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VOL. XXVII.
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PITTSBORO. CHATHAM miTNTTY N P. THTTRR11 A Y L mnv
THE SPLENDID SPUR
OR
THE ADVENTURES
By ARTHUR T.
X?
f
CHAPTER XIII.
The Adventure of the Hearse.
The day spring came at last, and In
the sick light of it I went down to the
cottage for spade and pickaxe. In
the tumult of my senses I hardly noted
that our prisoner, the dragoon, had
contrived to slip his bonds and steal
off in the night. -'
And then Delia, seeing me return
with the sad tools on my shoulder,
spoke for the first time:
"First, if there be a well near, fetch
me two buckets of water and leave us
for an hour."
Her voice was weary and chill. But
a dozen paces from the spot where
Joan's father lay, I dug a grave and
strewed it with bracken and heather
and gorse petals.
I lifted her softly and bore her down
the slope to the grave, and there I
buried her, while Delia knelt and
prayed, and Molly browsed, lifting now
and then her head to look.
"When all was done, we turned away,
dry-eyed, and walked together to the
cottage. The bay horse was feeding
on the moor below; and finding him
still too lame to carry Delia, I shifted
the saddles, and, mending the broken
rein, set her on Molly.
' Delia, have you nothing to say?"
For a while she seemed to consider;
then, with her eyes fixed on the hills
ahead, answered:
"Much, if I could speak; but all this
has change! me somehow tis, per
haps, that I have grown a woman, hav
ing been a girl and need to get used
to it, and think."
She spoke not angrily, as I looked
for, but with a painful slowness that
was less hopeful.
"But," said I, "over and over you
have shown that Lam naught to you.
Surely"-
'Surely I am jealous? 'Tis possi
bleyes, Jack, I am but a woman,
end so 'tis certain." -
''Why, to be jealous, you must love
ne!''
looked at me straight, and an
swered very deliberate:
"7ow, that is what I am far from
cr.re of."
' But, dear Delia, when your anger
has cooled"- ,
"My anger was brief; I am disap
pointed, rather. With her last breath,
almost, Joan said you were weaker
than she; she loved you better than
I. and read you clearer. You are weak,
Jack" she drew in Molly, and let her
hand fall on my shoulder very kindly
"we have been comrades for many a
long mile, and I hope are" honest, good
friends; wherefore I loathe to say a
harsh or ungrateful sedming word. But
you could not understand that brave
girl, and you cannot understand me;
fo: E3 yet you do not even know
yourself. The knowledge comes slow
ly to a man, I think; to a woman at
one rush. When it comes, I believe,
you may be strong. Now leave me to
think, for my head is full of a tangle."
Our pace was so slow (by reason of
the lame horse), that a great part of
the afternoon was spent before we
came in sight of the House of Gleys.
And truly the yellow sunshine had
flung some warmth about the naked
walls and turrets, so that Delia's home
coming seemed not altogether cheer
less. But what gave us more happi
ness was to spy, on the blue water be
yond, the bright canvas of the God
send, and to hear the cries and stir
of Billy Pottery's marines as they
hauled down the sails.
And Billy himself wa3 on the look
out with his spyglass. For hardly
were we coma to the beach when our
signal the waving of a white kerchief
was answered by another on board;
and within half an hour a boat puts
off, wherein, as she drew nearer, I
counted eight fellows.
After many warrn greetings, the boat
was made fast, and we! climbed up
along the peninsula together, in close
order, like a little army.
All this time there was no sign or
sound about the House of Gleys to
show that any one marked us or noted
our movements. The gat9 was closed,
the windows stood shuttered, as on
my former visit; even the chimneys
were smokeless. Such effect had this
desolation on our spirits that, drawing
near, we fell to speaking in whispers,
and said Ned Masters:
"Now a man would think us come
to bury somebody !"
"He might make a worse guess," I
answered.
Marching up to the gate, I rang a
loud peal on the bell; and to my as
tonishment, before the echoes had time
to die away, the grating was pushed
back, and the key turned in the lock.
"Step ye in step ye in, good folks!
A sorry day of sobs an tears an' af
flicted blowings of the nose when the
grasshopper is a burden an the mourn
ers go about seeking whom they may
devour the funeral "meats,. Y' are wel
come, gentlemen." ?
'Twas the voice of my' one-eyed
friend, as he undid" the bolts; and now
he stood in the gateway with a pro
digious black sash across his canai-y
livery, so long that the end of it swept
the flagstones.
"Is Master Tingcomb within?" I
hfclped Delia to dismount, and gave
tur two horses to a stable boy that
stood shuffling some paces off.
"Alas!" the old man heaved a deep
igfc, and with that began to bobble
u cross the yard, We trooped' after.,
-
OF JACK MARVEL
QUILLER COUCII.
wondering. At the house door he
turned:
"Sirs, there is cold roasted capons,
an' a ham, An' radishes in choice pro
fusion, an' cordial wines alack the
day!"
He squeezed a frosty tear from his
one eye, and led. us to a large, bare
hall, hung round with portraits; where
was a table spread with plenty of "vic
tuals, and horn-handled knives and
forks laid besides plates of pewter;
and at the table a man in black, eat
ing. He had straight hair and a sal
low face, and looked up as we en
tered, but, groaning, in a moment fell
to again.
"Eat, sire," the old servitor exhorted
us; "alas! that man may take noth
ing out o' the world!"
I know not who of us was most taken
aback. But, noting Delia's sad, won
dering face, as her eyes wandered
round the neglected room and rested
on the tattered portraits, I lost pa
tience. "Our business is with Master Han
nibal Tingcomb," said I sharply.
The straight-haired man looked up
again, his mouth full of ham.
"Hush!" he held his fork up, and
shook his head sorrowfully, and I won
dered where I had seen him before.
"Hast thou an angel's wings?" he
asked.
"Why, no, sir; but the devil's own
boots as you shall find if I be not
answered.
"Young man young man," broke in
the one-eyed butler, "our minister is
a good minister, and speaks round
about as such, but the short is that
my master is dead and in his coffin."
"The mortal part," corrected the min
ister, cutting another slice.
"Aye, the immortal Is a-trippin it i
the New Jeroosalem, but the mortal
was very lamentably took wi' a fit
three days back the same day, young
man, as thou earnest wi' thy bloody
threats."
"A fit?"
"Aye. sir an' verily, such a fit as
thou thysel' witnessed. 'Twas the third
attack an' he cried, 'Oh!' he -did, an'
Ah!' Just like that. 'Oh!' an' then
'Ah!' Such were his last dyin speech.
'Dear Master, says I, 'there's no call
to die so hard;' but. might so well ha'
whistled, for he was dead as nails. A
beautiful corpse, sirs, dang my but
tons!" "Show him to us."
"Willingly, young man." He led the
way to the very room where Master
Tingcomb and . I had held our inter
vied. As before, six candles were burn
ing there, but the table was pushed
into a corner, and now their light fell
on a long black coffin resting on tres
tles in the centre of the room. The
coffin was closed, and studded with
silver nails; on the lid was a silver
plate bearing these words, written:
"Hannibal Tingcomb, MDCXLIII.,"
with a text of Scripture below.
"Why have, you nailed him down?"
I asked.
"Now where be thy bowels, young
man, to talk so unfeelin'? An' where
be thy experience, not to know the
ways o' thy blessed bed in summer
time?"
"When do you bury him?"
''To-morrow forenoon. The spot is
two miles from here." He blinked
at me, and hesitated for a minute. "Ik
it your purpose sirs, to attend?"
"Be sure of that," I said, grimly. "So
have beds ready to-night for all our
company."
"All thy ! Dear sir, consider;
where are beds to be found? Sure,
thy mariners can pass the night aboard
their own ship?"
"So, then," thought I, "you have been
on the lookout;" but; Delia replied for
me:
"I am Delia Killigrew and mistress
of this house, - You will prepare the
beds as you are told." Whereupon
what does that decrepit old sinner but
drop upon his knees?
"Mistress Delia! Oh, goodly feast
for this .one'' poor eye! Oh, that Mas
ter Tingcomb had seen this day!"
I declare the tears were running
down his nose; but Delia marched out,
cutting short his hypocrisy.
In the passage she whispered:
"Villainy, Jack!"
"Hush!" I answered, "and listen:
"Master Tingcomb is no more in that
coffin than I." ; - '
"Then where is he?"
"That is just what we are to dis
cover." .-
"" ..
About 11 o'clock that same night I
crept out of tfte house, and, finding,
as I suspected, a hearse in front of
the door,, crept into it, along with
Matt Soames, whom I had summoned
to help me. - ?:
By coiling up our limbs we managed
it, but only just before I caught the
glimmer of a light and heard two per
sons approaching. They were my one
eyed friend and the good minister.
They came very slow, grumbling -all.
the wayj. and of course I knew they
carried the coffin.
"All right, -Sirn?" asked the minister.
"Aye,'.' piped a squeaky voice by the
horses' heajls ftwas the shuffling sta
ble boy), "aye, but look sharp! Lord,
what sounds I've heerd! The devil's i'
the hearse for sure!"
They raised the coffin and pushed it
into the hearse. It was a close squeeze
for Matt. The door was clapped to,
and the three rogues climbed uron tire
eeqt in front, and we started,
I hope I may never be called to "pasa
such another half hour as that which
followed. As soon as the wheels left
turf for the hard road 'twas jolt, jolt
all the way. Finally we turned sharp
to the right with a jolt that shook our
teeth together, rolled for a little while
over smooth grass and drew up.
I heard the fellows climbing down
and got my pistols out.
"Simmy," growled the minister,
"where's the lantern?"
There was a moment or so of silence,
and then the snapping of flint and steel
and the sound of puffing.,
"Lit, Simmy?"
Aye, here 'tis!"
"Fetch "it along, then."
The handle of the door was turned
and a light flashed into the hearse.
t "Here, hold the lantern steady ! Come
hither," old Squeaks, and help wi the
end."
"Surely I will. Well was I called
Young Lookalive when a gay, fleeting
boy. Simmy, my son, thou'rt sadly'
drunken. O youth, youth! Thou wine
bibber, hold the light steady ov I'll
tell thy mammy!"
"Oh, sir, I do mortally, dread the
devil an' all his works!"
"Now, if ever! 'The devil,' says
he an- Master Tingcomb still livin' an'
in his own house awaitin' us!"
Be sure his words were as good aa a
slap in the face to me. For I had
counted the hearse to lead me straight
to Master Tingcomb himself. "In his
own house," too! A fright seized me
for Delia. But first I must deakwith
these scoundrels, who already wero
dragging out the coffin.
"Steady, there!" calls the minister.
The coffin was more than half way
outside. I levelled my pistol over the
edge of the tool chest, and,fetched v.
yell fit to wake a ghost at the same
time letting fly straight for the min
ister. In the flash of the discharge I saw
him, half turned, his eyes starting
and mouth agape. He clapped his hand
to his shoulder. On top of his wild
shriek broke out a chorus of screams
and oaths, in the middle of which th3
coffin tilted up and went over with a
crash. "Satan Satan!" bawled Sim
my, and, dropping the lantern, took to
his heels for dear life. At the same
moment the horses took fright, and
before I could scramble out we were
tearing madly away over the turf and
into the darkness. I had made a sad
mess of it.
Leaving Matt to mind the horses, I
caught up the lantern and looked about
me. As well as could be seen, .we were
in a narrow meadow between two hills,
whereof the black slopes rose high
above us. Some paces to the right my
ear caught the noise cf a stream running.-
I turned the lantern on the coffin,
which lay face downward, and with a
gasp took in the game those precious
rogues had been playing. For, with
the fall, of it, the board (being but
thin) were burst clean asunder; and
on both sides had tumbled out silver
cups, silver saltcellars, silver plates
and dishes, that in the lantern's rays
sparkled prettily on the turf. The
coffin, "in short, was stuffed with
Delia's silverware.
I had picked up a great flagon, and
was turning it over to read the .in
scription, when Matt Soames called
to me, and pointed over the hill in
front. Above it the whole sky was red
and glowing.
"Sure," said he, " 'tis a fire out yon
der!" ''God help us, Matt 'tis the House
of Gleys!"
It took but two minutes to toss the
silver back into the hearse. I clapped
to 'the door, and, snatching the reins,
sprang upon the driver's seat. " '
CHAPTER XIV. v
The Adventure of the Ledge; and How
I Shook Hands with My Comrade.
The great gate stood open. I drove
straight into the bright-lit yard, shout
ing "Delia! where is Delia?"
"Here!" called a voice; and from a
croup that stood under the glare of the
window came my dear mistress run
ning. '
"All safe, Jack! But what" She
drew back from our strange equipage-
'All in good time. First tell me
how came the fire?"
"Why, foul work, as it seems. AH
I know is I was sleeping,' and awoke
to hear the black seamen hammering
on my door. Jumping up, I found the
room full of smoke, and escaped. The
rooms1 beneath, they say, were stuffed
with straw, and the yard outside
heaped also with straw, and blazing.
Ben- Halliday found two oil jars lying
there."
"Are the horses out?"
"Oh, Jack I do not know? Shama
on me to forget them!
I ran toward the stable. Already
the roof -was ablaze, and the straw
yard beyond a very furnace. Bushing
in, I found the two horses cowering
in their stalls, bathed in sweat, and
squealing. But it was all fright. So
I fetched Molly's saddle, and spoke to
her, and set it across her back, and
the sweet thing was quiet in a mo
ment, turning her head to rub my
: sleeve gently with her muzzle, and fol
lowed me out like a lamb. The bay
gave more trouble, but I soothed him
in. the same manner, and, patting his
neck, led-him, too, to safety.
I had fastened the horses by the
gate, and was ready to join in the
work, when a shout was raised:
, "Billy here's Biliy Pottery? Has
any" seenrthe skipper?"'1
"Sure,' I called, "you don't say he
was never alarmed!"
"Black Sampson was in his room
Where's Black Sampson;"'
'Here I be!" cried a voice. "To be
sure 1 woke the.skipper before any
o' ye."
"Then where's he hid? Did any see
him come out?"
"Now, that we have not!'' ansvrcrc
one or two. - ,
CFo be continued.)
Humor
What We Leave. " .
Lives of great men all remind ua,
As their pages o'er we turn,
That we're apt to leave" behind nt
Letters that we oughf to burn.
London Star.
The Problem of the Cinch.
"Nothing is - so doubtful-- as uncer
tainty," remarked Hojack, oracularly.
"Except a. dead sure thing," added
Tomdik. Life. - : .
The Keaon;
Kicker "Why do you call your auto
'Taxes?' " , v : . z$
Bockor "Because folks dodge it so."
New York Sun. - . '
Not in Any Dancer.
Reformer "My dear man, "don't you
know the wages of sin is death?"
Inebriated Laborer "Well, ain't I on
a strike?" Town and Country.
Take the Whole Road.
'So you're having a new automobile
built? I wonder how it will turn out?"
"Don't be silly. , Automobiles never
turn out." Philadelphia Ledger,
Came of Knocking?.
The old man grumbled.
"I don't like to, knock," he said, "but
what's a man to do when the doorbell
won't ring?" Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The Way of the World.
Claude (hoarsely) "Angelina Murphy
! has just found a dime."
Harold-"Sh! Make out yer didn't
notice it, an' we'll bot' go up an' swear
we love her fer herself a lone." Judge.
Sunday Fashion Paget.
"Have you read Herbert Spencer's
'Philosophy of Style?' '
"Mercy, no! It's all I can do to keep
up with the fashion articles in the daily
papers, without buying books on the
subject." Cleveland Leader.
Lifting tha Load.
"What a remarkable change has sud
denly come over Tootleby's face. He
looks a dozen years younger."
"Yes, he has just quit running his au-
j tomobile himself and engaged a chauf
feur." Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Knew His Limitations.
Jerrold "Well, I'm going to marry
Dolly Frizzlefrazzle!"
Hobart "Gad! Cap-'t you live with
out her?"
Jerrold "Not without being sued for
breach of promise, I'm afraid." Puck.
He KneT
Barber "Beg pardon, sir, but this is
a bad dime."
Customer "It ain't any worse than
the shave you just gave me."
As "Represented,
' Patient "Look here, doctor, you said
if I took a bottle of your tonic I would
have a remarkable . appetite. Why, I
eat only one soda cracker each week."
Doctor "Well, don't you call that a
remarkable appetite?" Detroit Jour
nal. An Office Call.
Teacher "Tommy,- something has got
to be done about your behavior. I think
to-day, after school, I shall call and see
your father."
Tommy "It will cost you $2 if you
do. Pop's a doctor; office hours, 5 to
7." Puck.
Gennlne Appreciation.
"I am afraid you are one of tlrose
people who look down on toil."
"Not at all," answered the luxurious
youth. "My great-great-grandfather
worked hard and invested .his money,
and we are quite pleased with him for
doing so." Chicago Journal. '
Cool.
"Bridget," Mrs. Hiram Offen called
from the foot of the stairs, "how about
breakfast?" -
Oh!" replied the new servant, who
had -overslept herself, "ye nadent trou
ble to bring me anny. I ain't very
hungry this mornin'." Philadelphia
Press.
A Homclilre. -
"Mamma," said the little girl, who
was having her first experience of rid
ing in a sleeper. f
"Hush, dear," whispered mamma;
"you will waken the others"
"But, mamma, I only want to ask one
Question."
"Well, what is itr
"Who has the flat above us?" "Life.
An Apprehension.
"I suppose you are pleased that your
daughter is. to marry so distinguished
! a European nobleman."
"Well," answered Mr. " Cumrox, "I
don't know. When my great grand
children look at my picture, I-don't
suppose they will ever forgive me for
not wearing a big feather on my hat
or a tin waistcoat so as to look like a
regular ancestor' WaeUington star.
PIGEON '-POSTMEN.
A Bird Which Carried 800,000 Words on
Its Tall Feather.
It Is a curious link with long gone
centuries that the beleaguered people
In Port Arthur have been using carrier
pigeons to keep in touch with the
outside world, just as the good folk of
Modena did not much less than 2000
years ago.
But the most interesting use of
pigeons in war was undoubtedly when
they did such . excellent service during
the siege of Paris "a generation ago.
The pigeon's, it may be remembered,
were sent out of the doomed city by
balloons 363 of them; of these, 302
were liberated, but only seventy-three
set foot again in Paris. It is amazing,
even, in this "age of miracles, to think
that a single one of these pigeon post
men carried no fewer than 40,000 mea-
,sages, each containing on an average
twenty words. This means a grand
total of 800,000 words, or the equiv
alent of half a dozen fairly long novels,
as the burden of a single bird.
How was it done? Part of the mys
tery vanishes when we say that the
weight of all these dispatches was ac
tually less than a gramme, about one-twenty-eighth
of an ounce, and that
they were contained in a goose quill
one and three-quarter inches long,
which was attached by a silk thread
to one of the bird's tail feathers. The
puzzle, however, remains how it was
possible to get over three-quarters of a
million words within this tiny compass.
The secret of this seemingly impossi
ble feat was microscopic photography.
The messages were first printed in
erdinary type, and then reduced by
photography several-hundred times.
The photographs were taken on thin
films or pellicles of collodion, each of
which, though it was less than two
Vnches square, -could thus contain 50,000
words. Of these pellicles a pigeon
could easily carry a dozen without in
terfering with its comfort or speed,
and, as we have seen, one bird alone
conveyed 40,000 messages.
But a pigeon has carried as much as
three-quarters of an ounce for a short
distance. This weight would repre
sent something like 800,000 messages,
or 16,000,000 worda; so that under these
conditions, it would be quite possible
for a pigeon- to carry a small library
of 120 volumes on its tail.
So impressed were army men gener
ally with the usefulness of the pigeon
as demonstrated in the Franco-German
War, that it was not long before prac
tically every nation in Europe had its
trained military pigeons; and to-day
there are more than sixty military
pigeon stations in Europe.
We were among the last to adopt this
simple and efficient method of carrying
messages in time of war, but now we
have excellent lofts "at Portsmouth,
Dartmouth -and elsewhere, where birds
are kept and 'trained in a most scien
tific manner.
In the Portsmouth lofts, which are in
the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard at
Gosport, is an office where the official
log-books are kept with the , utmost
detail and precision. There are stud
registers, and report books in which the
doings of every pigeon are chronicled;
one volume is devoted to a record of
times of liberation, another to pigeons
homing at the loft, and in another
volume the various messages carried
by the. birds are pasted. Among these
it is interesting to notice many that
have been sent to the lofts by members
of our royal family when crossing the
Channel. The moment a bird enters
the loft it is automatically shut into
a box by the dropping of a noiseless
slide, and an electric bell summons an
attendant to take the message it has
brought.
Every year 2000 or 3000 pigeons com
pete in a 500-mile flight, which is us
ually accomplished in a single day, for
prizes given by the King and Comte de
Flandres.
What a pigeon really can do was
demonstrated as long ago as 1830.
When Sir John Ross started in the
Felix in search of Franklin's last ex
pedition he took with him four hom
ing pigeons belonging to a woman in
Ayrshire, intending to release two of
them when he laid up his vessel for
the winter, and the remaining pair
when, if ever, he found Franklin.
The first pair of pigeons he liberated
in Melville Bay on October 7, and-six
days later one of the birds reached its
cote in Ayrshire, though, unfortunately
its -message had been lost during the
journey. The distance between Mel
ville Island and- Ayrshire in a direct
line is 2400 miles, and this is the as
tonishing journey the pigeon had made
in half a dozen days. London Tit-Bits.
The "Slotor-Cyrlo in Britain,
According to the Motor-Cycle of Lon
don there are 29,000 motor-cyclists in
the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland;: In the London County
Council District are found 3344 of the
number. Surrey, excluding the London
County Council and the Croydon Bor
ough area, has ' nearly 1000 motor
cyclists. .
Strong hopes are entertained that in
ternational uniformity in electrical
units may shortly be secured. Our
Foreign Office .has the matter under
consideration on the report of experts
who attended the St. Louis Electrical
Congress. : In all likelihood an interna
tional commission, which it is suggest
ed should arrange such a stem of
electrical iinits in terrns pf the ohm,
vojt' and amper will foregather at
Geneva or The Hague. In many coun
tries. Including Russia, Norway and
Sweden, "Denmark, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Italy and Japan, no electrical
units have yet been legalized. London
Telegraph.
Over 1000 miles of telegraph poles
in full blossom are. to be seen In
Uganda. The wires are strung from
a species of fig tree, which has extra
ordinary powers ot geraluatioai .
r
SOUTHE.ffNy.fAmffOTES.
TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE PLANTER. STOCKMAN AND TRUCK GROWER. I
a a. mm
Killing Tonne -Chickens by Feeding-
The great ' mortality amongst little
chicks is caused by too early feeding.
Nature has provided the yolk of the
egg (which they absorb through the
vent just before hatching) with enough
nutriment to sustain life for sixty
hours, and if you feed them before
most of this yolk has been taken up in
the system, you give them indigestion;
bowel troubles follow, and your flock
diminishes. What the little chicks do
need at once is clean fresh water given
them in a shallow pan with a board or
rock over the pan to prevent them wet
ting their feet. And they also need a
few teeth to help them digest whatever
Is fed later;, this is supplied by scat
tering pure sand on the coop floor, and
you will be surprised to see how they
will devour it..
At the expiration of the thirty-six
hours the first few feeds should be
ha"rd boiled eggs chopped fine, or light
bread soaked in milk, squeezing out
all surplus milk before feeding. Never
feed a sloppy mess to chicks, and never
feed the chicks on the coop floor; have
a little feeding-board . and on this
put all feed. Feed five times a day for
the first week; after that, four times.
When chicks are a week old feed
cracked Svheat, or screenings, roiled
oats and cracked corn mixed. Con
tinue this feeding until chicks are
large enough to take care of them
selves, and you will raise ninety per
cent, of all chicks hatched if you fol
low this method.
But never during any stage oflts
growth, feed it a wet, sodden mess of
corn dough. Progressive Farmer.
Raising Horses.
The Southern Farmer has this very
sensible talk about farmers raising
horses:
There Is a very good demand for
horses suitable for hauling in the cities
and for farm work, whether they are
of the heaviest type, the medium strong
backer "big little" sort or the express
van kind. Seeing that most farmers
are certain to use one of these varieties
in order to do the work of the farm,
it is satisfactory to know that the sur
plus ones will find a ready sale, and
surely the breeder has the advantage,
inasmuch as he can market the four
and five-year-olds and fill up the gaps
with the youngsters which are coming
on year after year. There is no reason
why the farmer should not work this
system, if he breeds at all, and if he
does it is well to aim at the heaviest
kinds that his mares are capable of
producing; by which I mean that
blocky mares - with substance should
be mated with the weighty stallions,
and it Is usually better when breeding
draft horses to select a sire on the
larger rather than on tbe smaller side
of the mare.
Horse breeding commends itself for
this reason, that the work of the farm
has to be carried on with horses, and
their presence is indispensable; there
fore, those .which are fitted can be
made to answer the dual purpose of
workers and breeders, which must be
better from a financial point of. view
than if geldings are purchased and
worked out with no prospect of re
newals except by clipping Into the bank
for a fresh supply.
Valae of Mixed Pianlinar.
Wm. B., of Trenton, Tenn., says: I
have an orchard started, composed of
apples, peaches, cherries and plums.
.The apples now occupy one-fourth of
the ground; they are set in alternate
rows, with a peach, plum- or cherry
tree between each apple tree in the
row. It is my intention to cut put all
but the apple trees when they become
too thick. The trees are set twenty
feet apart each way; thus, when they
are thinned, the apples will be stand
ing forty feet apart each way. Early
bearing, short-lived apple trees may
be substituted for the peaches, etc. -
My theory of this mixed planting is
that a larger amount of fruit can be
grown on the same ground than if
planted to apples alone, that it Is no
more trouble to cultivate trees twenty
feet apart than forty feet, that the
peaches, cherries and plums will com
mence bearing first and will naturally
die out first, that the manures and fer
tilizers remaining in ihe soil will be
used by the apples when the other trees
are cut out.
Most of the peach trees in my orchard
are seedlings, and I consider this a
good way to grow them, as the fruits
of these tress are doubtful. Should
you be successful in growing an im
proved variety, then cut out all the
trees near it, thus giving it plenty of
room to develop. It can then be pro
pagated by bedding or grafting on
other stocks. If you are unsuccessful
In growing a new variety, . still your
"Jibor is not in vain, for whjere the trees
are overcrowded they can easily be
thinned.
Potato Groirin..
The statistical bureau of. the Depart
ment of Agriculture has prepared some
common sense, notes on potato grow-
Pointed Paragraphs.
i If you would knock a stubborn man
-down instead of stopping to argue with
him you would save a lot of wind and
j much valuable time.
1 When you hear of people who fairly
: blaze with diamonds you may rest as
sured that they are not going to sei
the world on fire.
The government has decided to pu3h
the rebate pases against the Santa Fg
railway.
I
1 lapljfrf
ing, which particularly emphasize the
importance- of maintaining plenty of
humus in the soil to conserve moisture.
In tests made'soil supplied with humus '
produced a fair crop of potatoes not
withstanding a bad drouth, whereas
the crop on the adjoining tract' was
practically a failure. The great im
portance of thorough tillage is also
brought out by these experiments. A
warning is sounded, however, against
over-tillage that is, too much deep cul
tivating. During a drouth the cultiva
tor should aim simply to keep the sur
face soil loose and dry. The dryer the
surface layer of soil the more complete
a blanket it forms for preventing evap
oration from the lower soil around the
potato vroots. Harrowing potato land
before the plants appear above ground
is considered a wise practice. The use
of Bordeaux mixture invariably results
in an increased yield, even when there
is no blight. Thorough spraying with
this material is recommended, as a
general practice, as a decided stimulus
to potato leaf growth and consequent
increased yield of tubers.
Separate Peach and Apples Trees.
G. W. M., Hendersonville, N. C,
writes: I always plant my apple
orchard to itself, as the planting of a -mixed
orchard is too much encum
bered. You cannot cultivate it to an
advantage, although the peach tree if
planted at the same time with the ap
ple will about have its day before the
apple comes into bearing. The peacll
will just last about five or six years.
Two or three crops of peaches are
about the life of the tree. My favorite ,
plan is to plant the apple by itself and '
plant a few peach trees to themselves.
The greatest mistake with most of us
is in planting trees too close. It seems
to be the trouble all over this country.
This is as fine a fruit country1 as any
one can wish for. I have planted a v
small orchard. I set my trees forty
five feet apart each way and find it the
best distance. I planted soihe peach
trees in it and let them stand three or
four years, and they encumbered me
so that I went and dug them up. .If I
were to plant a dozen orchards I would
not put peach and apple trees on the
same ground from experience and ob
servation. Japanese Pereimraons.
; In fnany of the yards in the South ;
can be seen the Japanese persimmons,
the fruit being about the size of the
Lady Blush apple. The bushes are
not more than six feet his;b, and the ..
limbs are laden with this pleasant
fruit. The Japanese fruit is consid-"'
ered a luxury, and .the housewife of
the home where these bushes have
been planted takes much pride in them
as an ornament to the yard, as well as
the pleasure of eating the fruit.' Trees
grafted on the native wild persimmon
will grow on any soil In the South.
They will do better on very poor land
than any other klnJof fruit trees.
Take up this spring wild persimmon
trees, and transplant in the yard or
old orchard, and the second year graft
the Japanese buds into the native
bushes. Such a .tree will be an orna-
ment to the home, and afford some ex-
cellent fruit. Southern Agriculturist.
Cuttings From Grape.
Grape vines should be pruned with
out delay. When this is postponed un
til the beginning of spring the sap
will flow from the cuts and greatly
weaken the. vines. Phosphates are ex
cellent fertilizer for grapes. Grapes
can be grown on most soils, and it Is
surprising that so few homes have
luscious grapes. If the reader has not .
the money to purchase the roots, if he
will obtain a cutting fifteen inches
long, and place it the whole 3epth in
the ground, covering the top of the
vine one Inch, it will tak root and
make grapes in thre years. It is an
easy matter to have A vineyard. All
that is necessary is the disposition and
knowing how.
The First Twenty Bays.
The first twenty days of a plant, or
calf, pig or lamb almost invariably de
termines the growth and future devel
opment of the plant or animal. This
natural , law is the reason why. the
Southern Agriculturist so persistently
advises the thorough pulverization of
the soil, or seeing that the little pig or
calf is warm and full of milk for the
first twenty days of its existence. Start
the plants on rapid growth ' and they
will prove a succegs. Where the most
of the milk is taken from the calf in its
infancy It will never become a well de
veloped cow or beef.
D;m't Starve the Orchard.
Too many orchards are starved, and
while a tree will do the best to produce
fruit under any circumstances, it is
useless to expect much from it unless
it is properly fed and cared for. The
cultivation around a bearing tree is of
less consequence than that the ground
be fertile. Many .orchards need ma
nuring, and most of all need mineral
j manures. -
T
News of the Cay.
The American Board of Commission
ers for Foreign Missions decided to
accept Mr. Rockefeller's giffof $100..
000, but postpoae'd final action for two
weeks.
Attorney-General Hadley began pro
ceedings in the Supreme Court cf ...;!
sguri to cancel liio franchise of : e
Standard Oil Company in that t';;
The directors of the Penns 1 ' ' 1
Railroad C.-ipany det idea to
1100,000 of 3 J-3 er cent. bQ4