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THE BEDEBD BOOK. A RURAL STORY. The action begins in Rota. Rota is the smallest of those enchanting sister towns which form the semi-circle of the bay of Cadiz. but of it is the smallest it has not lacked admirers. The Duke of Osuna. with the title of the Duke of Arcos. has worn it among the pearls of his crown for a long time, and he also has in Rota. his seigneurial castle which I could describe stone by stone; but I. do not wish to speak further of castles nor of dukes. but of the famous country i which surrounds Rota and of a humble gardener whom we will call 'l‘io Busc- beatas. I The country around Rota, especially the kitchen gardens. is so productive. tint, besides yielding as tribute to the Duke of Canon. many thousands of bushels of" grain. and wine to the whole town, which cares little for drinking water and which is badly supplied with the same. it sends fruits and vegetables to Cadiz and often to Hueloa, and even to Sev- ille. especially tomatoes and pumpkins. the excellent quality and consequent cheapness of which exceed everything. In Andaluria la Baja the people of R0- ta are called calabaceros and tomater- os (pumpkin heads and tomato grow- ers). nicknames accepted by them with noble pride. In truth, they have risen to be proud of such nicknames. for that land of Rain which produces so much (I refer to the gardens) that land which yields so much for consumption and exportation, and which gives three or four harvests yearly. is not land which the good God made, but sand, pure and clean, cease- lessly expelled by the turbulent ocean. snatched by the furious west winds, and scattered over the whole district of Rota. like the ashes which fall around Vesuvius. But the niggardliâ€" ness of nature is more than compen- sated by the constant labor of man. I do not believe that thereis in the world a laborer who works like a Retina. Not even a slender thread of water trickles through those melancholy fields. But what does it matter! The Calabacero has dug little ditches across his land. from which he draws the precious liquid to nourish his vege- tables. The sand is lacking in fruitful ele- ments. What does it matterl The native of Rota spends half his life searching for fertilizing substances,â€" seaweed loam being pressed into ser- vice. with which to enrich not his enâ€" tire heritage perhaps, because manure is lacking for‘ all the land, but little rounds of earth the size of a dinner plate. 'In each one of these little fer- tilized heaps he plants a tomato or pumpkin seed which he waters later on with a little pot not bigger than a child's nursing bottle. From that day on, until the harvest is ready, he carefully tends the little plants. giving to one a handful of fer- tilizer, to another a drink of water, and clearing them of all insects; now bind- ing up broken stems, now placing para- pete of cone and dry branches to shelter them from the fierce rays _of the sun or the rough sea breezes. Finally, he counts the sprouts, the leaves, the flowers or fruit. He talks to them. he caresses them and blesses them. even iving them names to distinguish and mdividualize them in his imagination. .Rieally. without exaggeration. it is a proverb, and l have heard it repeated many timw in Rota that. the gardeners of that country, touch With their ow_n hands each plant that grows in their gardens, at least, forty times, Thus it is explained while the old gardeners of that region are so bent that their knees almost touch their chins. _..â€"â€"-.â€" 11. Well, then. 'l‘io lluscabeatas belonged to this class of gardeners. ‘ .At the time to which I refer hevhad begun to bend ovor. He was sixty years old and had worked forty years in a pretty little garden on the shores of Costello. That year he had ruisod some huge umpkinsâ€"os large as the decorative Villa on the hattlements of the monu- mental bridgeâ€"and without and Within they were of a deep orange colorâ€"which signifies that the. middle of June had arrived. 'l‘io Buscabeatas-knew every pump- kin by its grade of ripeness. He even know the name of each_one of the forty which were now crying._"pick mo," and he spent his da 8 looking at them tenderly and cxcla ing sadly, "We shall soon have to part. !" _ Finally. one afternoon. he made up his mind to the sacrifice. and carefully look- ing over those beloved pumpkins which had cost him so much care and tail. he pronounced this terrible sentence:â€" ‘Toâ€"morrow I shall cut all forty. and carry them to the market in Cadiz. Hatpy the one who eats them." . e walked home slowly. filled with anxious thoughts. such as a father might have whose only daughter was to be married the next .day. "My poor little pumpkins l" he sighed. He could not sleep. Then he reflected. and ended by saving. "\Vell. what. can I do but get rid of them. I took care of them for that. At least. they will be worth fif- teen dollars." You can imaging- then. his astonish- ment .his furyn in: desperation. when, the next morn . upon gomg tofhe garden. he fans but during the night someone. had stolen hlia forty pump- kins. hike tPe Jew in Shakespeare's f' Mere ht 0 Venice." he became. sub- unier tragic. and repeated frantically: "Just let me find him. just let me get hold of him !" . Then Tic Busmbcatas began his search for the pumpkins and finally realized that his beloved treasures were not in Rota. where it would be unwise} ble to sell them without the risk of their supplying - being known. and where. on the other hand. pumpkins were sold at a low price. " Ohl if I should find them in Cadiz l" .he muttered grimly, "The infamous ' one. the rogue. the thief! He must have stolen them between nine and ten o'clock last night, and escaped with them in the freight ship at midnight. O I shall start for Cadiz to-day, and it will be amarvel if I do not entrap the scamp and find the children of my labor." Thus talking. he remained some twenty minutes on the scene of the catastrophe. as if caressing the mutilated plants and pondering in his mind what had best be done. At eight o'clock, however, he walked off towards the wharf. The little pas- songer boat was all ready to startâ€"a .humble open boat that left for Cadiz ,every morning at nine o’clock. 1 At half past ten that morning 'l‘io ‘Busc'ibeatas stopped chore a stand of lvegetables in the (‘adiz market. and : said to a weary looking policeman, who ,had accompanied him. "These are my pumpkins! Arrest that man!” and he ,pointed to the vegetable seller. 3 " Arrest me!" shouted the man ang- lrily. “These pumpkins are mine. I bought them!" “ You may have the pleasure of tellâ€" ing that to the Alcalde," replied 'l‘io Buscabeatas. with irony. “1 bet I Won't l" “1 bet you willl" "Thief!" " Vagabond l" " Here, here. shut up that talk, I'll teach you both," said the policeman. strikin each one a blow on the chest. By t is time. a crowd impelled by curiosity, had gathered around. The superintendent of market policeâ€"judge of supplies being his true titleâ€"soon put in an appearance. The policeman re- signed in favor of his superior officer, and told the whole story to the worthy judge. ” f whom did you buy those pumpâ€" kins?" asked the latter majestically. turning to the vegetable seller. "Of Juan Fulano, iin Rota." responded the man. ’ " That’s a likely story l" screamed Tio Bascabeatas. "\Vho will believe that! \Vhen his gardenâ€"a bad one at thatâ€" produces little. he robs his neighbors.” "But, admitting the hypotheSis that forty pumpkins were stolen from you last night," continued the 'udge, turn- ing to the old gardener, “ ow are you to prove that these and no others are yours 3" “ How 1" answered 'I‘io Buscabeatas. “ because I know them as you would know your own children, if you have any. Did not I raise them! This one is named ‘ little fatty,’ this one ‘ squatty,’ this one ‘rosy cheek,’ this one ‘pot-bel- ly.’ and this one ‘ Manuela,’ because it looks like my youngest daughter," and thereupon the poor old man began to cry. "That's all very judge of supplies. “but the law will not be satisfied with your mere knowledge of your pumpkins. It is necessary than the municipal authorities should be convinced at the same time, of the pre- existence of the things. and that you should identify them with undoubted proofs. Gentleman. don't laugh, I am a lawyer. " \Vell, then, you will soon see how i can prove to every one without stirring a step from here, that these pumpkins were raised in my garden," said Tio Buscabeatas, to the great astonishment of the bystanders. He placed a. bundle which he carried in his hand on the ground, then he squatted down, until he almost sat on his heels, and began to untie the numerous knots in the handkerchief which enveloped the bundle. The wonder of the officials, the vege- table seller, and the crowd rose rapidly. “ \Vhat on earth has he got in there i" everybody asked. At that moment a new arrival came well." replied the on the scene, curious to see what was happening. The vegetable seller. hav- ing espied him, exclaimed, “I’m glad you've come, Juan Fulano. This man says that the pumpkins you sold me. last night were stolen. He is here to listen. now you can answer 1" The new arrival suddenly grew more yellow than wax and started to go away, but the crowd manded him to remain. As for Tio Buscabeatas, when he found himself face to face with the supposed thief. he remarked dryly. " Now you will see what you will see.” But Juan Fulano had recovered his usual composure and exclaimed. " You are the one to look out! If you don’t prove your accusation, and you can't prove it. Hi send you to jail for libel! 'l‘hose pumpkins are mine. I raised them myself in my garden at Egido. and no one can prove to the contrary." “ You will see what you will see," repeated Tio Buscabeatas calmly as be fore, untying the last knot in the hand- kerchief. There rolled out on the ground a great number of pumpkin stems, still green and ’uicy. The old gardener. squatted on is heels and shaking with laughter. addressed the following disclosure to the judge and the gaping crowd. "Gentleman. have you never paid taxes? Have you never seen the green book that the tax collector carries about. with him, from which he cuts receipts leaving a bit here and a scrap there so that. later on, he can tell which re- ceipt is false or true i" " What you refer to is the Record book." observed the judge ravely. "Well. then. that is what have here. the record book of my arden, the stalks to which these pump 'ins were joined before they were stolen from me. If you don't believe it just look here. This stein belongs to this pumpkin. No one can doubt that. and this oneâ€"now do‘ you see itâ€"was this one's stem. Now this broad one must be that one's. Just so! And this one belongs to this. and that to this, and this to the other." As he talked he went on fitting the peduncle to the cavity left in pumpkin when it was picked. The spectators saw with astonish- ment. that. the irregular and uneven base of the stem fitted exactly the white and smooth hollow which each cicatrice (so called) of the pumpkin presented. All the crowd. including even the ‘udge and the policeman. fell on its noes and began to help Tic Busca- beatas in that singular coméprobation. exclaiminfi at the same time. with al- most chil ish joy:â€"- ‘ “ It is so, it is so! It is undoubted! Look. lookl This goes here. that one there! 'This belo . to that one. that stem to this pump in I!" To the hearty laughter of the grown each asifim vegetable seller the fifteen dollars re- ceived from him at early dawn. that the vegetable seller immediately gave the money to 'l‘io Buscabeatas. and that the latter returned to Rota. greatly contdent, saying as he walked along the res :â€" "How beautiful it is in the market place! But I wish I had brought Manuela home to eat to-night and to save the seedsâ€"From the Spanish of Pedro Antonio de Raymond Bidwell. Alarcon. by Jean HEART DISEASE. New and Simple l‘rcntnient Advocatcd In London. This is an age of specialists. and in no profession more than the medical one does the specialist attain'fame or profit, or a combination of the two. Ev- day one hears of some doctor or some surgeon who has made his name by the cure of this or that disease, or by the performance of this or that operation,‘ but about many of them, in London, at least, something more than'a susâ€" picion of quackery hovers. ll heard the other day of some as- tounding cures due 'to an entirely new treatment of heart disease, mhich can! hardly be passed by wiiih the usual shrug of the shoulders which so often- attends similar details. There is no: doubt that among men of our own generation, who are approaching the. age of 50, the most frequent form of trouble. in this country at least, conâ€" sists in a weakened or otherwise abâ€" normal action of Lhe heart. It is this stalte of things which Dr. Theme-the specialist in questionâ€"undertakes ab- solutely to cure, unless it be accom- panied by some precise valvular disease. 1qu .trea-tment is simplicity itself. It convists.merely in the employment by the patient every day of some pecu- liar moiions of the arms which are cal-a culwted to bring into activity certain sluggish portions of the circulation. Ac- companme. these physical exercises. baths are given of hot water strongly impregnated wrth certain salts and chalybeates. One of the most successful cures has been that of Lord Spencer, who not; long ago was a hopeless invalid, but who now rides daily to hounds. and has resumed his place as master of the hunt. Lord Mount-Edgecumbe also was told by two of the leading London. phySiciams, when he insisted on having a definite answer to his question, that. he had better put his house in order. at once._ as they could not definitely grant him more than two months of life. After a few weeks of the new .lreaitmenlt he found himself in prac» tically perfect health, and has since re- mained in that pleasurable condition.’ A speCial ward in one of the London hospitals has been set apart for poor' patients suffering from heart; disease. to be operated upon after this method. and demonstrations of it are given til medical men throughout the country. by Dr. T‘horne. SA’ MON CANNING PROCESS. flow the Tootlisouic l-‘lsli Are Prepared for the Market. I A corresponent gives the following interesting details regarding the sal- mon canning industry in British Col- amino:â€" "The fish,” he says, first placed upon a table, at which they are open- ed and the entrails removed. The heads and fins are also cut off, and the offal drops through chutes into a tank. Af- ter the fish has been opened and be- washcd off, and they are then passed on to a tank where they are carefully washed and cleaned. Revolving knives four inches apart, cut them crosswise into three sections, each the height; of _a_can. As the fish taken in the nets are almost uniform in size, the pieces are all about the same bulk. The cans are then filled, one fish in three cans or ten and a. half fish to a case of four dozen one-pound cans, which is the standard size. A pinch of salt is put in each. The filling is generally done by hand. though some of the canneries have machines for the purpose, with a capacrly of 40 cans per minute. As far-it as filled the COVt'I‘S are placed on the cans and they are rolled down an iron track, passmg through melted sol- der. on the way, which closes up the seams. Each can is dipped in water to 58» whether it is hermetically sealed. any flawdieing detected by the es- cape of air bubbles. They are then ready for cooking. This is done by lowering the cans. arranged on iron frames. ll]le boiling water. ke at the necessary temperature by steam. They are cooked from one and a quarter to one and a. half hours. On being taken out a small hole is )unched in the top of each can to allow the steam and wa- ter to escu The hole is again closed With a drop of solder, the cans are tested to see that they sure absolutely 831' tight. and they are subjected to an- other cooking process, this time in a retort hunted by dry steam. Here they remain one and a half hours. The whole cooking process occupies from two and a half to three hours. “'hcn the cans come from the retort the exterior is washed With. lye to remove any dirt. Theyare then lacquered. labelled and put in cases ready for shipment." â€"-â€"-~â€"-â€"-.â€"-â€"â€"-â€"â€". HOPE FOR THE CHILD. _ patient to carry him to jail. It is hardly neoegary to say that, had that great pleasure. that Juan Fulano was obliged to return to the THE FARM. W 31013.8 HELP ON THE FARM. Most fortunate is the farmer who hasthesuengthtolaborandhasin his own family of sons and daughters enough help to run the farm and house without hiring. Such a farmer knows little of the worry and waste that: come to the farmer and household where neither the farmer nor his wife are able-bodied and the children are too small to assist or are grown up and have left the parental roof. In: either case there is atempiation to leave the farm and seek "an easien way" of making a living. The man or woman who is not strong enough to do the wonk belonging to his or her position has of necessity to learn how to utilize hired help. In this respect they are likely to learn the lesson which too many able-bodied men and women fail to learn. \Ve all know men who have, in their earlier inan- hood. with a healthy wife and active children, become the possessor of a. farm and improved it and got around them the comforts and conveniences of a farm home, and all this with litâ€" tle hired help, except that of mechâ€" anics and some extra. help during har- vest or threshing. Such a farmer usually abandons the farm as soon as his family grows up and he and his wife feel the aches and pains of age. They abandon the farm just at a period when they need most its quiet and comfort and when they can least] readily adjust themselves to the new conditions of city or village life. Had they in early life learned to utilize hired help, they could have ad~ justed themselves to the change, gra- dually, and by the time the children had all grown up and left them, the labor of the farm could go on and the business which they had given "the best of their lives to establish. need not be abandoned. There is a vast loss to the commun- ity when such a man and woman leave their farm and home and turn it over to strangers. The new occupants are in no way indentified with the im- provements made on the farm or with the community. The public and the owner of the farm are usually losers by such a change. As a means of lessening the number of rented farmsâ€"which means declin- ing farmsâ€"we advise farmers to give more thought to the question of util- izing hired help. The theory that one cannot afford to hire help on the farm at present prices of products and wages has much to support it. Unless one has had some experience in managing farms and labor it will not take him long to prove that the proceeds of the farm would not pay his labor bills and leave him enough to pay his taxes, repairs and living expenses. On the other hand, one who has had experienm in farm- ing with hired labor soon learns that he must increase his output in proporâ€" tion, to the increased cost of labor, just as the manufacturer does, and his profits are increased. in proportion. in every line of production, whether it is making nails, shoes, rails or mauls, planters or drills, wagons or buggies. the maker who hires no help increases his own labor, and limits his output. if he has the business talent to increase his sales, to keep pace with. his possible output, he soons finds that he can em- ploy more men and increase his busi- ness and at the same time relieve him- self of the drudgery that a cheaper man can do more of, while he can cm- ploy his brains and skill in further imâ€" provement of his plant and develop- ment of his business. Learning to sell our products or to confine our production 1.0 the demand of the market is one of the first things to do, before one can utilize profitably hired help. So long as farmers follow the plan of putting in as many acres of corn. wheat and oats as the owner and his boys can work, and keeping as many cows as the wife and daughters can milk and raise the calves and make butter from, so long will the standard of produets below for want of time and labor to keep up the farm and increase the output. There can be no improvement in qual- ity of products above the average un- til the managing mind has time for thought. and study of the 'business. Until the quality of the products is improved, the price must be [dint of the average or 'below it. More labor is needed to bring up the land to its highest paying capacity, more labor is needed to give the need- ed cultivation at the nick of time. More labor is needed to runs and trim and spray, to make orcmrds and vines ive ihc finest fruits. More labor is needed to give better care to the colts. calves. lambs and pigs, to bring them into early maturity to sell for best prices. If one has the talent and time to study the possibilities of his farm and markets he can readily increase his income by the extra labor employed. So long as the policy of extending ac- reage without increase of help obtains. so long will the average yield and quality of crops and num )ers and qual- ity of the increase of flocks and herds be only average or below, and our in- comes kept down and our ideals of exâ€" celllggce l(legrokdtiad. h 1 pa icy o if no e may sat- isfy him who is to like wholly by hard knacks. and is willing to make a. drudge of his wife and bring up his children in ignorance._ It may appear aneceqs’ity. while it is only the .re- Tho‘y all tell me, said the fond mo- suit of neglected opportunity. As one that. hat the little darling is the image advances in use t ere shou d come not of me. only increase of wealth, but breadth Don‘t let that wort the old maid caller. s outgrow it. you. responded will doubtless _â€"-â€". STICKING TO IT. The Foremanâ€"We find that the dis- peoplc were added the shrill mu0318,eased died from natural causes. Cor- of the youngsters. and the tears of joy and triumph shed by the old gardener. The men. in the mean time. were striking and pushing the convicted thief hedged him in. and even the judge com- onerâ€"You mean the "deceased" not the "diseased." 'l‘be Foremanâ€"Both. If he hadn‘t been diseased he wouldn’t be dead. headed, the blood and rough dirt are" 8 pd. i pe. of view and intelligence to utilize it and our mind. so as to lessen-drudgery. The beginning of the year 18 a ood time to consider how to lessen our ur- den and increase our happiness. S’I‘ERILIZED MILK FOR MARKET. The subject of sterilized milk and cream is receiving considerable atten- tion, especially in the large consum- m l product thus treated. and the bush ness of selling sterilisedmilk is in some citim quite profitable, the demand is by no means universal or even general. If conveniently situated, where one ca mlevote careful and personal at- tention to it, a. lucrative business may be built up. yet this cannot be done in a day. In reply to an inquiry covering the situation the sterilization of milk con- sists in a general way of raising the product to a temperature of 160 deg. as quickly as possible. holding it at that point for a few moments, say ten minutes. and then cooling it down to ax: near the freezing point as possible. It. should be kept at this low temperi- ature if intended for shipment. It is claimed that this process kills the bac- teria. microbes. etc. there may be in the milk, and that. the milk will keep without scoring for a consuler' ably. longer time than that not treated in this manner. Of course the length of time it will keep depends upon the weather and. conditions. 'Illhere are nu- merous appliances for this pur ioée. but most of. 1. cm are intended or large creameries. A good way for a rivme dairy is to put the pans of mi k into vats of water, raise the temperature of the'watcr to 160 deg. hold it there. and stir the milk consun‘tly all the time and stir the milk constantly all the time it is being subjected to this tem- perature. Then cool the milk by pu‘t- ting the. cans into ice water, stirring all ihetime you are loweringiheteui- perature. Cream is treated in this way for the market. and seems to give excellent satisfuqtion. 1t 15 necessary to keep the milk agi- tated allithc time, and unless the water in the val. is kept above 16?.) degrees the cream or milk in. the cans will not be above that temperature. This can be done in another simple way by running the milk 01' cream over a cor~ rugaied heater, and than using the same apparatus for cooling. The only difference being Iliiit in one case hot water 13 run through the sterilizer! and in the other case cold water. This last way l5 much more rapid than tho other. but needs an arrangement for constantly running Witlt'l' from the time you begin to sterilize until the milk ls cooled. Apparatus suitable for this work is advertised from time to time in our columns. BU"’l‘ER \VORKED TOO MUCH. One of the errors in dairying that is constantly coming to the front ro- lates to working butter. Time and again it has been demonstrated that* the less butter is worked the better the butter will bc~other things being equal. \Vorking butter can under pro- per conditions and practice be entirely dispensed wiih-â€"-tliough it is doubtâ€" less quite as well to work it enough 'to get out surplus water. Yet if lhu granular system of churning is pruc~ floodâ€"and no other system should be â€"a.nil ample time iaken to allow the water to drain out no working will be neededâ€"or at any rate only on- ough. lo bring the butter into solid condition. \Vhile the above has been taught and retaughlt for nearly the past quarter of a century it is by no means an un- common evciu' to pick up an agricul- tural paper and have your eye light. on an article in its dairy department) in which some mention shows that the writer of the article did not know that. all the buttermilk should be washed out of butter while the latter is in the granular state iind if this is donu there will be none left. to be worked out. If all the buttermilk has not been washed out you can set it down fon certain that. the attempt to work it out will result in breaking the grain of the butter. There is not much satisfaction in always pounding away on one string, but this matter of working butterâ€"- or working it too muchâ€"is one that calls for line uponline and precept up- on preceptand even hen willlio found pit‘llly of people who will lock the but- ivrniilk up by Housing the butter be- fore washing out the buttermilk and. then utiempiiiig to work out the latâ€" ier spoil the runner. Not. only that, but persons who sci. llioiimelves up its teachers will riilicai‘se such practice in: their writings for the agricultural press. If any reader of this (engaged in. butter making docs not. know how to practice the granular system of choru- ing lot such person look into the mat- ter at once and iii-conic familiar with the practiceâ€"um! llicn practice it. *....~-. _ _. GOOD TIMES IN SCOTLAND. The Four mm “ii-i ii llccoril "rt-tiller for slilpbullilluu. The year which has just chased, has been in one respect, and one which- affi‘cis hundreds of thousands of Scotch [)l'fllllt‘, a record your-ail. has seen the groatcsi industry on the Clydi- IIIUI‘I‘ prosperous than over it was lwfnro, says a recent Scotch pa- per. liighiiwn hundred and eighty- lllr-‘I' has till now marked the highest level of shipbuilding prosperity inihin district. but thi- twelvouionih named. must now yield place to eighteen ninc~ ty-six. in tho "18311.0! of the tonnage of the vessels launched the past your. beats the record year of eighteen eighty-thru- by six thousand tons. and though the capital value falls short oi the ten millions of pounds of that date, the difference has to be set down to the cheaper work and the lower prices that new rule. Even more satisfactory are the returns from an engineering int of view, for the total effective grime-power of the engines construct- ed is over one hundred thousand mom than in the 'good Vtime' of thirteen years 0 And last of all. the 'booin’ in ahifiiuilding promises to continue during the twelvemun‘th on which we haw: just exitede for the tonnage at present on hand. is stated to be the la;- cver held in the; district. and wil ensure that for many adav to come there will be no lack of work in the Clyde yards. ing centers. While many prefer 3’3.“ on...