"e kerGhoaiat ce This Department te for the use of our farm readers who want tne seatlon "©f an expert on any question regarding soll, seed, crops, etc. If your que Je of sufficient general Interest, It will be answered through this agers sete stamped and addressed envelope is enclosed with your fetter, a rater &néwer will be mailed to you. nediess Agronomist, care of Wilson Pub Co., Ltd., 73 Adelaide St. W., Toronto. \it as fine with the' cage eh bag 'as is feasible as each shovelfu aration of garden soil we must take rt Pi Swedish gardener claimed (89 into of the best method o i Rapottance, ' mete Geet ts soil was to shovel one trench -- character of the soil itself. Is it the front of a bed and dig por loose and easily worked? Is it a stiff, toward you with a = ah - limestone clay? Is it a sandy loam? Which, in effect, was merely tre Is it stony, gravelly, shaley or slaty? ing. 1 Another factor is the location of the , cor em - koh! 7 oie can te : lot to be worked. If it lies low and' Condition, ¢ in is damp and cold it must not be work- | = b ES ee Tr ed with until it has been properly feet is dug ut be drained, although if only a portion of ; Not, better wait until there has -- a) it is soggy that portion can stand un- "ain and then do it after it gets ry til later on, to be then drained, ag will enough. i be told later, and the warm, dryer por-: Success with a garden depends very! tion worked' as soon as the season ad-| largely upon the manner a an mits ; soil has been put into condition wi All fertile soils contain soil bacteria, the rake. Too many persons merely : which are minute plants of a low order | Use the rake to chop the top fine, leav- | , which attack the vegetable matter in'img large clods in the interior of the the soil and decompose it by fermenta- | ass, W hich have been missed with the! tion, releasing the plant food, especial-' § ovel. This is not good practice, | ly nitrogen, for the use of the plants.! To get good results with the rake! This is known as organic release.| use it as though it were a mattock, | There is also a chemical] release of; chopping along the edge of the dug | plant food in the soil, such as we get) soil, pulling it toward you enough to; when we put on lime, which unlocks, get the teeth of the take down be-! the plant food and makes it-available | hind that portion, and pull another lot | for the use of the roots of the plants.! forward after being made fine. In preparing « garden soil for plant-' This involves walking an the dug; ing it is necessary to turn it by the' soil, but if it is in proper condition! spade or shovel, as this aerate. it and this will not matter, as, after it is all; brings the more or less sour portion) chopped up, you must go over it again of the soil to the top, where it gets | anyhow, to smooth and level it, and | light and sunshine; and the top por- | work it into beds of the required size} tion which has been sweetened more | and shape. or less by these factors, is turned un-' Large Beds are Best der with a dressing of manure or oth-; The practice of working the garden| © er vegetable matter on which the with the rake into many small beds is bacteria can feed to release more plant a wasteful one. Many gardens lose | food. =: one-fourth of their growin space by} There are several ways of digging | this practice, and it is unnecessary. | to get good results. One is to take 4/It does not hurt the soil to tread upon | | width" of the shovel, as deep as it/it to plant and work it, and you will! will go, across the bed and then go] gain by working it into one large bed | back and scoop out two or four inches} ang laying out the plantings with the} ™ of the subsoil and scatter it over the garden line. The effect is much bet-| top of the unraked earth Another ter when the crops come up and there ---- the bed by the following | is no loss of space. BEERS In the working of the soil there will Beginning at the left-hand end of 4 considerable thrown into the walks. bed, throw out a width of two shovels, This should be worked back with the back to the end of the bed, deep en-| rake and the edges made straight and ough to catch an inch or two of the even. It is beat to raise the beds six subsoil. Going to the front again, dig| to eight inches above the walks to in- Bethe. width of. tyro shovels and sure better drainage. h "the first two sh vel width onThis should be repeated until the whole bed is dug, when you will have reversed the position .of the entire soil-mass and at the same time well aerated the soil and broken it apart as fully as it can be done with an im plement used for digging. This is! neither as complicated noras laborious | as it would seem, oe Garden Soil. we come to consider the pre- Z crops on rows or hills, as this insures quick drainage and rewarming by the sun. Such plants grow more quickly than if planted on the level, and we use this method for early ones, where , quickest growth is necessary. In view of this, it is well, when pre-, ; aring the soil, to make the rows or! hills while raking the soil. For this! and is considered ! purpose go over the properly fined soil, by English gardeners the perfect | ; with the hoe, scraping the earth into a| method. oo ; ; | ridge six to eight inches high., To get | How To Test The Soil it straight run the garden line along' As the intention is to make the soil. the top edge on each side and hoe to it. as fine as possible, not only through-! As it is a fact that a plant set on out the entire mags, but on top for the south side of a ridge will mature, seedbed, it should not be dug until it is) sooner than one set on top, when feas- in the proper condition. This can be! ible, run the rows in a general east- tested in this manner: | and- -west direction. When the ridge Take up as much of the soil as can, is finished, go over the top with the be held in one hand. Close the hand, | hoe and cut a slice of soil with one squeezing the soil into a ball, firmly. ' motion (to keep it smooth) out of the Release the grip, and if the soil fails 'edge of the south side. On this slant- apart or crumbles, it is fit to cig. If; ing space the plant will be placed. it remains in a compact ball it is too! This is done only for early vegetables moist for good work. If dug in the! grown from transplanted plants. | latter condition, it will be in hard; If potatoes are to be planted in the lumps throughout the bed, und it will space to be dug, it will be as well not! be difficult to get a fine seedbed on' to go over it with the rake as closely ' the top. By seedbed in this connec-! as for the smaller garden crops. Work tion is meant a top portion of two 'to! it into furrows with the rake, using | three inches as fine as coarse sand,! the garden line to get them straight. into which the seeds are planted. IF or potatoes the soil should be loose-- If the soil be sandy, pebbly, gravel-, a sandy or gravelly one is best. After. ly or shaley, and is in good physical! several workings with the hoe the, condition it will crumble off the shovel ' potatoes will be on ridges, as the soil and can be thrown off with a sidewise |} is worked around them, giving them| séattering motion. However, with; good drainage and a warm soil--two the limestone loams it.is best to chop l things they need. ' } MORCKVACK ee SKE MHSED EERE | just say you will? = You'll 1 find aber! at & things will fall into place if once you a opportunmies $ resolve that they shall." 1 ; a , "I--T'll think about it," uncertainly. ' With that Jessica hdd to content herself as best she could. was | very fond of Peggy, and that was why she controlied her tongue by a splen-; said Peggy Jessica, pinning on her 'hat. frown-, ed as she saw in the mirror Peggy picking up things about the room. Olga's eyes were red, but Jessica was. ; too busy to notice. It was Peggy who, coming down-' stairs a quarter of an hour later, did notice. "Why, Olga," she cried, "what's the matter? Didn't you understand that | you could go out for the afternoon?" | 4 . "I should think, Peggy, that you gig effort. Down in the hall she hur-! ES would wi ant to be doing something ried by Olga, the new Swedish maid. ! ey worth while," she said, "instead of spending all your time on odds and ends." ; Peggy stopped with a troubled look in her eyes. "I wish I could. I'd Tove to so.- But, somehow, there seem to be so many odds and ends to do." "There always will be if you put ge them first," Jessica said in her clear, Olga shook her head. "TI tank not "sure voice. _ "Don't you see, Peggy, go. In stores dey laugh. I don't that anybody in the world could let her like laugh." time get filled up by odds and ends? Peggy stood , thinking it out. till "You mean se yo to buy some- thing?" she asked. "And you don't like to go to the stores to ask for it?" "T tank," Olga repeated as her fair face reddened, "I not go.' An hour later, Jessica, 'trying on gray shoes in Gregory's while at the same time she discussed club finances with her friend, Flo Hastings, looked uP at Flo's sudden exclamation. Why, Jessica, isn't that your sister ng that Swedish girl buy shoes? didn't tell-me that she was in the One simply has to make up her mind to put the big things first, that's all; make up her mind and then stick to it." "I know," Peggy responded. But her voice sounded as if she did not know at all. "There's that class of Italian girls. You could do beautifully with them, Pessy, if yoy just would. © Don't you what a chance it is to do some-| thing really. patriotic--to teach them to be real-citizens? Why don , "helpi t you) You } and for this reason we raise poacher 2 work, tod. be fine! "Isn't she. girl have a good time--just buying shoes!" 'She--why, that's our new Swedish maid," Jessica answered rriedly 5 '| "Peggy isn . doing anything at rid ! club, I couldn't get her to. She says she hasn't the time. What do you think of these shoes, Flo?" - "Lovely," Flo replied, but she se: in a perfunctory manner. She y watching Peggy and Olga, and think. ing one or two new thoughts. A Present From ? orley. As a package, rather dingy and bat- tered at the corners'and several times readdressed, was put into her hands Aunt Clarissa laughed delightedly, "It's my birthday present from Fidelia Bonney. She always sends one,--she hasn't missed since we were schoolgirls,--and I was just as uneasy as could be when it didn't come. J was afraid that she must be sick, or that Uncle Si had one of his 'dying spells' again." "Why don't you open it} auntie?" | demanded her namesake--who prefer- red to be called Clarice. "Here are my Scissors. Aunt Clarissa shook her head in good-natured disapproval at her niece, "You're a hustling daughter of the great metropolis, Clarice," she said good-naturedly, "but I'm Norley born and bred, and I can taste my pleas- | ures without bolting them whole. Just :look at that address, please--right in the first place; then crossed out and put wrong, and crossed out twice more, readdressed, and then hack to the right one again. Fidelia new where I'd be,--I'd told her, special,-- 1 should think she woutg| INTERNATIONAL LESSON ba ae Ts eacemacty JANUARY 27. Address Dr. Joba 'voro 48|Lesson IV.--Jesus oc. Woigiving Sin.-- Mark 2. 1-12. Golden Text, Mark 2. 10. Verse 1. Again into Capernaum-- The enthusiasm aroused by the youl ant lapad made it necessary for him change his plans, so he ends his brie? circuit among the synagogues of Gali- lee and comes 'back--Matthew says from the otherside of the lake. Noised that he was in the house--That is, that he had returned home. In all agg rien in the home of Simon. 2. No room even about the door--A co ae Those ' Baby's Developaiant Ii Seventh month: Astonlakmment | shown by open mouth and eyes. ae) ognizes nurse after four weeks' a sence. Signs. Imitates erraiatal of head and of pursing lips. Averts head as sign of refusal, as one should | say, "Nothing doing." Places him-}| self upright on the lap. sounds and sights; at imitations of: cries of animals. Ninth Month: Stands on feet with-| out support. Shows increasing inter-' est in things in general or (in evglu- | tionist parlance) gets in touch with! in harmless curiosity will crush) his environment. Strikes hands with' foto a house on'the advent of strang-| joy. Shuts eyes and turns head away | ers, The extraordinary Item here was at things disagreeable. Fears'a dog. the presence of the great Healer. He} Turns over, like one of those bounc-' spake the word untg them--Was ing toys, when laid face downward. | apening Sie pessas of good neWs,/ Turns head to light when asked where | = ad eaan «ck a the palsy--An|the light is. Questions are under-| episode of intense interest, wonderful-| Stood before it can speak. Its voice | ly augmenting the excitement, Four neighbors . bring their paralyzed friend, but a they cannot even get! near the doo ey uncovered Pig root--Liter.| ally, "dug out the ro One of the graphic re of the eagerness of; the e--excited, pressing crowds, chrongin, all available space, as is the case to-day, occasionally in a Pales- pa village where the entire popu- ever none of its potency. Tenth Month: Sits up without sup- ;port in bath and carriage. Fir attempts at walking in forty-first; | week. Beckoning 'imitated. peso] epost P istaes in all the Gospel narra | Parents in their absence. Will*m but Joe Lake at the post office thought 'Boston' was a slip for 'Boiton,' and ) changed it, to be obliging. I'm gen- erally in Bolton with Cousin Anna at this time, as Joe knows very well." "But surely a post-office official wouldn't-- "Joe Lake would! He's Joc Lake first, which means everybody's friend in genera] and Sister Sally's old beau 'in particular, and he's an official after- ards. He wouldn't meddle with a cata address, but I'm 'Clarry' to him still, just as I was when he used to bribe me with peppermints to go and play in the far.end of the garden while ; he called on SNly. That's the et Bearing the sick man on his pallet,! 4 single ninepin ina set. Cannot at carry him up the stone steps on the | repeat a syllable. outside of the house, leading to the. siderable talent as a momologist and, . elow, posiug * hole big enoogh to let | own the paralytic into the very pre-! sence of the Saviour. 7 life habit. . Jesus seeing their faith--Made| Stamps. evident by their persistence in over-| Begins to whisper. coming every obstacle which stood in| cabulary. Can utter b, p, t, d, m, n, the way of getting their friend into, f, l. g, k; vowels a most used; u and! his presence, een also in their ab-} 9 rare, i very rare solate confidence in his ability to inal, \ The sick man himself was probably) ~ unable to express himself, but no, Stands without support. Correctly repeats syllables. "By Joho B. Huber, MA, M.D. = ee een ak i ae Ae GOOD-HEALTH-OU = 2 MS : > . i = Dr. Huber will answer al sign nedtet Lem perp | is of generai interest ft. il Eighth Month: Is astonished at new. becomes more modulated, losing how- | | But exhibits con-) | flat roof, and dig through the sod and | imitator, as: maa, pappa, tta, | dirt and' branches covering the roo /appapa, baba, tataa, pa, rrrrrrr, timbers, while the debris rattled down! rrrrrraa. ; a into the. midst of the listening throng! Eleventh Month: Screaming is) ag its vo-| Ks TON. ters pertaining to 'Health. if you these columns 3 who sow courtesy reap friendship. out help. », Obevs the command, "Give the hand. Greer dias AND ANSWERS. Temper Mark. My baby girl of 4% months has a mark between the eyes, shaped some- abut like a V. Somctimes you can , See it real plain; and then again it is {quite dim. Is this a birth mark-or a temper mark? Do you think she will prnerey it? It shows more when she cries or frets. Only for that she is a dandy baby. Can a baby that has had whooping cough for 8 months give it? Answer--Such' marks, if they are _ birth marks, are very apt to disap- pear in time. If teniper marks and in girl babies, they ure not so very sure to outgrow them. 'Depends on ; how Mamma brings 'em up. possible for such a baby , Whooping cough to others. Chilblains. As long as I can remember I have | wat chilbrains. As early as Septem- | ber my feet begin to itch and this con- tinues throughout the winter. Answer--Mailing you the right in- formation. to Underweight. Please advise me what to do to make my husband gain in weight. ' Answer--Very willingly. But you | send me only your initials and without ddress. Send stamped and_ self- directed" envelepe and I will forward uieted by "sh." Sitting becomes its. information by return mail. Eezema of Ear. J am troubled with catarrhal deaf- Also itching of both ears which very sore from stratching and | rubbing. Is there any relief for same? nswer--Send stamped and_ self- } { | ! Twelfth Month: Pushes chair. Can-| | Girected envelope and information wil) not as yet raise itself or walk with-' j at once be mailed to you. doubt there had been aroused in him a! -- great hope as his confident friends lit-|, ._ way. So the box went to Bolto = Cousin Anna wasn t sure hare: lig | Cousin Mary sent to back to Fidelia, his condition was due to some personal | 2 and Fidelia sent it on to me. Now, I'll open it--" "O Aunt Clarissa! Candied+mint;™ and rose leaves! Why, that doesn't seem a bit, like a--well, a village offer- ing. I never saw them anywhere ex- | cept in the Christmas parlor of. the| | veces n's pera Noh a ee pers with pi sori' peppermiit sticks: chewing gum, and gluey candy lumps on sticks--the kind ot things you find in a country store "No," said Aunt Clarissa, delicately | nibbling a rose leaf, "they couldn't and; they didn't. But they're a 'village offer- ing' allthe same. There's been mint. along Fidelia's brook since before the! Indians deeded over th e farm, and! | cinnamon roses up against the house oe oe wall since it was built, and the big hundred-leaf growing by the Confectioners and exchanges | are well enough, but when I get a pre-! sent from Norley, child, it's the kind | that's never sold and never bought, | and never can be. Not at any price." But that was verging very near sentiment for Miss Clarissa. She! changed her tone briskly: "Try a mint leaf, Clarice. Mint's always such a good, clean taste to finish with." _-- "Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace." ~-Tennyson. Brass polished with oil and rotten stone will have a deep rich yellow tone. 'his réstored powers. Some of the 'old! illustrators represent the paralytic as shouldering a four-post bedstead. 12, Straightway--The man is whole! and every mark of disease has vanish- | wrongdoing. The generic idea of sin, 'amared--'The cure" 'was open t0| - ae hg le pen 4 Ber Swe | every eye, and the event justified the erally broke their way to the gracious Heal Son--A word with a shade} , and an encouragement to; Sins--Suggesting that! assurance that the Sotrof man had the 'al avaie both gd tei beast Bes" authority." Glvited God~The mur | giv en--Not merely a cure ta his} Muring and disgruntled scribes are silent, for nothing can be said against the marvelous restoration of the sick man. They recognized in it the hand of "bhyacal condition, but a removal of galt accordance with the Jewish idea ba that restoration and forgiyeness "Scribe tee ee 'of seus. with these influen Jewish teachers, the guardians and_interpre- ters of the law. They were 'watching -- When you ou cut up resh * ly slaughered, the a soon A Conservation Family. | Jack Spratley Sweet always ate meat Three times a day, or four; His wife liked it as well as "Jack, That was before the war. But now hse son's "somewhere in Fra They're glad to "do their bit," They live on wheatless, meatless meals, And they are proud of it. Parker House rolls can be made [with a little cornmeal in them. ould Those who feed corn to 'cattle sh vata | dull and does not take hold. Tack a| bear in mind that 40 per cent. of the: strip of good quality emery-cloth on/| food value is in the stalks and leaves. the board or table and frequently and| A silo enables one to get 100 per cent, jeverything, 's saying nothing, but in- tensely criticising -- objecting, "rea- 'first three Gospels, ae ae feet Beste quickly draw your knife over it. e blasphemeth--Assumes God's value from the corn crop. prerogative in pronouncing the for- giveness of sin 8. Perceiving in his spirit--He per-, ceived this intuitively as he cis on: (John 2. 24, 15 | h is easier to s say--He_ a on-| ,trasts two declarations--which is the! more difficult claim to make, to heal | the paralytic or to forgive his sins. 'The contrast is not between Heng ted and forgiving, but between saying ' "John, how far is it to Toronto?" , Mrs. Simmons asked as she dropped an armful of wood into the box: "About 143 miles---why do you want | forgiven" or "be healed." "| | 10. at ye may know--He now, to know? gives "a practical test as to whether | "Well, I've always. wanted to go e has this authority or not. The there, and I've about decided to do it." | forgiveness is shown by the cure, just John stared. It was not customary jas the sin had manifested itself in the} in the Simmons family for his wife to disease. Son of man--This is| 4 ids thines. Jesus' favorite title for himself in the| = ngs . : ; In Mark it oc-; Her next question was quite 48 as- curs fourteen times. Son of man' tonishing. "Do you know how far it was a Messianic title, as is seen in| is to that wood-pile and back?" This Dan. 7. 13-27, but Jesus' use of it 'time her husband waited for her to identifies him with humanity as a} give the answer. whole. "He is i our elder rihgrrlg "Tf you don't know, as show Vil tell you. on ti divine authority. ake up thy bed--The mat oe! pallet, which could be easily rolled up, | and in doing which he would displa ibe a day to feed the stove, I've "= =! Tt won't take me so long to go to Toronto, for I have done a lot_of side- stepping all along." John Simmons considered himself quite a hand at figures, so before at- pencil and did a little multiplying. "You're right, by gum, but I don't see what Toronto's got to do with it." "It's not so hard to see. Between. you and me and the wood box I've the scenery wasn't so much, and there was a good deal of sameness about the places I 'arrived at. That's why I've decided to try a new route." ohn was puzzled. "I don't knov yet just what you're driving at, but if it's the wood box what do you want , Jess told me how Bert had fixed theirs. He built a good tight box alongside the stove, and cut a hole through the wall so it can be filled from the outside. If we had! one right here it would save walking | half way around the house in the first place, and I wouldn't have to go clear across the kitchen every time I wanted | a stick of wood.' John heard, but he hadn't quite re-! covered from the astounding discovery | of a few moments since. "Six hun- dred miles! Well, I never thought: about that before. But 1 reckon we ppc nemceetn By Catherine Dodge rips a day to the wood-pile, and ter walked about 600 mile: in the last) arourid the sink, an ; twenty years for just that one thing.! the table, and those she has to have tacking the main issue he pulled out a! done some right smart travelling, but | WHEN MOTHER THREATENED TO WALK | of an inside-outside self- starter ov er in the corner there for your ma "Sure, pa, one of those fiebinbs ladies from the College came up to school the other day, and she told us | shot that 'and a lot of other things' she said we boys might'do. I wonder how many miles ma has walked for that egg-beater?" She had. just gone i the length of the long kitchen. "If she had a shelf over the table, and a strip under it to hang up the things she uses all the time, it would save some of those trips she has been ae about," Jack went on. "She Ito use them. Ui morrow's a holiday, of plan out the tell you, pa, to- and if ma'll sort things she needs d what she uses at | abou: the stove, we'll just see if we ;can't go Bert Evan's wood box one better--and I don't know "any reason | why I-can 'trkeep it filled. Say, ma, lany cookies in that jar? John Simmons was proud of his boy He's got a pretty good head on him, 'and he isn't afraid to do more than | he's asked," John was thinking, while 'the more-than-pleased mother was ' silently making her plans for the lit- tle conveniences she :hould have had twenty years before. Presently, John picked up his pen- cil again and did some more figuring. After a few busy moments he !coked up at the boy who was mentally meas- uring off spaces. "Jack, did you know that your mother and I'd been married just twenty years come next month? . The only wedding trip we took was 'across the county, though according 'to-her figures she might have walked around the world several times,-----so I guess it's about time she got a little lift on the steam-cars. I've been thinking we might manage to go to ' Toronto for a sort of celebration next month and take you along,--i# your ma'd just as soon ride on the cars; I | don' t exactly hanker to walk, myself." Speechy was always. slow with Mrs. Simmons, but her eyes glistened. They had wasted a lot of precious time and . strength, to be sure, but her hus- i< t can fix up that wood box somehow.| band's heart had-stayed in the same When I go motoring with dad, T cannot help ee I would leave the miles behind, f I were ut th Say, Jack." he turned to a sixteen-! | spot all these years, and her boy would year-old boy Who had been an inter-' know better how to avoid such mis- ested listener, "what's all your' car-| takes. Qh, how hard she would try penter work up at schoo] good for if to help them to get the ane ge life you can't help me rig up some sort might hold! but feel re wheel.