at his studio. Since the distressing
climax in the affairs of the Vernons,
Le Britta had devoted his energies to
his profession with renewed vigor and
enterprise.
The season was a brisk one and it had
been all work—little time for study or
experiment. He bad to catch up—to pay
with double labor for the hours he had
bestowed on the affairs of others. There
were old orders to fill, and new ones to
attend to. His industrious assistant,
Maud bad her hands full. Le Britta
found barely time to write to the Vernon
lawyer, only to receive the disheartening:
reply that no trace of Gladys or Durand
had been discovered.
The afternoon preceding that stormy
night, Dootor Milton had received a
call from a patient some thirty miles
distant, who, hearing of his rare skill,
had sent for him. The doctor had taken
the train for his destination, butjust at
dusk Le Britta received a telegram
bearing his friend's signature.
It told Le Britta briefly that the doe -
tor had found his patient in an extremely
critical condition; that he needed a
certain medicine not to be obtained fn
the town near the home of his patient,
and it asked him to go to his of&ee and
secure a certain phial, This he , was to
hand to the express messenger on: the
evening train, with 'instructions to
deliver it to a messenger waiting at :the
depot of the town from which the tele-
gram was dated.
Circumstances tendedto interfere with
this arrangement, however. In the first
place, the message was delayed in its
delivery; in the next place, Le Britta
found some difficulty in securing the
bottle the doctor needed.
When he hurried, to the depot to catch
the express messenger, it was to see the
train just moving away.
"No train until midnight now,"
ruminated Le Britta, concernedly. "I
declare, it's too bad! Doctor Dick will
be expecting the medicine. Tee wouldn't
go to all this trouble about It if it wasn't
important.: He must have it. What had
I better do.I'll take it to him."
Le Britta at once framed a dispatch to
the station -agent at the town where ` the
doctor was, smiting him to inform Doctor
Milton's messenger that he had missed
the train, but would deliver the medicine
in person as soon, as a fast 'horse could
carry hila thither.
Then, arranging some little studio
details that were necessary, Le Brltta
LMM N
American Peanut 0I1.
The first peanut oil factory in the Uni-
ted States will be established here. The
oil is highly valued in Europe, and it is
stated that fully $5,000,000 worth of pea-
nuts aro brought into Marseilles annually
for the manufacture of oil, which is used
in toilet soaps and for other purposes.
The peanut flour is quiteextensively
used in Europe and made into bread,
cakes, biscuits, etc. It, is one of the fav-
orite articles of food, according to con.
soler reports, in hospitals in Germany.
The capital stook of the present company
is $60,000, and it is operating under the
patents of Mr. 'Weatherly, which cover
the machinery and methods of decorticat-
ing the kernel of the inner skin. Accord-
ing to the estimates made, the cost of a
plant for treating five tons of peanuts
daily is as follows: Machinery, 59,000;
building, $6,000, while the expenditures,
including labor, insurance and taxes,
amount to $337 per day. In a prospectus
issued by the company it is calculated
that the receipts from . five tons of pea
nuts will amount to 235 gallons of refined
oil, at $1 per gallon; 175 gallons of crude
oil, at 50 cents; 3;680 pounds of flour
and meal, at 2 cents, and 8,300 pounds
of stock feed, at 60 cents per -100 pounds,
making the total gross receipts $4155.90
per day, which, it is estimated, would
give a yearly profit on a five ton factory
of $19,725. -Norfolk Record.
CONSTRUCT -MG RESERVOIRS'
For Purposes of Irrigation Where Pumps
and Windmills Are Used.
Professor F. H. King of the Wiscon-
sin, experiment station, in his paper on
"Irrigation In Humid Climates," pub-
lished in a fanners' bulletin, has the
following to say on the construction of
the reservoirs necessary where pumps
are employed, and particularly if Wind-
mills are used:
The location of the reservoirs should
be such that its level is above that of
the land to which it is to supply water.
The deeper the reservoir can be made
the less will be the loss by evaporation
and usually also by leakage, but if the
water supplied to it is too cold to use it
Will waren faster in a shallow reservoir,
Where the soil is of a clayey nature a
good reservoir may be ,made by first
plowing and removing the sod to a dis-
tanoe beyond the border of the proposed
walls, because if introduced into the
wall it will leak. The earth is then
plowed and scraped into a broad ridge
having the inside slauting in order that
the waves shall not erode the embank-
ment. While the earth is being deposit-
ed in the wall it should be trampled
firm and close. When the proper height
and form have been given to the walls
of the reservoir, it is necessary to plow
and thoroughly pulverize the bottom to
a depth of five inches preparatory to
puddling it. if the reservoir is ciroular
in outline, the loosened soil should be
first wet at the center and thoroughly
puddled there by trampling with a
team. Then by widening the wet area
tie
CONSTRUCTION OF RESERVOIRS.
the team may be driven round and round
until the sides are reached and the
whole thoroughly worked into amortar.
In this condition, if thoroughly pud-
dled, the reservoir is nearly water tight.
To prevent washingthe innerslope
be covered with a layer of coarse gravel
or crushed. rook.
If a pexfootly water tight reservoir is
desired, tho bottom should be cemented,
coated with asphalt and sand, or six or
eight inches of crick lay used. '-' the
puddling.
To remove the water from the reser-
voir the best plan is to use lap weld
steam pipe,provided with an elbow and
laid with the month of the elbow level
with the ,bottom of the reservoir and
facing up. This is olosedwith a plug to
which a long T handle is attached. The
cut represents a cross section of reservoir
with ping iusorted in the discharge pipe.
The end of the pipe where the plug is
inserted should bo thoroughly imbedded
in a large mass of cement heavy enough
to prevent it from being shaken when
the plug is taken out or inserted. A res-
ervoir with sloping aides should have
an outlet at the junction of the sides
and bottom, and it will be necessary to
build a pier out to it in order to reach
the ping.
A reservoir 4 fent deep and 40 feet in
diameter will hold water enough to ir-
rigate 0.85 acre 4 inches deep and 0,69
acre 2 inches deep and 100 feet in di-
ameter will irrigate 4.62 and 2.16 acres
2 and 4 inches deep respectively.
Not Appreciated.
A lady bad a cook who gave her every
satisfaction, and she was under the im-
pression that the cook was equally..satis-
fled with her place.
• But one morning, to the lady's intense
surprise, the cook gave her the usual
month's notice.
"But whatever do you want to leave
for, Jane?" asked her mistress. "I am
very pleased with you, and I thought
you were quite comfortable here."
"Yes, mum, I'm comfortable enough
3n a way, but—"
. The cook hesitated, and fidgeted about.
"But what?" queried her mistress.
"Well, mum," she blurted out, "the
fact is, themaster don't seem to 'pre -
elate my cookery, and I cannot stop in a
place whore my efforts to please are.
wasted; -so I'd. rather go, mum."
"But what makes you think that your
master doesn't appreciate your cookery?
Has he ever complained to you?". asked
the lady,
"No, mum.; but my late master was
always hem laid up through over: -salla:
hisself; he said he couldn't help dein'
50, because my cookery was so delicious,
master ain'tbeenlaidonce all
but up
tae three months I've been here!"
Ho Camo.
The mountain had strangely found voice.
" Mohammed?" it repeated thoughtfully.
"Why, yes. I alwaysregarded 11Mohatumed
as a coming man, you know."-••--..,.
Wholly indifferent •
"Young mean," said the multimillion-
dire angrily, "how Clare you get engaged
withoutmykriewledge and to an actress?
"Such a matter, sir, is one.in which I do
not think that even it father should be ab-
solute."
"But you never earned -a dollar in your
life. Supposing I publicly renounce you?"
"All right, sir. The oftener you pub-'
licly renounce me themore you advertise
niy wife."—Washington Star.
IMPROVED ARTICHOKES.
Tubers Which Are Finding Increased re"
vor as Food For Stook. '
Attention has been called of late to
artichokes as food for stook, notably for
bogs. Farmers invarions sections of the;
country have reported success with. feed- .;
ing swine on these tubers until a short]
time before )selling, when a few bushels
of Dorn are given to harden the flesh. i
Following are extracts from a Michigan i
farmer's letter to Vick'sIllustrated!
11Son:
Onethlyacre of artichokes will keep from
20 to 30 hogs in the best condition, asl
the; are always
healthy when fed
on them. For
horses, cattle and
sheep there is not
a beater root
grown.' One acre
will produoe
from 800 to 700
bushels of tubers,
depending on the
soil. The improv-
ed artichoke is
entirely different
from the native
or wild variety
which is raised in
some gardens.
T h e Improved
White French is
a native of
France, where it
is largely grown
'for domestic use
as well as for
stook. It grows.
1,a•;�! about 6 feet in
W tt0VEn WHITE ARTI–height, and in
OHOIi'e. the fall is cover-
ed with yellow blossoms, whioh in this
country' never mature seed; hence no
danger of covering the farm. My five
years' experience has proved to me that
they can be destroyed. My plan is'to
plow under when one foot in height. A
simpler way is to leave the hogs in the
patch a little late in the spring, and I
they will End every one.
The tubers are much like Irish pota- •
toes in appearance, only rougher, flesh
pure white, very brittle and sweet. !
Many farmers in Newago county are]
growing them extensively as a general
farm crop. The artichoke is important,
as no insect, blight or rust has yet struck 1
it, and the tops make a good fodder
when properly handled. Last winter
they were tested at the Fromontcream-
ory with the best of f results.
Lowland which is too frosty for corn
and many other crops is just the place
for artichokes, as freezing does not hurt
them. Drought seems to have but little'
effect on them.
Start a Pine Grove.
The pine tree, one of the most useful
timber treos ever grown, thrives in Newt
England, but the original growth was;
cut off by the early settlors. The land
on which it grew failed to produce ply-;
ing crops after a few years midis Iiow
mostly deserted—a, waste so far as use -I
ful crops are concerned. Rural New.
Yorker calls attention to the efforts now
being made to encourage the planting'
of pine trees again on this land, and in
parts of New Hampshire and Massaohn-;
setts quite a little of it has actually,
been done. The seeds of the pine are'
broadcasted, usually with oats or other
grain, and after a year or two the sur-'
plus trees are cut out. Itis said that all ,
a pine tree needs is a "foothold in the;
soil .and water," and it certainly.does
make a surprising growth on poor land.1
At the end of 20 years some of the
trees may be out and sawed into the
narrow boards used in making boxes. I
ion time to
Twenty years may seem a g
Fertilizer Law of New York. wait for a. crop, but the cost is little,
The present fertilizer law of New • while the returns are sure. Thousands
York requires that there shall be affixed of people are satisfied to insure their
to each package of fertilizer a plainly lives on the 20 year installment plan as
printed statement certifying (1) the an investment. Any man of middle age
net weight, (2) the name; brands or on a New England farm containing
trademark, (3) the name and address "waste land" might well consider the
of the manufacturer and (4) the chem- plan of starting a pine grove to provide
ical composition expressed as follows: a shelter against the blasts of old age.
Per cent of nitrogen; per cent of avail- ►
able phosphoric acid, or, in case of un- Connectiont Tobacco.
dissolved bone, total phosphoric acid, The Connecticut Courant is authority
and per cent of potash soluble in distilled for the statement that in the town of
water. Before any fertilizer can be East Hartford there are 250 growers of
legally sold, offered or exposed for sale tobacco, who last year raiihd 888% tons
in this state the manufacturer or agent of tobacco on 1,185 acres of land, the
must file with the New York agricui- crop being worth over $302,000, at an
tural experiment station at Geneva a average price of 17 cents per pound.
statement like that provided for on This is tho first good crop since 1892.
packages and also an additional' state- In that year most of the tobacco was
ment in January of every year. When pure Havana; this year only about 75
fertilizers contain' leather or similar acres of Havana were grown.
inert products, the fact must be explicit-
lyA and conspicuously stated on each
package. The present fertilizer law an. For planters of small gardens . Texas
plies to "any commercial fertilizer or correspondent of Farm and Fireside
any material to be used as a fertilizer gives an illustrated description of a
the selling price of which exceeds $10 homemade tool which he finds very sere
per ton," when such goods are sold,
offered or exposed for sale in this state.
--Bulletin New York Station.
' Tobacco Propagated From Slips.
Foreign exchanges give the intelli-
gence of the discovery of a tobacco ex-
port of Hungary which may cause do
cided changes in the system of culture.
Tobacco has, been hitherto treated as an
annual plant. According tp the new
system, it can be propagated from slips.
tt is claimed that the leaves harvested
?rem plants propagated from slips are
s of the
to those • is superior
in all
res ec
P
mother . plant. Should these reports
prove trate the chief.' labor in ,tobacco
cultivation Dia growing new plants every
year from the seed will be done away
with.
ateelain ing Lost Meadows.
Theg eological survey of New Jersey
has revived the, subject of the reoiama-.
tion of the Hackensack and Newark
salt ineadows. ' State Geologist Smock'
recently visited Holland to study the
system of diking and pumping, and
State Engineer Vermuele has prepared
a large map showing where dikes should
be built and canals .cut. The Country
Gentleman estimates that the meadows'
have an area of 27,000 acres, and the
cost of reclaiming them by diking and
pumping is estimated at only $8 Ox $T
an acre,
iceable in. planting small beds, such as
radish, onion, etc. Take a plank 0 or 8
inches wide and 1 foot long. Hollow
. :_m_2_,._.4.4,17t _,,..1....7--na.
_--------...;
-7—,�—
v�.FI,.-t.t„,�. ...�
�.nY:
dun
_y
l iAnnER 1 OR sMM 1 GARDENS.'
out the side that is intended to drag oft'
the ground, and nail a small, sharp stink
to it, which is intended to open a small
furrow for :the seeds. Attach a handle
about 6 feet long to the top' edge of the
board andull it straight ahead over
P, gh.
freshly plowed ground, and you will
have a nice smooth ridge, with a small
furrow on top to receive the seeds. To
Dover the seeds, remove the 'ama'stick
and drag the oomoern ever the ridis k,