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THE AjJAIR COUNTY nEVS SOME ALFALFA EXPERIMENTS. In view of tlie widespread as well aa increasing interest in tbe subject of alfalfa growing it is worth giving a summary in this department of bulla tin No. 136, which has been lately is sued by the Nebraska experiment sta tion and tells of the experience of farmers in different parts of the state In getting a start with this valuable legume. Twelve farmers co-operated In the work, carrying it on according j, to suggestions and directions of the Etation directors. In this eo-operativr experimental work it was the aim to try out and compare the effect of three treatments in securing a stand of al falfa and on subsequent growth first, liquid nitrogen cultures sent out by the United States department of agriculture; second, soil from well established alfalfa Gelds, and, third, farm manure. Owing to the prevalence of drought and grasshoppers during the years 1910 and 1911 there was a tailure on the part of some of the co operators to get a stand, but the re sults secured by hose who did get a stand brought gut the following con clusions: That the use of farm manure In proper amounts and properly ap plied is to be strongly recommended, that where difficulty is experienced in getting a stand the soil should be in oculated and that inoculation with soil from a well established alfalfa field or sweet clover patch gave uni formly better results than were secur ed by the use of liquid cultures. FOR CANNING SMALL FRUIT. A lady reader of these notes gives the writer the following recipe for canning strawberries, raspberries and other small fruits and has given him . can of fine looking strawberries as proof that the method she follows Ib a success: She first sterilizes her cans and covers with boiling water, then fills them with the uncooked berries, setting the cans in a dishpan contain ing a quantity of warm water. Prior to this she has prepared her sirup, which is boiling hot. As soon as the water in the pan is brought to a boil the cans containing the berries are re moved to a platter and the sirup ia then poured over them. As the ber ries shrink some, reducing the volume In the cans, enough sirup is added so that the cans run over. The covers are then screwed on, and the job is done. The chief advantage of this method seems to be that the berries re tain their shape much better than where they are cooked for some time. SEED CORN TESTS. Decent tests which the students of the agricultural course of the high school in the writer's home town have made of a large supply of seed xrn saved last fall have brought out two interesting facts first that ears that were picked and hung up in September before any heavy frost occurred show a practically perfect germination test, while ears that were picked after the first heavy freeze not only show a larger number of dead kernels, but in many Instances the germinating power of those that grow is weak. If the average farmer would act on the infor mation contained in these tests pick his corn before there is any frost and nse care in keeping it dry during the winter there would be practically no such thing as a seed corn problem. IMPORTANT TO DAIRYMEN. It looks very much as if the day was not far distant when all dairymen furnishing milk to cities of any consid erable size would be compelled to test their cows yearly for the detection of tuberculosis. The supreme court of the United States has affirmed the deci sion of a lower court granting munici palities the right of insisting on this test and this gives the necessary foun dation. The wise dairyman who looks to the future of his business will not only take the steps necessary to eradi cate the disease, but will look caref ully to the conditions under which his c iwa are kept so as to reduce to a miniu.um the likelihood of the development of the disease. And lie will be justified io advertising his milk as from tubercu lin tested cows POOR MANAGEMENT. The Nebraska College of Agriculture last year sent out inquiries to 2.0O farmers who are engaged in the grow ing of wheat and found that with but few exceptions they burned their straw. The station officials say that in effect these farmers, as well aa thousands of others who follow the same practice in Missouri. Kansas and Oklahoma, are guilty of arson and n directly impairing the productivity and physical quality of their soils. Th station discourages this practice anil urges the us of the straw as a rough age for winder feeding, as a fertilizer, as a preventive of soil blowing, to im prove the drainage, to loosen heavy and adbesiv-e soils and for bedding. A PRACTICAL EXPERIMENT. !Co more needed or practical experi ment cowld be conducted by the class In agrjfTilture in many sections than that of making a test of alfalfa grow tag. Directions best suited to the ell mafic and soil conditions of any local Ity would be gladly furnished by the directors of the state agricultural col lege. Rightly conducted, such an ex periment would furnish Just the data that dozens of farmers In the territory tributary to the school would be only too glad to get Tho experiment would unquestionably prove both practical and interesting. t THE PASTOR SPRINTED. He Made a Good Run In Record Time With Plenty of Reason. One of the traditional stories of the town of Fairfield, Conn., recounts a wild dash from the pulpit made by a worthy and beloved pastor of the Episcopal flock. Dr. Labaree. It was on a Sunday more than a hun dred years ago. The service had been read, the prayers said, the hymns sung, and tbe parson began his sermon. As he proceeded his gestures became very energetic. He brought his right hand down with great force. Then he turned pale, cleared the pulpit stairs at a bound, dashed out of the church door and ran toward the pond a short dis tance away. The congregation followed in bewil dered pursuit and saw their venerable pastor with flying robe rush Into the water until It came to his neck. Then, turning round, he faced his astonished audience- and said: "Dearly beloved brethren, I am not crazy, as no doubt many of you think, but yesterday at the drug store I bought a bottle of nitric acid and carelessly left it in my pocket today. "My last gesture broke the bottle. I knew the suffering the acid would cause when it penetrated my clothing and rushed for the water to save myself pain." He drew several pieces of glass from his pocket in witness of the tale. Then he dismissed the company and hurried home. FROZEN WITH HEAT. A Remarkablo Process Known as tho Caloric Paradox. Freezing Is usually associated with cold, but water can be frozen on a red hot plate. This pretty experiment has rightly been called the caloric paradox. If a drop of water is placed on a red hot or white hot metal plate it does not suddenly flash into steam undek the influence of the great heat It does not even boil. It simply evaporates quietly and slowly as It rolls about the plate. Now. suppose that the drop on ihe plate is a volatile liquid like sul phurous acid. It will evaporate, and this evaporation will produce oold. Let a drop of water fall in the sulphurous acid drop and it will be frozen In spite sf the heat SI. Boutigny thus froze water on a white hot platinum capsule. Faraday carried this remarkable experiment aven further. Pouring some ether and solidified carbonic acid gas on a red hot platinum capsule, he formed a spheroidal mass which evaporated very Jowly. He then brought some mer cury Into contact with it and this wan Instantly frozen. Now, mercury re quires a temperature of 40 degrees be low zero to solidify it, and here it w?g frozen on redhot nlatinum. No "Deadhead" Trip. One of the most famous of American shipping lines in the palmy days of our marine was the Cope line, which ran between Philadelphia and 4verpooi, says the author of "Memoirs oi fbarlefl EL Cramp." By this line John Ran dolph of Roanoke determined to sa to 2nssla when he had been appointefi minister to that cduntfy by President Jackson. Entering the office of the company In Philadelphia, he said to a clerk In his usual grandiloquent man ner: "Sir, I wish to see Thom.s P. Cope." He was shown to Mr. Cope's office. 'T am John Randolph of Roanoke," he said. "I wish to take passage to Liverpool in one of your ships." If he expected to be tendered a pas. he was grievously disappointed. "I am Thomas Cope," replied fie head of the lin. "If thee goes aboard the ship and selects thy stateroom and will pay $150 thee may go." An Ants' Sewing Circle. A party of German naturalists re cently returned from Ceylon have re ported the existence of a species of ant that has been observed in the act of sewing two leaves together for the pur pose of forming a nest This report confirms the observations of the Eng lish naturalist Ridley, made in 1S90. They saw a row of the insects pulling the edges of leaves together, then oth ers trimming and fitting the edges, and finally the completion of the work by still other ants which fastened tho edges with a silky thread yielded by larvae of the same species the workers carried in their mandibles. It is said that the sewing ants pass the thread giving larvae like shuttles through holes in the edges of the leaves. Bos ton Post. For the Boy's Sake. A Roseville man stopped smoking for the sake of his yo-mg sou. '"It 1 smoke ' I shall set him a oad example." he ar- j gued and gave up tobacco with many j sighs of regret For three years he has ' done without the weed. The other night he found a box of little cigars in the boy's coat pocket, a well smoked brier pipe in the youngster's tool box down cellar and a pack of cigarettes in the woodshed. Newark News. His Experience. "In order to succeed in any line of business," said the great merchant, who was given to the habit of moral izing, "one must begin at the bottom." "I tried that" replied the young man with the fringed trousers, "and now I'm on my uppers." Exchange. Reckless Dissipation. His .Mother Hiram, ain't you 'shamed o' yourself settin up till half past 8 playin' solitaire? Whar you get your taste for gamblin I don't know. Life. No man can do nothing, and no mro an do everything- German Pro7erl THE SAME OLD SEASONS. They Are Just About as They Wero Couple of Centuries Ago. The belief of many people that the seasons are undergoing some kindrof change has led Professor Ignazlo Galll to examine the weather records of the entire eighteenth century. The investigations of Professor Galli show fifty-one winters that lasted well Into spring, thirty-one warm winters, thirteen unusually early winters, twelve mild winters followed b? cold springs, eleven mild winters followed by mild springs, eleven cold autumns, eight very warm springs, eight" sum mers with frosts and five very warm autumns. There was one instance ofj six consecutive warm seasons. More than three-quarters of the periods of unusual weather occurred between the middle of autumn and the end of spring. Many times during the eight eenth century the same apparent anom alies recurred at the same seasons in several successive years. In every case the seasons regained their normal char acteristics. There have always been persons who imagined that the seasons were becom ing warmer or colder than before. There is. however, small foundation for such beliefs. The world Las in deed experienced many cold summers and many warm winters, but such sea sons are not the rule, but the excep- J tion. Youth's Companion. j NOT AFRAID OF COFFINS. Among the Chinese They Are Gladly Accepted as Presents. Some one who knows Chinese peo ple very well once told a tale to show that they do not permit themselves the luxury of nerves She said she had gone one day, before the Boxer riots, to visit an old lady who lived out in the country far beyond Weihsici. When the American woman arrived the old lady was out. but presently she came in and announced that she had just been out "watching the men dig her grave, but as it began to rain she had told them to wait for a pleasanter day." She did not die for years after that but she had the comforting as surance that her grave was ready for her without any unseemly haste when ever she cared to occupy it The same American had the expe rlenco of sleeping in a room -with a very large coffin when she was visiting a Chinese friend, and the next morning the old grandfather of the family call ed her attention to its excellences and explained that his son had made him a present of it. "Isn't tho wood fine!" he asked admiringly. "It cost a lot of oney." Old people accept such pres ents as marks of filial love, and not at all as a hint for them to occupy tht coffin. New York Post Priceless Tears. Before General Luke Wright became governor general of the Philippines he practiced law in Memphis It so befeh on ono occasion that he was engaged to defend a man for murder, while bis sou was the state prosecutor. In his final argument while pleading with the jurors to free his client Gen oral Wright wept copiously. As he fin ished his speech and sat down, wiping ii's still streaming eyes, the younger Wright rose to close the case for the commonwealth. "Gentlemen ot the jury," he began. "I am overcome with admiration for my father. Tie has powers whicb even I. his son. did not suspect he pos sessed. Yn;i behold him shedding tears for his cliei.t, who. I am informed, has paid him only a small fee Gentle men of the jury, I never before knew my father could weep in court for less nmn ?.-!.( :n" Saturday Evening Post Relax In the Water. Lew Sarett explains the difficulty which the nonswlmmer has in remain ing afloat in "The Knack of Learning i to Swim," in Outing, as follows: j "The nonswlmmer. fearing the wa-; ter. very naturally tenses his muscles j as he struggles to keep his head above the water until be is as hard as a rock, and, like a rock, he sinks, whereas the swimuuM. having no fear, relaxes his i muscles and hence becomes buoyant, j The explanation is a simple physical out-. Tense, taut muscles increase the ' specific gravity of the body and makei it t-iuli a. water: loose, relaxed muscles .given an ordinary supply of air In the iiingsi will make the body float" A Little In Advance. ' A Washington man and his wife, whose domestic complications are fre-1 quent. hut not serious, had one evening called upon a married couple. On their way home the lady said: i "Now. in the case of the Parkers, I ' should say it was an ideal marriage. ; Really, I believe they both think abso-' lutely alike." k ' "Charming people, charming people!" said hubby. "But about the thinking, Gladys, if you will notice, she general-' ly thinks first" Lippincott's. Undesirable Neighbors. "There's a foreign couple living in the flat next to us, and tbey are simply torment to my wife." "Why so?" "They quarrel incessantly, and she ;an't understand a word of it" Lou isville Courier-Journal. Took Its Place. "How did they happen to meet?" "He ran over that poodle of which she was so fond." "Did he replace It?" "Looks that way He and she are now engaged." Louisville Courier 7ournal. Never depend upon your genius If pon have nonp, indurb'y will supply the deficiency. Ruskia SPLENDORS OF SPACE. Matchless Beauty of the Milky Way as Seen In a Telescope. The Milky way, or galaxy, is an ap parent ring extending entirely around the universe of stars visible in the largest telescope. It is composed of suns in literal millions. They are so remote that, as seen from the earth, they appear to be close to each other, while really they are separated by millions and billions of miles. To the eye the belt of soft light looks like n continuous band of cloth of pearl, but telescopes have the effect of bringing objects nearer. This separates the filmy cloud into many millions of glit tering but minute points on the black background of space. At a distance forest trees seem to be close together, but as they are approached they sep arate and stand oloce. It is next to impossible to describe the matchless beauty of the Milky way as seen In a telescope of great power. Carpet a large room with black velvet Hang many electric lights in the ceiling. Throw down and scatter all over the black floor a bushel of minute diamonds, rubies, pearls, saphires, opals, amethysts and other gems. Then turn on the light You would have a faint imitation of the supernal glories of the galactic hosts. For the appalling depths of space look black in our great tele scopes. In places these suns look by perspective as though they were ar ranged in piles, heaps and banks or built up into colossal windows, or twisted into spirals, or dashed into wisps and cosmic spray. In some places the concentration is so great and dense that only the most power ful telescopes on earth can magnify enough to bring out details. A few clusters exist that have not so far been resolved into these needle points. And the height of human happiness Is to watch these vast congeries of distant suns in a huge telescope. George Wharton James in National Magazine. TURNED INTO STONE. j Petrified Objects Are Common In Re ' gtons Where Limestone Prevails. Petrified objects are found in a great ' many sections of the world, most of ) them in sections where limestone is 1 prevalent , Petrified wood is quite common. Bits of wood, pieces of bark and small twigs are the more common, but in some places whole logs are found, and these are so well petrified as to show I the bark as perfect as when the tree i was growing. Different kinds of wood petrify. It depends more on the i amount of lime than on the quality of 1 timber. In Arizona whole trees are petrified. , and, in fact, whole forests have been ; turned into stone, and some wonderful ; specimens are to be found there. The I petrified trees are sometimes cut up ! and converted into various articles of value. Petrified moss is found in many (- places. It is very beautiful. Petrified grasses, leaves of trees and petrified nuts and fruits have been discovered m some places. Petrified reptiles and ' small animals have also been found. Cobs from which, the grains of corn have bfien removed make rather curi ous petrifications. One of the most cu rious found is that of a piece of honey comb turned into solid stone, but showing every honey cell perfectly shaped and equally distributed just as the honey bees had built it. If tin comb had contained honey the water had dissolved that, for the cells wer. empty. Petrified human remains are not uc common. In some of the cemeteries in sections where limestone prevails iu abundance bodies have been lifted to move them to other cemeteries, and they were found to be turned to stone. Harper's Weekly. In Private. As he started out with the bushel of ashes he walked into a clothes line that he didn't see. When he had picked himself out of the ash pile and recovered his hat he stood in the back yard and relieved his feelings. "Henry." called his wife. "Well?" he snapped. "Don't stand out there to do it Come straight into the house and tell me that it's all my fault" Detroit Free Press. Two Gifts. Thay both had sections of the papei. "Here's a New York man gives his wife a diamond necklace." said she. "Nothing like that ever happens to me." "Well." said he, "ljere's a Chicago man gives his wife a black eye. Noth ing like that ever happens to you. either, my dear." Louisville Courier Journal. The Oval Moon. According to a discovery made by Professor Castadilobo of Portugal, the tooon .is not round, but oval. Cinemat ograph - pictures, taken during an Sclipse of the sun. show a difference of three miles between the greatest and 'east breadth. Doubted Him. She Anyhow, you must admit he is well bred mau. Did you uotlce his knowledge of Aristotle? He I did: and if you want my candid opinion. I don't believe he's ever been there. Minneapolis Journal. A Crazy Act. Owner of Car-Why did you leave your last place? Chauffeur The guy I worked for went crazy started shin gling his house when his ear needed uew tires. Puck. A RUINED ROMANCE Genevieve Ward's Story of Her Wedding Tragedy. PARTED AT THE CHURCH DOOB After a Dramatic Ceremony Following a Complication That Became an In- j ternational Affair and Was Ended bj . Our Government and the Czar. ' In Mrs. Tweedie's "Thirteen Years jof a Busy Woman's Life" are some ! stories of Genevieve Ward, the famous ' actress. I One morning in March, 1008, came a knock on Mrs. Tweedie's door, and In walked Miss Ward. ' "Out for my constitutional, my dear," she exclaimed. "So I thought I would Just look you up. I have walked sis miles this morning, and after a little rest and chat with you I shall walk an other mile home and enjoy my lunch-' eon all the better for it" "You are a marvel!" exclaimed our author. "Seven miles and over seventy. I saw your 'Volnmnia' was a great sue-1 cess the other day when you played it with Benson." "Yes," she said, "and the next day I stnrtfetl izt Same. I got a telegram say- ' ing one of three old cousins, with whom I was staying in Rome a few weeks j J previously, had died suddenly, so four hours after receiving the message I set out" "Wore you very tired?" "No, not at all. I knitted nearly all the way and talked to my fellow pas- , f scngers and when I arrived, instead of resting, went at once to see to some business, for these two old sisters, one of whom is blind, were absolutely pros trated with grief and had done nothing I while awaiting my arrival. I stayed a ; fortnight with them, settled them up ' and arrived back a few days ago." , Here is the pathetic story of Miss ' ' Ward's marriage tragedy as she told ft to Mrs. Tweedie: "I was traveling with my mother and brother on the Riviera in 1S33 when j we met a Russian, Count de Guerbel ! He was very tall, very handsome, very fascinating, very rich and twenty-eight I was seventeen. He fell In love with me, and It was settled I should be mar ried at the consulate at Nice, which 1 ! was. But the Russian law required I that the marriage should be repeated In the Russian church to make the ', ceremony binding; otherwise I was hl3 legal wife, but he was not my legal husband. I "It was arranged, therefore, that 1 should go to Paris with my mother, the count going on iu advance to ar range everything, and we would be re married there in the Greek church. 1 When we arrived in Paris it was Lent ' when no marriage can take place ir , the Greek hurch. and so time passed I on. , "He inirst have been a thoroughly , bad man, because he did his best at that time to persuade me to run away with him. alwavs reminding me that 1 was his Jeiral wife. The whole thing was merely' a trick ot this handsome, j fascinating raseaT. - He "promised fne that if i would go to him he would ' take me to Russia at once, and there i we should be remarried according to the rules of the Greek church. Being positively frightened by his persist 1 once, I told my mother. At the same time rumors of De Guerbel's amours and debts reached her ears, and she wrote to a cousin of ours, then Ameri can minister in St. Petersburg, for con firmation of these reports. "My cousin replied. 'Come' at once. i We went, I, of course, under my name of Countess de Guerbel, which I had naturally assumed from the day of on: wedding at Nice, and we stayed at the embassy in St. Petersburg. The count's brother was charming to me. He told us my husband was a villain and I had better leave him alone. That 1 was impossible, however. I was mar ried to him. but he was not married to i me. and such a state of affairs couln ' not remain. ! "It became an international matt.-.r. ! and it was arranged by the Anieri .in I government and the czar that we should be officially married at War I saw. The count refused to come. The ! czar therefore sent sealed orders, for j his appearance. Wearing a black dress J and feeliug apprehensive and misera I bly sad. I went to the church, and at t the altar rails, supported by ray father and mother aud the count's brother, 1 met my husband. "It was a horrible crisis, for I knew my father was armed with a loaded revolver, and if De Guerbel refused to ' give me the last legal right, which was morally already mine, its contents would put an end to the adventurer's ' life. There we stood, husband and wife, knowing the service was a mere form, but the marriage was lawfully effected. He had completed his part of the bargain, and we had learned his villainy. At the door of the church we parted, and I never saw him again." His Instrument. "That executor is very energetic in carrying out the various provisions of the testator." "He does seem to be working with a will." Baltimore American. The Oyster. Huxley said that an oyster is as com plicated as a watch. All we know about it is that it's awful to swallow one that Is out of order. New Orleans Picayune. One He mnt be thatchedwith an other or it will soon rain through.-Owen. BSFTtf fi&rHAfin uaviJreuftVTOti .,: dNb -TJ? b-AV-iUU! BY F.ETRIGG REGISTER. R0CKFQRD.1A. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED This matter must not be reprinted with out special permission. Shipments of raw cotton from the United States to France alone last year were worth $07,000,000. Corn silage and bright, clean hay make a good ration for dairy cowsy and good yields of milk have been re ported where no other food was given. The housewife may at times find it worth remembering that a pinch off soda added to milk that Is close to the souring point will keep It from cur dling on being heated. It would seem as if the balmy fall and winter had been about offset by the chilly days of April and May antL that there should be some warm, grow ing weather -coming to us. In waging a dandelion extermination: campaign there Is little use in digging: np the plants at the blossoming perlotl unless the blossoms are removed and destroyed, for if they are left many o2 them will mature seed and scatter it Encourage the boy by letting him have some of the money he gets for the sale of stuff from the garden which he has helped care for. The Scripture saying that "the laborer is worthy cT his hire" applies to boys as well as men. There is no kind of garden flower that Is hardier or easier to raise than the violet. It has few pests and! thrives under the same general condi tions as does the wild violet A root" or two will give a very large return ir. satisfaction for the trouble taken to care for them. In the 'ase of both horses and cattle (and folks might be added to the list there is no scrub that Is more of a: scrub or more conspicuous than a thor oughbred scrub. This means that it takes something more than a pedigree" on paper to make either a man or a animal worth his salt. A very convincing reason for swat ting the fly now is that under average conditions it will become the grand father cr grandmother of l.GOO.OOO.OOO by tho time the middle of September rolls around. The writer hasn't veri fied these figures by actual count, but gives them on what seems to he good, authority. It may be a homely notion, but th writer somehow has the thought thaC with all of the many varied floral crea tions resulting from the ingenuity 6X plant breeders there has been nothing: perfected that surpasses in exquisiter coloring and beauty or in rich yet deli cate fragrance a spray of wild ri apple blossoms. It is well for both gardener amfe farmer to remember that cultivatioa h primarily for the purpose of stirring the soil to insure proper circulation i air and moisture and secondarily for the destruction of weeds. The one process serves both purposes it Is true, but it is sheer folly to stop cultivation? just because there are no weeds. , AH animals appreciate and are tfie healthier for having a dry place im which to rest and sleep, and this ia particularly true of the milk cow an of the brood sow and her litter of lit tle pigs. Many of the ills from whicht the animals named suffer as well afe a good deal of loss might be prevented were greater care exercised in this ona particular. The writer planted some string bean this spring when he planted radish, let tuce and peas. The plants are now in their fourth leaf, but he has had to cover them half a dozen time3 to pre vent their getting nipped with thee frost, and he has concluded that planar ing beans in early April is a good deal! like hatching chicks in February iu that both are a bit out of season. Q5L' Everything that Is transplanted fca the garden these days should be safe guarded from attacks of cutworms by wrapping the stem a couple of inches' above the ground with paper. If the: worms are especially bad one should" prepare poisoned bran or clover,. 5k cording to directions recently giiaa in these notes, and scatter it stlong the plant rows in the evening, so that tbe worms will get hold of it during thei nisbt" - - At Rothamsted, England, Is IocatecL an experiment station on which esperi ments in crop production have beru conducted consecutively for a-, period, of sixty years. Among other interest ing facts brought out Is that wheat that has been grown every year of thls period on the same tract now yieldsj but one-fourth as many bushels per " ' acre as an adjoining tract on whicb there has been followed a four course crop rotation.