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llffif ill
" ' $I.OO a Year, In Advance. "FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH." Stogie Copy 5 Cents,
VOL. XVI. PLYMOUTH N, C. FRID AyJ FE BR UiVJRl" i906 . " NO. 45.
THE SONG OF A
I'm just a silly optimist with cheerfulness'
galore,
For I'm tired of hearing people say that
everything's a bore,
I'm tired of melancholy moans, and so 1
point with pride
To the mve-inspiring axiom that I am 6at-
isfied.
If there's : nvthing I love to eat, it's food,
If there's anything 1 love to wear, it's
clothes,
And in times of relaxation
I have proved by demonstration
. That there's nothing quite eo restful as
repose
If08"
3EESSESSBI
VAIL WARNING'S MISTAKE
By Florence
L.
.in m mi ii mill i
1JI'
rjOl. GIRL sat with her hands
M h clasped round her knees,
jo V O staring out of the window
Ijrf uui witll unseeing eyes her
' SjO?f thoughts,, far away. re
liind her the room1 was almost dark,
but a rosy glow slanted through the
low casement and touched her bright
brown hair into threads of gold. A
man coming swiftly into the room
hesitated for a moment in the door
way, then, with a whimsical expres
sion of amusement in his eyes, went
forward softly, and, putting a hand
under her chin, kissed her upturned
face. But. as his lips touched hers, he
recoiled with a start; her face was un
known to him, and at the same mo
ment the girl sprang from her seat,
thrusting him from her with both
hands. The color ' swept from her
throat to her forehead, her blue eyes
bl.i7.pd. her slender fisure was tense
with indignation.
"How dare you!" she said, passion
ately; and he, for a moment, had no
reply ready. He was completely taken
aback, but managed at last to stammer
tmi:
"I'm Ttrv sorry. I'm afraid I've
made a mistake!"
- "That you certainly have!" was the
- emphatic retort, and then, with a flash
of. scorn from the 'blue eyes, je was
, " gone.
"Just mv bad luck!" Val .Waryng
t muttered. It certainly seemed'unlucky
HI. I L I t . L 11 C XZtlL O H U.?CiAV.t
- should manage to make a fauxpas on
the moment of arriving home.
"Val,' my dear boy!" a voice said
from the . doorway, and his mother
f "I I H I U : I I I I I I II II 1M1ISL I CLLUCU
hands. He took her in his arms and
she. drew his head down and kissed
liim mi 1irth r-hppl.-s . Thpn shf held
him away from her and scrutinized
his face. "You've grown a beard, Val!"
she said, reproachfully. "It makes you
look dreadfully old."
He laughed.
"I knew, you wouldn't like it, and I
meant to take it off before seeing you,
but we reached port sooner than we
expected, and I rushed to catch the
midday express."
"Ah, that is how you came to-day
instead or to-morrow, when we ex
pected you. You are very welcome,
my dear boy, but it's so dark I cannot
see you properly; we'll have a light."
As the match fired, he noticed that
her face was thinner and more trans
parent in its fair delicacy of complex
ion than when he went away; so small
and fragile a being, and yet possessed
of great strength of will, as he knew to
his cost witness his banishment to a
far land when the headstrong follies
of his youth had threatened his future
career.
"I am sorry to tell you there is a
disappointment in store for you, Val,"
she said, when the gas was lighted.
"Gladys has gone away; she left here
yesterday to stay with some relations.
She gave me this note for you. I think
she might really have postponed her
visit when she heard you were coming
home, but Gladys is s different from
other girls!"
"Yes, Gladys is quite different from
other girls," he repeated, with a slight
ly cynical inflection in hjs voice. He
was turning the letter round and round
in bis hands absently; then he added:
"Who was the girl I found sitting
here? I thought for a moment she
was Gladys when I came in."
"The girl? Oh, you mean Francie!
Why, surely you could not mistake her
for Gladys; they are utterly unlike?
I told you all about her long ago, Val
don't yon remember? She was be
queathed to my care by my cousin.
. Miriam Vane, when she died two years
ago, and Francie has lived with me
ever since."
"Oh, but -you said a child! I imag
ined quite a little girl, not a tall, young
woman like this. I'm afraid I offended
her when I arrived."
"Did she run away? She is rather
shy, but a dear girl. She has been a
great comfort to me in my loneliness;
but you want to read your letter, Val!"
He tore open the envelope, and, going
over to the light, stood there reading.
The expression on his face deepened
suddenly to gravity, and a line ap
peared between his eyebrows which
made him look strangely like his
SILLY OPTIMIST.
Let Ibsen, Tolstoi. Schopenhauer depict
our life as dark.
But I cannot help believing that existence
is a lark,
That all the crimes and meannesses that in
this world are .done
Are committed in a spirit of exuberance
and fun.
A" there's nothing that I love to talk
like words.
And there's nothing that I love to sing
like songs;
So I find a life employment
In the pleasures of enjoyment,
placing sadness in the sphere where it
belongs.
W. I., in Life.
i "'"IWf '.TIT
E. Eastwick.
mother. She was watching him anx
iously while he tore the paper, into
small pieces and threw, them into the
grate. Meeting her eyes, he gave a
low laugh,
"So that is over!" he said.
"Oh, Val,' yqu don't mean-"
"Yes she has politely, but firmly,
'ended our engagement. It is only what
I have been expecting for a long time.
Don't worry 5'ourself, mother I shall
survive this, as I have survived other
disappointments!"
"She might have waited a little to
spoil your home-coming was most cruel
and selfish; but, you know, Val, I never
cared for Gladys!"
"I know, mother; don't let us talk
about her any more."
When he came down dressed for din
ner, he sent a keen glance round the
room, but only his mother was there,
seated by the fire with her knitting.
Curtains were drawn and lamps light
ed, and there was an air of comfort
and snugness which appealed to him;
he felt it was pleasant to be at home
again.
"You seem to have altered things
here, mother. I don't know quite
what the change is; perhaps it is all
-these flowers about, and surely the
curtains are new, and this is very
pretty." He touched the piece of
quaint embroidered velvet on the mar
ble mantel, where Venetian glass and
Dresden china gave tones pt bright
color. " ' '
"Oh, that's all Francie's doing; she
likes arranging flowers for the rooms
and pulling the furniture about!" Mrs,
Waryng answered, with tranquil satis
faction. As she spoke, Francie herself
entered the room. "Ah, here you axe,
dear; you and Val have already made
each other's acquaintance, I hear!" J
Val advanced with outstretched hand
and a twinkle of his eyes. She gave
him a quick, defiant glance, but did not
relinquish her hold on the fluffy, white
Persian cat she held in her arms.
"Yes we have met," was all she
deigned to reply, and then turned her
attention to playing with the cat. '
Val felt he was in disgrace, but, as
he stood looking down at the bright
hair and downcast eyelashes resting
on the flushed cheek, he was conscious
of no penitence for his transgression.
During dinner the conversation was
almost entirely a duologue between the
mother and son; Frances Vane refused
to be drawn into it, only occasionally
vouchsafing a remark when directly
spoken to. Mrs. Waryng was far too
happy in hearing Val talk to notice
anyone else's silence.
When he went to join the ladies in
the parlor, after smoking his cigar,
he found his mother again alone.
"Francie has some letters to write,
so she has gone to her own room; she
insisted we would rather have our first
evening together," Mrs. Waryng told
him, cheerfully.
So this proud maiden meant to ig
nore him by way of punishment; but,
at all events, she had told no tales.
His mother, with her old-fashioned
ways, might possibly have taken um
brage at his mistake. One of her
chief complaints against him in former
days had been what' she called his
"frivolity of conduct" with the young
women of the neighborhood very
harmless flirtations he considered
them to have been, on looking back.
He began to understand that he
would have to make his peace by
going down on his knees to Miss Fran
cie Vane. It was strange that the im
age of his erstwhile ladylove seemed
to have been completely blotted from
his memory and given place to the
picture of a girl with bright brown hair
gazing at the setting sun. He became
so inattentive to his mother's ques
tionings that, at last, she declared he
appeared tired and bade him "Good
night!" but it was the remembrance
of a stolen kiss that was distracting
his attention.
The next morning, as he stood by his
dressing table, a rush of white wings
outside his window and the sound of
cooing replies to a sibilant call beneath,
attracted his attention. Looking down
on the lawn, he saw his mother's ward
feeding the pigeons, who clustered
around her feet and settled on her
shoulders, and even dared impudently
to take the grain from the basket 6be
a
carried on her arm. At a little dis
tance the white cat sat apart, and eyed
the group with contemptuous indiffer
ence, while a couple "of fox terriers
rolled and rollicked at the further end
of the lawn.. It was for such a scene
as this that his eyes had ached in the
glaring solitudes of his exile the girl
in her simple morning dress, the gar
den with its mellow autumn tints, the
sense of rest and peace; this was
home! A feeling of great contentment
took possession of him; he hastened
to finish his dressing, and to join the
party in the garden.
Francie was so absorbed in her busi
ness that she did not see him until
he was close to her, and he had time
to appreciate the freshness of her
girlish beauty out there in the sun
light; the expression of her eyes was so
innocent and gentle as she caressed
her birds that he commenced instantly
in humble language to beg for her par
don. She listened with head averted
until he said he had mistaken her for
some one else.
"For some one else!" she repeated, in
a startle tone.
"Yes! For a young lady whom I
thought I had a right to kiss though
that,- as it happens, was another mis
take," he added, bitterly.
She looked at him intently, and he
felt sure that she knew.ihe other side
of the story the side takerby Gladys,
whatever it might be. When he ques
tioned Francie, she admitted that
Gladys had told her something that
they were "not suited to each other."
"And that it was my fault?" he in
terjected. She did not reply, but throwing the
last handful from her basket, turned
toward the house. He walked by her
side meditating, Wondering what her
thought about him might be. Could
he have read them, he would have dis
covered some confusion in Francie's
mind. The description given by Gladys
Harcourt of her dare-devil lover, who
had won her consent to an engagement
more by the impetuosity of his love
making after a week's acquaintance
than by anything else, did not accord
quite with the bearded man of grave
demeanor and quiet speech walking
beside her. Possibly his mother had
declared -him to have been the hand
somest and most attractive boy in the
world, who would certainly have been
spoiled by her women friends if she
had not rescued him by sheer force of
will from their too. pronounced -encouragement.
Francie had imagined a .good-looking,
conceited young man who took for
granted that every girl must be ready
to fall in love with him at first sight
an opinion which his method of intro
ducing himself to her seemed to have
justified.
Of his good looks there could be no
doubt, but the night before', while
she had sat listening to him, she dis
cerned in his conversation only'a frank
imd outspoken love for his- mother,
and a natural exhilaration at finding
himself once more at home. She be
gan to think she had judged him hard
ly; her severity relaxed, and", when
they reached the house, they were on
excellent terms.
Fate and Mrs. Waryng together con
spired to further their intimacy. Val's
mother -had a neuralgic attack and
remained in her room, so to Francie
fell the task of entertaining this young
man. They breakfasted together, then
went round the garden?, stables and
paddock. She knew every creature in
the barnyard, and they knew her dogs,
cats, horses, not excluding the pigs and
the inhabitants of the poultry yard
all came hurrying to greet her at the
sound of her voice; she seemed like- a
fairy princess in her own little world.
They lunched together, and then, at
Mrs,. Waryng's request, Francie took
Val for a drive in her dogcart. He-was
interested in seeing all his old haunts
agaiu, but evinced. "no desire . to pay
any calls on former friends.
"There will be plenty of time , later
to look up the natives just now I feel
a bit off!" he told her, and she under
stood his words bore some, reference
to the fickle Gladys.
After dinner he fetched a portfolio
of snapshots, to show her the strange
places he had visited in his travels.
Among them was a photograph of his
former fiancee, taken at the time of his
departure from home. He took it up
and gazed hard at the cold and discon
tented beauty of the faee; then he
looked at Francie. How different was
her fresh and natural charm from
that other who, although five years
his senior, had enchained his boyish
heart. He laid the picture aside, and
with it went all regret.
The days slipped into weeks, and
one afternoon Val found the girl in
her favorite seat near the window; she
was reading a letter, and he recognized
the writing.
"You have heard from Gladys?" he
said, as he sat down beside her.
'Yes. She is in a hospital, training
to be a nurse," Francie answered.
'She is .well and happy?" he
queried.
"She says she is both; that she has
at last found her vocation, and never
knew before what it was to be content
with life." '
As he sat silent, looking out of the
window, she murmured:
"Are you sorry, Val?" she asked.
quietly.
He turned and looked ather.
"Have I seemed as if I were sorry,.
here with you? You might help mo
to be very glad!"
Meeting his eyes, she began to under
stand. He 'aid his- hand on hers and askef:
"Do you remember our first meeting,
Francie? What were you thinking
about then, when I found you here?"
"I was thinking well. I was thinking,
what you would be like!"
Her eyes drooped and then he also
understood. New York Weekly.
OEtOTIO
in w i ri
I v
5ft
Some very small West Indian fish,
locally known as "millions," are thriv
ing in the Zoological Gardens, London.
More than 10,000 photographs of
birds amid the'r natural surroundings
have been taken by an English natur-'
alist. Some of them entailed as much
as a week of waiting and -watching.
The Paris correspondent of the Tall
Mall Gazette writes that, thanks to the
recent Anti - Tuberculosis Congress
there, half the people of Paris are, at
this moment, suffering from imaginary
tuberculosis.
The West's gold output may be
doubled by the invention of a resident
of Colorado City. It is a simple ma
chine for saving flour gold, is run by
a gasoline engine, and may be taken
anywhere. Experiments on twice
treated tailings or mine refuse show
an accumulation of five and one-half
pounds of gold in ten days.
A scientific commission which has
been investigating the peculiarities of
the Mediterranean or Malta fever has
come upon evidence which shows that
the infection of the disease may be
transmitted by goats. Dr. Zammit and
Major Horrocks found the specific or
ganism of the fever in the milk of
goats that were apparently healthy.
The blood of several of the goats gave
a reaction which is peculiar to the
fever. This finding is not only im
portant for Malta, but for many other
places within the Mediterranean area.
Gibraltar is one of those where this
fever is very prevalent, and goats are
almost the only source of the milk
supply.
The dependence of underground water-supply--upon
rainfall was clearly
shown by the government survey of
the . drainage basin of the Arkansas
River in Kansas last summer. It was
found that the underflow has its origin
in the rainfall on the sand-hills to the
south and the bottom-lands and plains
to the north of the river. In times
of flood the river itself contributes to
the underground How. When the river
was high the underground water was
found, by means of electrical measure
ments, to be moving away from the
river channel at the rate of about" 8
feet in 24 hours. The general move
ment of the underground water is from
S to 11 feet in 24 hours.
He Deserved Spanking. ,
Mrs. John F. Newman, Bishop New
man's widow, who proposes to found a
kindergarten in Jerusalem, has a great
affection for children and a great store
of children's anecdotes.
- Anent an embarrassing situation, she
said one day:
"This reminds me of a dinner that
a Denver woman gave during a relig
ious convention in her city.
"The dinner was sumptuous. The
leading lights of the church and of the
State were there. A presiding elder,
in taking a drink of water, broke a
glass.
' uThe hostess began to assure the
elder that the accident was of no
consequence, but her well modulated
voice was easily overpowered by the
loud shout of her little son.
'"Oh, mamma.' he cried, 'it's one of
the borrowed ones, isn't it?' "Grand
Rapids Herald.
A Complimentary Captain.
John D. Crimmins, in the New York
Times, tells of a party that hired a
boat owned by a man at Atlantic City
who takes out sailing parties for a con
sideration. A number of young ladies
were of the party.
About a mile and a half out from the
Inlet the wind freshened most unex
pectedly and there was trouble. For
a while it looked as if the dinky little
catboat would capsize. The girls were
considerably wrought up and gave ex
pression to their fears in no uncertain
manner.
"See here, young ladies," said the
owner of the craft, just as one of the
passengers let out an awful shriek,
"you seem to forget that if she goes
down I'm the chap that loses most.
She's my boat."
Fishy.
Mother (reproachfully, to her small
son) "Jamie, where have you been
all afternoon?" Jamie (uneasily) "At
Sunday-school, mamma." Mother
"Then how is it j'ou are wet and smell
so of fish?" Jamie (in desperation)
"Well, you see, I've been studying1
about Jonah, and the whale, and well
I guess it came off oa my clothes."
Harper's Weekly.
r
SOUTHERN FARM ' lOTES.
tj ftf:
TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE PLANTER, STOCKMAN AND TRUCK GROWEft.
Ad van tac of Crop Rotation.
Texas has followed the precedent set
by other States in practicing extensive
agriculture during the development pe
riod, and only within recent years has
the State begun to appreciate and to
make use of those sections which have
especial fitness for intensive agricul
ture. Evidence of the development in
this phase of its industrial life is now
found in the large number of men
who are practicing fruit and truck
growing. During the first period of
development of this State cattle rais
ing was a great means for transform
ing the natural agricultural resources
into a product which could be mar
keted. Following upon the develop
ment of the cattle industry come the
tendency rto develop the production
of the staple farm crops, corn, wheat
and oats. In the practicing of field
agriculture, which would normally
include the raising of staple crops,
a system of rotation has been found
to yield the best results. The practice
called crop rotation has been a matter
of growth and development due to cir
cumstances and was not in the begin
ning . based upon scientific principles.
It should be stated here that by a
rotation of crops is meant the planting
of different crops on the same piece of
land in successive seasons. This plant
ing must involve a change in regular
order.
The custom of growing different
crops in rotation, while largely a mat
ter of conditions, does possess certain
advantages. First, it prolongs the
period of profitable culture. This is
due to the fact that plants vary largely
in their feeding capacities. Many
plants feed in the surface layers and
therefore draw their food almost
wholly from that portion of the soil-
other plants are deep feeders. The
two classes alternated give to the soil
periods of comparative' rest. It should
also be kept in mind that certain crops
require more of some one particular
element in the soil than other crops.
When these two classes are in a rota
tion the soil' is given an opportunity
to rest. Again, when the farm is pro
ducing but one crop a year the soil is
left bare at certain seasons, while the
growth of a variety of crops permits of
a continuous covering and constant
use. Tractically speaking, there is no
soil which is not improved by cropping.
In the language of Jethro Tull, "Til
lage is Manure."
The continuous growth of one crop
renders it more liable to insect attack
and to the development of diseasesi
called rot and blight. It is a well
known fact that crops lose vigor by
being grown year after year, and are
therefore less able to withstand insect
ravages. A change is also valuable
because it deprives any particular in
sect pest of it? food and iz therefore
likely to cause it to disappear.
The majority of our farm crops get
their food entirely from the soil and
in many cases these crops are grown
for their grain. In such case their ni
trogen, potassium and phosphorous
are being disposed of constantly by
selling the seeds of the plants grown.
On the other hand, leguminous plants,
such as peas, beans, alfalfa, etc., get
most of their nitrogen from the air.
It will be noted then that the removal
of such crops from the soil does not
decrease its supply of nitrogen, there
fore a rotation including some one of
the legumes such as alfalfa, cowpeas
or beans, lessens the necessity of sup
plying nitrogen to the soil.
The problem of efficient labor on the
farm is also made more simple by the
adoption of a system of crop rotation.
The farmer is enabled thereby to keep
labor employed throughout the entire
year, thus avoiding the necessity for
short term service. Such a provision
also allows the farmer to keep his ani
mals employed throughout the year
instead of allowing them to stand idle
a considerable portion of the time.
Finally, the business of the farmer
requires a steady and regular income
in order that he may provide for neces
sary tools, seeds and implements, and
also that he may pay wages when
due. A steady and regular income
allows him to do business on a cash
basis and thus to take advantage of
opportunities in buying. He can by
this means do business on a smaller
capital than would be required in the
credit system. The rules which lead
to the adoption of the system of rota
tion under present conditions are gen
eral and not fixed. To grow such crops
as pay the greatest returns per acre
should be the aim, and rotations should
be so modified that the less profitable
crops should contribute as much as
possible to the development of the
more profitable. Whether a crop is
profitable or not will depend upon the
character of the soil, climate, availa
bility of farm labor, location and mar
kets. F. S. Johnston, Agriculturist,
Texas Experiment Station.
Feedlne Valne of the Corn Plant.
A. D. W., llidgeway, writes: Kindly
tell me what would be the food value
of the top and tassel of a corn stalk
after all the fodder has' been removed
by pulling as is the custom in ' some
parts? ' ,
AnswerThe subject of ..-the distri
bution of the nutrients in the corn
plant has been studied quite extensive
ly at several stations, the conclusion
reached being that about forty-eiglxt
per cent, of the digestible part of the
corn plant is contained in the" ea.rs.and
fifty-two per cent. In the various parts
of the stubble. According to careful?
and elaborate tests made at the Mary
land station there were about 1ST
pounds of protein, 1343 pounds of crude
fibre and nitrogen free extract, aid
thirty pounds of fat in a corn crop
yielding 1530 pounds of dry substance
per acre. Of course, an ordinary com
crop as growing in the field would
weigh much more than the amount
indicated here, but after the water
was all driven off, its bulk would prob
ably not be much greater on the aver
age. The top ' fodder contains ten
pounds of protein, 190 pounds of crude
fiber, 232 pounds of nitrogen free ex
tract and 13 pounds of fat; the blades.
six per cent, of protein, 88 pounds of
crude fiber, 105 pounds of nitrogen
free extract, and 4 pounds of fat; the
husks, six per ' cent, of protein, 168
pounds of crude fiber, 240 pounds oZ
nitrogen free extract, and 2 pduhds xf
fat; the stubble, 6 pounds of protein.
241 pounds of crude fiber, 304 pounds
of nitrogen free extract, and 13 pounds
of fat.
These, as stated above, are thv di
gestible constituents, so you will ob--serve
that the stubble contains a larger :
per cent, of useful nutrients ithan either
the husks or the blades, and in fact is
richer in digestible nutrients than the
top fodder with the exception of tji
protein. This analysis, of the corn,
plant, showing as it does the relative
amount of digestible nutrients con
tained in the several parts, may give
you the information you desire. An
drew, M. Soule. """" ' . .
Deformed Chicks. " ,
The breastbones of chicks are often
bent by roosting on perches while they.
areyoung and tender. During the hot
months the mother hen prefers some
cool place, and will leave the coop and
go on the roost, leaving the chicks
alone. If they can manage to follow.
her they will do so, and sit by her side.
The breast bones are gradually turned-'
to one side, and as ithey harden' the.
chick is left in this condition, and's
far as a fancy breed goes they-are'
rendered worthless. '
Their toes also are often left behtfi
from the strain of holding on tothe
roost. ' l
Such deformities show carelessness"
and should never be tolerated. ...
1 Aiase iine cuicks remain in ineir
coops or on the ground until they are
almost grown, or at least until, their"
bones have hardened, and wlien the
time comes for them to go" to the fieu
see that the roosts are.broad amiaieaiu
rfhe ground. A three by four scant-
ling, with the upper edges roundecC
makes the most comfortable perchi:s
'
How Much to Feed.
We are often asked how much o
feed hens, and in every case we arV
forced to admit that there is ho iron
clad rulio to govern each individual,
case.
Some breeds require more than oth
ers; the same breeds eat more some
days than they eat other days, and lay
ing hens will eat more than those
which are not laying. So you can see,
there is no way of knowing just how
nrueh. to lay aside for each day's sup
ply. We must watch them closely each,
one individually and govern ourselves
accordingly.
A safe rule is to give only a partial
feed during the early part of the day.
thus keeping them hungry and willing
to hustle. Late in the afternoon see'
that they will get all they will eat, so
that their hunger is fully appeased be
fore they go to roost.
If fed this way, there is no possibility
of their getting too much. Home and
Farm.
Anthracnose of Eze Plant.
If any growers of egg plant are
troubled by a disease affecting the
fruit as described by the Southern
Fruit Grower they will find a remtidy
below:
"This is a disease which, according
to the report of the United States De
partment of Agriculture, has as yet
done but little damage to the egg plant,
but from the ravages of similar dis
eases upon other plants one is warned
to exercise care concerning the ravages
of this disease, as otherwise it might
do great damage before its existence is
recognised. It may be recognized by
its producing decided pits, uf on the
fruit, upon which will soon appear
very small blotches with a pink bor
d'er. Bordeaux mixture has been rec
ommended by good authority as aa
excellent preventive application."