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THE FLESHERTON ADVANCE. FARMING In this department each week will be given general information to farmers and stockmen. No attempt will be made to criticize the work already being done by Canadian farmers; but an effort will be made to present to the farmers of the country summarized information contained in government reports, and the actual experiences of men and women who have achieved success in farming by following modern methods. Farmers who have found new "wrinkles" or have made a success In any special line of agriculture are invited to send short letters to this paper giving their experiences, or criticizing any of the information contained in these columns. TALLEST MAN IN THE WORLD COMES TO U. S. Vegetable Growing CELEST. This crop is grown extensively in many sections throughout the Province, and very remunerative returns are re- ceived for the culture of this vegetable. Around the large cities there are con- siderable acreages devoted to the grow- ing of celery, and some districts make it practically a main crop. Celery can be grown satisfactorily and with suc- cess by many more gardeners in the Province. Amateur gardeners can grow it in many cases. Young Plants. Celery should be started in flats in the greenhouse or right in the green- house beds. If no greenhouse is avail- able the young plants can be grown in hotbeds. They should be grown in light soil having plenty of humus in it, rnd should be started cz early as February 15th for early celery and not later than March loth." The seed should be sown in drills two and a half inches apart at a depth of one-quarter inch, barely covering the seeds with very fine soil. It will take from ten days to three weeks for the seed to germinate, and when they have'^growii for three weeks the young plants should be transplanted into" other flats, or elsewhere in the ^rreenhouDe bed, one and one-half inches apart. This can be done with a small dibber. This transplanting should cull out all weak, sickly plants and leave only strong, robust ones. .By this trans- planting a strong root system is grown and a robust plant is ready for final transplanting into the field. The ger- mination in the seedbed may be hast- ened by placing blotting paper or por- ous paper (moistened) over the ground where the seed has been planted. The use of a pane of glass is advocated by some gardeners. The soil should be watered lightly aud with care so that the small seed's will not be disturbed. Watering should be, done on a bright dav, if possible, about noon. Tlie soil for celerv ground preferably is a black j muck, but almost any light loamy soil ; is good for this crop. Light sand which | has an abundance of manure incorpor- , ated in it makes an excellent soil for j growing celery. Strong land should ; be avoided. . j The chief requirements of a first- ; class celery soil are: â€" , 1. That it be well drained. I 2. That it be rich in plant food. 3. That is have plenty of moisture available and that it can hold the moisture. .\ rich sandy loam will produce celery of an Al qualitv, crisp, with long stalks and plentv of them. Celery land should not be lacking in plant food. It should be rich in plant food with plenty of humus If the soil is not well drained it is advisable to secure sufficient means of drainage before celery is grown e.\- tensivelv. This is especially necessary in black muck soils. It is advisable to prepare the soil for one year at least before a crop of celery is attempted. This should include thorough cultiva- tion to open up the soil and make it possible to conserve all available mois ture and to kill as many weeds as pos- sible. Large quantities of manure should he ploughed into the soil. Twen- tv-five to liftv tons of manure to the acre will help to make a good celery soil. This should be ploughed in at intervals and allowed to decay. Manuring. Celerv is one of the grossest feeders to be found in the vegetable kingdom, and as manure supplies large quantities of plant food and humus it is for this reason that manure should be applied liberallv everv vear. As a general rule it is safe to apply from 35 to 50 tons per acre. This should be well rotted stable manure if possible. This can be applied in the fall after the .nnd has been fitted up, or may be applied dur- ing the winter months when convenient. It is generallv considered best policy to spread the "manure at once, not pil- ing it in heaps over the field. Planting. Celerv should be planted as a rule on the level. No trenching is necessary to grow a good crop of celery. The land should be made as level as possible with a drag and the plants put in by means of a dibber, six to eight inches apart in the rows, with the rows from thirty to fortv inches apart. Care should be taken to have the soil carefully packed around the young plant when trans- planted, and it is advisable to have as much soil from the plant bed on the roots as possible. Planting should com- mence in late afternoon when only a limited area is to be planted. Where a large area is to be planted the young plants can be transplanted at any time of the day â€" a cool, dark day to be preferred in all cases. If the soil has been worked well no watering is neces- sary. Cultivation. The one-horse scuffler is the best im- plement to cultivate the celery crop with, and during the early stages of growth the aeuffler should be kept busy. This will keep down the weeds and form a mulch which will conserve the mois- ture. Considerable care should be taken to keep the scuffler from throwing the earth into the heart. Poor results can often be traced to this cause. When the crop is nearing time for bleaching the cultivation should cease, because the plant will have young rootlets which oftentimes meet between the rows, and these should not be destroyed. It is not often necessary to hand-weed celery if the soil is fairly free from weeds. If these do prove to be very numerous it is advisable to go through the patch and pull imt all the weeds. Where cel- ery is grown on a small scale a com- mon garden rake or hoe will take the place of the scuffler, and a tine mulch should be kept on the surface of the soil. Time to Mature. Celerv transplanted in the field from Mav 15th to May 24th will be ready for" market wher'e it has been given <rood attention about the middle of August. The crop will then gradually be made ready as the market demands it. What Powdery Scab Does to Potatoes. 1. The disease in its mild stages causes unsightly scab spots on the skin of the potato. 2. In the severe stages the disease causes the production of deformed and sori-bearing potatoes that are practic- ally unsaleable. 3. The spores of the disease remain virile in the soil for at least nine or ten years and will start an infection in crops of potatoes on the land within that time. 4. The disease once established in oui- field is spread by succeeding potato crops to other fields, until the whole farm becomes infected. 5. The presence of the disease on one (jr two farms in a district depreciates the value of all other farms in that district for the growing of export or seed potatoes. What to do if you Have Powdery Scab on Your Potatoes. 1st. Get rid of all the potatoes you have. There is no chemical remedy for Powdery Scab. 2nd. Obtain seed from a farm where you are sure the disease nas not ap- peared: if possible, from a district where it has not been found. 3rd. Handle the seed potatoes in bar- rels, bags or baskets that have not been used for potatoes before. 4th. Plant the clean seed on land that has not grown a crop of potatoes j for two years. Vse clean implements. I 5th. Clean your cellar thoroughly. Clean out and burn all rubbish. White- wash the walls and ceiling and spray the bins and floor with a strong copper sulphate solution, 5 lbs. copper sulphate to 25 gallons of water. 6th. Use the fields where the dig- eased potatoes were grown for other crops, preferably a crop that you will not need to cultivate with the same implements vou use on vour potato field. What not to do if you Have Powdery Scab on Yt ur Potatoes. 1st. Do not plant any seed potatoes from your own stock. Kvcn though the tubers appear clean they may carry spores of the disease from having been in contact with the diseased tubers. 2nd. Do not plant potatoes on ♦^he fields that have produced a disease 1 crop within ten years at least. 3rd. Do not use for clean potatoes <dd bags, barrels or crates that have held diseased potatoes. What to do if you Have no Powdery Scab on Your Potatoes. Ist. Select every year for seed, the best potatoes from the best producing rows you have: tubers that are clean, of medium size and regular in form. Pick these out in the fall when digging and store them apart from the crop that is for sale. This will keep your potatoes up to the standard and you will not need to change seed. 2nd. Avoid every possible source of seed or soil contamination. Keep your farm free from the dis- ea.se the tallest man In the world ha.s arrived in America. He is John van Albert of Amsterdam, Holland, who i.s 8 feet 5 inches tall He comes to Join an American circus. He is of normal proportions de- spite his abnormal size. He wears a 14 glove, 9 1-4 hat and No 12 shoes. No stateroom wa.s large enough for him on the boat he came on, so he was forced to sleep in the companionway on two cots placud end to end. THE CHICK COOP FOR HEN WITH CHICKS, A good coop for a hen with chicks must be roomy and well ventilated. The following is an illustration of a coop largely used by the Poultry De- partment of the Ontario Agricultural College. This coop under most condi- tions should give satisfaction and is not diflficult to construct. It is three feet long, two feet wide, two feet high in front and fifteen inches high in the rear. The wire, one inch mesh or small- er, is one foot wide and comprises one- half of the front. Over this there is no covering. The lower haU of the front is in reality a miniature ladder and can be removed to allow the hen to range. When it is in place the chicks can run into and out of the coop at will but the lieu cannot. A board should cover this part during the night on stormy days when the chicks are small, aud at an.v time it is wished to confine them. This is held in place by two fasteners, one at each end, as shown in the illustration. The cross section shows how the' front may be removed. The roof of the coop should bo fastened on by a small hook at each end. Do not nail it on. To prevent the wind blowing the coop over, a large fiat stone may be placed upon it. Many other styles of coop may be equally as satisfactory as the foregoing providing they are well ventilated, large enough and simple in construc- tion. The ends, back and top should be as nearly free from Cracks and knot- holes as possible, especially for use in the early season. These permit rain to enter the coop, drafts to blow over the hen and chicks, frequently causing colds, and are not necessary to good ventilation. In sections where rats or other ver- mints are troublesome the coop should have a floor or some other protection against them. Wire netting, one inch mesh or smaller, stretched tightly over the bottom, will answer the same pur- pose. If a floor is used, the coop must be entirely separate from and just set upon it. A-shaped coops are frequently used, largely because they are so easily con- structed. These, however, frequently become very hot in warm weather and do not give sufficient room for the hen unless made much larger than usual. (Continued next week.) THE OLD-FASHIONED HEN. A Few Thoughts On Caring for the Backyard Flock--- By Helen H. Hawes. -Vn editor in the Middle West recent- ly asked people to cwntrlbute articles on "unique and out-of-the-ordinary methods of poultry raising. ' ' Xo man who follows unique and out- of-the-ordinary methods will ever suc- ceed. On the coutrar.v, that is the road to failure and, if the business is con- ducted on a large scale, to bankruptcy or the poorhouse. The hen is the most old-fashioneil creature living and she prefers to live as near to nature as she can. You can no more change the mind of a hen than you can turn back the tide of the sea. You can 't shut a hen up in a narrow, dark coop, cuff her round, starve her half to death and wring the necks of her friends and next of kin right before her e.ves, then make tier think she is living a free, happ.v and independent life â€" not by a good deal. The only feeling such treatment will arouse in her breast is resentment, coupled witli a determination to do her worst. Ij Even the cock of the walk will glare througli the bars of his cell and think vindictively of the havoc he would do sliiiulil lie ever regain his liberty. Justice and humanity score high in the poultry .vard. I do not miuw ot any creature that will respond more quickly to intelligent care and kind treatment than a hen. .Just give tier a little range, a chance to dig and cluck to her heart's content and to bask in the sun and she will work with a w-hole- hearteii energ.v and enthusiasm that should put human beings to shame. I Treat chickens halfway right ami there will he no strikes, no riots, no lempt.v egg baskets. I know whereof , I speak, for in da.vs gone b.v I raised j chickens myself and I not only lie- ! rived profit from the work but health I and happiness. I built my chicken house mvself. I roofed it over, put in the windows and hung the door. I cut grass and gath- ered leaves in the fall and tilled big bins, and in those bins, half buried, my chickens would snuggle themselves to sleep every night while I stood by and smiled. I don't want to get up on a cold winter morning and have to saw wood for my breakfast, niether do I want to drink my coffee nor swallow my biscuit half" frozen, so I was merciful to my chickens. I always gave them a smoking hot breakfast in a warm, sunny room, standing kneo-deep in straw, and their cheerful clucking could be heard clear to the house. I never knew what it was to have sick chickens.I had no roup or cholera in mv flock and never did mv little chicks die off by the dozen. Even in the coldest weather I had eggs. When it costs so much to live, every householder should keep a few chickens if he has the range. Good common sense and a merciful disposition are the two tilings the most needed. HENS, EGGS AND MITES. Poultry men aud farmers sometimes overlook a ver.v important fact. It is that the best of feed, plenty of it, and well balanced ration will not induce hens to lay eggs if the.v are compelled to roose in houses infested with mites. The little red insect saps the vitality of the hen b.v sucking her blood. Hens have actually been killed, virtually eat- en alive, by mites. Chickens cannot i la.v except when the vitalit.v is main- tained. At the first sign of warm wea- ther guard against mites by giving all ! woodwork inside the poultry house a coat of hot whitewash well carbolized. If conditions have become bad. the only remedy will be to dip the fowls: but if merely a few fowls have beconw infested, a good disinfectant powder can be applied to the individual birds by the pinch method. Was Carpentier Wise To Marry ?^ Frenchman Has Realized Every Goal But Winning Championship Georges Was Wise In Marrying and WouldfBe Wise In Retiring, Win or Lose, After He Has^Bat- tled Jack Dempsey. A LABD-PAIL SPEOUTER. Poultry raisers who feed sprouted oats to their flocks have difficulty in keeping the feed in proper condition, without going to a great deal of ex- pense. By using wooden lard or but- ter containers, which nia.v be obtained at an.v grocery store, the trouble can be easily avoided. -V hole is bored in ! the side of the pail near the bottom and a wood n plug provided for it. In use, the oat sprouter is filled with oats, the hole is plugged and water poured over the grain. The pails must he kept in a dark, rather warm place. to encourage th â-  sprouting, .\fter the grain is thoroughly soaked, which usu- ally requires several hours, the plug is removed from the hole in the pail and the water allowed to flow out. At least one pail should be kept empty all the time: this makes it possible to change the oats from time to time, thus pre- venting them from spoiling. This system is highly recommended, as being both cheap aud effective. (By Eugene Corri.) (The Famous Eing Beferee.) Was Carpentier wise to marry? Is his decision to retire after his fight with Dempsey a sound one? To my mind the answer to both questions is: Yes. For some strange and unaccountable reason marriage has come to be con- sidered a bar or a hindrance to a man who is climbing the ladder and this not only in boxing but in other walks of life. One has only to read the life stories of some of our famous men to learn the falsity of what is almost an ac- cusation against womanhood. Marriage no more kills ambition and efficiency than does a London fog de- termine the return home of a Scotsman. On the contrary a man 's wits become sharper, just because he knows he is working for another besides himself. To make a home for himself and his wife is man 's destinv, and any man who has a spark of real manhood works all the harder when he knows there is one waiting for him at "home, sweet home. ' ' to share both his jo.vs and sor- rows. LIFE OF A BOXER. Xow. boxers are human â€" more human, perhaps, than most people imagine. Their lives are subject to fluctuation, almost to the same extent as â€" well, as a stock broker's life. One day thev have to push their way through a cheer- ing crowd: the next the other fellow wins, and the loser is glad to steal away unobserved â€" glad to get to the quiet of his own fireside, win or lose. For he knows that, whether fortune ha.'* been kind or unkind, the warmest congratulations in moments of victory, and those much needed words of com- fort in times of defeat, coipe from a good wife. Billy Wells has had as many ups and ilowns as an.v famous boxer. I know the answer he would give if .vou were to ask him: Is a boxer better off single or married? When Bob Fitzsimmons was fighting j J. J. Corbett. and the contest waa going not too well for the former, it wa« I his wife who shouted out instructions, .and probably did more to help victory I along than .any of the seconds. You ought to come behind the scenes \ one night when famous little Jimmy j Wilde has emerged triumphant from a stern contest. You will see many '' telegrams dispatched to enthusiasts .waiting anxiously for results in Wales. I But the first one is alwa.vs sent off to i Mrs. Jimmy Wilde. As a rule boxers I during training live on special diets. I Not so Jimmy. He eats to his heart 's I content from dishes prepared with rare knowledge by his wife. THE ANS'WBE. "Is Carpentier wise in marrying?" j Why, of course he is. t Mme. Carpentier has publicly an- i nounced that she does not like boxing. I Will the dislike make her any the less anxious that her Georges should beat Dempsev? The mere fact that she has j become his wife proves that she loves I him, in spite (if you likel of the pro- fession he follows. Her faith in him is so strong that she looks forward to the da.v when he will be world champion. .Vnd this faith will only strengthen the determination of the Frenchman. Can you imagine Carpentier 's pride in the event of victory f N^ot a personal pride but the honor of being able to lay at the feet of a woman he has chosen from all the world the laurels of victory. Sentimentality you say? Give it an.v name you like, and the effect is just the same. THE ANS-WER. "Is Carpentier wise in retiring?" Of course he is. When he started his boxing career I suppose he had some 6nd in view. All business men set out i hoping some day â€" the earlier the bet- ter â€" to be able to retire comfortably off. It is just the same with a boxer. Mrs. Flatbush â€" What does your hus- band call your dogt Mrs. Bensonhurst â€" When he 's calling him in the house, do you mean, or chasng him oatt Each time I try to dance with Mary, Something she wears gets quite con- trary. I wondereil what and why it was. But now I'm wise â€" 'course it does. It was the week before little Willie "s birthday, and he was on his knees at his bedside petitioning Divine Provi- dence for presents in a very loud voice. "Please send me," he shouted, "a bic.vde. a tool chest, a â€" " "W'hat are you praying so loud for?" his younger brother interrupted. "God ain't deaf." ''I know he ain't," ssiid little Willie, winking towards the next room, "but grandma is." The gob was on shore-leave and happy because he had found a girl as affec- tionate as he. His joy was dimmed, however, for a bluecoat had forbidden .spooning in the park, and his girl had tabued it in the streets. But life took a new turn when he saw a man kiss his wife farewell in front of the Penn- s.vlvania Station, New York. He rushed his girl towards a crowd hurrying to- ward the Philadelphia express, and bade her a fond farewell. When the crowd thinned, they joined a throng for Washington, and repeated the act. They repeated it again before the Chi- cago train. This was too much for a colored por- ter who had been watching. He step- ped up to the gob. "Boss," he said, "why don't you go downstairs and try the Long Island Station? Dem local trains am a-leavin' mos' .^!l de time!" JOE martin- Joe DoesnY Believe In OveR-exERTioN