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Our Springfield Letter Special Correspondent WritM of tl&a Stat* Ca.pl of Interest at Springfield.--Coal miners of Illinois have scored another victory In a de­ cision rendered relative to the mining rate In Saline county. The rate was an issue at the last state conference of miners and operators and was re­ ferred to a commission of two repre­ sentatives of the miners' organization and two operators. This commission, which was composed of Secretary- Treasurer William D. Ryan, National Board fa Member Thomas Burke ^f Spripgfieldfor the miners, and H. M. •Tfeyl'or M Chicago and William Harts- bornoi Danville, met th^m^xwmrt of t5e. ̂ eek in^S&ALouis and un­ able to reach an'Agreement. G. J. Keefe of Detroit/ was selected as the fifth man to decide and he sustained the contention of the miners. The op­ erators in Saline county protested against, paying the mining rate fixed by the state board of arbitration In 1900, on the ground that it was three cents higher than the rate in William­ son county. The rate in Williamson county was fixed by the state board of arbitration in 1899. Secretary Ryan returned from St. Louis well pleased with the results obtained. Operators on the lines of the Illinois Central rail­ road have for some time been com­ plaining of the inadequate car supply and in an effort to relieve the situa­ tion to a certain extent the officials of that system have served formal notice to shippers that until otherwise ordered none of the cars owned by the road will be permitted to go off its own lines and that shipping orders to foreign destinations will be honored only when the coal is loaded in for­ eign cars. -This order differs from similar ones issued in the past in that ft is more* Sweeping in its character, being maae to include box cars as well as gondolas and hoppers. ConmerjMtMgue Planned. An effortTTs^making to organize a Central Mississippi- Valley Commercial league to boost the principal cities of the central portion of theStfississippi •alley. The organizatioiyfs to be com­ prised of the chambersj(of Commerce and the commercial organizations and May Sue the Illinois Central.' It 1B expected at Springfield that the report of the experts on their investi­ gation of the books and accounts of the Illinois Central railroad will be presented In court to secure an inter­ pretation of the company's charter. While the governor has, not made GREAT CALtFORNIAN SUGGESTS JOINING SElfiTO' GULF OF CALIFORNIA. woUfti Afford] He Says, a Magnificent • and Impreghable Harbor for United States War - ' Fleets. - business men's Associations of the va­ rious cities. The plan of the organiza­ tion is to make this ^portion of the country the m|^H^^wring center of the entire United ^Stales. Those a^ the head of the movement will soon attempt to interest the commercial or­ ganizations in the many cities in the territory and it will be a^ked that they vote to decide whether or not they will enter the league. Circulars will be prlntedr«oon and sent to sMl of the cities mentioned. * I There'are 41 cities in the section. They are Springfield, 111., Aurora, 111., Belleville, 111., Burlington, la., Battle Creek, Mich., Chicago, 111., Cedar Rap­ ids, la., Clinton, 4a., Council Bluffs, la., Decatur, 111., Davenport, la., Des Moines, bfe^Suhpque, la., East St Iiouis, Ill /Elgin, 111., Evanstop, HI-, Galesburg, 111., Grand Rapids, Micfiy. Hannibal, Mo., Jacksonville, 111., Joli- «t. 111., Joplin, Mo., Kansas City, Mo., Keokuk, la., La Crosse, Wis., Mollne, 111* Ottumwa, la., Peoria, 111., Qp§ncy, 111., Rockford, 111., Rock Island, 111., Racine, Wis., St. Louis, Mo., St. Jos­ eph, Mo., Sedalia, Mo., St. Paul, Minn., Minneapolis, Minn., Siouxi City, la., Springfield, Mo., and Haute,- Ind. . . ' ^ ! Claims Rival Is a Trust. A sensation preceded the opening *»f bids to furnish the stateofllllnois with coal for the coming two years. '"The Springfield Coal association was ithe lowest bidder, and the Colvin Coal company, which holds contracts about to expire, filed a petition alleging that the Springfield Coal association is a trust and should noO>e recognized by the state. The matter was referred to Attorney General Stead for investi­ gation, and a report probably will be made when the tftate commission meets next week. The Cblvin Coal company has been furnishing fuel for $1 .50 a ton, and the association bid *1 .25 a ton. The petition charging that the lowest bidder should not be recognized was filed by former Assist­ ant Attorney Gillespie. It is asserted that the corporation recently was dis­ solved by the secretary of state for refusing to make a statement as to < whether it is part of*a trust, and lor this reason has no standing. Bids also were opened for the state printing contacts, but no Awards will be made Joe some time. J . . • • Salary Increase Voted Down. A resolution providing an Increase of salary to the probate judge and pro­ bate clerk was turned down by the board of supervisors. All of the other officers' salaries were fixed at $2,500 a year. In"Spite of the efforts of the engin­ eers of the Southern Pacific, who ex­ pect to divert the waters of the Colo* I ado Mver into its old channel, and who say# that then the waters In what has come to be known as Salton sea vill dry up, there are others who look' with skeptical eyes upon the success public the report, it is known that%f the engineering project. If the ef- there Is room foV a long legal dispute arising from the differingu interpreta­ tions of the franchise. Under the view taken by the administration the company is in debt to Illinois for a fair-sized amount of money. The in­ vestigation was undertaken to ascer­ tain whether the company has been paying into the state treasury seven per cent, of its gross earnings'! It has been discovered that in its statements of gross earnings It has not figured^ every source of income. The state will contend that gross earnings in this case means gross Income. The company has been giving the state seven per cent, of Gertain earnings and certain other earnings have not been included In the total on which the tax has been estimated. Before action is taken in court the company will be presented with a copy of the report of the experts and the legal views of the state on $ie matters in dispute.. If an agreement cannot be reached amicably, suits will be filed. The governor and attorney general have assigned W. H. Boys 'of Ottawa t& conduct the case. Quit Work |n Railroad Shops.* Sixteen aundred machinists, black- smitbsand boilermakers in the employ of the Wabash Railroad company de­ serted their posts at Springfield, De­ catur, Moberly and Port Wayne. The strike was occasioned by the inability of the machinists to secure a satisfac­ tory wage scale, and the men em­ ployed in the other departments went out in sympathy. Among those who walked out were several old machin­ ists who have been in the employ of the road a score or more> of years. tort does fall, and the great sea of water In the desert grows, to what use can lt.be put? Is the question some are asking, and M. R. Whitney, for miny years a resident of Mecca, jCal., has come forward with the amaz­ ing scheme of connecting the Salton sea with the gulf of California, and making of It an Impregnable harbor large enough to hold the fleets of the $ \ NEWS OF ^ . -- Experiment with Fuel. The University of Illinois has an en­ gineering experiment station and Prot L. P. Breckenridge has made numer- otra experiments with fuel and boiler appliances at that station. In the bul­ letin issued by this university we are told "that from broad economical con­ siderations wsptfeful methods of using coal orinjection of any combusti­ ble part as - waste should be discon­ tinued and exhaustive and careful ex­ periments will be required before the best conditions can be attained." , . Farmers, v PlahWeetfng. •>; ^ Plans for the farmers' institutes . In the four counties of the Twenty-first congressional district were discussed at a meeting of representatives of the various organizations in a conference at the St. Nicholas hotel. The pro­ gramme for .this year was discussed and speakers for the various insti­ tutes were talked of. The arrange­ ments will be made with a view of conserving the time of those on the programme and minimizing the ex­ penses. g r ' u • ' --J. -V New Banks Licensed. J State Auditor McCutfbugh issued a permit to W. B. Hiteshen, Joseph B. Crowley, E. B. Booth and William W. Arnold to organize the Farmers and Producers' bank at' Robinson, Craw­ ford county. The capital stock Is $25,- 000. A permit was also issued for the organization of the Chicago Sav­ ings Bank and Trust company of Chi­ cago. The. capital i* $200,000, and the incorporators are William E. O'Neill, Robert B. Davies and Jacob E. Dlttus. SB Principal for'Orphans'Home. The Illinois civil service commission noticed Superintendent McCauley of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Normal, to appoint Miss E. Medora Schaefer principal of the schools at the institu­ tion^. The commission approved the action of Superintendent McCauley in removing Mrs. Jane R. Loehr on a charge of insubordination. * •. Map Showing the Proposed Salton Sea Harbor. world, but designed only for the fleets o! the United States. Whitney is a man of education who spent much time over this plan, and, having-made an extensive study of hydraulic engineering, has prepared definite plans of how the trick can be turned. Ha now has two books In .press, both laid in the valley of the Saltqn sea, and both replete with in- -formationconcerning this--strangely misunderstood region. Startling as the plan is, and radical­ ly different as it is from all schemes hitherto proposed for the relief of the stricken valley, engineers lare prac­ tically a unit in the belief that it can be accomplished and at a small ex­ pense „ at that. When completed, it is ?dmltted that the finest harbor ever devised will be In the control of the United States; that very small arma­ ment will be able to defend the nar­ row mouth of the canal from all in­ vaders, whether by sea or land. ; Extending over portions of two counties, nearly 50 miles long by 20 wide, Salton sea is' rising at the rate of two feet every week. No power on earth has been able * as yet to shut off the torrent of water which, running with the speed of a millrace, Is pour* ins off the great Colorado river water­ shed Into this rink. The town of s*- ton is under 20 feet of water; so are Durmid and Prinks! Walters is threat­ ened, and, north and south, east and west, the water of this rapidly rising sea is seeking the old levels of the inland ocean. , When this tank has b&n filled up Brawley, Cafexico, Imperial, Heber, Sllsbee and Holtvllle will be under water. ,;Thc fertile Imperial valley /will then have been wiped from the map. Over it all will lie a body of salt water varying from 300 feet in depth at the center to sea level at the edges, and from almost 90 miles long by 35 wide. The barrier which holds this ssp away from the California gulf is posed of nothing but salt andf sand, brought In by the Colorado and backed up by the waters of the gulf until 1(^ has formed a fragile ridge between Hardy's Colorado, which efnpties into the gulf, dnc» the brried sea. Here at the head of the gulf will be established fortifications sufficient to guard the canal from all intruders, no matter how great their strength. But few guns will be needed for this; a disappearing carriage or so, well pre­ pared for the work of protecting the narrow entrance with one big gun on each carriage will be amply sufficient, according to one military officer to whom the matter has been referred. There ard no mountains, at least r.one of any consequence, in the way of this canal scheme, and the big ditch, when finished, will be as nearly level as it Is possible for a canal to be. In conjunction with the Panama ranal, should the latter ever become a reality, this Salton sea harbor is pointed to by one of the government engineers is the finishing touch to the great sfcheme of uniting the Atlantic- and the Pacific. With the control of the gulf of California In its hands, and this very probably will be an accom­ plished fact in a short time, for there is now a committee from the govern- HAPPENINGS OF INTEREST FROM ALL OVER THE 8TATE. SEEK SHARE OF ISTATE - Train Bandits Evade Posse. Peoria.--A search by a well organ- ment of Mexico in Washington looking I lged posse of deputy sheriffs has fajl- up nn error In the treaty of Guada-, ioupe Hidalgo, which, if rectified, will give the United States the greater part c b Sonora and several other of the North Mexican states as well as the control of a!l of Lower Ca^fprnla and the gulf--with the control of this gulf there will be provided for the United fctates the grandest harbor, in con­ junction with the great isthmian ca­ nal, that has ever been devised by fc'.unan engineers. .) I ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo^ooooopoooooooooooo THE CR0T0N DAM PARK. DEBRIS LEFT FROM BUILDING DAM IS TRANSFORMED. Landscape Artist Succeeds In Restor­ ing the Picturesque Valley in ' New York to Old-Time Beauty. Diphtheria at Spring Valley. Dr. J. C. Westervelt of Shelbyville, Inspector for the state board of health, reports that about 100 cases of diph­ theria exist %&t Spring Valley. Dr. E. S. Baker of Jacksonville has been sent to Spring VaH^y to take charge of the situation and attempt to prevent a further spread of the disease, « Massachusetts Requisition Honored. Gov. Deneen honored; a requisition from the governor of Massachusetts for the return to Boston of John G. Clark, now under arrest in Pekin, and wanted on a charge of larceny. After City Milk Dealers. Additional precautions against Springfield milk dealers are expected to follow the visit of H. E. Schuknecht and J. L. McLaughlin of the Illinois styAe food qpmmission to this city. The state' food commission,!^ con­ ducting an unrelenting^ warfare" j1--' against milk deaiers^ajM^130 prosecu tions have resultedvTqg^ cbrhmiasion- ^/;ers say thatthe^progecutions have had the effeefM securing tetter milk. They say that less forma^hyde^ls found In the milk than a few months ago. Woman Asks Heavy Damages. .. ijult for $25,000 damages for slander, jrhlch grows out of a case that has caused much excitement In the village \of Illiopoiiir, was filed in the circuit cimrt.. The plaintiff is Mrs. £adie Paschal and the defendant Is Farris Norrea, a prominent farmer. Mrs. Paschal alleged that Nor red circulat­ ed xalse stories regarding her conduct with hitf-«onp William Nor red. The .defendant in the suit is engaged in Jute land business in southwestern Mis­ souri and is said to be worth at least ,#100,000. *; a. Low/Rates to State Fair. » AH railroads entering Springfield fere advertising exceedingly low rates for the Illinois state fair. The maxi­ mum rate from any point in Illinois will be four doliars, and a special .rate is made for towns within a radius o£> 200 miles. Special attention will flatft-'glyen to toWns in central Illinois, and^oally^ excursions will arrive in thiifcit^/eirly in the morning and will noc depart until late at night. This plan has been decided upon to givp one day visitors ample time to all attractions. New Town May Start. By the acquiring of coal rights mid­ way l^tween Pawnee and Taylorvllle, along the right of way of the Chicago & Illinois Midland railway extension to Taylorvllle a new industrial town is promised. The distance between Pawnee and Taylorvllle is 18 miles, and the location" is favorable for a town. The Peabody Coal company has acquired coal rights to the lands for a distance of two milel. The com pany has a mine at Pawnee and plans arte under way to" sink another shaft at TavlorvlHe. In the building of thelgiganiic spill way at the Croton dapi where en­ gineering skill has succeeded in pro­ viding Greater New York with an ade­ quate and pure supply of drinking wa­ ter, there were mountains of rock and sand amd debris left, which disfigured the beautiful valley and destroyed its former picturesqueness. ' But the landscape artist has.taken hold of the task of transforming these unsightly piles of debris and rarely is seen to better effect his skill than in the disposition which he has made of the various banks of excavated rock and sand and the huge amount of general debris, which disfigured the otherwise picturesque valley of the Croton river below the new dam, dur­ ing the years that the work of build­ ing was in progress. These banks bf excavated material were rieS&BSarlly of large proportions, as will be under­ stood w,hen we state that before the masonry of the dam could be built in place, it was necessary, according to figures of the Scientific American,, to excavate 1,750,000 cubic yards of e&rth and 425,000. cubic yards of rock. The greater part of this mate­ rial was carried down the valley and. • dumped into large spoil banks, which extended In some cases for thousands of feet. Although, after the masonry of the dam had been car­ ried up above the original level of the bed of the river, a large amount of the excavated material was used for fill­ ing in the excavated trench and re­ storing the original bed of the valley, there yet remained a vast amount of debris below the reservoir. The finishing touches to the Croton dam consisted mainly in the erection of a 20#-foot steel-arch bridge across the spillway,, the laying of the roadbed of the 18-foot driveway across this bridge and over the crest of the dam from bne side of the valley to the' other, and the formation of an orna­ mental park on the downstream side of the structure. The last-named work involved the grading down and form­ ing into terraces of the debris, the construction of a central^fountain, and thp laying out of a series of driveways a®d footpaths, of which latter two lead from the fountain to the foot of the steps, by which the ascent may be made at two different points to the crest of the^ dam, while a driveway leads to a 150-foot steel bridge across the bed pf the Croton river, whence it extends to a connection with the main road leading down to Croton Landing station. Tbe 18-foot driveway along the crest of the dam forms a connect­ ing link between two macadamized roads, which follow the shore of the new Croton lake, and form a continu­ ous ride over 40 miles in extent. This road crosses the various arms of the lake by handsome steel bridges car­ ried on granite piers, and it is destined ultimately to form one of the most Section Croton Dam Park. picturesque drives in the .vicinity of Greater New York. " - The total length of the dam from the southerly abutment to the bridge Is 1,168 feet, and the length of the spillway from the bridge to its ter­ minus up the valley is 1,000 feet, mak­ ing a total length of masonry of 2,168 feet. The 1,000 ifeet of spillway pro- yides completer security against dam­ age by sudden floods. A* tlfe waters flow over the spillway they enter a wide channel blasted out of the rocky side of the hill, and they are led be­ neath the steel arch bridge down to a new artificial channel, which ultimate­ ly directs them into the oldjtod of the Croton river. How It Looked to Her. The Friend--I hear you >are going to marry young Wilde to reform him. The Maid--Your hearing is good. The Friend--Well, If you don't suc­ ceed, you won't be able to keep him out of jail. . The Maid--That's all right. If he doesn't reform, I'll not want to keep him out*--Chicago Daily News. Didn't Learn her Age. "To-day," remarked the pretty .young widow, "is the fifth anniversary of my marriage." a "Indeed! And at what age were you married?" asked the bachelor, who thought to get next to the number of years she had sojourned on earth. "At the parsonage,' 'answered the p. y. w. as she winaed her other eye. --Chicago Dally News. Couldn't Be Both. "Pa!" "For goodness' sake, what is |fc now?" ••• .--- - "This book Is called 'Shakespeare's Works.'" "Well?" "Well, you told me they was plays." --Cleveland Leader. . -- r -- . . ' • Blina. "t djdn't know he was such a mean man." "You didn't! Gee! You couldn't see a bunch of pink ribbon through a peek-a-boo waist."---Houston Post. Descendants of Joseph Emrlck of New York Believe They Are Entitled '; to Millions of Dollars. Bloomington.--Armstead Emrlck, of Montgomery county, has gone to New York city to meet representatives of the family who have been in Germany for some time investigating an estate valued at $42,000,000 to which the Emrlcks claim heirship. There are said to be eight heirs liv­ ing, two Emrlck brothers, of Montgom­ ery county, this state, and their father, of Germantown, O., being among the number. The estate was founded by John and Joseph Emrick, of Berlin, Germany, and was accumulated large­ ly In the fur business with John Jacob Astor. By the will recorded In New York it was found that Joseph Emrick died In 1819. Tf»tfta-ANTH ROPI ST'S LIFE 1ND3 04RDEN BLANCHING CELERY. How Paper May Be Made to Serve the Purpose. Blanching celery with paper is usu­ ally practiced on the early plants for the reason, says Prairie Farmer, that during hot weather there is less dan­ ger of rot. The accompanying lllus- The Late George P. Lord, of Elgin* ed to result In the arrest of any of the men charged with attempting to hold-up the Rock Island passenger train north of Peoria. The officers followed a clew furnished by a boat liveryman, who rented a skiff to two men at dark. The boat was found across the Illinois river, and the sup­ position is that the bandits escaped in that direction. Horse Thieves at Work. Rock Island.--Sheriff Heider has received word from Sheriff Stlers, of Henry county, notifying him that the horses were'-stolen in that county. Both are five-year-olds>sjOne is a light gray mare weighing aBout 1,250 pounds and the other is a dark brown horse weighing about 1,400 pounds, with a strip on foot and one hind foot white. A reward of $100 is offered for the arrest and conviction of the thief or thieves. Red Men Will Celebrate. Lincoln.--Representatives of the dif­ ferent Red Men's lodges in Logan county met here and decided to hold a Logan county pow-wow at Mt. Pu­ laski Friday, October 12. It is ex­ pected to have a big time and invita­ tions will be sent to all the Red Men's lodges in the surrounding towns to participate in the festivities. Faces Serious Charge. Peoria.--Herbert B. Dickinson, the former head of the defunct Home Sav­ ings & Investment company, with of­ fices in the Y. M. C. A. building, is un­ der arrest ta Des Moines, la., charged* with the murder of a young woman of that city, who died after a criminal operation had been performed. - . ---- Will Employ American Labors Decatur.--Contractors in charge of the construction of the new Wabash shops have decided to employ Ameri­ can labor only. They have experi­ enced some trouble with foreigners, and special agents, have been sent to surrounding towns to offer places to Americans. : Aged Woman Dead. Albany.--Mrs. Phoebe Ann Cook died here at the age of 105 years. So far as known, she was the oldest white woman Jn this state. She leaves two sons, 78 and 76 years of age, a grand­ son 55 years of age, a great-grandson 22 years old, and a great-great-grand­ daughter Six months old. J. M. Longenecker Deads Chicago.'--Joel M. Lonenecker former state's attorney, "died at his home,. No. 4125 Vincennes avenue, after an illness of several months. He had been suffering with acute liver trouble since last spring, and a week ago returned from Paw Paw lake, Michigan, unimproved in health. - Veteran Civil Engineer Dead* •Lock-port.--A. J. Mathewson died at the advanced age of 91 years. Mr. Mathewson was born In New York state and came to Illinois in 1S37. He was the last surviving official who was engaged in the construction of the Illi­ nois canal and was widely known as a civil engineer. Pana Woman Suffers Broken Arm. Pana.--Mrs. Jacob Carney fell and broke her left arm. She was in the barn loft, when she stepped upon a loose board and fell. Conners" Quits Bloomington Tfcam. Bloomington. -- William Conners, manager of the Bloomington team since the Three Eye league was or­ ganized six years ago, resigned, due to the weak showing of the team this season. Lightning Causes Loss. Carlinville.--During a storm ning struck (the large barn on the farm of Mrs. W. E. Taylor in Brushy Mound township, six miles south of this city, and killed a valuable horse that was in the bam. * " - Blanching C^bery^ 'With Paper. tratlon shoWs a plan for blanching a celery plant with tile and paper. As shown, the stalks are collected In a tile and wrapped in heavy paper so as to exclude the light A stake Is driven near to the plant to partially support.- Any method that does not injure the plant and will exclude the light will answer the purpose. GOOD SEED CORN. Some of the Important Points Which It May Be Known. by Some of^ the more Important ob­ servations to be made' in the selection of seeds are: Yield, quality, uniform­ ity, hardiness, time of ripening, free­ dom from attacks of smut and rust, and, in the case of small grain, the stiffness of the straw. The corn crop requires, perhaps, as great care in the selection as any other, and merits special attention, says the Prairie Farmer. The rapid improvement that has been made in this crop, combined with the readi­ ness with which the different varieties cross and mix, renders it extremely subject to variation. Constant care Is necessary in order to establish the desirable qualities that are brought out in these variations and to more thoroughly eradicate those not desir­ able. Some of the points to be observed In the selection of seed corn are: 1. The size and shape of ear; ear should approach as -nearly as may be a uniform diameter from end to end. 2. Size and quality of cob, a me­ dium sized cob being much better than a large, spongy one. 3. Depth of grain. 4. Shape of grain; grains should carry their wedge shape uniformly to the end, so that the ear may present as nearly as possible a solid' surface. 6. Covering of cob; cob should be as completely and evenly covered as possible at both ends. 6. Hardness of grain, too hard and flinty a grain not being readily mas­ ticated and digested. A hard grain, also, is .more liable to be a.shallow one. 7. Grains of even, uniform size and similar shape, to make possible uni­ formity of planting. 5. Color of grain, purity of color indicating purity of the corn. AN ENCOURAGING SIGN. ' | ' 'i ^ • • . | 1 Increase of Knowledge Among Farm* - er»' Means Better Farming. I , -• j fta^ently fame have expressed tha | Idea that the people living in the t country are not increasing in in- | formation relative to the scientific | handling of stock and the methods IQ. | vogue among scientists in the cuiti-- | vation of the soil. This is a mis­ take, says Farmers' Review. Agri­ cultural science Is gaining among our farmers and is destined to gain moie rapidly as the years go on. It was ^ natural that at first the progress should be slow. A body of 5,000,00(1 persons is not to be moved in a hurry. It is an aggregation of hu­ man beings so vast that no one caa conceive of its real Import. | It must be remembered, too, that I at first the means for affecting this great Mass and moving it were very meager. When our agricultural col­ leges were organized there were ferv men capable of acting as instructors, for the universities of the country had not been fitting men to teach ag­ ricultural science. In many cases men ' had to be taken out of the fields and . the creameries to teach in the col­ leges. While they had a great deal of practical information, they had not studied systematically the mass of i agricultural information that had been accumulated, and were but poorly pre­ pared to teach it. « ' It is only within the past 15 years that most of our 'agricultural colleges have been well enough equipped to become aggressive. Now, however, the material for teachers and instructors is abundant and great work is being done. That the farmers are being reached is demonstrated by the increasing attendance at farmers' meetings and in the agricultural col­ leges. Information is being spread rapidly by word of mouth. Complaint Is made that the bulletins issued by the stations are not widely read by the farmers. - This is because it takes something of a student to take liter­ ary matter and really absorb it, mak­ ing it into something having force. But in each locality are a few men that have this ability and they spread the information by word of mouth and by example. There are numerous factors that are operating to bring about a better con­ dition in the not distant future. One of these factors is the taking of more interest in agriculture by the men that have money and at the same time have a fair knowledge of farm­ ing matters. These men are buying--- farms and are putting Into practice on them modern methods of * agriculture. The farms so handled become object lessons. Other farmers follow the lead of i the most enterprising, unless they lack the will and the ability to learn. There are some of the latter class, but they are destined to disap­ pear during the next generation or two, for the reason that others will buy their farms, which will have be­ come unjirofltable to the present, owners. It Is becoming Increasingly difficult to farm without thought and still make money. Farmers nyist make more money from their farms to-day than they used to, because they haV<» more expenses. The expenses cannot be avoided, and must increase as pop­ ulation becomes denser and the price of land higher. With the increase of knowledge of how to handle land, farmers will be able to balance the Increasing expenses with increasing, returns. \ POINTS WORTH NOTING* For late lettuce sow In partial shade. Spinach for . eaVly Bprlng "greens" should be sown about the 10th of this month. It is the wasp, and not the honey bee, <. that punctures the grape. The bees profit from the work j)t the wasp. Close by the side of the road is the best place for the garden, for then you will have pride in keeping it clean. Keep a supply of early^potatoes dug and at the house, so,r2ttat your wife can get it them; dop't let her dig them. N Keep the tomato plants1 off the ground. Nothing rots the fruit quick­ er or more surely than falling to the earth. Weeds will keep right on growing, whether anything else In the garden does or not. Don't 1st a single one go to seed, though. How is the crop of boys and girls at your house this year? Good? Glad of It! No matter whether the corn and wheatS and all- things go wrong, if the harvest of young ; folks Is all right; Well Arranged Fields. The shape of the fields Into which the farm 13 divided will have much to do with the - utility of the farm. In some sections of the country the fields are still divided in a very awkward manner, especially In those sections where stone walls are common. The present divisions are arbitrary and have been handed down from past years. The reasons that gave rise to the divisions at first have long since ceased to exist. When the land was cleared little by little it wa3 neces­ sary to fence in the cleaned portions. There is, hewever, no need of contin­ uing the old arrangements after the conditions have changed JJse Rubber Hose. One of the New York correspond­ ents of Farm Journal writes: "I have had quite a little experience with the different ways of removing obstruc­ tions from the throats of choking cat­ tle, and fitii that a short piece of rub­ ber hose is the best thing to use. The hose admits air, and is not apt to slide by the obstruction; therefore it is better than a whip-stock or any solid Instrument" ' SPREADING HAY IN MOW. Simple Device by Which the Hump In Center Is Avoided* I put my hay in barn by large hay fork, which runds on track, writes a correspondent of Rural New Yorker. The hay naturally falls In the center, and is hard to mow away. I nailed dozen inch boards together with cross pieces on under side, and buns For Distributing Hay Mow. as per diagram. When the forkfttl reaches the slide, the man above no* tifles. the man on load to trip fork, and it slides to desired location. When one side has enough, slide la reversed. A GOOD WEEDER. May Be Made Out of a Piece of Hoes Iron. For weeding onions and other gar­ den truck 1 use a small tool made of hoop iron, says correspondent of Farm and Home, it Is bent as shown in the cut. is three-quartersof an inch wide and quite stiff. The blade is slightly sharpened on a grind stone. It Is the best tool for weeding I ever saw. In order to protect yie hand from the metal edge of the han­ dle it can be bound with twine. This will not only give a more comfortable hold, but it Will afford a firmer grasp of the tort When usin^, and hence enable one to work faster. Don't Forget. ^ When you finish shingling that building, don't forget/ and leave the boards there which you nailed on to keep yourself from slipping off. Tafca them off when you are through, or, later, you will be likely to find son* rotten shingles under them.-- Journal. ) '