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1 S IN TJIE PHILIPPINES. ?lSO,LDIErt IN THE ARCHIPELAGO WRITES HOME. How Fighter MiM-nil Time Gel Oulikly and Lima Liberty I Allovrril Food M.iilllu'. iillU ut Tula In "I.ntlcr to Mother." uuuj,es a. uopa, a sergeant or voi V..i l-ers, now serving in the Philip vi )pines, liiis written a li tter homo to his )tiiot htr, telling of the manner in which soldiers puss their time in the Philip pines, says the Chicago Daily News. After having served nine months In jthe Spanish-American war, Sergeant .y Jluye enlisted August 1, lSy9, and ar rived in the inlands October 1. Up to latit January he was orderly to General Young. Jle had seen five battles with the insurgents, and had received two promotions. The letter In part I us follows: "We get paid every two months, and the men generally lose or spend their money In the first two weeks, and the rest of the time they play dire for but tons, matches or cigarettes (they are twenty-nine for 2 cents). When these are gone they read or sleep all day long, the latter the most. It Is very tiresome here, as we are not allowed to fco to the natives' shacks, or even SERGEANT MOPE. Jo ttffe 'market, which only lasts three hours In the morning and two hours In the evening, as there Is smallpox here. A number of the colored men have It, and one man In my squad has It, too, but not bad, ns he will be all right for duty pretty soon. We are to stay in the quarters, ns they expect an attack at any time, but we have been still closer to the natives, and there seemed to be no danger. We have not had any rain for ten or twelve days, but ttfero Is a typhoon blowing which keeps us busy along "the line. "A few men started from a town thirty miles north of here to go thlrty v eight miles farther north In a boat, but they were glad to land five miles oi'th of here, being blown thirty-five miles in the wrong direction. I must etop now, as I am on guard and the rain la coming through the roof. It rains about twenty minutes and 'stops for fifteen minutes, and eo on for a few days, t'len stops for ten dys, then rains for fifteen days. The rain has not started yet. but will soon, and last for ten or twenty days, and that wiil be all. I'p In the mountains It rains about all the time. It makes the rivers very bad to cross. Out of one wason lra!n two soldiers, one driver and one mule were lost. Three neatly got out; if it had not been for the daring wagon master things would have been worse. He almost lost his own life. "The people live on what the water 1 y 1 """""v -"AVs. HON. JOHN ALLEN. Jj7 9 ;1 i, i J It (L v .St: During only one more session of Con gress will Privates John Allen Of Mls sissippl, entertain his colieasucs with 1 cloak-room stories. The man who has cracked more jokes In the .house than any other statesman living or dead lias tired of public life and refused to ac cept another nomination. Allen la a MlHsLislpplan by birth and Is E3 years old. Ho left school at tho age of 14 to become a private n the Confederate army, and he served In "v.!the ranks until the war closed. Then $t fitudlod law and at the age of 23 began to practice i' profession In and trees glv. Nothing grows to full size here. The natives grow rice and a little corn and cane to make sugar and a few sweet potatoes. Rice is their main food. Their meals consist of boiled rice, boiled fish, not cleaned, and boiled leaves. When a caribou (or hor.;e) or cow dies the cut It up. The men get 20 cents, Mexican, or 10 cents a day for their work, and they will give 3 ptsus, or $1.50, for the hide, head, feet and emails of a cow. They pick wild cotton "to make their clothes. When they wash them they sit down In a stream of water and lay the clothes on a rock and beat them with a piece of wood engraved and weighing about five pounds. A servant girl gets 1 pwio, or 50 cents, a month, and works about all the time. "That order about some of us going to China is countermanded. The Third cavalry Is expected to go on a three mouths' campaign with General Young soon. We are under a volunteer colonel of a negro regiment now. Our eap taln'B name Is Johnson and lieuten ant's name is Barton. I will try and get Agulnahlo's march for you. "There Is not much fruit such as w get In the states here. There are dif ferent kinds of fruits, but they all have funny tastes." PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE. Cve-Iwrller la the Hills or China. Although the vast mobs which infest reklu and the large, cities of China are worked up to a state of frenzy and fanaticism, the great Chinese popula tion proper Is agricultural, and natur ally extremely peaceful. Agriculture, however. Is niofct primitive, and the wonder is how such an Immense popu lation oan he supported from the soil until the great economy practiced In ail things is understood. On the great plain of China every available foot of land Is utilized for growing something and every particle of fertility returned to the soil. Waters are uwil for irri gation, and In m:tny case,s laboriously distributed over the fields. The great plain is a!out 700 miieg in length, and varies from 200 to 400 miles in width, occupying tho northeastern part of the empire, and containing over 200,000 square mile of wonderfully fertile soil. It supports a population of not less than 177,000,000 human beings, making It the most densely settled of any part of the world of the same size, its Inhabitants amounting to nearly two-thirds of the entire population of Europe. A wonderful feature of the physical geography of China Is the ex istence of a vant region of loess In this portion of the empire. Loess Is a very solid but friable earth, brownish yellow In color, and Is found In many places from SoO to 1.000 feet deep. The Ioe4 hills rise In terraces from twen ty to several hundred feet lu height. The loess region of Chiua Is perhaps the most broken country In the world, with Its sheer cliffs and upright wall, terraces and drop-cut ravine. Owing to the ea.se with which it can be work ed, caves made at the bases of straight cliffs afford homes to millions of peo ple in tho densely populated northern provinces. Whole villages flutter to gether in carvrd-out chambers, some of which extend back more than 200 feet. The capabilities of defense in a country such as this, while an invad ing army must necessarily become lost arid absolutely bewildered In the tan gle of Interlacing ways, and where the defenders may always remain conceal ed or have Innumerable means of es cape, is peculiarly (igniflcant of this time, when consideration is being giv en to a conquest of China. Tupelo, Miss. He served a term as dis trict attorney before being elocted to congress in 1SS4. During ke' eight terms that he has served la the house of representatives he established more friendships, probably, than any other man In public life. His wit was his most prominent characteristic. In his first speech .Allen told funny stories and his colleagues came to look for something amusing when ho took the floor. Allen says his humorous tales were detrimental to his reputation -s a etateemnn. No one womlu take him seriously. ( f The Shorthorn as Dairy Cow. (Condensed from Farmers' Review StenuBiai'loe Kepurt of Missouri Dairy men's Cunventiuii.) J. I Erwin spoke on the Shorthorn as a dairy cow. In part he Baid: l-'or twenty-five years I have been using nothing but pure bred bulls on my cows, but the cows have been gradea. The Shorthorn Is the only one of the beef breeds that sometimes contains very good milkers. A little while ago I had a conversation with a man who ships beef cattlo to the Chicago mar ket and he Eald that be would take the Shorthorn every time. About one out of three of the heifer calves will prove worth keeping as milkers. This being the case, 83 1-3 per cent, or five out of every six of the calves pro duced must go to the feeder. The value of five calves from each herd of well-kept Shorthorn cows will be bout $100, while the same number of :alves from a milking breed will not be worth more than about 33. The cream from Shorthorn milk does not separate quite so readily as does the cream from milk given by Jersey cows, If the gravity process or old style process Is used, but when the separator Is used there does not seem to be any difference. The Shorthorn cow Is safer than the cow of any oth er breed when tho women have to do the milking. With the Jersey you liave to look out for the bull. The dairymen of Missouri are more or less isolated, but if they want to start a trial creamery tho Shorthorn cows are the best, for If they afterwards want to get rid of them they can be sold to advantage for beef. Mr. Patterson We dairymen claim that we can make a special dairy cow give 200 pounds of butter per year, but you can't make your Shorthorr cows give more than 200 pounds cf butter. That 100 extra pounds of but ter will more than offset the decreased value of the dairy cow In other re spects. ...... Mr. King This Is generally consid ered to be a question of dollars and cents. If my friend can produce his 200 pounds of butter fat from hi? Shorthorn cow and make more money than he could with a special dairy cow, why- that Is the cow to have But he does cot say anything abou'. the cost of producing this butter. The probability Is that every pound of but ter he made from this Shorthorn cow cost about as much as be got for it. I have tried It with that kind of cow and when I tested them with the scales and the Babcock test, these cows went out i the doors as fast as I could get rid of them. I can't make money from the general purpose cow. I have fed them in the stalls and made butter from thera that cost me 17 centa per pound, while butter from my Jersey cowa cost me 11 cents per pound. We can't tell what ve are do ing till we have the cost and selling price of & pound of butter. We are not dairying for the fun. of it Q. Why is the dairy cow more prof itable than the general purpose cow for the dairy? Mr. King Because she Is born for that rmrpose. I do not believe that the ceueral purpose cow has any place whatever. That has been my experi ence. Mr. Erwln The Jersey cow that took the first premium at St. Louis was fed five times a day. For the last four years I have been feeding ani mals for beef purposes, and I have found that there was less feed con sumed per pound cf beef produced by the beef cow than 'the dairy cow. Mr. King Our Jersey cows will not average over SOO piunds in. weight, while our Shorthorn cows will aver age 1,000 pounds. That extra 200 poundi of weight must be supported and kept up. Will It pay me to sup port tho average weight of a man fo' fifteen years for the extra amount 1 can get out of her beef? I can't af ford to do It. When my Jersey cows get too old to pay me to keep them for milking purposes I sell them for what I can get If it is only the price of the hide. My loss that way is only a small Item compared with what It would be If I were to keep 200 extra pounds of live beef for fifteen years. Mr. Cobb This myth (the general purpose cow) is the hardest thing to fight I find In my business. If I could only get that cow in the background so far that she would never come back again my business would be compara tively easy. Mr. King said that the average Shorthorn cow weighs 200 pounds more than the other, but as she grows older she will put on more beef (from 200 to 300 pounds more), and that will make her weigh from 400 to 500 pounds more than the Jersey cow. If the dairyman takes a good dairy cow sli will make a profit on all food consumed. The fat-forming habit has been bred Into the beef cow for generations. I would not for a moment think of putting In a herd of general purpose cows. I have felt for year3 and years that the subject of the general purpose cows should be dropped. It seems to me that qny student of dairying should drcp the thing after Investigation. For beef raising the Snorthorn cow Is the spe cial purpose beef cow. Mr. Brooks I have a herd of grade Jerseys and for the 'Tast year they have averaged more than 300 pounds of butter per cow, and I have sold nearly all of that butter nt 20 cents per pound. I know what that cost In feed: It is costing me about 7 cents per cow per day. The whole herd costs me $11.30 per week. Last week they made 123 pounds of butter, and It Bold for $23.75. The skimmilk was fed to tho pigs and calves and was worth BO centa per day. That added $3.50 to the $23.50, making $27.25 In all. Deduct the cost cf keeping and we have $10 as the profit for the week. Can you Shorthorn breeder! show us any rjch figures, when Short horn cows are usea as dairy animals? Mr. Erwin The cow that makes butter doe3 not lay tho fat on herself, of whatever breed she may be. I once kept au accurate record cf every pound of milk that my herd produced, and of the amount of butter made and of the amount bold. There was no effort made to save any paiticulai part of the milk for butt'-r. For the year I got 270 pounds to the cow, and was using the grade Shorthorn cow at that. Mr. Brooks The experiment' sta tion In New York made experiments feeding food without fat, and the cows still made butter as usual. Where did that fat come from? A Farmer I used to breed the Shorthorn cows and was afraid of the Jerseys. But I finally went to a Jer sey breeder and got me a first-class Jersey bull and began to breed in that direction, and I have kept at It ever since. I am well pleased with the re sults. We must let go of the beef breeds for dairying. Mr. Sellers I think It Is hard to divest our minds of all prejudice In judging of the case in hand. Nature seems to have ordered that in every breed there should be certain strains for certain purposes; in dogs we find the same thing; we get a greyhound for speed, a bulldog for protection. If I want a butter cow I get the Jer sey. Mr. Wentworth There are good an imals In all breeds, and there are also many scrubs. There are as many of the latter as of the good ones. There is scarcely one in three that is worth keeping. Corn Smnt. Prof. Plumb, in his work on Corn Culture, says: Smut, as seen by tho farmer, is either a distorted, greenish white piece of vegetable tissue, or a mass of black greasy powder, which generally appear.' breaking out from an ear of corn or from the leaf or stalk when green, or succulent. The source is a simpie, tubular, minute plant, too small to be seen by the nak ed eye. It grows in the tissues of the corn plant and feeds upon ita Juice. These little plants, of which there are vast numbers, branch out in tubular form when they find a spot in the corn plant that is especially nourishing. Then, Inside these tubes, minute bodies Smut brrtfclnc out on an far sf cervV termed spores (seeds) develop, and finally the spot becomes a mass of these, and then all of the little plants except the spores wither away. The dark colored, loose smut. Is mostly the mass of spores, of which there are countless numbers. Smut is generally thought by farm ers to be injurious to stock, yet but little satisfactory evidence is at hand to prove that' such Is the case, as it is commonly eaten. . Preparing the Hoof for the Shoe. Preparing the hoof for the shoe is a very nice" piece of work and but very few men are qualified to do it. H. D. Blckeslee says: I am convinced that much more depends on the proper leveling of the foot than upon the form of shoe. My conception of a level foot Is, to dress the hoof so that the bottom will be absolutely square with the plumb line of the leg. When this Is accurately done, the shoe per fectly level, and the nails not too large properly driven, there remains very little occasion for any but a plain, ordinary shoe of proper weight for the subject being shod. Another important point in this connection is placing the shoe on the foot so that the center of'the former that is a line drawn from the center of the heels of shoe to the center of toe there ofshall plumb line of the leg. This may at times cause one side of the hoof to be taeped off more on one side than on the other, but if skillfully done the foot can be induced to grow to this normal position. I am now treating two very bad quarter cracks exactly on there lines, with an ordi nary shoe, with marked success, per mitting the shoe to rest on all parts of the wall alike. Tropn Not to Turn I'nOrr. There are a few crops that pay well if turned under and a good many that it does not pay to turn under. Among the latter are such crops as rape. Every once in awhile sme person asks the value of this for a green ma nure. It Is practically nothing. Tho reason is that it adds nothing to the soil, for it has .iiuilt Itself up entirely from the soil. As a general proposi tion we should turn under only those plants that have gained something from the air and those plants are the legumes. Fortunately the number of the legumes Is large and some of them will do well on most any soil. If we can't grow one o! the clovers we may yet be able to grow cow peas or soja beans, or even the eand vetch. Wa have even seen the ground sown to white beans and the Crop turned un der when the growth had become rank, fJfg Mia n t Wintering Horses. There can, we think, be no question that from all Indications the demand for good horses is going to keep up and in spring they will sell for at least as much as they did last season. This being tho ct.se it will be well to see that the youug stock have the bait of care the coming winter so that when they are ready for market they will be In good condition. There is an old foolish practice of starving colts on some farms and where this i3 the cus tom we expect to see the grain har vester "wintering" in the field where It finished work iif Harvest time and in close proximity to the mower mired down in the edge of the slough where the thatch grass was cut to top out the stacks. Now if there be one time more than another when it pays t feed the young colts it is in the cold weather for not only are the colts growing at this time of year or ought to be growing but they are using food in the production of heat and heavy coat. Both of these are neces sary for the comfort of the colt but they do not put cash in the pocket of the owner. If shelter will prevent the loss of food that is expended in the production of heat that is a Baving and there Is also a saving of the same sort In having the drinking water above the freezing point so that food Is not needed to elevate water to the body temperature within the body of the colt. The colt went Into winter quarters In fairly good condition but unless he be properly sheltered the condition will be all lost and no new growth be made when spring comes. Where this happens there is a loss of the results of feeding the colt one sum mer and the added cost of the amount of food he consumes to keep him alive during the winter. If on the other hand he be supplied with more than the food of maintenance during winter he will gave the nesn produced during summer and add enough in growth to pay for the food consumed In winter. From this It wiu be seen that there is a double profit in winter feeding for it will ensure gain in growth and at the same time prevent loss of growth already made. The feeding we refer to Is not a fancy affair. It does not require much time or thought of the farmer. It requires in our opinion no great knowledge of "nutritive ratios" and all that sort of thing; it merely necessitates the provision of an abundance of wholesome food in a place where there will be no exposure to the cold spells that sap the heat of the body and chill the life out of the shivering animal. Depend upon it that the stomach of the well sheltered colt is the best equipped chemical labora tory for the elaboration of "ratios." The Creator provided cereals for the proper development and maintenance of animals and if they have enough of it there is little likelihood that they will not mix it In profitable ratios. The chief lacking ratio on most farms is a want of supply of a sufficient va riety of food for the colt to pick, over and fill himself on until his needs In the way of a ratio are satisfied. He will find all he needs If he is given a chance to fill up on sound hay, bright corn fodder, oats, bran, corn and car rots, all of which need not be sup piled at the same time. As to the amount he should eat of these things there is no question that he will pay a good profit on all he cleans up if he is sheltered, kept free from lice and worms and has not to drink Ice cold water or water that is tainted with sewage or other filth. There is no need of a sermon on this subject for common sense will tell any man who stops to think that what has been said above Is correct and that the truth of the feeding problem as regards colts and other growing animals in winter time is to feed them all they will clean up of good food of the common farm varieties in a sheltered place where they are kept from conditions that would waste food in retarding growth. If this be done the colts will come out in spring ready to sell when an occasion offers or to go out on grass and continue growing at a profitable rate. Swine Itvmt. Hogs are said to be scarcer than usual in the neghborhood of Benville, Ind. A Plainvlew, Minn., correspond re ports considerable cholera among hogs In that locality. Hogs in Charlton county. Mo., are reported healthy but scarcer than for several years; but few will be market ed before January. It Is reported that Cudahy packing company has signed a contract by which it agrees to control and operate tho old Whittaker packing plant at Wichita, Kan. The packing of hogs will be commenced as soon as the building can be placed In proper con dition. The number of pigs kept by the col liers and artisans of the north of Eng land fluctuates with the price of coal and yard. In good times every collier keeps a lively animal of some sort, but his "fancy animal" Is usually a pig. He admires this on Sunday after noons, and groups of friends go round to smoke their pipes and compare pigs, and bet on their ultimate weight. They have private pig shows, w.ith subscrip-, tion prizes. Each animal Is judged in its own 'sty, and it Is interesting to know that the evolution of an almost perfect pig was due to 'the Innate sagacity of the Yorkshire pit hand. Dairy Notre. We call the attention' of our read ers to the fact that the d-te of the Missouri dairymen's convention ( is changed from Dec. 18 to 20, to pec. 29 to 22. The mee.lng, as announced In former Issue, Is to be held at Kansas City. The change has been made to accommodate the visitors to the Nebraska dairyman's association, meeting. The latter meeting falls on tho date previously announced for the convention in Missouri, but it can not be changed, as it Is fixed by law. The Jlissourl dairymen have therefore graciously made the change. The creamery is a good thing for farmers where it can be successfully carried on. Cf course, the success de pends on a good many email things, and primarily on brains. Where the co-operative creamery is in existence there must be some to make a study of it or It will not be a success in ev ery particular. Above all things the co-operative creamery managers must follow a conservative course. If the butter is being sold at a profit in one market, the risk should not be taken of abandoning tha old and sure mar ket for a possible greater profit We notice that Professor Robertson of Canada says that a cow requires about one-fourth pound of salt per day to do her best. This Is something of a surprise, but the professor is doubtless correct He declares that milk given by a cow that has all the salt she wants will keep longer than milk from a cow that has not had salt, and he says he has demonstrated the truth of this. It is absolutely safe to let the cows nave all the salt they crave and If the milk is Improved the consumer 13 so much ahead. It is a fact known to about every farmer that when cows do not have salt their milk soon becomes flat In taste. e Reports from England say that the supplies of Danish butter on that mar ket are declining, and the same is true of the Irish butter and the home made article. On the other hand, the amount imported from Australia is in creasing. It is selling in London for about 25 cents per pound. Butter made from Australian "spring grass" is ex pected shortly and bids fair to become one of the leading butters there. Aus tralia has the advantage of Denmark that Bhe does not have to import large quantities of grain and other feeds from other countries. She can make butter largely from grass and at a leas cost than the Danes. The butter trade between Australia and England Is facilitated by the meat trade over the same route, for partial cargoes of meat can be pieced out by consign ments of butter. e There are different practices in the feeding of fodder corn, and the results from the different ways of feeding are various. The most wasteful way is to throw out the corn to the cows while they are In the barn-yard or even in the feeding lot near it In such cases a very large proportion is trampled under foot and of course wasted. Not only is there a loss to the fodder, but the cattle fight over it and often in jure each other. In addition, the the weaker animals get almost noth ing till the stronger ones have satis fled themselves. Some farmers al ways tie up their cows when they have any kind of feed and this is a good plan to follow. If the stalks can be cut up so much the better. A Bhredder would be an improvement over that, and a silo something better than any of the ways of feeding mentioned. Si lage is fed with almost no waste when it is fed Judiciously. Patrons of creameries that buy by the test are sometimes dissatisfied be cause their tests are not always the same. Sometimes the tests are quite high and the patron thinks they should be high all the time. But every sci entist that has investigated this mat ter knows that the percentage of fat is all the time changing that is, from one day to another. Month by month the relations are quite stable. The organs of the udder that produce fat and other' components of milk are not at all even in their work. Sometimes the fat is produced faster than the other parts and sometimes the other parts of the milk are produced faster than the fat The relative quantity produced in a month or even a week: Is more uniform. For this reason many creamery managers use the com posite test, making the examination once a week or at longer intervals. We mention this, as some patrons may be Inclined to think the tests contra dictory if they do not give the same results each time. Hug: lusnrance. From Nebraska come reports that some of the farmers have gone into hog insurance companies and have not found everything to their liking. These companies take the notes of the farm ers as security and when hogs die the farmers are of course assessed to pay the losses. It Is all very well for the ones that lose their hogs, but the farm ers that take proper care of their hogs and do not lose them complain that ths insurance is a premium on bad meth ods in hos raising. In other words, the man that does not know how to keep the disease out of his herds gets the money of the man that has been ambitious and has learned how. This is perhaps only one side of the story. Miss Clara Barton, president os. the National Rid Cross societj', has issued a statement to the manufacturers and business men of the country in which, she appeals to them for aid in tho way of material to be used in' the building of homes for those who lost their all In the recent storm. The number of the homeless class i3 esti mated at 8,000 or more. Everything rec,ui:-ed to build and furnish 4.0JO dwellings is needed. There are nearly 4,000 miles inland navigation in England and Wale.