Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume], January 29, 1909, Image 2

About Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917

Image provided by: Idaho State Historical Society

                
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K /"hited
JL The V
V Tale o
Oepulchre
vC3 Pelee
By Will Levington Comfort
CopjTlg-ht, 1*36. by Will Levinston Comfort
Copyright, 1*07. by J. B. Lippikcott Company. AU rlyht« rrvrred
CHAPTER VI.
Constable remembered turning Into the
driveway after his terrific exertion; re
membered that the girl and her mother
were standing upon the veranda ; that the
former stretched out her hand to help him
and the elder woman released a cutting
remark. Then a servant brought a chair,
and billows of nausea surged over him.
Just as his consciousness waned, and he
waa launching, chair and all, into space,
Lara's voice reached him again. * * *
Then he was in the hallway, through
some miracle, and insisting most uncom
monly that he was not to be taken into
the library, but into the music room, be
cause the windows there commanded the
mountain.
He awoke to the interesting discovery
that Miss Stansbury was fanning him.
Presently she re-chilled a towel ih the
Iced basin and folded it upon his fore
head, now deliciously cool.
"It's mighty sweet of you to take care
of me this way," he muttered gratefully.
"How is Pelee? How long have I been
here? The last I remember, I was lost
In the hall, and you found me."
"You've been here about three hours,
Mr. Constable. Pelee is quiet again, but
the whole world is white outside—a per
fect blizzard of ash has fallen ! They
■ay a terrible, thing has happened at the
extreme northern end of the city. The
River Branch overflowed her banks, and
ran with boiling mud from the volcano.
Thirty people are reported MUed and the
Usine Guerin destroyed.!' ™
She thought he was considering the
disaster in the silence which followed, but
In reality he was battling with the old
problem.
"Miss Stansbury," he said finally, "is
there anything a man possessed of full
faculties could do, say or bring about that
would induce your mother to spend the
eight off-shore?"
She shook her head.
"You know that the Madame could be
brought in for the mails to-morrow morn
ing."
"I have taken the liberty to suggest
that to mother," Lara replied. "She says
that to-morrow will be time enough."
"Miss Stansbury, won't you put your
self in the care of Captain Negley to
night? I hope I'm wrong, but the Guerin
disaster may be only a preliminary dem
onstration-—like the operator experiment
ing to find If it is dark enough to start
the main fireworks. You know, I would
stay ashore, and Negley is a good old man
•f the sea."
"Doß't you understand, Mr. Consta
ble?' 1 she said, in real distress {or deny
ing him so repeatedly. "Don't you see
that such a thing would bying down a
miserable scene upon ouT heads? Besides,
d am not thinking of my own safety as
such a paramount thing. I don't want to
be <Jne of Job's lone survivors. Mother
and Ußple Joey and you must go—when
I do."
pale, searching face regarded her.
Again he was silent. His lips were shut,
his eyelids half-closed. * • * A swift
Intuition was borne to the woman. He
was about to renew the siege. She was
not ready, and shrank from being moved
to a decision which she had not formed
In thé privacy of her own mind. The
last two days of suffering had rendered
her strangely responsive to his mental ac
tions. His quest had filled her brain with
Wonders, but they were not yet coalesced
•—Impulses and inspirations without
nnity, unbound as yet by Judgment. She
wanted to yield yjtb grace, if it came to
that, but not to be overthrown. His band
Reached for hers, but she drew away.
"Miss Stansbury——"
"Please don't say it now !" she whis
pered swiftly, her words startling herself
quite as much as the man. "These are
such dreadful hours! We must think of
the crisis—only of that—putting behind
all that passed last night !"
"Until?" said Constable, sitting up.
"Oh, who can tell? One knows—Mr.
Constable, isn't it wicked of you to mud
dle me this way?"
A smile from him had given her the
saving turn. The tension was eased.
Now, as he held out his hand to her, she
was not slow to accept it, or to miss
the meaning of the compact.
"Pelee will be beyond the sky line for
ns all pretty soon," he said cheerfully.
"We'll be very good pals In the mean
time. Please go to the window and see
how our ogre is faring—the giant who
thinks he's going to eat us when we're
prime—'member the fairy story? By the
way, Miss Stansbury, did you ever have
a set of billiard balls cracking off caroms
on your brain pan?"
"Yes, and ten-pins. Men don't know
headache matters. * • * The north
is clearer, sir. A little while ago It was
*11 a seething mass of blacks and grays."
An exclamation broke from her lips,
and Constable joined her at the window.
A dozen birds had fallen to the lawn from
the eaves. Most of them were dead from
the tainted air. The sight brought the
situation more forcibly than ever to her
mind.
"I should think the birds would fly
*way !" she said pityingly.
"Perhaps the mother birds are waiting
for mails to come in," suggested a voice
behind them. Mrs. Stansbury was stand
tag in the hall doorway.
A gracious rain clet red the air of early
•vening, and Constable settled himself
for a further nap at the north window
upstairs. He had not realized his ex
haustion, and was astonished to find that
It was midnight when he awoke. He was
stronger, but a cyclonic headache still
oppressed him. Glad though he was for
the hours passed, still he was by no means
unappreciative of the chances he had
taken. A forlorn hope of saving the lady,
oven though a destroying eruption over^
took them at the plantation house, had
grown In his mind since the night before.
To be caught asleep would render this
chance a far one.
The Guerin disaster might be consid
ered among the promises of a favorable
issue, as well as a forerunner of chaos.
The mountain's overflow into the River
Blanch might have eased the pressure
upon the craters. There was no authority
nor precedent for such a hope. If Pe
lee's fuse were burning shorter and short
er toward a Krakatoan cataclysm, it was
not for man to say what spark would
shake the world. Still, Constable held
the hope.
He turned on the lights in the room. A
cablegram had been slipped under the
door. It proved to be an answer to a
message he had sent to Basse Terre in
the morning, regarding the movements of
the Panther. .
"Str. Panther arrived and departed
here on time,"
he read. There was strength in the
word. The mail liner reasonably might
be expected to call at Martinique with
the dawn, according to schedule. The
mails should be ready for distribution at
nine.
"We'll have luncheon aboard the Mad
ame to-morrow,"- Constable mused, "and
while the blessed maiden is passing cake
and pouring tea, the Madame will be
running like a scared deer, to hitch her
self to the solid old Horn, built of rock
and sealed with icebergs !"
He shaded his eyes at the window, star
ing beyond the city into the ashen shroud
—Pelee's flag of truce. "Grand old mar
tyr," he murmured devoutly. "Hang on,
hang on !"
There was a tap at the door, and Breen
was admitted.
"I haven't seen much of yon in the past
three aeons, miscalled days," said Consta
ble.
"It is true. I have felt my own in
consequence in the presence of the big
drama here. It is your drama, Peter.
Then, I have found a place of many mar
vels."
"Pere Rabeaut's?"
"None other. There is something like
coolness in this thrice-burned isle. Also
a maiden creature, half child, half wom
an, wholly wonderful."
"I have been glad to see you make the
best of things. Of course one can never
tell on a cruise where one is to encounter
a series of business obligations—such as
here."
"True again," Breen said gravely.
"I have been busy as that, but have
accomplished nothing. Seriously, Breen,
times are running close. Guerin's the
first volley. To think I haven't been to
the mountain ; haven't taken a photo
graph or a note ! My fellow researchers
in things seismic will never forgive me
for this. Breen, I thought I had a sci
entific mind—thought that even though
I bulled in all else, I was a loyal geolo
gist; but I have betrayed even that de
cent Instinct. Another man would have
had the women away to sea and be at
tending the mountain now ; but here I
am, a child with man's tools, gdssing the
night through, and she—across the hall
—marked, for all I know, for Pelee's
OWE 1 It's good to talk, though."
"There's only ohe way when words fail,
Petqr. If the mountain Won't recede
from the maiden, you must snatch up the
maiden and make a get-away from the
mountain."
"I'm not pirate enough, Breen," Con
stable replied wearily. "By the way,
I'm sending some of the natives of the
city—the women with babes—out to the
Madame for cool air. There is no reason
in the world why we shouldn't entertain
our friends of the shop. Soronia is too
rare a creature to be immolated by Pe
lee's bursting boilers. She and the Pere
might just as well share the benefits.
You see, the presence of others makes it
possible. Attend to it, will you?"
"Good old Peter," Breen said softly ;
"but I don't think they would come.
Wbp'd feed the little song birds?"
"Have her bring the birds along.
They'll die there !"
"I had planned not to go to the little
shop again, Peter."
Constable turned upon him abruptly.
"Why?" said he.
'You see, Peter, she is such a rare lit
tle soul—asking so little and so ready
to give her all for the promise of a man
—think of it. I have found a good many
playthings, pottering around this little
8unshot planet—clear little films they are
now, which stick in the brain and won't
fade. Let me alone, Peter, and I'll wan
der back to reason presently. A very ugly
album is a sinner's memory, and when
it is quite full the sinner usually dies—
sometimes off Brooklyn piers. The truth
is, I found a shred of conscience devel
oped under your culture and Pelee's heat ;
and so 1 refused another plaything, re
fused to crowd another film into that sul
lied album of mine. I lied, said I didn't
understand that admiration meant any
thing to her—and went away. Not too
late, I trust. She is a natural optimist,
and slow to lose faith In mankind."
Constable believed that Soronia had
found her first lover in Breen, and he
pitied the heart so suddenly impassioned
and so swiftly dethroned of its dream. He
remembered the face of Soronia in the
court shadows, and his pity lingered.
They talked until the Panther lights
■hone afar In the offing, mletj with dawn
and volcano fog ; then parted for an
hour's rest Constable was the first be
low, and there was little Joy with the
coming of the day. The rumblings of the
mountain were renewed. The great tow
er of ash shot up yesterday was etill fall
ing ; the tTees and shrubbery In the gar
dens were bent with the weight of white ;
indeed, many branches were broken. The
dismal bellowing of cattle and the stamp
ing of ponies were heard from the barn*
It was only by keeping the doors and
windows of the house tightly shut that
living was bearable. The native who
brought the copy of Les Colonies wore a
thick wet rag over his nostrils, and had
ths appearance of having freshly emerged
from a bln of cement. Constable and
Breen were first In the breakfast room.
"This pudgy editor," Constable declar
ed savagely, as he read the morning paper.
"Yesterday I called upon him and in
sweet modesty and limping French ex
plained ths proper policy for him to take.
To-day he dsvotas a half-column of In
sufferable humor to my force of character
and extreme views."
Constable translated Mondet's account
of the Guerin disaster, and his assur
ances of the safety of Saint Pierre, so
far as the mountain was concerned. "Oh,
the flakiness of that French mind !" he
exclaimed. "With a volcano in the pangs
of dissolution, towering over the city,
is apparently in dread of an earthquake !
* * * 'Where on the island,' thus he
inquires editorially, 'could a more secure
place than Saint Pierre be foqnd in the
event of an earthquake visitation?' "
Constable crushed the paper in his
hand. He glanced at his watch and then
at the mountain, from a habit now grav
en deeply.
"The northern end of Saint Pierre is
flooded out like an ant hill under a kettle
boiling over," he capitulated thoughtfully.
"The mountain is gathering for another
demonstration. Let us flee with all dis
patch to the craters of the volcano, to
escape this hypothetical earthquake ! M.
Mondet certainly enthralls me. I must
call upon him again. * * * Breen,
is there any way to stimulate the distri
bution of the Panther mails?"
CHAPTER VII.
Immediately after breakfast Constabk
drove down to the city to send out final
orders to Captain Negley, and attend cer
tain matters having, to do with the Mad
ame's facilities for entertainment. Uncle
Joey was to go for the mails. If he
could prevent, Constable was mlhc'^R
that there should be no hitch nor tangle
at the last moment. In spite of darkish
apprehensions, his heart would burst now
and then Into singing, since he asked but
two hours more of old Pelee, upon whose
summit was now written in lightning and
black cloud the ominous letters of Dis
aster.
The ladles were left to such graceful
ministrations of Breen as were found
needful. Mrs. Stansbury, having gained
her point, Imposed no further delays. The
eagerness of the daughter was controlled,
but in no way concealed. The past three
days had left a pallor upon her face, and !
shadows under her eyes, but the innate
fineness of her features seemed intensi
fied rather than diminished by physical
suffering, and the more subtle perturba
tions of the inner woman.
"When a strain brings out the splendor
of a woman's face, mark her well for a
thoroughbred," Breen had found occasion
to whisper to his friend. The sentence
was soul's refreshment, as Breen intend
ed it to be.
Constable, indeed, was contemplating
the full significance of the words, and
their possible bearing upon his present
and future, as he rode down the Morne
d'Orange into the Rue Victor Hugo. The
little black carriage of Father Damien
was approaching, and, gripped by a sud
den Idea, Constable halted it, saying to
the elder spirit of the parish, whom he [
had met at the plantation house : "Father,
take this two thousand francs and use I
it for the maintenance of the homeless |
refugees in Fort de France. I shall see
that more funds get to you to-day."
A little way further, another carriage
approached, one of the public conveyances
of the city this time. Behind the driver
loomed the head and shoulders of a white
man—hard head and broad shoulders—
the sight of whom struck the music from
the brain of Constable, as a knife that is
slashed across the strings of a harp. Both
vehicles stopped abruptly.
"Well, I've got you," the broad Individ
ual remarked cheerfully, "Where's the
other fellow ?"
Let it be known that the man whom
Constable now faced was the same ener
getic person who occasioned discord on
the Brooklyn pier, just as the Madame
swung blithely forth into the harbor.
Constable was thinking very rapidly. He
felt prepared to commit murder rather 1
than have his plans for the morning
thrust aside.
"The other fellow?" he repeated gent
ly.
"The man hidden in your cabin when
you cleared. His name is Nicholas Stem
bridge, if you don't happen to know," the
stranger said, with some impatience.
"Where is he?"
"Where you saw him last," Constable
Bald, with sudden cordiality ; "and I want
to state that I'm glad to see you—that
is," he added doubtfully, "if you've come
to take him away. If you've looked me
up, you'll have found that I'm usually
ready to pay in money, hide, or liberty,
for the mistakes I make."
(To be continued.)
No Pay for Mother.
"Mother gets up first," said the new
office boy. "She lights the fire and gets
my breakfast so I can get here early. !
Then she gets father up, gets bis break- '
fast and sends him off. Then she gives
the others their breakfast and gets 'em
ready for school ; and then she an' the
baby have their breakfast"
"What is your pay here?" asked the
man.
"I get $3 a week and fa the" gets $3
a day."
"How much does your mother get?"
"Mother !" he said Indignantly.
"Why, she don't have to work for any
body."
"Oh ! I thought you Just told me she
worked for the whole family every
morning."
"Oh! that's for us—but there ain't
no money in that"
Saved by the Trolley.
Knox—Saw Green and his wife at
the opera last night I can't see where
their enjoyment came In, as neither of
them knows the difference between a
symphony and a sonata.
Blox—Well, I ought to be ashamed
to confess my Ignorance, but rm in the
same boat. By the way, what Is the
difference?
Knox—Why — er — a sonata, you
know— er —I mean a symphony la_
say, there's my car, old man; see you
later.
Pussle« (be Small Boy,
The small boy Is apt to wonder why
a young man has the shoulders of h!s
coat padded Instead of the seat of his
trousers.—Philadelphia Record.
Buenos Aires has a population of
1,200,000, of which about 80 per cent
la foreign, the Italians forming about
60 per cent of the foreign population.
INDICTMENT OF ANIMALS.
Jurisprudence of Middle Anes Re
called by New Jersey Ordinance.
Montclair's new ordinance against
barking dogs has some resemblance to
a singular feature of the jurisprudence
of the middle ages, when animals were
Indicted for Injuries inflicted on human
beings. The custom was not abolished
in France until the middle of the eigh
teenth century, and the French court
records show that at least 92 such
trials took place between 1120 and
1741.
An early instance of the custom was
In 1314, when a bull escaped from a
farm-yard In the village of Moisy, in
the duchy of Valois, and gored a man
to death. The count of Valois, being
informed of the case, directed that the
bull be captured and formally prose
cuted for homicide. This was done,
and evidence was given by persons who
had seen the man attacked and killed.
The bull was thereupon sentenced to
suffer death, after which the carcass
was suspended from a tree by the hind
legs.
In' 1380 a sow was executed In the
square of Falaise for having caused
the death of a child, and three years
later a horse was condemned to death
at Dijon for having killed a man. In
1457 a sow and her six young ones
were tried at Lavegny, on the charge
of having kined and partially eaten a
child. The sow was convicted and con
demned to death, but me little ones
were acquitted on the ground of their
extreme youth and Inexperience, the
bad example of their mother, and the
absence of direct evidence of their hav
ing partaken of the atrocious feast.
One of the most grotesque of these
trials took place in Basle, when a
farmyard cock was tried on the absurd
charge of having laid an egg. It was
contended In support of the prosecu
tion that eggs laid by cocks werfe of
Inestimable worth for .use In certain
magical preparations ; that a sorcerer
would rather possess a cock's egg than
the elixir of life, and that Satan em
ployed witches to hatch such eggs, from
which proceeded winged serpents most
dangerous to mankind.
The prisoner's advocate admitted the
facts of the case, but contended that
no evil intention had been proved, and
that no evil result had taken place. Be
sides, the laying of an egg was an In
voluntary act, and as such was not
punishable by law. Also .there was no
record of the devil having made a com
pact with the animal. The public
prosecutor stated in reply that the evil
one sometimes entered Into animals, as
In the case of the swine which drown
ed themselves In the Sea of Galilee.
So the poor creature was convicted,
not as a cock, but as a sorcerer, or
perhaps the devil ir. the form of a
cock; whereupon the bird and the
that was attributed to it were solemn
ly burned at the stake.—New York
Evening Post.
1
!
'
GROWING A MUSTACHE.
A Time When Yonr Friend» Get
Fanny at Yon.
Whether or not raising or attempting
to raise a mustache is a crime, a fel
ony or a misdemeanor is very hard to
establish, but it is certain that it Is
an offense. It must be, because If It
were not there would not be so much
comment from your friends and well
wishers. Like having a toothache,
starting a mustache is invariably pro
ductive of much advice, says the New
York Sun.
'Take it off!" It's a safe bet that
some one will tell you that the very
first time It becomes apparent what you
are Intending. That should be said
rather sueerlngly. The only answer is
something as follows: "You guys that
can't raise hair on your upper Ups are
all Jealous."
"Did you forget to wash your face
this morning?" is one that is extreme
ly appropriate to the earliest stages.
It is used very often by some of our
best families. Some of them do it
quite unconsciously. It is very help
ful, because It can be said entirely
without thought. The best possible
come-back is : "No, I didn't forget to
wash my face. I always wash my face.
It's nothing new with me."
There are more elaborate ones:
Question—^Bay, Bill, you must have
been awful careless when you were
dressing this morning.
Answer—How's that?
Q.—Don't you know after you brushed
your teeth you accidentally left the
toothbrush on your upper Up?
(Groans.)
Also, there is another, where some
bright person comes up and asks :
"now do you spell it, with or without
the o?" And when you ask, "What?"
he replies, "M(o)ustache." And so on.
There cannot really be anything
mean or debasing in attempting to
raise a hirsute decoration for the up
per Up, and some of the men who say,
"I believe in going clean-shaven," ought
to wear hair all over their faces as
an act of charity to their fellow men.
Really, some persons would have their
looks improved by it.
One young man was pestered by well
intentioned folks to know why he ever
started a mustache. The reason ha
gave was sufficiently fantastic to make
them believe him.
"You know," sa Id he, "I'm going to
Spain pretty soon, and over there about
the only clean-shaven persons are bull
fighters. They aren't in the highest
grade of society over there, and rather
than take chances of being mistaken
for a bullfighter I'm going to got a mus
tache before I go."
Every woman has a cat or a dog
which knows aa much as a human b»
Ixul a
*=«
2 HI
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LHI.
in.
<3
ti£ -s
•ns
Good Hob Cot.
The A-shaped hog cot has been modi
fled and improved to adapt It to both
summer and winter conditions. The
Improved form has a permanent floor, a
door In each end, and a ventilating
pystem. It is constructed by nailin
Inch boards on six Joists, 2 In. x 4 In.,
8 feet long for the floor. Beneath the
poists are nailed three stringers,
2 in. x 6 in., 8 feet long, which serve as
runners for moving the house. Next is
spiked a piece 2 in. x 8 in., 9 ft. 4 in.
long, at the ends of the joists, having
th* bottom of the 2 in. x 8 in. even
a hog cor.
with the bottom of the joist which will
allow it to project above the floor 3
Inches. It will also extend out 7 inches
at each end. This 2 in. x 8 in. forms
a plate to which the rafters and roof
boards are nailed. The 7-inch exten
sion of the plate at the ends supports
the lower corners of the roof, which
otherwise would be easily split off.
These 2xS's, besides strengthening the
house, raise the rafters and roof boards
nailed to them at least 3 Inches off the
floor and thereby materially Increase
the floor space and the capacity of the
house. If the house is to be used in
extremely cold weather a movable door
is necessary. The Illustration shows a
door 2 feet wide and 2 ft. 6 in. high,
made to slide up and down and held
In place by cleats. It Is suspended by
a rope which passes through a pulley
at the top, and Is fastened to a cleat
>t the side near the roof.
Another important feature of this
House Is the ventilator, which is a
small cap covering a hole at the top
and the center of the roof. The hole
is made by sawing off opposite ends of
two roof boards and covering it with
a cap.
Kina; of the Chicago Live Stock Show
Prime Lad XVI., "king of Here
fords," owned by Warren T. McCray,
of Kentland, Ind., former president of
the National Grain Dealers' Associa
tion, attracted much attention at the
International live stock show. Prime
m
»
rßiM
LADIXVT
Lad XVI. is directly descended from
two grand champions, his sire being
Prime Lad, grand champion at the
World's Fair in 1903, and his dam
being the world famed Lorna Doone.
The "king" Is three years old and has
made clean sweeps In competitions.
Effect of Freezing; on Butter.
A series of trials were made at the
Vermont Experiment Station, wherein
milk was divided into two lots, one-half
allowed to freeze and the other han
dled in the usual manner ; then churn
ed, the butter worked and scored.
Neither skimming, ripening nor churn
ing appeared to be impaired. Not so,
however, with the scoring. The aver
age scores of two sets of fifteen lots
each were: Frozen butter, 93.2; nor
mal butter, 93.5. Freezing tended very
slightly to lower the grade of the but
i®r» yet freezing Is not necessarily a
menace to good butter-making. It
should not be inferred, however, that
infrequent creamery receipts, delivered
more or less frostbitten, will make as
good a butter as if they had been de
livered unfrozen.
For Poultry Inaecta.
A pint of crude carbolic acid, mixed
with a gallon of kerosene, makes an
excellent apray for poultry house«, and
It la the cheapest
Protection of River Bank».
The statement Is constantly met tbst
forests are very efllcacious in the pro
tectlon of river banks from uudermin.
lng and steep slopes from sliding. ;
exact reverse Is the case, says the En
gineer. As every river engineer know»,
nothing is more disastrous to a rivet
bank on an alluvial stream than heavy
trees. This Is due partly to the great
weight, hut in large part to the sway.
Ing effect of the wind end the en or
mous leverage of the long trunks, which
pry up the ground and facilitate th»
tendency to undermining. One of the
regular i>olldos of river control la to
cut down these trees for a distance
back from the edge of the bank wher
ever complications with private owner
ship do not prevent. Snags and drift
wood in the channels have always been
among the most serious obstacles to
navigation on streams flowing between
forest-covered banks. Likewise where
railway or highway grading cuts the
skin of unstable mountain slopes, the
presence of large trees Immediately
above tends powerfully to loosen the
ground and cause It to slide; and In
such cases it is necessary to cut down
the timber.
Beet Snjjnr.
One of the most important of the In
dustries developed In recent years la
the production of sugar frotn sugar
beets. More or less desultory work
was done on sugar beets as far back
as 1807. In 1S92 only six factories
were in operation in this country, the
combined output of which was a little
over 27,000,000 pounds of sugar.
According to the National Magazine,
there are now no less than sixty-four
factories in operation, with a combined
output of approximately 500,000 short
tons of sugar manufactured from beets,
with a factory value of $45,000,000.
One most Important factor has been
the production of a high-grade sugar
beet seed. For many years American
growers have been dependent almost
exclusively on foreign countries for our
sugar beet seed, but for three or four
years past the Department of Agricul
ture has been encouraging the success
ful growth of sugar beet seed in this
country. It lias shown that the seed
can be greatly improved by breeding,
tests of beets from American-grown
seed running ns high as 17, 18 and
sometimes 20 per cent sugar.
The Crop Moi-tg-iigre System.
As every informed person knows, the
chief trouble, at the bottom of almost
all the other troubles, is that many
of the raisers of cotton are in debt
It is a remarkable fact that many cot
ton raisers continue iu debt (about a
year behind the world) as long as they
live. Of course the insufficient price
of cotton has had much to do with
this ; but not all. The policy of adher
ing to cotton whether it be low or
high In price also has to do with it.
Whatever the cause, the fact is fully
agreed upon. It is further conceded
that if the raisers of cotton were ns
nearly upon a cash basis as men In
other lines usually are they could then
assert some authority In fixing the
price of cotton, because they could hold
It until the terms suited them.—Gal
veston News.
The Colors of Eggs,
A. R. Horwood, of the Leicester
(England) Museum, remarks that the
colors of birds' eggs can. In a large
number of cases, be traced to the ne
cessity of "protective resemblance."
White eggs are usually laid by birds
nesting in holes in tree's, or in dark sit
uations, like owls, woodpeckers and
some pigeons. Most birds nesting on or
near the ground lay eggs of an olive
green or brown ground color. The eggs
of grouse, ptarmigan, and so forth, re
semble the heather among which they
are laid. Those of the ringed plover,
little tern and oyster-catcher resemble
the sand and shingle of the beach.
The lapwing's eggs closely simulate
bare soil or dried bents. The young
chicks show similar "protective" colors.
The Life Plant»
Bermuda possesses a plant of the
house leek family which has curlaus
properties. When the leaves begin to
shrivel and fade they put forth new
shoots which in turn bear .leaves that
continue to grow fresh and green for
many weeks. 1'he leaves are about
tour inches long, rich green in color
and of waxen texture. If one of the
leaves is pinned to a wall indoors it
will begin to sprout within three or
four days, be it winter or summer. The
limit of existence of the life plant seen*»
dependent upon the quantity of heat
and light which the plant obtains.
AGRICULTURAL NEWS.
Not one cow in fifty that Is confln
In the dairy barn gets as much wal
as she needs.
A strange dog running through
herd in a field will lessen the milk fl<
for the next milking from 3 to 10 t
cent
Cow barns should be whitewash
Inside at least three times a year, a
this Job should Include every foot
th# stall» and manger*