1 SWT &NTERPR NEWTON, CATAWBA COUNTY, N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1890. VOL. XI. NO. 2. PRICE: $1.00 PER YEAR. N XlHi farmer' gjfjrartmcnt. PROTECTION AND TUBE. AGRICUL- CN THK February nuaibtr of ll The North American Review w tie Hon. Roger Q. Hills takes up the discussion of Free Trade and Protection from which we ruake the following extracts: 'The system falsely called protec tion maintains that commence is a gambling device iu which one party wins and the other loses. Therefore, if England makes anything inatrad6 with us, she is benefited and we are injured. But the truth is both par ties are benefited. We can produce much that she wants better and cheaper than she can, and she can produce much that we want cheaper and better than we can, and ex change is beneficial to both. Our vast system of manufactures stands upon the same solid and immovable foundation as cur agr.c There are I -it faw thiDgs in either thx cannot produce cheaper than they can be produced elsewhere aiid that article whope cost of production is the lowest holds the market t all competitors, lhrougu out t whole history we have been exporn.ij; a 5- . j part of our annual crops to others v Sio could either not produce them at ail or not at cheap ly as tLe-y could obtain them by pro ducing something else atid exchan ging their surplus for oars. No tariff levied upon agricultural pros ducts can help them. It can only hurt them, as it does by prohibiting the import of the things that would come to be exchanged for them. We have the soil and climate adapt ed to the cultivation of grain and cotton and to raising the stock which supplies the food for mankind. It yields a larger return for the labor expended than i ny other country. We have more intelligent, enter prising, and skillful farm rs than are to be found in any other country. We use labor saving machinery, and make our labor more pro iuctive than the labor of any other people. These advantages enable us to pro duce a greater quantity in given time, and at a lower cost and hence we can hold our own market against the world. Instead of claiming our marvellous growth as the logical result of commercial re striction, because it bag occurred subsequtnt to the adoption of that policy, it would be more satisfactory to show how wealth is made and trace it back to that source, if it be the rightful one. How is the dollar, the unit of the vast pile made? The answer must be, by labor. That is the producing cause of all wealth. And the largest wealth will be made where labor produces the largest amount of products in a given time. These products will take their largest value where there is the largest de mand for their consumption, and that is in the markets where the same article cannot be produced, or cannot be produced as cheaply or not in sufficient quantities to supply the demand. Hence the surplus must find its markets away from home, where it is wanted, and not at Lome, where it is not wanted. At home it has its lowest value, because it is not wanted ; away from home it finds its highest value, because it is wanted. But the person who wants must have the capacity to buy ; this he can only have by having the right to sell and have his surplus conveyed to his customer. This is commerce. Having the right to enter the mar ket where his product is wanted, and to sell at the highest price he can obtain, he is that much more able to buy and pay for the surplus of oth ers, and all parties having access to markets where these products are wanted obtain the highest prices and accumulate the most wealth. Just in the proportion that the market is c'osed and the product driven back upon the producer, just so is the ' price decreased and the ratio of ac cumulation of wealth retarded. This is what protection does. When protection puts taxes upon the goods of the foreigner that prohibits them from coming here, he is rendered less able to take in exchange the surplus which we are ready and anx ious to give. ANTIDOTE FOR TAINTED MEAT. Clinton Caucasian J certain farmer in this county, L losing a quantity of meat during the hot weather, took it off and buried it. A few days after a negro told the farmer that he liked spoilt meat, whereupon the farmer said that he was welcome to it if he would go and dig it up. The negro did so and was surprised to find that the taint had entirely left the meat, being absorbed we suppose by the earth. Ho informed the farmer, who took the meat back to his meat bouse, and is now using the same. MANURE AND MANURES. Dixie Farmer EAD again what was written in last month's "Thoughts,'' under the head of "The Ma nure Heap " "We will add only a few remarks: Every inch of mod erately productive soil contains a large store of the elements of plant fDod enough of some of them to supply the demands of an abundant annual harvest for a hundred years. There are already upwards of two tons of phosphoric acid and six tous potash and much more lime, in an acre of average soil, taken to the depth of one foot from the surface, and yet we get good results in the crop from th addition of twenty pounds of phosphoric acid and five pounds of potash to an acre of such land. Why is this ? It is because the larger part of the-plant food in the soil i? insoluable and almost ut terly unavailable to the crop while the email au..--unt we add is in a very soluable ann i .iniidiately available form. The art of improving land consists esscut -,. ly such treatment of the soil as will cause it to yield a larger percentage of locked-up plant food to our crops, while at the same time we restore what has been re moved by previous crops, and, if necessary, add an additional amount in the form of purchased fertilizers. We have said that the larger part of the plant food in the soil is una vailable to plants. It is true, how ever, lL.it some plants have the pow er of appropriating much more of this plant food than others. The cow pea, Lespedeza and other legu minous plauts are of this class. A crop of peas or clover will get more phosphoric acid, potash and nitro gen from a given soil than will wheat or cotton, or corn. Ween the roots and stems of the peas or clover decay on or in the soil, the plant food these crops have extract ed from it will ba let in an available form, and just where it is wanted, for the use of a succeeding crop of corn, cotton or wheat. Thia is the theory of green manuring, in a few words. Nothing is ad Jed to the soil, except probably nitrogen from the a;r, by the decaying crop of peas or clover, but a large percentage of the before insoluble and inert elements is dissolved and made fit for food for the crops we wish to grow. So there are three ways in which the farmer may conveniently maintain and increase the fertility of his soil, not to speak of underdraining and subsoiling, which are helpful to the operation of all these. They are first to return to the soil, as nearly as possible, all that has been remov ed from it by previous crops. This is accomplished by making and com posting all the stable manure possi ble, returning the cotton seed or cotton seed meal, either as such, or in the form of manure, from the an imals fed upon them. The second is, plant renovating crops, such as peas, clover, buckwheat, Japan clo ver, ete or allow the land to bring a spontaneous crop of weeds. The The third is to buy plant food in the form of commercial fertilizers. We have mentioned these in the order of their general importance and econo my. The first the saving of ma nure, is an all the year around oper ation. The second commences at planting of the renovating crop adopted. The third, the selection, purchase and proper mixing of the chemical fertilizers. HOW TO TEST SEEDS. Illinois Station T IS an easy matter to test the vitality of grass and clover seeds, by placing a given num ber, say one hundred of the variety to be tested between woolen cloths, moistened with water. Care should be taken to boil the cloths before using, to scald the plate or pan in which the cloths are laid, and to use only recently boiled water with which to moisten the cloths, in order to retard the growth of fungi, or molding. Two or more cloths may first be laid upon the plate or pan the seeds distributed on the upper one, and another cloth laid upon the seeds. Sufficient water should be applied to keep the cloths moist. A plate of glass laid over the plates or pans would add to the efficiency of the device by retarding evaporation, and protecting the interior by float ing germs of fungi. At a tempera ture of 70 to 80 degreea Fahrenheit good seed should germinate in from a week to ten days.' Seeds will ger minate after being under such influ ences several weeks, but seed that do not respond in from seven to ten days under such favorable influen ces can be of little value when sub jected to the vicissitudes of an ordi nary seed bed. TOBACCO GROWING. The Bulletin pHE tobacco growers of the State (U) have had, the past season, more success than the growers of any other clean cultivated crop. While the leaf has betn light in weight, it has been generally fine in texture. Having heard much of the success attained ia the tobacco growing in Nash county, I paid a visit to that locality a few days since, to see and know for myself. While there I was the guest of Mr. R. H. Ricks, who has probably attained as great suc cess in the growing of fine tobacco as any man in the State at least for the past ten years. Mr. Ricks had the past season in tobacco, forty-five acres. The aver age production per acre was 725 pounds, for which he will realize at least forty-five cents per pound. He has sold half his crop, lorty-five ! cents being the average. v hat he has to sell is equally as fine, if not better. Seven hundred and twenty- five pounds per acre, at fortysfive cents per pound, is a calculation easily made, and shows an income which surpasses anything connected with farming that has come under my observation in the State Mr. Ricks informed me that he had a white man employed for the past five years as a tenant, and that this tenant had saved from his part of the crop during that time $5,000 in cash, with which he now wishes to buy a place of his own. Mr. Ricks' lands, and also those of his neighbors (who are also doing well in growing tobacco), ia light sandy, with an original growth of long leaf pine, small oaks and hick ory. There are thousands of acres of just such lands in the southern portion of Anson and Richmond counties, and also in Robeson coun ty, that with the same intelligennt management will produce as fine to bacco as the Nash county lands. Mr. Ricks manures his lands very heavily, using from twenty to thirty dollars' worth per acre He con9id ers the use oi nve or six two hrse wagon loads of stable manure indis pensib'e to successful tobacco grow- ing, which ia included in the above amount of cost per acre Mr. nicks is a very practical man, and grows clover and grasses, and is raising horses, cows, and fine hogs. He also has considerable dairy in terests. I also learned from him this fact that he could not grow clover and cotton together; that is, cotton will not grow on land that has been in clover, neither will it grow in close proximity to it. I saw a similar communication in the Southern Cultivator and Dixie Farmer, in which the writer asked to have the matter explained why he could not grow cotton after clover. This ia a matter that should be in vestigated by the Experiment Sia tions of the cotton States, and is a proper field of investigation, as it directly affects the interests of the farmer. Johx Robinson, Commissioner. SUBSOIL PLOWING. New York WorlJ. ERY much has been said and wri tf n on the advantages to be derived irom breaking up the hard compact subsoil underlying the stratum cultivated. Commonly, subsoils will be found lacking in the element of fertility, and bringing them to the burface will usually be found detrimental rather than other wise. Where there has been a con tinuous shallow plowing of the sur face soil for years a slightly deeper plowing will add to the feeding area of the plants, but unless the surface soil is itself rich it must be accom panied by liberal manuring. As the great bulk of the roots of our culti vated plants grow naturally near the surface, it secrcs to me that fubsoil ing for the purpose of increasing the feeding area is not of sufficient im portance to pay the expense; we must look somewhere else for its benefits if it has enough to recom mend it for general adoption. It is now comming to be pretty well un derstood that when a crop has car ried off from a soil of moderate fer -tility the plant food that has been used up in its production it must oe supplied from an outside source and cannot be obtained simply by deep plowing, whether the subsoil is brought to the surface or simply stirred up and left in its place. So far as my own observation and little experience go, the advantages of subsoiling mainlj consist in afford ing additional storage for water that may be drawn upon by the roots of plants in seasons of drought ; and in season of excessive moisture the subsoiling may itself be injurious. IS THE FERTILIZER TAX GON8TITUTIONAC ? News and Observer N the year 1886 the Supreme Court of the United States de -clared a law of Tennessee, which imposed a license tax on resi dent and non-resident drummers, was unconstitutional, as interfering with the commerce between the States. The Court held that it made no difference that there was no dis crimination made between domestic and foreign drummers, those of Tennessee and those of other States; that all were taxed alike; for, said the Gourt, "inter-atate commerce cannot be taxed at all even though the same amount of tax should be levied on domestic commerce, oi that which is carried on solely with in the State." Since this decision it has been con sidered by many lawyers that "the law of North Carolina which taxes commercial fertilizers manufactured within or without the State,although in the shape of a license tax could not be upheld. Although the decis ion was by a divided court overrul ing former decisions of the Supreme Couit of the United States and now that the personnel of the court is changed, it may in turn be reversed. Chief Justice Waite's dissenting opinion was a strong protest against it. We are informed that a promi nent Richmond fert'Iizer manufac turer, who has been paying to the State from 1,000 to 1,500 a year, determined to test the validity of the law, and has employed Col. J. W. Hinsdale to take such legal steps as would bring about a speedy solution of the question. This firm, having in every particular complied with the law, received from the Commis sioner of Agriculture a certificate to that effect and a i equest that the State Treasurer should issue the license. Theieupon Col. Hinsdale tendered to the State Treasurer the 500 license fee, accompanied with a protest, ciaiming that the law un der which it was paid was unconsti tutional and notifying the State Treasurer that a suit would be in stituted for the recovery of the tax. Under instructions or adyice from the Commissioner the Treasurer re fused to receive the money or issue the license, and the commissioner withdrew his certificate that the law had been complied with. Any citi zen has the right at any time to ac company the payment of his tax with with a protest. If the tax is right the protest amounts to nothing. If the tax is wrong t. e protest is ne cessary to protect the tax payer from an illegal exaction. It is claimed that the law does not require the Commissioner to make any certifi cate, and that if it does, the Com missioner has no riyht to refuse it, simply because the manufacturer proposes in a lawful manner to con test the legality of the tax. After his employment by the Rich mond firm, his services having been sought by that firm, Col. Hinsdale, informed several other manufactur ers, directly or through their attor neys, of the action to be taken, and suggeste 1 co-operation. It ia ex pected that some will join in the contest, but we are informed that there has been no "pool" or combi nation formed by these gentlemen. If they choose to make common cause to prevent the enforcement of a law which they think injurious and claim to be in conflict with the Con stitution of the United States, they will proceed strictly under the law and in the exercise of their rights. THE PULPIT AND THE STAGE. Rev. F. M. Shrout, Pastor United Brethren Church, Bine Mound, Kan., says : "I feel it my duty to tell what wonders Dr. King's New Dis covery has done for me. My Lungs were badly diseased, and my parish ioners thought I could live only a few weeks. I took five bottles of Dr. King's New Discovery and am sound and well, gaining 26 lbs. in weight." Arthur Love, Manager Love's Funny FolkE Combination, writes : "After a thorough trial and convinc ing evidence, I am confident Dr. King's New Discovery for Cons ump'. tion, beats 'em all. and cures when everything else fails. The greatest kindness I can do my many thous and friends is to urge them to try it.' Free trial bottles at T. R. Abernetby & Co's Drug Store. Regular sizes 50c. and $1.00 Sick headache, wind on the stom ach, billiousness, nausea,are prompt ly and agreeably banished by Dr. J H. McLean's Little Liver and kidney Pillets. 25c. a vial. TO PRESERVE PORK. The Bulletin I rER the hogs have been Jjy nicely dressed, cut up as de (55 sired as soon thereafter as practicable, lay on the ground with fv-sh side np meat houses generally have a ground floor, and are con- ;nint places for the purpose put as much salt on it as it will conven iently hold. Let it lay in that con dition until next morning, wnen all the animal heat will have disappear ed, and most of the blood be extract ed. Then it should be taken up and salt well rubbed in, after which ap ply from half to a teaspoonf ul of pulverized satpetre to each piece of joint; then pack away in bulk for ;,o weeks, when it should be re- salted and re packed, and allowed to remain for two or three weeks, when it should be taken np, washed clean, wiped dry and hung up. I have never had meat treated as above that was not well preserved and perfectly sweet. Before hanging my hams, I put them hock foremost into sacks of cotton goods with open end well secured with a strong string, which is also used for hanging the hams, after which I immerse in a siz ing made of water and good hard wocd ashes brought to a boil. It is necessary to keep the sizing well stirred, as the ashes settle to the bottom of kettle very quickly Hams thus prepared will keep indefinitely John Robinson, Commissioner. RESTING THE SOIL. S absolute rest good for the 6oil? Sir J. B. Lawes says not On the contrary he claims to have proved by experiments oft re . mm. peated that land at rest and unoc cupied by a crop wastes and loses fertility. Soil kepi constantly at work, he says, is gathering strength and fertilitv, both from the atmos phere and through its own gradual decomposition, which is effected by the roots of the crops it nourishes Roots have ability to decompose the mineral elements of the soil and to gather matter from the air, both which are changed into plant food. When in a porous condition, too, the son oxidizes organic matter and ac cumulates nitrogen, but it must be kept porous to render it effective. iience, when not actually growing crops, it should still be kept active by working it with a plow, and par ticularly manuring it. There is a pre valent idea that land loses much o: its manurial taeasures by percolation after rains. Experience proves rath er the opposite. Sandy land that has been salted will show in dry weather following rain the fine white saline efflorescence on its surface; and clayey soil will show the same to a much greater extent. The lesson from practical facts like these is ob vious. Plow your fields in the fall, incorporating each with a heavy coating of good manure. This will keep them active all winter, and you will find in spring that the manure has been decomposed and becomes part and parcel of the soil itself greatly enriching it and insuring it a proportionately increased crop of whatever it is asked to produce. Thus it is, like mercy, twice blessed, blessing bothhim that gives and him that receives. EPOCH. The transition from long, lingering and painful sickness to robust health marks an epoch in the individual Such a remarkable event is treasured in the memory a d the agency whereby the good health has been attained is greatfully blessed- Hence it is that so much is heard in praise of Electric Bitters. So many feel they owe their restoration to healtl to the use of the Great Alterative and Tonic. If you are troubled with any disease of Kidneys, Liver or Stomach, of long or short stand ing you will surely find relief by use of Electric Bitters. Sold at 50c and $1 per bottle at T. R. Abernethy & Co's Drugstore. There is danger in impure blood. There is safety in taking Hood's Sarsaparilla, the great blood purifier. 100 doses one dollar. WE CAN AND DO Guarantee Dr. Acker's Blood Elixir, for it has been fully demonstrated to the people of this country that it is superior to all other preparations f or blood diseases. It is a positive cure for syphilitic poison ng, Ulcers, Eruptions and Pimples. It purifies the whole system and thoroughly builds up the constitution. For sale by J. C. Simmons, the druggist. COTTON ON THE FARMS. OVASHr5rGTOx, February 10. The y cotton returns of the Depart ment of Agriculture for Feb ruary gives local estimates of the proportion of the crop which has left plantations. The consolidation makes 90.4 per cent, leaving 9.6 per cent still to ero forward. About nine-tenths of the crop has. there - ore, been reported in sight, or ia in small stocks unreported in hands of country merchant or in transit The State averages are as follows : Virginia, 87, North Carolina 9, South Carolina 90, Georgia 90, Ala bama 90, Florida 93, Mississippi 91, Louisiana 89, Texas 92, Arkansas 90, Tennessee 87. The average date of the close of picking"fa about the same as last year iu Georgia, Mississippi, Louisi ana and Tennessee; is earlier in the Carolinas, Florida and Arkansas, and later in Alabama and Texas. The average of county dates is Decem ber, 12, ranging from November to Jauuary. The proportion of seed sold to the oil mills has been found difficult to estimate, but is apparently not much over 25 per cent of the crop, possi bly between 900,000 and 1,000,000 tons. The largest proportion re ported is in Louisiana, followed by Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Ala bama and the Carolinas. The aver. age State prices as consolidated are : Carolinas and Georgia 18 cents per bushel, Tennessee 17, Florida 16 Alabama and Mississippi 15, Louis iana 14, Texas and Arkansas 13. returns oi quality are very high, except in Virginia and North Carolina ana in Tennessee and Arkansas. It is superior in all the States of the Gulf Ooast The per centage of lint from seed cotton is as follows : Yirginia ?0, 2iorth Caroli na 31 5, South Carolina 32.7, Geor gia, 32.2, Florida 32.3, Alabama 33.5, Mississippi 32,3, Louisiana 33.5, Texas 32.4, Arkansas 32.2, Tennes see 32. The damage by insects was great est in Arkansas and Texas. In Flor ida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennes see, and North Garolina it was gen eral but less severe. Georgia and South Carolina suffered less. The loss from boll worms was in Georgia Alabama, Louisiana and Texas great er than that from caterpillars. PEACH ROT AND BLIGHT. RWEN F. Smith contributes an r interesting article on this sub ject in the recent issue of the Journal of Mycology. He says that this disease is what has frequently caused immense losses to the peach growers of the country. It attacks sometimes the blossoms and wood as well as the fruit if the season is favorable for its development. It has sometimes destroyed an entire crop in a very few days. Sometimes the fruit is destroyed whila on the way to market, and rots in the mid dlemen's hands. He points out that it is not necessary to bruise the fruit to give the disease entrance, but that it may itself puncture the skin of a healthy peach during moist, warm weather, when it is most ac tive. This fungus growth, or dis ease, as it is commonly called, is distributed from peach to peach by means of its spores or seeds, which are scattered in great abundance. These spores (seeds) pass through the winter in a manner similar to the rot of the grape ; that is, in the de cayed or rather dried-up, fruit of the peach. But he also finds that the same fungus attacks and causes rot in apples plums, and cherries. He thinks that by destroying all the rotten peaches and ether fruits, a great deal will have been done to stop its ravages, especially if this is carried on carefully for several years. To be successful, growers should unite in this destruction of decayed or dried up fruits, and none should be left on the ground or on the trees. In order to destroy them effectually, they must be buried cr burned Simply piling them up is of no avail. He says when this disease has at tacked the blossoms and destroyed them, many other causes have been looked to for a solution of what was a mystery, such as lack of polleniza tion, etc. A DUTY TO YOURSELF. It is surprising that people will use a common, ordinary pill when they can secure a valuable English one for the same money. Dr. Ack er's English pills are a positive cur for sick-headache and all liver .troub- lea. They are small, sweet, easily taken, and do not gripe. For sale by J. C. Simmons, the druggist EARLY CABBAGES. 'HOSE who did not snnr anx- cabbag seed in the fall need not despair. In fact, I have ong ago quit the fall sowing of cab bage seed. In a mild fall, such as we have had. cabbage seed sown in this latitude in September will have a very large proportion run to seed without heading. The sowing of seed in the fall and transplanting into frames for the winter is a troub esome job. Seed sown now will be a utue late, ous wui sua come in fairly good tim . It would have been better in this latitude to have sown them early in January. My practice is to sow the seed in shal low boxes in a warm green-house, early in January. As soon as large enough to handle, prepare another set oi uoxes oy nixing inem nan iuu!Tallib;fl to hp mtonW i- , , n , ... . - I of fine rotten manure, and finishing with good soil. Into these, set the plants about 75 in an ordinary box, 1 by 2 fees in area. Place the boxes in an ordinary cold frame, and keep the sashes closed until they recover from the transplanting. Then give air on all occasions, except when it is freezing, so as to get the plants hardenedjoff for planting out in February or March. They can be taken to the field in the boxes, and lifted out with trowls, and sat with a lump of manure on each plant, and will grow right off. Plants started in this way early in January, will beat the plants from seed sown in September, and seed now sown and treated thus, will be but little be hind the fall sown plants, and none will run to seed- There is no vari ety yet introduced, that will beat a good stock of Jersey Wakefield in earliness. Northern gardeners call the Winningstadt much later, but with us, it always is close upon the heels of the akeheld, and is much larger. Henderson's Early Summer is one of the best and is about the same season as Winningstadt. Fat- tier's Improyed Brunswick, I have always found much better than Early Flat Dutch It will always pay, no matter how much fertilizer you have given the soil before planting, to have some nitrate of soda on hand, and at every working give a light top dressing. The rapid growth and increased earliness, will well repay the ex pense- To those who have inquired where the 3x6 foot h t bed ashes can be had, I will say, that Cooke, Clarke & Co., of Norfolk, Ta, will furnish them piimed and glazed at 1.S0 each, or the plain sa&hes without glass for SO cents each. W. F. Masset. N. C- College of Agr. and Mech. Arts. POISON OAK. The following extract, taken from a letter writen by Mr. E. A, Bell, ful ly explains itself : While surveying land in 1SS3 accidentiy handled poison oak vine. and in less than three hours (the eruption usually resulting from such contact begin g in ten days) my face was swollen and disfigured, and my hands and arms seriouslyjtffected- I immediately begau taking Swift's Specific (S- S- S. and after taking three large bottles I found all signs of the breaking out entirely removed I was led to suspect its return at the same time next year, but it did not nor has there been any indications of its return since. My little boy, eight years old, was afflicted with the same poison in 18S4. After taking several bottles of Swift's Specific (S. S. S.) the erup tions entirely disappeared. A very slight form of the same eruption re turned during the next spring, but we then resumed the S. S. S., an having taken enough during that season to make the cure permanent he has not since had any return o: the disease. Swift's Specific S- S. S.) certainly effected thorough cuies in both these cases, and I regard i as a most effectiv remedy for all such diseases. E. A. Bell, Anderson, S. C Treatise on Blood and Skin disea ses mailed free. SWIFT SPECIFIC CO. Atlanta, Ga. A CHILD KILLED. Another child killed by the use o opiates given in the form of Sooth ing syrup. Why mothers give their children such deadly poison is sur prising when they can relieve the child of its peculiar troubles by using Dr. Acker's Baby Soother. It contains no opium or morphine. Sold by J. O. Simmons, the druggist WOJIAXS A D TrAJTCEJlES T. A quarter of a centuary ago a mar ried woman of thirty was extinguish. ed u cder a cap and remanded to the regions of dullness, says the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Her growing daugh ters monopolized her thought and time. They were first in everything their wishes, tastes and inclina tions were all in aQ. At forty she had quite done with the active in terests of hie- All that remained to her was the supervision of the do mestic economy, the missionary society and the endless making of patch work. Her time was not something to be economized, too It invo lved no choice of duties, no sub stitution of the more important fcr those less pressing, for she had cone beyond those which were classified under the head of natural responsi bill ties. The existence of unmarried wo men was even more circumscribed, for they had not even natural re sponsibilities home, husband and children with which to occupy themselyes. It was this disregard of the experience and wisdom which. ought to come with years well lived that won for us the pitying contempt of Europeans. The American spoil ed child was justly looked upon with. horror as dominating society and ar rogating to itself the place and dis tinction which, in Europe were re served for its elders. We have learned at last one whole some lesson from our neighbors on the other side of the Atlantic, and the women of maturer years mar ried or unmarried is slowly claim ing and taking her righful place. It is astonishing what things are be ing done by grandmothers women past fifty, who have raised their children and have them "settled in homes of their own." Once they woull have droned in the chimney corner over tneir Knitting or me patchwork above mentioned. Now they have been inspiied by the uni versa! spirit of enlightenment and must do their part in the work of the world outside of home. Nearly all of the philanthropic work of the present has been originated and is controlled by mothers of grown children, or by unmarried women past forty. They constitute the larger part of the me mbership of art and literarv clubs and of the societies connected with the churches. The writer visited a friend several years ago and saw upon her walls several studies in oil, remarkable for their strength and originality. vTlien the hostess was questioned she said : "They are my mother's work. She never knew that she had any talent, and never took a lesson in drawing until she was past fifty. Now she paints incessantly, and it is a con stant pleasure to her and to us alL" China painting has been taken up late in life by women who served an apprenticeship, not in the line of art, but in cooking, sewing and house keeping. In a Western city the organist in one of the large churches is a gray haired woman between fifty and sixty. She is an enthusiastic musi cian, and could not read a note until she waa fifty years old. Helen Hunt Jackson waa forty years old before she found in her writing a solace for bereavement and sorrow. In the country the farmers' wives are interesting themselves in tem perance and politics- The general circulation of the newspapers has been a godsend tc them, and they have been quick to act upon its Bug gestions and so broaden and bright en their lives. The days have passed in which women are to be wives and nothing more. Their duty in that direction will always be paramount to every other consideration, but for the cul tivated and active mind it is cot enough. Knowledge and wisdom confer power, and power in either man or woman will finJ fitting scope, as water seeks a level. The educas tion of women within the last 25 years has revolutionized society, and the blessings which have come with it are cot only permauant, but they will be increased. The ultra-conservative who cannot adjust themselves to the new condi tions may well say, with the dough ty Sir Anthony Absolute, "All this ia the natural consequence of teaching girls to read." But what ia done cannot bt undone, and no feminine human being in possession cf her faculties will give up one inch of the solid ground which has been gain ed.