Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1895 — Page 3

FOB LITTLE FOLKS.

SHADOW TABLEAUX AND HOW TO GIVE THEM. •Can Only Be Shown at Night in * Darkened Room —How to Produce with Living Models Those Illustrated in Thia Article. Fun for an Evening. Shadow tableaux or pictures have been before presented to you under the name of silhouettes, that have been shown for the most part singly, while the present ones are represented In

FIGURE NO. 1.

groups, some of which are really very laughable. The pictures can only be shown at night in a darkened room, and an excellent way to produce those Illustrated with living models is as follows: First erect a small platform or stage, and from the celling In front of It suspend a large white sheet of not too close or firm weave, permitting it to reach to the floor of the platform. Behind the sheet stand the performers,

FIGURE NO. 2.

between it and a light, a lantern having a funnel-shaped reflector being the best for amateur entertainments of this character. By the aid of such a light the figures are silhouetted or outlined against the sheet In the same manner as a shadow is cast on a blank wall by placing a light behind the substance. The audience will of course sit In darkness a few feet from the platform. The performers will take the various poses illustrated and remain as quiet as possible during the exhibition of each tableaux, which may be shown for

FIGURE NO. 3.

about two ‘minutes. The person who arranges the various poses will see that nothing is wanting to perfect the picture before the curtain is allowed to be raised. Of course the curtain is indispensable. It should be hung from a pole and may be drawn back by a cord which has been slipped through the rings and fastened to the front upper corner of the curtain. The hand which draws back the curtain should not be visible to the audience. The master of ceremonies announces each subject as the curtain is lifted. The tableaux portrayed at figure No. 1 shows a boy patting his little sister kindly on the back. Sister is sulky and will not be consoled or persuaded to give up her toy cart “A Little Sulky" might do as a name for this.

IN the accompanying illustration the great American mosquito is portrayed in a manner admirably calculated to impress the mind with her abilities. It should be said at once that the bloodsucking mosquito is always a female. The male mosquito is a well-behaved in- ’ sect and only drinks water. Projecting from the mosquito’s head in the picture of the complete insect will be seen a straight cylinderical spike. It is a tube or trough, no thicker than a hair, and is terminated by two small fleshy lips. This tube contains the instruments by means of which the mosquito penetrates ths hu-

•The Sleeepers,” pictured at figure No. 2, are rudely disturbed from their noonday nap on a park bench by a

policeman. They should wear very ragged clothes and look like tramps. At figure No. 3 are pictured a foreignlooking student and his sister, or some nearer relative, taking refreshments at a table, which is arranged beneath some foliage, from which dangles a spider, whose presence startles the thirsty pair. “A Summer Table” would be a very good title for this. An appropriate title for the picture shown at figure No. 4 will be “A Carryall at Home.” Papa kindly lends his back to the three little ones and assumes a crawling position, and mamma, fearful lest baby should fall from the

human carryall, throws out her hands as If to catch him. Doggie’s surprise at the curious conveyance is expressed in his position. If the living pet cannot be trained for his part a toy animal may take his place. Tandem driving is very fashionable, and you might dignify the picture shown at figure No. 5 by the name “Driving Tandem.” Brother, crowned with papa’s high beaver hat, holds two chairs in rein as proudly as if they were horses, and flourishes his whip threat-

eningly. Sister, with dolly in arms, rides behind. Doesn’t it look real? “After the Circus,” shown at figure No. 6, is no less comical than any of the other tableaux. All the figures seem to be in action. The girl is dancing on an ottoman, the boy, with a young child on his back, occupies two chairs and a third serves as a horse, whose reins he holds In both hands. The dog stands on his hind legs In a curious manner and looks attentively at his master, who is absorbed in driving. Isn’t the tableaux given at figure No. 7 extremely funny? You might name it “Four-In-Hand." The schoolmaster has four seemingly repentant transgressors to punish. His cane looks formidable and his face wears a very angry expression. The broom, umbrella, “stovepipe” hat, and other odds and ends may be supplied or omitted, as

desired. I think their introduction would add to the effect of the picture, however. The various titles, you will observe,

THE FEMALE MOSQUITO.

man skin, fills herself with blood and leaves behind a deposit of virulent poison. No less than six piercing instruments are contained within that little tube. They are shown in the picture of the head and elsewhere on a still larger scale. When the mosquito settles down to business, all these instruments are pressed on to the skin at once, and a very intricate boring operation begins. The trough-like lower lip may be seen to bend in the middle, and the mosquito fills herself with blood, which passes into the body through the upper lip. It is believed that the instrument attached to the base of the upper lip is used to iniect noison into the wonnd.

FIGURE NO. 4.

FIGURE NO. 5.

FIGURE NO. 6.

FIGURE NO. 7.

are a play upon words, but this will only add to the fun of the performance. You may easily arrange an evening’s entertainment during the holiday week with the assistance of the present illustrations and surprise some of your grown friends. The big people in the Pictures might be represented by sofiie older boys and girls. A few rehearsals will be necessary before you can finally ring up the curtain on a perfect representation of these jolly shadow pictures.—The Delineator.

ALLAN PINKERTON.

Without Exception the Greatest Detective the Country Ever Knew. Without doubt the greatest detective the country has ever seen was Allan. Pinkerton, the founder of the national detective agency which bears his name, and who achieved such fame in connection with the administration of Abraham Lincoln, he having been his especial guard. Pinkerton was a born detective, though during the early years of his life he was a cooper. He was born in 1819 in Scotland. When he came to this country he located in Illinois and established a fine business, following the trade he had learned in his native country. He continued as a cooper until he .was 33 years old. Then, through a lucky accident, he entered upon the true work of his life. In 1850, when State banks and wildcat money were the order of the day, counterfeits were common, and the storekeepers throughout the country were frequently swindled. One day a saddler of Dundee, where Pinkerton was located, came to him and said that he had been taken In by a bogus bill. He said he thought he could point out a suspicious character. Pinkerton followed the man whom the saddler Indicated. The cooper-detective was disguised as a workman and succeeded in shadowing the man he had has eye on without exciting his suspicious. At last he traced to an Island in Fox River, and there a complete establishment for making counterfeit money* was discovered. The entire gang was arrested and Pinkerton became famous throughout the country. It was seen that the cooper had the making of a detective and he was appointed deputy sheriff of the county. In this capacity he soon became the terror of cattle thieves, counterfeiters and evil doers generally. Soon after he was tendered a position as deputy sheriff of Cook County, but he did not remain long in this capacity, for the Illinois Central and Rock Island Railroad, recognizing his ability as a detective, prevailed upon him to organize a detective agency for the protection of the road against train robbers. It was In the capture of express thieves and bank robbers that Pinkerton achieved his most remarkable success-

ALLAN PINKERTON.

es. Beginning with the Maroney robbery in 1858, where after months of persistent shadowing, he recovered nearly $40,000 for the Adams Express Company, he conducted the work in scores of similar cases and was usually successful. He captured the notorious Carbondale bank robbers, recovering $35,000. Then came the great robbery of the Adams Express Company on the New York and New Haven Railroad, Jan. 6, 1866, when a gang of six thieves burst open the safe and secured nearly $700,000. Allan Pinkerton secured the conviction of the guilty men, and got back all but a very small portion of the money. The following year he succeeded in breaking up the formidable Reno and Anderson gang, who had for years been the terror of the West, plundering towns, robbing stores and blowing open safes with apparent impunity. So greatly was public indignation aroused against these desperadoes that after their arrest they were taken from the jail in New Albany, Ind., by 100 masked men and hanged. In bls whole life Allan Pinkerton never touched cards, never made a bet, or indulged in any form of gambling. He was fond of driving and horseback riding, and in his later years took much pleasure and spent much of his spare time in literary work. In all he produced seventeen books of his thrilling experience as a detective. At the age of 66 years he died of cancer of the stomach.

Mermaids in Folk Lore.

All the world over there are legends about mermaids. The Chinese tell stories not unlike others about the seawomen of their southern seas. Mankind is taught on the most excellent evidence that a mermaid was ca,ptured at Bangor, on the shores of the Belfast Lough, in the sixth century, while another caught at Edam in 1403 was carried to Haarlem and kept there for many years.

“Doctor Cureall.”

One of the most remarkable developments of the automatic machine is a “Doctor Cureall,” in Holland. It is a wooden figure of a man, with compartments all over it, labeled with the names of various ailments. If you have a pain, find its corresponding location on the figure, drop a coin into the slot, and the proper pill or powder will come out

The Coming Woman.

I love the coming woman, I love her pretty ways, With music add with sweetness She fills my fleeting days; I kiss her laughing dimples, And stroke her hair of gold, For my dainty coming woman Is only four years old. —Williamsport Grit A cross temper finds a pin stuck is every chair on which it sits.

A YEAR’S COMMERCE.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS FOR TWELVE MONTHS. Returns Now Available, Makin* It Possible to Form Some Idea of the Course of Trade—Praise forthe President— Republican Debts. For the Fiscal Year. The returns of Imports and exports for the past fiscal year are now available, and it is possible to form some idea of the course of trade. For the year ending June 30, 1895, our exports were $808,059,419 and our imports $743,742,849, an excess of exports of $64,316,570. Our exports were less than in any year since 1889, and our Imports were less than in any year in the same period, with the single exception of 1894. That year showed the effects of the panic of 1893, which, by making money scarce, forced us to rush our products to the foreign markets and economize in our purchases. To see how much or how little Influence tariff changes have had on our foreign trade it may be w’orth while to give the figures from a time before the passage of the McKinley law: Exports. Imports. 1889 $742,401,375 $745,131,652 1890 857.828.654 789,310,409 1891 884,480,810 844,916,196 18921,030,278,148 827,402,462 1893 847,665,194 866,400,922 1894 892,140,572 654,994,622 1895 808,059,419 743,742,849 The years 1889 and 1890 were under the old tariff of 1883. Part of the year 1891 and all of 1892, 1893 and 1894 were under the McKinley act. The greater art of 1895 has been under the Wilson law. The abnormal exports of the fiscal year 1892 were due to the enormous crops of 1891, which sold at good prices in consequence of a scarcity in Europe. Aside from this, it will be observed that our export trade did not grow under the McKinley law. It was smaller in 1893 than in 1890, and even than In 1881. Our imports, on the contrary, increased under a tariff that was meant to exclude them. They were greater in the year from July 1, 1892, to June 30, 1893, than in any other year in the history of the country, either before or since. They were nearly $123,000,000 greater in that year than In the one just closed, when we were to have been overwhelmed by a “flood” of foreign pauper-made goods./ In 1893, under Mc|<inleylsm, the balance of trade “against” us, as the protectionists put it, was nearly $19,000,000, while in 181)5, under a low tariff, It was over $64,000,000 In our favor. We are just recovering from a period of depression such as it took us six years to get over under the high protective tariff of 1873. Short crops and stagnant manufactures last year limited our exports. But now we have the promise of good crops, and our manufactures are flourishing. We are freed from tlie apprehension of having our industries deluged by excessive imports. As in former low-tariff periods, our Imports have not been sufficient to keep up the revenues of the Government. The indications are that next year’s commercial returns will be the most favorable we have ever known.

A Short Session of Congress. It is intimated from Republican sources of intelligence that the session of Congress to begin next December will be much shorter than the first session of any Congress in many years. There is comfort in the sugge tion. It is as certain now as it will appear a year from now that there will be no material change in tariff nor in silver legislation. There is more than a twothirds Republican majority in the House—enough to pass a bill re-enact-ing the McKinley tariff over the President’s veto. But there is not even a McKinleylte bare majority in the Senate, and it is doubtful If any bill could pass that body reinstating the measure repealed last year. McKinley is too much of a Presidential candidate and too much in the way of ambitious rivals for any measure to pass Congress of which he would be the popular embodiment in a campaign. The friends of every other Republican candidate would unite to defeat a bill of which he would be the representative before the people. These considerations render it certain that no tariff legislation is possible in the next Congress. It is extremely improbable that the friends of different Republican candidates would unite on any tariff measure. The different factions will be suspicious of each other. The leaders of each faction will determine that it is better to let the Democratic tariff stand than to pass a Republican tariff bill of which some other leader of a faction might reap the benefit among the voters. The situation as to silver legislation is less complicated. With the certainty existing that neither the tariff nor the currency system can be disturbed, there is no reason why the session to begin in December, 1895, should extend beyond April, 1896. All routine and non partisan acts can be introduced, perfected and passed wlthina month after the holidays. There is absolutely nothing else to keep Congress in session. Even the dreary and exhaustive speeches of members In their “grand stand displays,” to use a local idiom, ought not to occupy many months. It is reported that ex-Speaker Reed, who expects to occupy the chair again, is completing his lists of committees that their names may be announced within a week or two after the session begins, instead’ of waiting until after the holidays. He evidently, of the short session scheme. Deserved Praise. The Washington Post is an independent journal with Republican fbclinations and deeply saturated with the spirit of jingoism that is more or less rampant in the land at the present time; hence no one would willfully suspect it of being in close sympathy with President Cleveland. Yet in an editorial discussing the third term bugaboo that has frightened so many timid persons of late, in which it expresses the opinion that Mr. Cleveland has no thought of accepting another nomination, the Post pays the following just and welldeserved tribute to the President: He has had all the honors that the nation could bestow, And he has requited the people’s trust with faithful and devoted service. We have seen him

impressing upon public sentiment bis conviction as to finance, the tariff and the organization of the ‘government Coming here a practically unknown man, from a provincial city, he has made himself the most conspicuous and striking figure of his generation. He can retire two years hence with a name that will embellish history long after his traducers shall have been forgotten. He will live In the world’s memory as one of the brilliant galaxy of onr greatest men. Republican Committee’s Debts. The matter of the debt of the Republican National Committee has become a national scandal. The affairs of that body for a dozen years have been managed by a lot of spendthrifts. At the close of each campaign since that of 1884 they have been Indebted to speakers whom they employed, to Individuals and local committees who provided halls and paid the expenses of meetings and for other obligations. National notoriety was given to the transaction In which the Republican committee repudiated its contract with Anna Dickinson in 1888, when she went to Indiana with an explicit agreement to make speeches for Harrison. They refused to pay her bills when the campaign closed and were sued for the amount. Doubtless her mental derangement was precipitated by this exasperating event Notwithstanding the Republicans carried the election in 1888, the committee’s bills were unpaid, and the total debj at the commencement of the campaign of 1892 was SIOO,OOO. It is now alleged, and not disputed, that the committee'auctioned off the convention of that year to Minneapolis for a secret bonus of enough money, in addition to the amount openly paid, to discharge the committee’s debt of four years' standing and growth and to redeem It from bankruptcy. It is said, however, that all the money contributed by Minneapolis to pay old debts was not expended for that purpose. The big hotel bills of the highflyer members of the committee were discharged, but not the indebtedness lncurred for other purposes. The disastrous campaign of 1802 left the committee worse off than it ever bad, been before. The present debt is not less than $250,000. Judging from these facts, there is no probability In a public allegation that the managing men of the committee are laying plans now to bld off the next convention to the city that will pay the committee’s debts, in addition to other legitimate expenses.

Morton la a Marvel. Secretary Morton, of the Agricultural Department, is one of the marvels of Washington. Though the oldest man in President'Cleveland’s cabinet, he is easily the most active. His own department, writes a correspondent, he manages with an ease and skill quite astonishing to veteran observers. There is not. a detail of its operations with which the Secretary is not familiar and which he does not keep an eye on from day to day. Let the Smallest cog lii the whole machine slip or a bearing begin to creak for lack of oil and the alert ear of the farmer statesman is sure to detect it. As for money saving, he is the worst crank on that ever seen at the capital. Ninety-nine cabinet ministers out of a hundred make a poor mouth and say they could do ever so much better If Congress would only give them enough money. Morton, on the other hand, actually covered back into the treasury last, year $750,000 which he di<J not need. Mortpn has cleared out the cormorants and the fifth wheels, and he can’t be fooled on the price of a lead pencil or the value of a wagon load of waste paper. At the same time the agricultural statesman keeps an eye on the other departments of the Government. He is well up on finance and diplomacy, especially finance, and if Carlisle and Olney were to fall ill Morton could easily run all three shops and still have plenty of time to gossip with his friends and carry on the largest private and semi-public correspondence in the business. As a business man, a theorist, a story teller and a letter writer Morton is simply marvelous.

Againat Wind and Tide. Republican papers are evidently beating up against a hdad wind; Not only Is the wind dead ahead, but the tide is running strong against them. Every sailor, every yachtsman, knows how discouraging sailing Is with both wind and tide against one. It compels a resort to all kinds of expedient?. One has to run on one tack as close into the wind as possible until shallow water lo reached and there is danger of going ashore; then veer around with the accompanying flapping of sails and start out upon the opposite angle. Judging from ffie rate of progress made, with the wind rising and the tide strengthening, it is more than doubtful that these craft will reach the port for which they are sailing in 1896.—5 t. Paul Globe. Vindicating the Democratic Policy. The opponents of Democracy won an ephemeral triumph by attributing the hard times to the party in power. The good times which have come under Democratic rule are as surely attributable 4o the Democracy. The clouds of discontent have blown away; business is booming all over the land; the policy which was predicted to ruin industry has set every mill humming and every furnace blazing; the .tariff which was prophesied to reduce wages has raised wages everywhere. The people are contented, prosperous, happy.—Boston Post. Sustain the Democratic Party, The Democratic party, being the party of the constitution and of the people, maintaining equal rights and privileges to all citizens and pfeherving the balance of power between the Federal government and the respective States, will continue while the nation endures and should command the support and fidelity of the men and women of Utah who have so many reasons for upholding intact the principles of the constitution and of the declaration of independence.—Salt Lake Herald. Which Knows Best? Benjamin Harrison has announced by his next friend that he will not be a candidate next year. But his son Russell, who is running a horse car railroad over at Terre Haute, says the old gentleman doesn’t know what he is talking about, and so an anxious public is once more left In doubt.—Springfield Journal

FARM AND GARDEN.

BRIEF HINTS AS TO THEIR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT.. •a • - 1> Bow to Raise Sorghum and Make It Into Byrup Convenient Crate for Handling Young Stock Fighting the Army Worm—Red Cotton. Sorghum from Seed to Syrup. To raise good sorghum requires good seed. Early amber is the best variety for the North and requires about four pounds of seed per acre. Select good corn land, plow and pulverize thoroughly, and mark the soil as for corn, three feet each way. Plant by hand or with a cornplanter, from six to eight seeds in a hill. Plant May 10 to 20 In the North. Sorghum is a very ■low-growing crop, and one need not feel discouraged if It does not start well at first. When three or four Inches high, thin to three stalks In the hill, and cultivate and hoe as for corn, keeping the piece very clean. It ought to be cultivated four or five times. It is ripe when the seed becomes black and should not be cut before then. First, strip the blades from the stalks by using a piece of wood shaped like a sword. With a strong, sharp knife, and the stalks gathered under the arm, cut the tops off, then the canes. The

SORGHUM FURNACE AND EVAPORATOR, seed is excellent food for poultry. Lay the canes as cut in large piles, handy to load into a wagon, and then haul to the mill. If to be ground at home, purchase an iron mill, as a wooden mill, while the syrup is as good, wastes milch by leaving the juice in the bagasse. An evaporator for reducing the juice to syrup is perhaps best if there is a large amount. For small quantities, pans can bo made at home with less outlay. Each pan should bo at least three by six feet; and at least three will be needed ns well as three each of loug-handled skimmers and dippers. Never start a fire in the furnace until the first pan is filled with juice and there are several inches of water in the others. Great care should also be taken when the syrup goes Into the finishing pans that it is not scorched. The fire must not be too tierce, and it is well to have a wooden scraper to move back and forth. In the last compartment should be a faucet to run off the clear syrup into a clean, tight keg or barrel. While the juice is boiling, skim constantly. When the scum Is white, raise the gate, run into next compartment, and fill up the large pan with raw juice, and so continue. The fireplace or arch and the chimney can be made of brick or stone. The cane should never be allowed tbfreeze, as it spoils and makes the juice bitter. Hauling Hay from Soft Ground. On many farms there are marshes and other soft pieces of land into which the wheels of the ordinary hayrack cut deeply. A wood sled fitted with such shoes as are figured herewith can be used for hauling off hay. An inch-thick board is sawed repeatedly across one end, as shown in the upper sketch, and

SERVICEABLE HAY SLED.

is then forced into the shape desired. Strips of joist are fastened to the upper side, leaving just room enough between them for the side of the wood sled to set in. A bolt slipped through the joist and through the side of the sled at the front and rear holds the shoe on firmly. An ash board makes a serviceable shoe of this sort and one easily bent into shape. Churning by Machinery. When the churning of the cream is done by hand it entails a most arduous task upon some member of the farm household, and In many cases it falls to the lot of the housewife. During the summer, where from three to five cows are kept, there is half an hour of this heavy work every day. There is often a large dog watching the operation of churning, that he may obtain his usual fill of buttermilk. A treadmill can be obtained for a few hours, and the dog made to do the work, and you may watch the operation or devote your time to other household duties. With the Improved, or even the common powers, a dog weighing fifty pounds can do the chujnlng of the cream from five not Injure himself. Such work In hot weather should be done early in the morning, while it is cool. The butter churned then will be firmer. If the dog is treated kindly, and petted, he will gladly do the work, and be ready at the call, or appear as soon as preparations are observed for the operation. Calves, sheep and goats are often used in treadmills, but the dog is the most cleanly, and is best adapted to the Tyork. Human-life Is too short to spend much of it manipulating the churn dasher, especially when other power is so plentiful. An attachment can be placed on the windmill, but calms interfere. Balt in Hay Mows, There is no advantage in strewing salt over damp hay or grain, as is often done by farmers, but this only dissolves it, and the solution is not strong enough to put the hay or grain in pickle. A little salt hastens instead of retards decomposition. A much better plan is to throw an occasional forkful Of dry straw into the mow or over ths surface. If this cannot be had welldried brick scattered through the heap will answer a good purpose. It is astonishing how much water a dry brick will absorb before it is saturated. Bricks are often so used in granaries when the grain has been put Into them too damp. The brick takes up the moisture and thus dries the grain it Is in contact with, and this helps to dry

other grain until the heap is dried out .without beating. Weight and Yield of Egg*. Geese, 4 to the pound; 30 per annum. Polish, 0 to the pound; ISO per annum. Bantams, 16 to the pound; 100 per annum. Houdans, 8 to the pound; 180 per annlum. La Fleche, 7 to the pound; 200 per annum. Hamburgs, 9 to the pound; 200 per annum. Turkeys, 5 to the pound; 30 to 60 per annum. Game fowls, 9 to the pound; 160 per annum. Leghorns, 9 to the pound; 200 per annum. Black Spanish, 7 to the pound; 175 per annum. Plymouth Rocks, 8 to the pound; 150 per annum. Langshans, 8 to the pound; 150 per annum. Brahmas, 7 to the pound; 130 per annum. Guinea fowl, 11 to the pound; 160 per annum. Ducks, 5 te the pound; 30 to 60 per annum.—Farmers’ Review. Pisa in Orchards. All young pigs in the orchard should be left unringed and free to root the soil as much as they like. Ringing older hogs is sometimes necessary, as in a dry time old sows will get in the habit, if unringed, of gnawing the bark of the trees and thus destroying them. An old hog also in rooting will make deep hog wallows in the soil, destroying some apple roots and making the surface very uneven. It is probable from eating apple roots in the soil that ths older hogs get their liking for apple tree bark and learn to attack the tree trunk above ground. When they get this habit it is impossible to entirely break them of it. However well fed they may be they like a feed of apple tree bark for a change. Top-Boarding a Stone Wall. Many of the pastures in the older parts of the country, says the Orange Judd Farmer, are bounded by stone walls which are rarely built so as to turn sheep, and not always cattle. Driving stakes beside the wall and nailing a top board to these does not bring the board in the right position over the top of the wall. The cut shows how this may be done by using strips of board for stakes. When these strips have been fitted at the top, after being driven into the ground, a bit little is bored close to the ground through the

STONE WALL TOP-BOARDED.

strip and a round pin driven through. This being done on both sides, the board cannot be pressed either way where the ground is soft. In firm ground such a pin is not needed. The Plnm Rot, Of all fruits the plum is most likely to overbear. It would do so every year if the curcullo did not thin it. As it is, it bears so heavily that it makes a great drain on the vitality of the tree and also on its capacity to furnish the mineral elements required to make the seeds. All stone fruits have very large seeds In proportion to their pulp. It is probably lack of potash and phosphates that makes plums rot badly in the seasons when the trees have set a crop that they are unable to mature. Good Feed in Plenty. Plenty of good feed for a cow is all right, but it will not make a good cow out of an inferior milker. The constitutional characteristics of the cow have more to do with the amount and quality of her milk than does her feed. Both, however, are Very important'matters. A Convenient Crate. The Illustration, taken from the American Agriculturist, shows a very convenient crate for handling sheep, calves and pigs. Each end is hinged, so that the animal can be driven in at one end, the handles slipped into the iron sockets at the sides, the crate carried to the point desired, and the

CRATE FOR YOUNG STOCK.

animal driven out at the other end. Such a contrivance is specially valuable in handling calves, which in many cases can neither be led, driven or coaxed along. The crate should be made light but strong, spruce being the very bMt wood for such constructions, as 11 la light but exceedingly tough. Weight of Fodder Per Acre. „ A yield of two tons per acre of hay is fair, and probably in good years more land goes below the yield than above it Yet as an acre of land is 43,560 feet this’yield is about one pound to every eleven square feet Looked at in this way the yield seems very small. It is probably true that in most meadows there are vacant spots not seeded which .reduce the yield. Fodder corn ought to yield fifteen to twenty tons per acre. Red Cotton. Red cotton has been raisbti at Alpharetta, Ga., where a wfell-known planter has quite a quantity of that curious stuff, every stalk of which is a deep red, even the leaf, boll and bloom. This novel crop comes from planting seeds obtained six or-seven years ago from a freak stalk of red cotton found growing in Florida. The Black Butter Bean, It may not be generally known that the common black butter bean will bear continuously through the season if the. pods are all picked as soon as they are large enough to use. If any are allowed to ripen, the plant has fulfilled it* mission and will die.