Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume], July 25, 1905, Image 6

About Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916

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a
$
4
Copyrifb 1904.
by Herbert S. Stoat
4k Company
SYNOPSIS.
Brewster's Millions.
CHAPTER 1—A supper in honor of
the twenty-fifth btrlhday of Mont
gomery Brewster, grandson and heir
of Edwin Brewster, millionaire, is in
terrupted b- the announcement of old
Mr. Brewster's death. II—Brewster in
herits his grandfather's $1,000,000. He
is Invited to dinner by Colonel Drew.
HI—Monty offers to aid Mrs. Gray and
Peggy. his foster mother and foster
Bister. He receives a letter from Grant
& Ripley, lawyers, telling him that the
fortune of his uncle, James Sedgwick
of Montana, has been left to him. Mr.
Swearengen Jones is executor of the
Bedg-wick will. IV—Brewster is in
formed that the Sedgwick fortune, is
left to him on condition that on his
twenty-sixth birthday, Sept. 23 of the
following year, he be absolutely penni
less. The conditions forbid him tcegive
away or to loan any money, but to get
"his mon«y's worth." The Sedgwick
fortune amounts to more than $6,000.
000. V—Brewster is forbidden to take
any one into his confidence. He be
llerves himself In love with Barbara
Drew, daughter of Colonel Drew. Mr.
Jones, In Montana, states the condi
tions under which Monty is to dispose
of the Brewster money. Brewster em
ploys his friends to help him to get
rid of the million. VI—Brewster makes
friends with Mrs. DeMille, a society
leader. He gives a magnificent din
ner, after which the glass ceiling
screen falls on the table, ruining it.
,vn—Brewster whips a newspaper
man who sneers at him and Miss Drew.
\TII—Brewster asks Jones whether he
tnay marry and turn the money over
to his wife and is told to "stick to his
knitting." Monty confides in Peggy,
concerning his love for Barbara. DC—
Brewster bets on a prize fight, hop
ing to lose. He tells Miss Drew he
leves her, but gets no decided reply.
His prize fight wagers prove winners.
X—Brewster decides to Invest in Lum
ber and iFuel, a falling stock his pur
chase sends it up, and he makes $58,
000. XI—An auto accident costs Brew
ster $14,000. He has a quarrel with
Barbara. Highwaymen take Brew
ster's monfev and valuables. XII—
Money refuses to Identify one of the
robbers and reforms him. Brewster
and Mrs. DeMille plan a ball. Miss
Drew returns his Christmas gift.
CHAPTER XIII.—(Continued.)
r*
.*T understand, Monty," said Brag
don, and both he and Harrison went
among the people carelessly asking one
another If 3rewster had come to with
draw his money. "No, he has over
$200,000, and he's going to leave it,"
the other would say.
Brewster's
Millions
Each excited group was visited In
turn by the two men, but their assur
ance seemed to accomplish but little.
These men and women were there to
save their fortunes the situation was
desperate.
Colonel Drew, outwardly calm and
serene, but Inwardly perturbed, finally
saw Brewster and his' companions. He
sent a .messenger over with the request
'that Monty come to the president's pri
vate office at once.
"He wants to help you to save your
(money," cried Bragdon in low tones.
("That shows it's all up."
"Get out every dollar of It, Monty,
and don't waste a minute. It's a smash
as sure as fate," urged Harrison, a
feverish expression In his eyes.
Brewster was admitted to the colo
nel's private office. Drew was alone
and was pacing the floor like a caged
animal.
"Sit down, Brewster, and don't mind
if I seem pervous. Of course we can't
|hold out, but it is terrible, terrible!
'They think we are trying to rob them.
They're mad—utterly mad."
"I never saw anything like it, colo
nel. Are you sure you can meet all
the demands?" asked Brewster, thor
oughly excited. The colonel's face was
white, and he chewed his cigar nerv
jously.
"We can hold out unless some of our
•heaviest depositors get the fever and
iflwoop down upon us. I appreciate
•your feelings in an affair of this kind,
coming so swiftly upon the heels of
•the other, but I want to give you my
personal assurance that the money you
have here is safe. I called you in to
Impress you with the security of the
Thank. You ought to know the truth,
I however, and I will tell you in confi
dence that another check like Austin's,
1.which we paid a few minutes ago,
iwoula cause us serious though tempo
rary embarrassment."
"I came to assure you that I have
not thought of withdrawing my de
posits from this bank, colonel. You
need have no uneasiness"—
The door opened suddenly, and one
of the officials of the bank bolted in
side, his face as white as death. He
started to speak before he saw Brew
ster and then closed his lips despair
ingly.
"What Is It, Mr. Moore?" asked Drew
as calmly as possible. "Don't mind Mr.
Brewster."
"Oglethorp wants to draw $250,000,"
said Moore in strained tones.
"Well, he can have it, can't he?"
asked the colonel quietly. Moore look
ed helplessly at the president of the
bank, and his silence spoke more plain
ly than words.
"Brewster, it looks bad,'' said the
colonel, turning abruptly to the young
man. "The other banks are afraid of
a run, and we can't count on much
help from them. Some of them have
helped us and others have refused.
Now, I not only ask you to refrain
I from drawing out your deposit, but I
•want you to help us In this crucial
moment." The colonel looked twenty
yean older* and his voice shook per­
By GEORGE BARR M'CUTCHEON
(RICHARD GREAVES)
-4
ceptibly. Brewster's pity went out to
him in a flash.
"What can I do. Colonel Drew?" he
cried. "I'll not take my money out,
but I don't know how I can be of fur
ther assistance to you. Command me,
sir."
"You can restore absolute confidence,
Monty, my dear boy, by increasing
your deposits in our bank," said the
colonel, slowly and as if dreading the
fate of the suggestion.
"You mean, sir, that I can save the
bank by drawing my money from oth
er banks and putting it here?" asked
Monty slowly. He was thinking hard
er and faster than he had ever thought
In his'life. Could he afford to risk the
loss of his entire fortune on the fate
of this bank? What would Swearen
gen Jones say if he deliberately de
posited a vast amount of money In a
tottering institution like the Bank of
Manhattan Island? It would be the
maddest folly on his part if the bank
went down. There could be no miti
gating circumstances In the eyes of ei
ther Jones or the world If he swamped
all of his money In this crisis.
"I beg of you, Monty, help us." The
colonel's pride was gone. "It means
disgrace If we close our doors even
for an hour it means a stain that only
years can atmove. You can restore
confidence by a dozen strokes of your
pen, and you can save us."
He was Barbara's father. The proud
old man was before him as a suppli-
The proud old man was before him as a
suppliant.
ant, no longer the cold man of the
world. Back to Brewster's mind came
the thought of his quarrel with Bar
bara and of her heartlessness. A
scratch of the pen one way or the oth
er could change the life of Barbara
Drew. The two bankers stood by,
scarcely breathing. From outside came
the shuffle of many feet and the muf
fled roll of voices. Again the door to
the private office opened and a clerk
excitedly motioned for Mr. Moore to
hurry to the front of the bank. Moore
paused irresolutely, his eyes on Brew
ster's face. The young man knew the
time had come when he must help or
deny them.
Like a flash the situation was made
clear to him, and his duty was plain.
He remembered that the Bank of Man
hattan Island held every dollar that
Mrs. Gray and Peggy possessed. Their
meager fortune had been intrusted to
the care of Prentiss Drew and his as
sociates, and it was in danger.
"I will do all I can, colonel," said
Monty, "but upon one condition."
"That is?"
"Barbara must never know of this."
The colonel's gasp of astonishment
was cut short as Monty continued,
"Promise that'she shall never know."
"I don't understand, but if it is your
wish I promise."
Inside of half an hour's time several
hundred thousand came to the relief
of the struggling bank, and the man
who had come to watch the run with
curious eyes turned out to be its sav
ior. His money won the day for the
Bank of Manhattan Island. When the
happy president and directors offered
to pay him an astonishingly high rate
of interest for the use of the money
he proudly declined.
The next day Miss Drew issued In
vitations for a cotillon. Mr. Mont
gomery Brewster was not asked to at
tend.
CHAPTER XIV.
ISS DREW'S cotillon was not
graced by the presence of
Montgomery Brewster. It is
true he received an eleventh
hour invitation and a very cold and dif
ficult little note of apology, but he
maintained heroically the air of dis
dain that had succeeded the first
sharp pangs of disappointment. Colo
nel Drew, in whose good graces Monty
had firmly established himself, was
not quite guiltless of usurping the role
of dictator in the effort to patch up a
truce. A few nights before the
tlllon, when Barbara told him that
Herbert Ailing was to lead, he ex
plosively expressed surprise. "Why
not Monty Brewster, Babs?" he de
manded.
"Mr. Brewster Is not coming," she
responded calmly.
"Going to be out of town?"
wI'm.sare.l.do
not know," stiffly.
"What's this?"
"He has not been asked, father.
Drew was not in good humor.
"Not asked?" said the colonel In
amazement. "Ifs ridiculous, Babs.
8end him an invitation at once."
"This Is tny dance, father, and I
don't want to ask Mr. Brewster."
Miss
The colonel sank back In his chair
and struggled to overcome his anger.
He knew that Barbara had Inherited
his willfulness and bad long since dis
covered that It was best to treat her
with tact.
"I thought you and he were"— But
the colonel's supply of tact was ex
hausted.
"We were," In a moment of absent
mindedness, "but it's all over," said
Barbara.
"Why, child, there wouldn't have
been a cotillon if it htsln't been for"—
But the colonel remembered his prom
ise to Monty and checked himself just
In time. "I—I mean there will not be
any party If Montgomery Brewster is
not asked. That is all I care to say on
the subject." And he stamped out of
the room.
Barbara wept copiously after her fa
ther had gone, but she, realized that his
will was law and that Monty must be
Invited. "I will send an invitation,"
she said to herself, "but if Mr. Brew
ster conies after he has read it I shall
be surprised."
Montgomery, however, did not re
ceive the note In the spirit in which it
had. been sent. He only saw in it a ray
of hope that Barbara was relenting
and was jubilant at the prospect of a
reconciliation. The next Sunday he
sought an interview with Miss Dxgjv,
but she received him w'ith icy ljsSefvSvj
If he had thought to punish" her vby
staying away It was evident that qhe
felt equally responsible for a great
deal of misery on his part* Both bad
been.more or less unhappy, and both
were resentfully obstinate.' Brewster
felt hurt and insulted, while she felt
that he had imposed upon her disgrace
fully. He was now ready to cry quits,
and It surprised him to find her obdu
rate. If he had expected to dictate the
terms of peace he was woefully disap
pointed when she treated his advances
with cool contempt
"Barbara, you know I care very
much for you," he was pleading, fairly
on the road to submission. "I am sure
you are not quite Indifferent to me.
This foolish misunderstanding must
really be as disagreeable to you as it
is to me."
"Indeed!" she replied, lifting her
brows disdainfully. "You are assum
ing a good deal, Mr. Brewster."
"I am merely recalling the fact that
you once tolJ me you cared. You
would not promise anything, I know,
but it meant much that you cared. A
little difference could not have changed
your'feeling completely."
"When you are ready to treat me
with respect I may listen to your peti
tion," she said, rising haughtily.
"My petition?" He did not like the
word, and his tact quite deserted him.
"It's as much yours as mine. Don't
throw the burden of responsibility on'
me, Miss Drew."
"Have I suggested going back to the
old relations? You will pardon me if
I remind you of the fact that you came
today on your own initiative, and cer
tainly without my solicitation."
"Now, look here, Barbara"— he be
gan, dimly realizing that it was going
to be hard, very hard, to bring her to
reason.
"I am very sorry, Mr. Brewster, but
you will have to excuse me. I am go
ing out."
"I regret exceedingly that I should
have disturbed you today, Miss Drew,"
he said, swallowing his pride. "Per
haps I may have the pleasure of see
ing you again."
As he was leaving the house, deep
anger in his soul, he encountered the
colonel. There was something about
Monty's greeting, cordial as it was,
that gave the older man a hint as to
the situation.
"Won't you stop for dinner, Monty?"
he asked in the hope that his sus
picion was groundless.
"Thank you, colonel, not tonight,"
and he was off before the colonel could
hold him.
Barbara was tearfully angry when
her father came into the room, but as
he began to remonstrate with her the
tears disappeared and left her at white
heat.
"Frankly, father, you aon'T under
stand matters," she said, with slow em
phasis. "I wish you to know now that
if Montgomery Brewster calls again I
shall not see him."
"If that is your point of view, Barba
ra, I wish you to know mine." The
colonel rose and stood over her, every
thing forgotten but the rage that went
so deep that it left the surface calm.
Thr6wing: aside his promise-to Brew
ster, he' told Barbara with dramatic
simplicity the story of the rescue of the
bank. "You see," he added, "if it had
not been for that open hearted boy we
would now be ruined. Instead of giv
ing cotillons you might be giving mu
sic lessons. Montgomery Brewster will
always be welcome In this house, and
you will see that my wishes are re
spected. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly," Barbara answered In a
still voice. "As your friend I shall try
to be civil to him.",
The colonel was not satisfied with so
colc( blooded an acquiescence, but he
wisely retired from the field. He left
the girl silent and crushed, but with a
gleam in her eyes that was not alto
gether to be concealed. The story had
touched her more deeply than she
would willingly confess. It was some
thing to know that Monty Brewster
could do a thing like that and would do
it for her. The exultant smile which it
brought to her lips could only be made
to disappear by reminding herself
sharply of his recent arrogance. Hor
anger, she found, was a plant which
needed careful cultivation.
It was in a somewhat chastened
mood that she started a few days later
for a dinner at the DeMllles'. As she
THE OTTtTMWA COTTTtlBu'
entered in her sweeping golden sown
the sight of Monty Brewster at the oth
er end of the room gave her a flutter jat
the heart, but It was an agitation that
was very carefully concealed. Brew
ster was certainly unconscious of it.
To him the position of guest was like a
disguise, and he was pleased at the
prospect .'of l^ttWg himself go under
the mask without responsibility. But
It took on a different color when the
butler handed him a card which signi
fied that he was to take
Dinner was announced before Monty
could utter another word, and as she
led him over to Barbara she said "Be
hold a generous hostess who gives tip
the best man in the crowd so that he
anJ some one else may have a happy
time. I leave It to you, Barbara, if
that isn't the test of friendship."
For a moment the two rivefted their
eyes on the floor then the humor of
the situation came to Monty.
"I did not know that we were sup
posed to do,Gibson tableaux tonight,"
he said dryly as he proffered hia. arm.
*1 don't understand." And Barba
ra's curiosity overcame her determina
tion not to speak.
"Don't you remember the picture of
the man. who was called upon to take
his late fiancee out to dinner?"
The awful silence with which this
remark was received put an end to
further efforts at humor.
The dinner was probably the most
painful experience in their lives. Bar
bara had come to it softened and ready
to meet him halfway. The right kind
of humility in Monty would have found
her plastic. But she had very definite
and rigid Ideas of his duty in the
premises, and Monty was too simple
minded to seem to suffer and much too
flippant to understand. It was plain to
each that the other did not expect to
talk, but they both realized that they
owed a duty to appearances and to
their hostess. Through two courses at
least there was dead silence between
them. It seemed as though every eye
in the room were on them and every
mind were speculating. At last in
sheer desperation Barbara turned to
him with the first smile he had seen on
her face in days. There was no smile
in her eyes, however, and Monty un
derstood.
"We might at least give out the Im
pression that we are friends," she said
quietly.
"More easily said than done," ha
responded gloomily.
"They are all looking at us and won
dering."
"I don't .blame them."
"We owe something to Mrs. Dan, I
think."
"I know."
Barbara uttered some inanity when
ever she caught any one looking in
their direction, but Brewster seemed
not to hear. At length he cut short
some remark of hers about the
weather.
"What nonsense this is, Barbara," he
said. "With any one else I would
chuck the whole game, but with you
it is-"different. I don't know what I
have done, but I am sorry. I hope
you'll forgive me."
"Your assurance Is amusing, to say
the least."
"But I am sure—I know this quar
rel is something we'll laugh over. You
keep forgetting that we are going to
be married some day."
A new light came Into Barbara's
eyes. "You forget that my consent
may be necessary," she said.
"You will be perfectly willing when
the time comes. I am still in the fight
and eventually you will come to my
way of thinking."
"Olj! I see it now," said Barbara,
and her blood was up. "You mean to
force me to it What you did for fa
ther"—
Brewster glowered at her, thinking
that he had misunderstood. "What do
you mean?" he said.
"He has told me all about that
wretched bant business. But poor
If it ha no be or
have been ruined."
ORCHARD
(JHb
MIbs
amn
BY
Drew In
to dinner. Hastily seeking out the host
ess, he endeavored to convey to her
the impossibility of the situation.
"1 hope you won wiouuuerstand
me," he said. "But Is it too late to
cbacKe my place at the table?"
"It Isn't conventional, I know, Mon
ty. Society's chief aim is to separate
engaged couples at dinner," said Mrs.
Dan, with a laugh. "It would be pos
itively compromising if a man and his
wife sat together."
J.S.TRIGG
REGISTER,
DES MOINES, IA.
CORRESPONDENCE
SOLICITED
might
father thought you quite disinterested.
He did not see the little game behind
your melodrama. He would have torn
up your check on the Instant if he had
suspected you were trying to buy his
daughter."
"Does your father believe that?"
asked Brewster.
"No, but I see it all now. His per
sistence and yours—you were not slow
to grasp the opportunity he offered."
"Stop, Miss Drew," Monty com
manded. His voice had changed, and
she bad never before seen that look in
his eyes. "You teed have no fear that
I will trouble you again."
{Continued In Next Issue.).
When crops look yellow, it is the
call of the land for a clover treatment
or for tile drainage.
4
The very conditions which produce
the big crop of grass very often pre
vent its being saved as a good hay
crop.
One need never expect a satisfactory
growth of black walnut trees or, for
that matter, of any other kind of trees
when the ground under them gets mat
ted with blue grass.
One of the most reliable signs of Jry
weather which we have noted is when
after a heated term the clouds gather
and mass reluctantly, finally dispers
ing, with only a light fall of rain.
A woman had much better tie her
self to five acres of land, three cows,
200 hens and a strawberry bed than to
an old stick of a man, for In the first
case she knows where her Investment
is nights, and in the other she doesn't.
With the probable early termination
of the eastern war the commercial In
fluence of Japan becomes a factor of
the greatest importance in the far east.
It Is evident that that nation aims to
do for the east what England has done
for the west
A haycock cover costing 30 cents
will' last five years at least If properly
cared for and will save 50 cento' worth
of hay every year It is used—yes,
more than this—for hay is never so
well cured as In the cock, and with
the cover caps it may be cocked up
quite green and will thus cure in the
best possible shape.
Some of the most valuable of our
horticultural products have come from
sports or freaks. The valuable na
vel orange Is a notable instance,
and more recently growing in a
field of black Mexican sweet corn—
the sweetest sweet corn which grows—
was found a freak white ear possess
ing all the desirable "qualities of Its
black ancestry combined with a white
color, making a most valuable find.
There are but few cases where a
country eo completely monopolizes the
production of a great staple commod
ity of worldwide use as in the case of
the United States and the cotton crop.
While a small measure of success has
been attained in the effort to grow
cotton In India, the West Indies and
Africa, there is no prospect that there
will ever be any serious competition
with this country in thfe growing of
this great staple. It Is simply Impossi
ble to grow cotton profitably without
the colored man and the mule.
The waste lands of the state of Iowa
•the. unused strips of good soil on
roadside and on the rights of way of
the many railroads, the thousands of
acres of land too wet for ordinary cul
tivation without proper drainage which
are plowed and planted each year and
which never pi-oduce anything save
weeds—would if cultivated, as they
might be and will be some day, support
an Immense population. Agricultural
progress in the west lies more along the
line of eliminating these wastes than
In almost any other line. TJp to the
present time the effort has been along
the line of getting more land rather
than in making the most of that al
ready owned.
There are a good many Ifs between
April and September for the farmer
so far as his crops are concerned. It
Is probable that no line of business
runs more chances. There are the late
spring frosts, the possible midsummer
droughts and floods, the Innumerable
horde of insect pests all wanting a
share and sometimes all of the crop
there are the low price for farm prod
ucts Incident to a large crop and the
unfair manipulation of the market by
speculators or empty cribs and bins
when the price is high. If it were not
for the fact that some sort of a living
is obtained from the farm regardless
of whether the crops are poor or feood,
there would be vastly more failures
on the farm than there are.
It was yesterday morning, yon re
member—gone the hot south wind, the
clammy, sticky, lifeless air—an assem
bling of thunder heads in the west as
the sun went down, a lot of electrical
f)yrotechnlcs and the roar of heavy
aerial artillery, the hqaling caress of
the rain and the obeisance of the trees
to the fitful breezes, then the shift of
the wind to the northwest, a bracing
tonic for flabby and exhausted human
ity, then the eastward retreating
storm, Its tumult dying away like the
roar of a fast mail train, then the stars
and the blue overhead, with sleep and
rest then the morning, with an at
mosphere as clear and pure as that of
the mountains or of paradise, trees and
grass rain kissed and sun blest, with
June roses breaking buds, biros all on
a concert tour and all the world so
very, very charming, Just like brides or
girl graduates. Give June a credit
mark.
A Tune pasture for the cowls a per
fect ration, and all other rations fed
her should be modeled on It
A temperature of 80 degrees with a
good northwest wind a-blowlng is a
very nice summer combination—bard
to beat
A
When a supply of ice Is such a com
fort during the heated summer weath
er, It aeems a pity that every family
in the countvy should not have it when
It Is so easily obtained.
The eight hour day means a whole
lot of wasted time for the men who
demand it Eight hours' work may
keep a man from the poorhouse, but it
will never give him much of a bank ac
count
The hens will usually lay well ihd
the cows give a large flow of milk up
to the last of June then the fowls will
begin to molt and the pastures get
brown, meaning fewer eggs and less
Of 175 tramps fed by a city during
one month last winter only one of the
lot would respond to an offer of work
at $1.75 per day. This sOrt are mostly
beyond help and should be treated
purely as human parasites.
An English writer who recently vis
ited this country made the criticism
that the American people "lacked the
powor of repose." If we could have
introduced Jiim to a hired man we
once had he would never have said
this.
In a general way it may be said that
It is always easier to get rid of sur
plus water from a tract of land than to
counteract a lack of moisture. Drain
age methods are comparatively simple
when compared with any means of .Ir
rigation.
The high price of wool is making the
sheep of Montana worth as much as
her gold minee. When a sheep will
grow two dollars' worth of wool and
a three dollar lamb in one year, the old
ewe is a pretty good proposition—in
fact hard to beat
A friend who raises each year a good
deal of small grain hit on the plan last
winter of giving a load of straw for
two loads of manure delivered on his
farm, with the result that he got 150
loads of fertilizer put where It will
do him a lot of good. He says this
plan is away ahead of burning the
straw.
A rainfall of eleven Indies in eight
een hours in a western county this June
wrought irreparable damage. Bridges
and culverts by the score were torn
out crops all washed out on the roll
ing lands and buried with mad oa the
lowlands. Where the land Is hilly and
such storms liable to occur there should
be much grass and but Uttle grain
raised.
John Burroughs makes the interest
ing statement that while few dogs can
catch a rabbit the slow traveling mink
always can. He gives as the reason
the fact that the rabbit seems to know
that when chased by a dog it always
has its hole as a last safe resort, while
when chased by a mink it seems to re
alize that the hole is no longer availa
ble as a means of protection and seem
ingly becomes paralyzed, making it the
easy victim of the mink.
It Is seldom that a great war has had
so little influence upon the prices of
farm products as the present one be
tween Japan and Russia. Both coun
tries have been largely independent of
the rest of th'e world in the matter of
food supplies and only to a limited ex
tent have they drawn on other coun
tries. This country has sold some
meats, some hay and barley and some
range ponies and mules to Japan, but
not enough to visibly affect the price
of these commodities. For this reason
the termination of the war is not likely
to have any marked effect upon prices
in this country.
Much speculation Is being Indulged in
as to the reason for a manifest decline
In the population of the rural sections
of the west in the fat lands where the
big crops grow and where the average
value of farm land is $80 per acre, a
decline, as shown by a late census,
amounting to nearly 10 per cent.. The
reason Is partly found in the increased
value of farm land, almost compelling
the working of it as much as possible
by improved machinery, this in turn
tending to increase rather than dimin
ish the size of the farms. Then young
men are almost of necessity compelled
to seek cheaper farms .whereon to get
a start and a home.
In the main the birds live together
much more peaceably than do men. It
is a rare thing to note any fighting be
tween the different species, and their
home life Is never broken up by those
of their own kind. The discovery of
a supply of food is always generously
communicated not only to their own
kind, but to all other birds, and in the
pursuit of such food the utmost good
feeling prevails. While selfish in that
they look out for their own Interests,
the competition .hardly ever develops
fighting and bloodshed, as with man.
We have noted a robin on the lawn dig
ging worms for a young robin which
followed at a little distance and have
seen a sparrow get every worm from
the young bird until the mother bird,
discouraged at being obliged to feed,
a sparrow, gathered up some worms}
and stayed right with the young bird1
till It could eat what she had got)
for It. Most mothers of the human'
race would have quit the feeding'
business long enough to have Itched'
the ®)arrow.
N
DAJfGEROUS IMPORTATIONS.
A
All Importations of animal, bird antf
insect life are In a way a violation of
natural law, for the reason that all
such forms of life have in their native
country some agency to properly hold
them in check, and this is hardly ever
imported with them. If the conditions
are favorable to the increase of such
imported life it Is easy to see that it
may soon become a pest unhindered by
Its natural checks. This is very, clearly
seen in the case of the importation of^
the English rabbit into Austif lia, there,
being there none of the rabbit's natu-j
ral enemies to be found, such as wea-.
•els, stoats, hawks and foxes, and. food!
being abundant and climatic condta
tlons favorable, the rabbit soon be-j
came a great national pest and is to*(
day. In the case of the English spar-j
row imported into this country -the
same thing Is true. In England ttM
common house cat is the natural ene*
my of the sparrow and does-more than
any other one agency to hold this pest
In check. There for hundreds of years!
the cat has been acquiring the sparfowj
habit and will climb trees and the cer-j
nices of buildings in search of thet*
young, while the American cat hardlyj
knows enough to catch one In a bush or\
on the lawn when It has the chance.'
The gypsy moth was Imported, some
years ago and without its natural
check, with the result that a vast sum
of money has been spent to limit ttai
ravages,
•=:.
.5:-J:
A'
4
.,..
SUCCESS WITH POTATOES.
A man in southern Minnesota wants
to know how he can raise 400 bushels'
of potatoes to the acre. He says that
the average crop of his locality 1»
about 125 bushels per acre. He can
not do it on bid and poor land. He
cannot do it unless he is willing to
spray his crop and protect it from
blight and insect pests. He should1
have preferably a piece of new hazell
brush or timber land or a clover sod'
turned over the previous season to
September, with the second crop turn-'
ed under. On this field he should put
twenty loads of well rotted stable ma
nure with a spreader early in. thai
spring, then disk both ways and se-'
cure a garden-like condition of -the'
•oil. He should plant in drills tbreei
feet apart the one-half ,of a good!
sized potato sixteen indies apart im
the row. The field should be draggedi
every day when it is dry from the
time the potatoes are planted until the
vines are six inches high. This .shouldi
be followed by repeated cultivation,,
hilling the vines slightly until the
vines are In bloom and, should the:
weather be dry, with surface cultiva
tion afterward. If he sprays at the
proper time to head off the blight and
the bugs In addition to the foregoing
he will come very near getting hia 400'
bushels.
BETTER ROADS.
Referring again to the new method
of treating the earth roads by the use
of the road drag, it is Interesting to
note with what remarkable rapidity
the idea is spreading. Thousands of
miles of the worst dirt roads In th»
west are by this process being trans
formed into splendid highways at a
most trifling expense. The plan is tak
ing with the farmers everywhere, and1
another year will see the plan gener
ally adopted all over the country and
contracts let each spring by the town
ship authorities to have all the roads
in each township dragged at the proper
time throughout the season. The plan
Is also being taken up by many town?
for the care of the dirt streets and with
the greatest success and satisfaction.
It is a cheap and practical solution of
one of the most difficult problems,
which face nearly all communities*
whether municipal or urban. No mat
ter what state you live In, If you have
bad earth roads It will pay to loolc
this plan up. ,.
s.
A BUTTER RECORD.
The performance of the winning cow
at the world's fair test, Loretta, a
Jersey, was not such a wonderful rec
ord after all. -From June 16 to Oct.
13, 120 days, she gave 5,802 pounds of
milk, testing 2S0.16 pounds of butter
fat, equivalent to 330.03 pounds .of
butter, or an average of 2.75 pounds
of butter per day. The ration fed her
to produce this result was as follows
Pounds.
Alfalfa hay 2,1714
Cut alfalfa 746.#
Clover hay St
Corn silage 1,458
Cornmeal 446.5
Bran 360.5
Ground oats 150
Oilmeal 216.5
Cottonseed meal 51.5
Gluten feed 33
Corn heart3 I95.S
Hominy feed 94.5
Distillers' grains 5S
Rolled oats 63
The value of her butter product was
$82.51, the cost of her feed $31.99 and**
the net profit $50.52.
FLOWKG CORK.
We are asked how many times it pays
to plow corn. This is a good deal like
asking how often a man should kiss1
his wife. In a general way It may bs
said that corn can never be cultivated'
too much from the time the rows cam
be seen until it'tassels out, and quite
often It happens that a surface culti
vation after the silks have formed willj
fio more for the crop than any which!
it has previously had. This In a dry]
season. Some men think they have'
done their full duty by their corn crop
if they give It three plowings others'
give four or five, some let it go at two,
but the fact remains that the more'
frequent and thorough the cultivation]
of this crop the better it will be. "Sp-