,,the ,,children',s ,,library ,,of ,,work ,,and ,,play ,,carpentry ,,and ,,woodwork ,by ,edwin ,w4 ,foster ,,electricity ,,and ,,its ,,everyday ,,uses ,by ,john ,f4 ,woodhull1 ,ph4,d4 ,,gardening ,,and ,,farming ,by ,ellen ,eddy ,shaw ,,home ,,decoration ,by ,charles ,franklin ,warner1 ,sc4,d4 ,,housekeeping ,by ,elizabeth ,hale ,gilman ,,mechanics1 ,,indoors ,,and ,,out ,by ,fred ,t4 ,hodgson4 ,,needlecraft ,by ,effie ,archer ,archer ,,outdoor ,,sports1 ,,and ,,games ,by ,claude ,h4 ,miller1 ,ph4,b4 ,,outdoor ,,work ,by ,mary ,rogers ,miller ,,working ,,in ,,metals ,by ,charles ,conrad ,sleffel4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,harvesting ,nature's ,crops ,the ,library of ,work and ,play ,,outdoor ,,work ,,by ,,mary ,,rogers ,,miller ,illustration ,,garden ,,city ,,new ,,york ,,doubleday1 ,,page ,,company #aiaa ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved1 ,,including ,,that ,,of ,,translation ,,into ,,foreign ,,languages1 ,,including ,,the ,,scandinavian ,,copyright1 #aiaa1 ,,by ,,doubleday1 ,,page ,,company ,,this ,,book ,,is ,,affectionately ,,dedicated ,,to ,,eight ,,brothers ,,and ,,sisters ,,who ,,sent ,,one ,,another ,,to ,,college ,,acknowledgments ,acknowledgment is due to the expert writers of ,united ,states government and state experiment station bulletins from which much practical information has been gained by the author2 to the boys and girls who wrote for this book the stories of their success in several kinds of outdoor industry2 to ,dr4 ,burton ,n4 ,gates1 ,state ,inspector of ,apiaries in ,massachusetts1 and ,prof4 ,james ,e4 ,rice of the ,department of ,poultry ,husbandry at ,cornell ,university for reading the chapters on their specialties and for numerous suggestions which make those chapters valuable2 and to many others from whom helpful ideas have come in letters4 ,a ,,word ,,to ,,parents ,there are two sovereign cures for the ills of modern life3 ,work and outdoors4 ,it is the purpose of this book on ,outdoor ,work for ,young ,people to teach the gospel of these two remedies1 not in lessons nor sermons1 but in the form of confidential talks1 which are intended to be both practical and inspiring4 ,the guiding principles in the preparation of this book are three3 #a1 to help young people to earn money2 #b1 to help them build character2 #c1 to help them make better citizens4 #a4 ,the most obvious reason why children wish to work is that they want to earn money1 to spend as they like4 ,here is a great opportunity and a considerable danger4 ,the opportunities are to help support the family1 to learn self-reliance1 to gain in efficiency1 to appreciate the sacrifices made by parents1 to purchase innocent pleasures1 and to save toward a college education4 ,the dangers are that children may become too commercially minded1 grasping1 even dishonest1 make dull playmates1 and become stunted in character for lack of play and wholesome stimulus to the imagination4 ,if you will analyze these dangers you will find that they are all the results of overdoing good things4 ,the old rule of the ,greeks1 ,nothing too much is the golden rule to measure perfect commercial relations between parents and children4 #b4 ,but far more important than money making is character making4 ,and therefore one of the principles of this book is to suggest in a thousand ways that money making may go too far4 ,for example1 ,i would encourage boys to gather and sell nuts1 but not to take nuts from a neighbour's trees without permission nor destroy young trees whose future crops belong to a future generation of boys4 ,i encourage trapping but urge the use of humane traps to avoid cruelty4 ,i encourage the gathering and selling certain wild flowers1 if abundant1 but warn against the danger of exterminating species1 or of robbing the public of pleasure4 ,i have gone over all of the things that children do out of doors and have tried to select the best occupations4 ,i have studied the worst things they do and have suggested their opposites--constructive work that earns money1 develops character1 or preserves public property4 ,for example1 instead of collecting birds' eggs ,i suggest methods of attracting birds1 building houses for them1 and providing food and protection from enemies4 #c4 ,the book is addressed to the citizens of nineteen hundred and twenty4 ,will not busy boys and girls make better citizens than idle ones8 ,practical patriotism becomes second nature to children who learn early to regard the rights of others1 to respect the laws1 and to protect public property4 ,the boy who raises wild fowl and liberates them or refrains from mutilating for purely selfish ends a fine tree is doing his share in the great work of conservation4 ,but the young workers cannot do it all4 ,you will be disappointed if you give this book to a child for a birthday or ,christmas present and expect him to do the rest1 without further help4 ,there is no substitute for affectionate parental interest4 ,this book will surely fail you if you do not thoroughly believe in the dignity of manual labour and experience the uplift that rewards work with your own hands4 ,although in theory we may all believe in the dignity of labour 7for other people71 many of us make mental reservations to suit our own cases and persist in regarding certain forms of labour as distinctly beneath our dignity4 ,children see through that attitude every time4 ,when ,i used to be acquainted with the citizens of the ,george ,junior ,republic1 they had a saying that even the ,president and the ,judge could not maintain standing with the others unless they took their turn now and then working in the ditch4 ,and so ,i say1 work with your children1 with common tools1 out in the dirt4 ,the scratches will heal and the dirt will wash off1 but the sense of kinship with workers will stay4 ,have a ,you and ,i club1 with you and the children for members4 ,meet once a week to discuss schemes for earning money to buy what the children want4 ,it is easier to go out and earn the money and give it to them to spend1 but where do they come in8 ,read parts of this book aloud when outside information or suggestion is needed4 ,make a list of your children's occupations2 consider whether they are the best ones4 ,if you know any better ones than ,i have put into this book please tell me1 for ,i1 too1 have children and ,i wish them to have the very best works and plays that children in this world can have4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,the ,best ,ways of ,earning ,money #c ,,ii4 ,harvesting ,nature's ,crops #i ,wild berries--,wild fruits--,nuts--,tree seeds--,christmas greens--,medicinal plants--,walking sticks--,wild flowers for city children--,corn husks--,fragrant herbs and grasses--,balsam leaves--,birch bark--,porcupine quills--,maple sugar--,wild rice--,spruce gum--,mushrooms4 ,,iii4 ,raising ,domestic ,animals #aja ,colts--,sheep--,goats--,calves--,pigs-- ,chickens--,guinea fowls--,turkeys--,peacocks--,ducks--,squ abs for market--,pheasants4 ,,iv4 ,raising ,animals for ,pets #bjc ,shetland ponies--,rabbits1 guinea pigs1 and cavies--,fancy pigeons--,bantams--,fancy fowls--,dogs--,goldfish4 ,v4 ,work and ,play with ,trained ,animals #bda ,dairy cows--,training pet animals--,training young horses--,treadmills and cranks--,making animals happy--,taming wild animals4 ,,vi4 ,making ,brooks and ,springs ,useful #bga ,reclaiming a trout stream--,reclaiming a ,spring--,making a swimming pool4 ,,vii4 ,keeping ,bees #bhg ,,viii4 ,raising ,silkworms #cch ,,ix4 ,making ,collections #cej ,plants--,shells--,insects4 ,x4 ,odd ,jobs #dje ,kindling-wood--,cleaning a carriage--,work in the orchard--,making rustic furniture--,selecting seed corn--,making cider vinegar--,making grape juice--,making leaf mould--,making lavender sticks--,drying corn--,making a tennis court--,shovelling snow--,mowing lawns--,utilizing wood ashes--,planting crocuses in the lawn--,making ice--,cutting seed potatoes--,pruning--,cleaning rugs4 ,,xi4 ,making the ,country a ,better ,place to ,live ,in #dej ,improving home grounds--,outdoor clubs--,attracting birds--,domesticating wild game--,protecting wild flowers--,preventing forest fires--,killing weeds--,getting rid of poison ivy--,lessening the plague of mosquitoes--,fighting flies--,trapping--,curing and tanning skins4 ,appendix ,free ,printed ,matter3 ,how to ,get ,it #ead ,list of ,books and ,bulletins by ,experts on ,outdoor ,work #eah ,,illustrations ,harvesting ,nature's ,crops ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,gathering ,wild ,flowers for ,city ,children #fb ,big ,boy ,blue ,looks ,after the ,sheep #ajf ,feeding the ,goats #aad ,the ,shetland ,pony is the ,ideal ,pet #bjd ,holding a ,conversation #bdb ,gyp ,has an ,ax to ,grind #bej ,a ,group of ,happy ,farm ,animals #bef ,the ,skunk is an ,amiable and ,well-mannered ,pet #bff ,the ,crow ,may be ,tamed when ,young #bff ,a ,bottle ,baby #bfh ,plenty of ,trout in ,this ,stream ,when ,grandfather was a ,boy #bgb ,an ,odd ,job that is ,never ,out of ,date #djd ,is this ,work or ,play8 #deb ,,outdoor ,,work ,i ,,the ,,best ,,ways ,,of ,,earning ,,money ,couldn't you use more money if you had it8 ,there are several million ,american boys and girls just like you4 ,they want a lot of things1 a lot of good things4 ,wouldn't you like a half dollar once a year for a circus ticket1 a quarter now and then for a box of candy1 or ten dollars for a new dress or some music lessons8 ,you'd be glad to buy your own clothes1 and select them too1 if you had the cash4 ,that would be a big help in thousands of families4 ,parents sometimes wish that their children could leave out in new clothes in spring1 like the trees4 ,if you could begin to earn money at twelve you could save toward a college education1 too4 ,lots of boys and girls are earning their way4 ,you can4 ,you can earn money between twelve and twenty years of age without interfering with your schooling4 ,what kind of stories do you like best8 ,isn't it inspiring to read about the boyhood of our great men4 ,do you remember young ,abe ,lincoln splitting rails8 ,garfield drove mules on a tow path4 ,the men and women who are doing great things now started as boys and girls with work to do4 ,they washed dishes and split kindlings and fed chickens and milked cows and dug potatoes4 ,now they are tunnelling mountains1 building bridges1 helping make the world better in all sorts of courageous ways4 ,don't you like to hear engineers1 miners1 sailors1 inventors1 animal trainers1 cowboys1 foresters1 and other workers talk about their work8 ,the only really happy people are the ones who have found the work they love best4 ,i have put some stories in this book4 ,these are told by real boys and girls who were successful in earning money4 ,can you beat them at their own game8 ,will you try8 ,there are thousands of ways for young people in their teens to earn money4 ,i believe the best are the outdoor ways4 ,i have suggested a list of occupations1 the best ,i can think of4 ,of course1 no one person could try them all4 ,circumstances must decide4 ,you will succeed best with the work which you like best4 ,you must not let outside work interfere with your studies4 ,you must not undertake work that is too hard for your strength or unsuited to your disposition4 ,maybe this list will help you choose4 ,,occupations ,,suited ,,to ,,the ,,four ,,seasons ,,and ,,some ,,that ,,go ,,through ,,the ,,year ,summer4--,gathering berries1 tree seeds1 bulbs and roots1 wild flowers and ferns1 balsam leaves1 medicinal plants1 pine cones1 making collections1 mowing lawns1 marking tennis courts1 sawing wood1 cleaning rugs1 drying herbs1 corn and fruits1 raising queen bees1 collecting bait1 rearing butterflies for museum specimens1 gathering clam shells for button factories1 shocking grain1 toting water4 ,fall4--,gathering fruit1 nuts1 making corn husk mats and baskets1 shelling corn1 making leaf mould1 clearing a field of stones1 making stone fence1 making grape juice and cider vinegar1 collecting bayberries1 painting barns and outbuildings1 packing fruit1 cleaning farm implements1 gathering faggots1 collecting cocoons1 collecting insect homes for nature study4 ,winter4--,gathering spruce gum1 collecting ,christmas greens1 shovelling snow1 pruning shrubs1 vines and trees1 trapping1 tanning skins1 making candles1 selecting seed corn1 pruning and tying grapevines1 transplanting trees and shrubs1 feeding birds4 ,spring4--,cutting seed potatoes1 budding1 grafting1 cutting dandelions from lawns1 killing weeds1 oiling ponds and ditches to kill mosquitoes1 shelling corn1 starting silkworms1 trout1 frog and toad culture1 attracting birds1 fighting flies4 ,year-,round ,occupations4--,keeping bees1 raising goldfish1 training animals1 raising colts1 sheep1 pigs1 goats1 dogs1 chickens and other poultry1 rabbits and other pets1 collecting wood for kindling1 turning grindstone1 milking1 taming wild creatures1 raising prize corn1 potatoes1 or cotton4 ,,things ,,worth ,,thinking ,,about ,don't think only of the money you can earn4 ,there's no use talking1 the work you do and the way you do it is going to have an influence on your character4 ,do a good job6 ,if you slight your work you cheat your employer4 ,you know it1 if he doesn't4 ,you cheat yourself1 too4 ,and when you are working for yourself1 you are the one who is doubly cheated by slack methods4 ,that's plain4 ,don't choose an occupation you are doubtful about4 ,most occupations are perfectly honourable4 ,dishonesty comes in methods4 ,the grown-up grafters1 ten to one1 were cheaters at games1 and sneaks about work4 ,when in doubt1 ask advice4 ,don't you like to be asked for your opinion8 ,everybody does4 ,ask your parents' advice about the work you think of undertaking1 and the methods of carrying on the business side4 ,what will please them more than to know that you have a keen sense of honour8 ,this is my word of encouragement and inspiration to the boys and girls who read this book4 ,there are a hundred perfectly good reasons why you should have more money of your own4 ,and there are a thousand ways to earn it4 ,every one of you can earn a college education4 ,choose the best work for you1 and do it with enthusiasm4 ,if you want my advice about your work or any information ,i can get for you1 nothing would please me more than to hear from you4 ,,ii ,,harvesting ,,nature',s ,,crops ,,picking ,,berries ,the berry picking season begins 'long about knee-deep in ,june with the first wild strawberries4 ,it does not end till the last cranberry is harvested on the eve of ,thanksgiving ,day at the end of the drowsy ,indian summer4 ,there is money to be earned at this occupation wherever there is ambition to overcome difficulties and force of character enough to step aside from the beaten paths4 ,fortunately berries are ripe in vacation time4 ,for some people berry picking has almost if not quite the fascination of fishing4 ,it lacks the objectionable features of hunting1 fishing and trapping4 ,guns1 tackle1 and traps are unnecessary in this gentler sport4 ,no costly tools are required4 ,a light pail1 flaring somewhat at the top1 is a good receptacle4 ,a wire bent into an ,s-shaped hook is handy to swing the pail over the forearm while the ambidextrous picker almost doubles the day's harvest if the fruit is extra plentiful4 ,there is hardly a state in the ,union which has not plenty of wild fruits4 ,the young citizens of each state should know these fruits and make the most of them4 ,some states or regions have fruits peculiar to themselves4 ,wouldn't it be worth while for the domestic science or cookery teacher in a country school to show her pupils how to utilize these home products8 ,we hear talk about the cost of materials for use in classes in cookery4 ,to let our wild fruits go to waste is poor economy whichever way we look at it4 ,wouldn't you1 if you live in northern ,michigan1 like to exchange a pot of thimbleberry jam for one made in ,north ,carolina from persimmons8 ,or if you live in ,montana would you exchange buffalo berry marmalade with a ,florida friend for guava jelly or preserved cumquats8 ,,wild ,,raspberries ,just the other day a girl from the shore of ,lake ,superior told me of a camping trip on a part of the lake shore inaccessible except by water4 ,a storm on the lake kept them from going home when they had expected so they gathered raspberries and canned and jammed them till their sugar gave out1 then until every available cooking utensil1 even the coffee pot1 was full and the supply of berries was as unlimited as ever4 ,these great1 luscious fruits1 she said1 were as big as the end of her thumb1 and fairly falling off the bushes with the weight of juice4 ,doesn't it make your mouth water8 ,the pickers who live near the woods up there bring berries to town in milk pails4 ,the fruit box may be more elegant1 but there is a bountiful sound about the milk pail that takes my fancy4 ,of course1 one gets scratched while berry-picking2 but in what a good cause4 ,is there something wrong about boys and girls who prefer boxed berries and smooth hands to wild fruits and scratches8 ,there are thousands of dollars wasted every year that might be working on some boy's or girl's schooling1 just because nature's crop of raspberries isn't half harvested4 ,wild raspberries should be canned1 jellied1 or jammed by the regulation methods4 ,with a good oil stove all the work can be done in the open air4 ,,thimbleberry ,do you know the thimbleberry8 ,some call it the flowering raspberry4 ,you will know by its shape and general look that it is a cousin to the black raspberry although it is flatter1 seedier1 and more sharply acid4 ,it grows on a bush or shrub somewhat like a raspberry1 but its leaves are broad1 like grape leaves4 ,instead of thorns its twigs are clothed with sticky hairs4 ,the colour of the fruit is pinkish purple4 ,thimbleberries grow often along woods margins1 just back of the fringe of wild red raspberries4 ,you are lucky if you get two cupfuls of the thimbleberries while your companion is picking two quarts of the raspberries4 ,yours pack more closely and the fruit is not so abundant4 ,the number of people who have tasted thimbleberry jam is small4 ,i am told by one who has made it that you can get any price you ask for tiny glasses of it1 even a dollar a glass1 from people who must have it4 ,made just as one does other jams1 equal parts of fruit and sugar1 there is nothing tastes quite like it4 ,,blueberries ,blueberry pie was a staple and justly popular dessert in a certain college dining-room1 where ,i first made its acquaintance4 ,it was1 of course1 made of canned blueberries1 and we used to wonder where they all came from4 ,we certainly never saw them growing in the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,the blueberry belt is a wide one and includes all the eastern and central states4 ,i first saw them growing on ,cape ,ann1 and later on the ,new ,hampshire hills4 ,the women and children used to bring them in small pails to sell at the doors of their less enterprising neighbours4 ,but the price was always high and the berries not first class1 unless we gathered them ourselves4 ,it takes a lot of picking to get two quarts4 ,one gets an entirely wrong impression of the blueberry business from these experiences4 ,the great canning factories do not depend on a haphazard crop4 ,in ,new ,england and the eastern states there are thousands of acres of waste land1 shorn of its forest1 where blueberries grow in greatest abundance4 ,it is not possible to estimate with any accuracy the value of this wild crop4 ,pickers get from one and one-half to three cents a quart1 and the boxes sell in retail market at from twelve and one-half cents to eighteen cents a box4 ,northern ,michigan shipped five thousand bushels one year4 ,they ship better than softer fruits1 but the price is always high and the supply small because the canning factories are near the fields1 and shipping is expensive4 ,one large factory uses seven hundred bushels a day4 ,the total product of the ,maine canneries ten years ago was worth over one hundred thousand dollars4 ,that must be where our college cook got her supply4 ,huckleberry and blueberry are the names used most commonly and you will meet people who know one from the other4 ,but as both are blue and there are high bush and low bush huckleberries1 as well as high and low bush blueberries1 it is useless to discuss the names4 ,both are right and a huckleberry in ,ohio may be a blueberry in ,maine4 ,a sort of rake to gather blueberries is used for the low bushes4 ,but hand picking is best4 ,the rake tears the bushes so1 and the berries have to be put through a fanning mill twice to free them from leaves and rubbish4 ,this process fits them for the canners who are not as particular as we wish they were4 ,the blueberry bush is a kind of ,indian4 ,it does not take kindly to gardens and other civilized places4 ,it thrives and yields abundantly if given a chance on its native hillsides1 and comes up by the million wherever the cutting of the timber lets in the light4 ,by burning over the blueberry land in very early spring while the ground is wet1 those in charge can keep down the alder1 poplars1 birches1 and other non-money-making growths1 and this is taken by the blueberries as their chance4 ,they come right up1 and deliver a tremendous crop the first year after the burning4 ,,wild ,,grapes ,we used to gather wild grapes along the river bottoms in the middle ,west when we went nutting4 ,sometimes our nutting excursion turned out to be a grape harvest4 ,these grapes were small1 almost black under their thin coat of bloom1 in clusters like miniature garden grapes4 ,oh1 but they were puckery when green1 but the frost sweetened them4 ,the vines grew tremendously1 way to the tops of the trees1 their stems like great ropes1 which we used for swings4 ,the grapes were really mostly seed and skin1 but there was juice enough to stain our aprons1 and give the teeth and tongue an unmistakable telltale hue4 ,there was juice enough for a kind of jelly which ,i believe had the peculiarity of never jelling properly4 ,it is good1 though1 and they were well worth the sugar to make them edible4 ,i was surprised at their size when ,i first saw the big summer grapes of the eastern hedge-rows and banks4 ,but their flavour is no great improvement over that of the frost grape4 ,there is more pulp1 though4 ,my barberry gathering friend1 who admits that she is fond of all sorts of woodland flavours1 gathers these grapes in ,august before they begin to change colour4 ,she makes the only really green grape jelly ,i have seen4 ,this is her receipt3 ,wash the stemmed grapes very carefully to rid them of dust and possible taint from poison ivy1 with which they often associate4 ,put them into a preserving kettle with a very little boiling water1 cover and let them steam till tender4 7,no boiling here47 ,strain to get rid of seeds and skins4 7,work fast at this point1 because delay may cause the change of colour we wish to avoid47 ,weigh the juice and an equal amount of white sugar4 ,heat sugar and juice separately1 without scorching4 ,stir the hot sugar into the boiling juice1 let boil up1 skim1 and put into dry1 hot glasses4 ,if it boils a long time it loses the green colour1 and its flavour of the wild out-of-doors4 ,green grape jelly that is really green is a triumph4 ,it would bring a price4 ,,elderberries ,elderberries have almost gone out of fashion in these days of refrigerator cars and cold storage1 when fruits from all parts of the world are brought to our doors4 ,but ,i am antiquated enough to like the rather flat1 seedy things1 and the runny jelly is of a wonderful colour and flavour4 ,best of all is the fun of gathering the broad1 flat clusters1 always seeing a finer one just a few steps farther on or just over the fence4 ,the golden-rod is brilliant in the ,september sunshine1 the asters like star stuff sifted in every fence corner1 while the fox grapes clambering over stray trees along the line fence fill the air with fragrance4 ,perhaps ,i could get on without the elderberries1 but the ,new ,england conscience requires some practical excuse for traipsing off over the fields when there is useful work to be done indoors4 ,elderberries canned in a thin syrup1 one cup of water1 two of sugar1 and all the berries the jar will hold1 are excellent for steamed pudding4 ,drain off the juice1 and stir the berries into the batter just as you would blueberries1 mulberries1 or any other fruit4 ,the colour of the pudding will be awe-inspiring but with the juice for sauce it is good1 really4 ,,barberries ,our ,westchester ,county hostess always took a basket on her arm when she went for a walk4 ,she had an unusual taste for wild flavours of all sorts and her guests were always sure of some delightful surprise at her table4 ,in ,september there is a choice of wild fruits1 and everybody recognized the necessity for a basket4 ,i wondered1 though1 when we passed1 unnoticed1 bushels of elderberries1 and rods of browning grapes1 and headed for a group of dogwood trees4 ,but although the berries were thicker than ,i ever saw on the dogwood1 they were only admired and left for the sun to burnish4 ,high on a bare hilltop we sat where the view was panoramic4 ,the lady with the basket betook herself to a fringe of tall1 ruddy bushes on the brow of the hill1 and ,i found her busily filling her basket with barberries4 ,she did not wait to pick them singly but snipped off the laden twigs with scissors1 avoiding thus the angry thorns4 ,what are they good for8 ,i asked1 as ,i tasted again the sharp1 astringent flavour and felt that indescribable pucker on tongue and lips that goes with it4 ,the barberry had long been a favourite with me2 the bush for its wayward grace and its cunning flowers1 the berries for their exquisite bloom and for tasting so unlike any cultivated thing4 ,but ,i had never dreamed of making jelly of them4 ,jelly1 said our hostess4 ,it's particularly good with game4 ,of course it would be good with game1 but can you imagine eating barberry jelly with corn-fed pork or with fat mutton8 ,the berries should be gathered before they are fully ripe and treated like currants1 although the yield of juice is meagre4 ,add a little water and heat slowly4 ,strain and add pound for pound of sugar4 ,put in tiny glasses4 ,any one in search for a unique ,christmas gift for an epicurean uncle would find barberry jelly fills the bill4 ,in ,salem1 ,mass41 ,i saw barberries for sale in the market4 ,they looked mightily out of place along with pineapples1 watermelons1 grapes1 peaches1 ,japanese plums1 and other conventional market fruits4 ,,bayberries ,two friends of mine1 summering on ,cape ,ann1 discovered there to their delight1 a low shrub1 growing in great profusion on the rocky hills4 ,the foliage was of a rich green colour1 of a leathery texture1 and was possessed of an aromatic odour at once delightful and wholesome to their senses4 ,they were seized with a great desire to take home with them a quantity of this plentiful foliage to make into pillows or to feed the fire on the hearth that they might inhale its fragrance1 and be reminded of ,cape ,ann and the summer sea4 ,so they procured huge gunny sacks which they were at some pains to stuff to their utmost capacity4 ,they have a snapshot of themselves1 bent double under the weight of the great sacks4 ,with the help of a friendly native they succeeded in transporting the burdens to the express office1 and addressed them home4 ,we cheerfully paid the expressman's charges at the home end1 having been advised that the bags were coming1 and carried them to the attic floor where they were to be spread to cure4 ,but when the contents came tumbling out1 its pent-up fragrance was familiar4 ,then was it possible those blessed geese had been spending their precious vacation days gathering bay berry leaves8 ,it was even so1 and we had paid nearly two dollars express on the bags--and our woods were full of it6 ,what a laugh we had at their expense when they came to reimburse us4 ,the bayberry shrub is also called wax myrtle and it is easy to see why1 when you find the berries in ,october4 ,they are gray1 almost white1 and you see that each one is covered with tiny drops of wax that has oozed out of the berry and dried on its surface4 ,bayberry is called candleberry1 too1 because of the use our great-grandmothers made of the wax4 ,bayberry dips have come into fashion again and people who make them skilfully find a ready sale for their product4 ,,making ,,bayberry ,,dips ,to make bayberry candles you must first gather the wax-covered berries4 ,get them early1 for1 as cold weather comes on1 the pellets of wax drop off4 ,two quarts make only a little ball of wax1 so you must gather an enormous quantity of the berries4 ,put them into water and bring it to a boil1 stirring well to be sure that all the wax is melting4 ,being lighter than water the wax will rise to the surface4 ,when you think all the berries are bare1 take them from the fire4 ,as the water cools1 the wax hardens on top4 ,if the berries do not all go to the bottom you will have to melt the wax again over a slow fire or in a double boiler until the wax rises clean at the top2 all dirt and refuse on its lower surface can be scraped off4 ,do not let the wax burn4 ,smoke is a sure sign that it is too hot4 ,in a double boiler there is no danger4 ,to make the dips1 take regular candle wicking1 a soft1 white1 loosely twisted cord1 cut it twice the desired length for the candle4 ,double it and twist enough to hold it together4 ,the loop at one end is convenient to hold it by4 ,dip into the hot wax and then as it cools draw the wick down with finger and thumb so that it hangs straight and kinkless4 ,a second dip adds a little to the diameter of the candle1 the third another layer and so on till your first bayberry dip is finished4 ,if the first effort is not a good shape and has to go back into the pot you needn't be discouraged4 ,didn't the first chocolate cream you ever made look like a chestnut gone wrong8 ,but with patience it is possible for even a beginner to produce very shapely candles4 ,they do not need to be absolutely regular4 ,paraffin or tallow candles1 moulded just alike by the hundred thousand dozen1 may be as round and perfect as machinery can make them4 ,part of the charm of the bayberry dips is in these slight irregularities of shape and size4 ,,wild ,,crab ,,apples ,thickets of small trees1 bearing little solid green apples are a feature of almost every farm in the prairie states4 ,they are common also on the hilly pastures of ,ohio1 western ,pennsylvania1 and ,new ,york4 ,the ,south1 too1 has its native crab apple4 ,school children the country over loved in my day to fill their pockets with the hard1 sour1 little fruits and nibble at them surreptitiously under cover of a broad geography4 ,but perhaps children's tastes have changed since that far time4 ,modern geography must be different1 anyhow4 ,i saw one the other day shaped just like a fifth reader or history or any other4 ,it just looked like any book1 not one bit like a g'ography4 ,the little crabs were made into sauce or butter1 by pioneers of the prairie states4 ,we washed1 quartered1 and cut out the wormy places1 stewed them till soft with a little water1 then put them through a coarse sieve to take out seeds1 cores1 and skin4 ,the pulp was then sweetened with sorghum molasses and boiled2 stirring is necessary to prevent burning4 ,the appetites of those days did not demand dainty fare4 ,well do ,i remember a small visitor to whom our cookery was new whose demand for crab-apple-sauce-if-you-please was hard to satisfy4 ,i believe crab apple jelly would be regarded a great delicacy by people of good taste1 if once they had a try at it4 ,,persimmons ,the children of the persimmon belt1 which includes a much larger part of the eastern half of the ,united ,states than many suppose1 all know that the fruit of some trees is better than that of others4 ,the 'possum knows1 too1 and lucky is he who finds both fruits on the same tree4 ,there is a market for persimmons if they are gathered after frost1 and a greater demand may be created4 ,seeing an unfamiliar fruit in the market is very likely to awaken the interest4 ,whether the buyer will want a second basket or not depends entirely upon the cleverness of the person that supplies the demand4 ,the thoroughly ripe fruit is1 according to an experienced traveller1 entirely without bitterness or astringency1 sweet1 rich1 and juicy4 ,what more can you say about watermelon or strawberries8 ,but if you who gather the fruits persist in hurrying them green into market you may expect that the prejudice against persimmons will grow stronger4 ,,haws ,is there any good reason why some of the people who used to be boys should never have a chance to taste any thorn apples now that they are older8 ,perhaps these grown-up boys deserve to be punished for deserting the old haunts1 but give them a taste of what the open road has to offer and maybe they will be tempted back to a simpler life4 ,the fruit of the ,may haw or apple haw of the far ,south is sold in the markets of some cities and is made into preserves and jelly4 ,the ,washington thorn which grows wild in ,virginia and the other states not far from the capital city is also cultivated in many gardens farther north4 ,it has run wild from these gardens and ranges over ,new ,york1 ,pennsylvania and neighbouring states4 ,though usually small1 its berries are a beautifully shining scarlet and very numerous4 ,it is worth risking a pound or so of sugar just to see what jelly they would make4 ,the pear haw has a thick1 juicy flesh1 and some of the yellow ones are equally good4 ,,wild ,,plums ,the wild plums of the ,east did not strike the early settlers as very much worth while4 ,they were almost all seed and skin and the rest was pucker4 ,quite naturally the plums of the mother country were preferred and sprouts were brought over and set in the gardens of our forefathers4 ,these plum emigrants did so well in the new country that they escaped from the gardens into the pastures and roadsides1 coming up wherever seeds were dropped4 ,in such places they still flourish and are thought of as wild plums4 ,they are gathered for market1 but compare unfavourably1 except with very old-fashioned people1 with the garden-grown fruits of the same or similar varieties4 ,the pioneers of the middle ,west1 however1 found very fine plums growing wild in plentiful thickets4 ,we used to gather these native plums in the ,mississippi ,valley1 in great tubfuls4 ,we not only appreciated the crop nature provided for us every year1 but were far-sighted enough to realize that the time would come when the march of civilization would tramp out the plum thickets4 ,so we planted them in orchards and gardens1 taking those trees that had given us the best crops of the biggest1 finest fruit4 ,in fact1 the pioneers did just what we ought to be doing all over our country with other wild fruits and with nuts4 ,the wild goose plum is a native which has founded a race of which there are many named varieties1 much bigger and finer than the little1 old1 wild grandmother of the plum thicket1 but they all have still that same tart tang1 just under the skin1 that gave to our wild plum jell its incomparable flavour4 ,are the wild plums all forgotten8 ,must all fruit come out of boxes and have that stale taste of the town8 ,must it lose its characteristic aroma and give off only that general markety smell8 ,is goin' plummin' entirely out of fashion1 even in the prairie states8 ,i don't believe it is as bad as that4 ,do you believe that moving pictures or shoot the shoots or merry-go-rounds can begin to compare with such simple pleasures as plumming1 graping1 berrying1 and nutting8 ,i have tried both1 and give me the old1 homely pleasures every time4 ,the following extract from ,the ,tree ,book so well describes an annual outing of pioneer children that it is quoted in full3 ',do you calculate to go a-plummin' this fall8' ,the question was quietly put in father's judicial tones1 but it sent an electric thrill from head to toes of every youngster4 ,mother's reply sent an answering current1 and the enthusiasm of the moment burst all bounds4 ',well1 you better go this afternoon4 ,i can spare the team and wagon1 and ,i guess ,john is big enough to drive4 ,there's no use goin' at all if you don't go right off4' ,so mother and the children rode out of the yard1 she sitting with her young driver on the spring seat1 the rest on boards laid across the wagon box behind4 ,what a jouncing they got when the wheels struck a stone in a rut6 ,but who cared for a trifle like that8 ,john's reckless driving but brought nearer the goal of their heart's desire4 ,a lurid colour lightened the plum thicket as it came in sight4 ,the yellow leaves were falling and the fruit glowed on the bending twigs4 ,close up the wagon is drawn2 then all hands pile out1 and the fun really begins4 ,how large and sweet they are this year6 ,mother knows how to avoid the puckery1 thick skin in eating plums4 ,the youngsters try to chew two or three at once and their faces are drawn into knots4 ,but they soon get used to that4 ,now the small folks with pails are sent to pick up ripe plums under the trees1 and warned against eating too many4 ',remember last year1' says mother1 and they do remember4 ,the larger boys spread strips of burlap and rag carpet under the fullest trees1 in turn1 and give their branches a good beating that showers the plums down4 ,with difficulty the boys and girls make their way into the thicket2 but torn jackets and aprons and scratched hands can be mended--such accidents are overlooked in the excitement of filling the grain sacks with ripe fruit4 ,how fine 'plum butter' will taste on the bread and butter of the noon lunch when winter comes and school begins4 7,the ,pennsylvanian's love for 'spreads' on his bread leavened the ,west completely47 ,other neighbours have come1 and started in with a vim4 ,it seems unreasonable to take any more4 ,the bags are full1 and there are some poured loose into the wagon box4 ,besides1 everybody is tired1 and ,john shouts that the hazel-nuts are ripe on the other side of the log road4 ,a great grape vine1 loaded with purple clusters1 claims mother's attention4 ,there will probably be no better chance for grapes this fall1 and the sun is still an hour high4 ,john chops down the little tree that supports it and the girls eagerly help to fill the pails with the fruit of the prostrate vine1 while ,john goes back to command the hazel-nut brigade and sees that no eager youngster strays too far4 ,mother's voice gives the final summons1 and the children gather at the wagon1 tired but regretful for the filled husks that they must leave behind on the hazel bushes4 ,a loaded branch of the grape vine is cut off bodily1 and lifted into the wagon4 ,the team is hitched on1 and the happy passengers in the wagon turn their faces homeward4 ,such was the poetry of pioneer life4 ,pleasures were simple1 primitive1 hearty--like the work--closely interlinked with the fight against starvation4 ,there was nothing dull or uninteresting about either4 ,the plums and grapes were sweetened with molasses made from sorghum cane4 ,each farmer grew a little strip1 and one of them had a mill to which every one hauled his cane to be ground on the shares4 ,who will say that this long sweetenin' was poor stuff1 that the quality of the spiced grapes suffered for lack of sugar1 or that any modern preserves have a more excellent flavour than those of the old days made out of the wild plums gathered in the woods8 ,and this is also true3 ,there is no more exhilarating holiday conceivable than those half days when mother took the children and went a-plummin'4 ,,nuts ,the wild nuts gathered in this country for sale or home use in the ,north are chestnuts1 hickory nuts1 black walnuts1 butternut1 hazel-nut1 beechnut2 in the ,south1 the pecan and the chinquapin2 in the far ,west1 the pine nut4 ,the least known of these in eastern markets are the pine nuts1 which form a very staple article of food for many tribes of ,indians in the ,great ,basin4 ,john ,muir says that there are tens of thousands of acres covered with nut pines4 ,an industrious ,indian family can gather fifty or sixty bushels in a month if the snow does not catch them4 ,the little cones are beaten off with poles as the trees are not high1 and are heated till they open and the nuts fall out from under the scales4 ,i have eaten pine nuts in ,turkish restaurants4 ,they came as a surprise in a dish of eggplant stuffed with chopped meat1 raisins1 nuts1 bread crumbs1 and ,i know not what all else4 ,the native chestnut1 though smaller1 is far sweeter than the popular ,spanish one4 ,but it looks as if some foreigner must take the place of our native chestnuts in the woods as well as in the market4 ,the chestnut disease which has driven the trees out of the parks and wood lots near ,new ,york ,city is baffling the scientists4 ,every year the deadline moves westward and southward and northward from its center4 ,perhaps a cure will be found before all the chestnuts are gone4 ,if any region has a few trees which seem to withstand the disease while all the rest die1 those trees should be preserved and used to propagate a race of chestnuts which would be immune4 ,it may be that the ,spanish and ,japanese chestnuts will prove hardier than our own4 ,these are being grown quite extensively in some ,eastern states4 ,they bear when remarkably young4 ,japanese chestnuts begin to bear1 according to the nurserymen1 at three years of age1 bear from three to seven nuts in a bur1 each nut measuring from four to five inches in circumference4 ,trees five years old bear two or three quarts each and the yield increases rapidly from year to year4 ,these bring fancy prices in city markets and are eaten either raw or cooked4 ,in growing chestnuts it is the practice first to cut down the old native trees4 ,as in all likelihood these would be dead in a few years anyhow1 this is economical4 ,dead lumber is not as valuable as live lumber4 ,the first year after a chestnut is cut1 a crop of young suckers come up around the stump4 ,these shoots are grafted with scions of a desired variety4 ,there is a good story of a lad of twelve years of age who asked his father to graft a chestnut tree4 ,although the man was grafting apple trees at the time he laughed at the boy's idea4 ,the lad did not forget and years after he put his idea into practice and now owns a chestnut grove which brings him an income of thousands of dollars4 ,his chestnut groves are on waste land unfit for ordinary farm purposes4 ,if one farm boy in every county would take an interest in growing the nuts that belong to his region1 think how the value of the nut crop would increase4 ,every boy knows that the hickory nuts on one particular shell-bark are bigger and sweeter than on every other one he knows of4 ,he and his friends try to get there first1 before the other gang do1 and make sure of their share4 ,but does he ever plant any big sweet nuts along a fence row and take care of the young trees till they are big enough to take care of themselves8 ,in the seventeenth century there was a law in certain ,european countries that every young man should plant a certain number of walnut trees4 ,unless he could prove that he had complied with the law1 he couldn't marry4 ,what a good idea6 ,with such a law we might have more fine trees and fewer hasty marriages4 ,,chinquapins ,a coloured girl brought me a pint of chinquapins from her home in ,ca'line ,county1 ,virginia2 ,i sampled them eagerly1 taking great pleasure in their diminutive prettiness1 tidy shape1 and rich1 dark colouring4 ,i kept a handful securely tied in the little salt bag in which they had made the journey and took them to my native state to show to the children1 who had never seen a chestnut tree of any kind4 ,when ,i took the bag from the trunk1 there was a dustiness about the feel of it that aroused my suspicions4 ,i emptied the contents into a flat dish4 ,there were my nuts1 their glossy brown shells as smooth as ever1 but empty4 ,rolling about amongst them were a lot of the plumpest little white grubs1 fairly bent double with corpulency4 ,there must have been one for each nut1 for not a sound kernel was left4 ,i learn from chestnut-wise people that these weevils are another great enemy of chestnut culture1 no remedy having been found4 ,the chinquapin is the ,southern child's chestnut4 ,it is sometimes a tree1 but more often a low shrub4 ,the bur is round and has only one nut in it4 ,a good many are marketed1 especially in ,southern cities1 and bring a good price when fresh4 ,the weevils enter the nuts before they are mature and it is difficult to find the bad nuts till too late to prevent a disagreeable impression4 ,this interferes with the popularity of the chinquapin as a dessert nut4 ,,hazel-,,nuts ,the ,american hazel-nut flourishes over the eastern half of the ,united ,states4 ,it is a sweet little nut1 much more to my taste than the bigger filbert1 which is so popular in our markets4 ,we used to gather hazel-nuts in the edge of woods which fringe the little rivers of the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,the bushes grew in thickets and while the big brothers and sisters gathered the nuts from among the closely interlaced branches that grew scarcely higher than their heads1 the smaller fry crept in underneath and getting about on the floor of the woods searched for nuts that had ripened early and dropped from the browning husk4 ,there is no progress in simply going out in the fall and taking what nature furnishes4 ,unaided1 the good mother goes on producing the same small nuts1 caring just as patiently for the inferior ones and even encouraging the nut weevils to prey upon them4 ,but ,i wonder if some boy or girl who thinks there isn't any interesting work to be done on the farm1 could not make some experiments in hazel-nut culture4 ,the bushes grow readily from seed1 but seedlings do not always produce as fine nuts as those that were planted4 ,for this reason one can save time by selecting the bushes that bear the largest crop of fine nuts and propagating those4 ,they grow in any well drained1 fairly rich soil and ,i know of hundreds of miles of fence rows answering these requirements1 which now produce poison ivy1 cat brier and other harmful crops4 ,hazel bushes make a beautiful fence row1 and yield a salable crop4 ,hazel bushes propagate naturally by suckers and layers4 ,by manuring well in summer long shoots for layering will be forced4 ,these should be staked down in winter or spring and covered with earth4 ,they may be removed to nursery rows or orchard at the end of the first season4 ,so says ,w4 ,a4 ,taylor in the ,cyclopdia of ,american ,horticulture4 ,the same writer gives directions for pruning as follows3 ,strong shoots should be headed back to promote spur formation 7the nuts are borne on short side shoots7 and old wood that has borne fruit should be removed annually4 ,suckers should be kept down unless wanted for propagation4 ,march or ,april is the best time to prune as they blossom very early and one must avoid cutting off either the young nuts or the pollen-bearing flowers4 ,the nuts should be gathered when the husk begins to brown at the edges4 ,if left longer1 as is most often done1 in the case of wild nuts1 a large proportion of the crop falls to the ground and is lost4 ,beside1 the dried hulled nuts do not bring as high a price as the fresh unhusked ones4 ,if kept long in the husk they will mould1 unless dried thoroughly4 ,the nuts1 however1 will keep through the season in a cool place4 ,,walnuts ,the fruit of the black walnut is enclosed in a globe-shaped husk4 ,all country boys and girls know how that husk smells and how it stains the fingers4 ,the nuts are very oily and must be treated carefully4 ,they should be dried1 preferably on the garret floor1 hulled and stored in a cool1 dry place4 ,if for market1 they should be sold immediately4 ,they are very likely to grow rancid if kept4 ,billy1 in the ,limberlost story1 had a piece of heavy plank with a hole in it1 just big enough to let the husked nut through4 ,he put an unhulled nut over the hole1 then with a wooden mallet1 he drove it through the hole4 ,it came through clean4 ,the butternut or oilnut is from a tree closely related to the black walnut4 ,it is called also white walnut4 ,the husk is not so thick as that of the black walnut and adheres stubbornly to the nut if left to dry4 ,the nuts get rancid if kept warm and should be marketed as soon as dry or kept stored in the cold and eaten before spring4 ,pickled walnuts are a highly prized delicacy in households where culturine has not taken the place of old-fashioned household arts4 ,the nuts are gathered when green1 before the shell has hardened4 ,if a knitting needle can be pushed clear through the nut1 it is not too old for pickling4 ,you will be fortunate if you can get a receipt from some housewife who has time for real culture as well as for making pickles4 ,receipt for ,pickled ,walnuts4--7,from my great aunt's cook-book47 ,ingredients3 ,one hundred walnuts1 salt and water1 one gallon of vinegar1 two ounces of whole black pepper1 half an ounce of cloves1 one ounce of allspice1 one ounce of root ginger sliced1 one ounce of mace4 ,gather the nuts in ,july when they are full grown4 ,they should be soft enough to be pierced all through with a needle4 ,prick them all well through4 ,let them remain nine days in brine 7four pounds of salt to each gallon of water71 changing the brine every third day4 ,drain them1 and let them remain in the sun two or three days until they become black4 ,put them into jars1 not quite filling them4 ,boil the vinegar and spices together ten minutes1 and pour the liquid over the walnuts4 ,they will be fit for use in a month1 and will keep for years4 ,,beechnuts ,the boys of your neighbourhood may not know that the smooth1 gray-barked trees with very long1 slender1 pointed buds are beeches4 ,they may never have noticed the wonderful gray-green colour nor delicate texture of the newly opened leaves1 nor the soft1 silky flower head that bears the pollen4 ,too many boys think these preliminaries are of no importance4 ,the chances are strong that when ,october ripens the nuts1 nobody has any difficulty in locating beech trees1 if there are any in the vicinity4 ,usually1 in the wild woods1 they grow in large groups of various sizes2 the big trees sheltering the little ones until they are strong enough to live in the full sunlight4 ,do boys and girls find the beeches by instinct just as the mice1 the blue jays1 the squirrels1 and the foraging hogs do8 ,do you know why it takes so much longer to gather a pint of beechnuts than the same amount of hazel-nuts8 ,they are pretty small2 yes1 but there's another reason4 ,if you were to count your beechnuts1 you would find it takes many more of them by count to make a pint than of the round nuts1 because of their triangular shape4 ,they fit so snugly that your pint measure of beechnuts is almost solid nuts4 ,they are about the sweetest of the wild nuts4 ,they are very rich in fat too1 and in olden times an oil for table use was made from beechnuts4 ,olive oil takes its place now and costs less4 ,there is a market for all the beechnuts you can gather4 ,dealers in tree seeds often have difficulty in filling orders4 ,as the nuts do not germinate till ,april they may be gathered at any time during the winter1 unless the wild folks have gathered them all4 ,the chances are that to get any you would have to go early and search sharply4 ,once or so in a lifetime the burrow of a white-footed mouse is discovered near beech woods4 ,are you hard hearted enough not only to break and enter1 but also to burgle his hoard8 ,rather admire the little creature's industry and resolve to go and do likewise4 ,,hickory ,,nuts ,america is the only country that has native hickory nuts4 ,of these the best nut producers are the shagbarks and the pecans4 ,these two nuts are increasingly popular4 ,people are planting these nuts and experimenting with new varieties1 with grafting and cultivation1 as never before4 ,pecan orchards are being planted in many regions and hickory nuts are being studied with a view to improving the kernel and reducing the hardness of the shell4 ,the value of hickory wood in the making of tools and for fuel has made the lumber more profitable than the nuts4 ,but with improved varieties this may not be true4 ,the poor quality of the wood of the pecan has saved these native trees from destruction4 ,hickory nuts have a husk as every country child knows2 but the husk has a good-natured habit of splitting neatly into four equal parts which fall away from the nut when dry4 ,there are several kinds of hickory which produce sweet1 edible nuts1 but the nuts of the true shagbark are the best4 ,they grow on low hills near streams or swamps in good soil in the ,eastern and ,middle states as far south as ,florida1 and as far west as ,kansas4 ,the king nuts of the ,mississippi are bigger1 but not so good1 although the price you get for them is good and the baskets fill faster than with the little shagbarks4 ,,pecans ,this nut tree grows in the ,south1 and as the wood is too brittle to be very valuable nobody has cut it for lumber4 ,tremendous interest has been aroused during the past ten years in pecan growing4 ,pecan orchards are being planted in all sorts of soil1 good1 bad1 and indifferent4 ,the wisest planters have gone to nature to learn what kind of conditions the pecan requires4 ,by cultivation and fertilizing and otherwise improving good natural conditions1 many growers are succeeding4 ,by planting nuts from trees that produce fine ones abundantly every year1 and by budding these trees with scions from still finer specimen trees great improvement has been made4 ,i have a picture of a pecan tree in ,georgia1 sixteen years old1 which is nearly fifty feet high4 ,it has borne already three hundred and fifty pounds of nuts and this year's crop will be over a hundred pounds4 ,this tree has never had to fight weeds1 has always had plenty to eat and drink1 was protected in winter while young1 and now it is ready to foot all its own bills and give a fine profit4 ,how many of us are ready to do that at sixteen years8 ,the cultivation of pecans is only just begun4 ,very little of the annual crop of these nuts is harvested in orchards4 ,in ,the ,tree ,book the author says that ninety-five per cent4 of the crop is still gathered in the woods4 ,the annual crop is tremendous1 and the pickers get only three to ten cents a pound for the ungraded nuts4 ,for the very best nuts1 mainly sold for seed1 the retail price is from fifty cents to a dollar a pound1 which is from one to two cents per nut4 ,who picks all these nuts in the woods8 ,surely1 the boys and girls of the pecan belt do their share4 ,do they do it in a primitive way or are their methods worthy of the up-to-date ,american youngster8 ,professor ,hume of the ,florida ,agriculture ,experiment ,station 7,bulletin ,no4 #he1 #aijf7 gives suggestions for gathering the pecan crop in the orchard which ought to be useful to the wild picker4 ,the nuts ought to be gathered as soon as the most of the burs have opened4 ,in orchards1 the pickers use ladders for young trees and climb the big ones and gather the nuts by hand into sacks4 ,beating and shaking the trees is only resorted to for the nuts that are entirely out of reach4 ,if allowed to fall on the ground so many of the nuts are lost that the profits are materially lessened4 ,if practicable a large sheet should be placed under the tree to save this loss4 ,the nuts should be spread under some sort of roof to cure1 which requires ten days or two weeks4 ,have you ever tried the experiment of sorting and grading the nuts you gather8 ,the fruits of wild trees vary greatly in their size and general appearance4 ,the wholesale dealer who buys nuts undoubtedly grades them and gets a fancy price for the big ones4 ,why should you not benefit by this8 ,pecans are graded by sifting them through screens1 the mesh of which lets only those of small size through4 ,you might build up a private trade in wild nuts by packing your best nuts in attractive pasteboard boxes and charging a good retail rate for them4 ,the inferior nuts you could well afford to sell at the lowest wholesale price as your average would be higher than the wholesaler would pay for unsorted nuts4 ,your fancy nuts would have to be polished in order to compete with the nuts sold in city markets4 ,the polishing does not make the meat any sweeter1 but it does make a more attractive dessert nut1 especially now that folks are used to seeing them polished4 ,this is done by putting some dry sand into a barrel with the nuts and rolling the barrel about till the nuts are polished4 ,if you have a worn out barrel or box churn1 as we once had1 that would be just the thing4 ,fancy packages of five to ten pounds would be very much in demand at ,christmas4 ,the big cities are well supplied with this sort of thing1 but in the smaller cities and larger towns there are always some people who know a good thing when they see it and to whom the local markets often fail to supply these little luxuries4 ,,nut ,,growing ,in ,bulletin ,no4 #abe of the ,maryland ,agricultural ,experiment ,station published in #aijh you may read3 ,the young and middle-aged should not only plant nut trees themselves1 but should encourage the children to do likewise4 ,every farm boy ought to have a small nut nursery and be taught to plant and care for nut trees4 ,nothing more creditable could be done in the schools than to interest the boys and girls in the possibilities of nut production and to celebrate ,arbor ,day with the planting of nut trees4 ,doesn't that read like sound advice8 ,think of the land on your father's farm to-day that is not working4 ,or if there isn't any idle land can you not persuade him to lend you an acre or so for experimental purposes8 ,the chances are that he will encourage and help you because he wants you to be interested in the farm4 ,but you may say to yourself3 ,not much6 ,i don't mean to stay on the farm4 ,i'm going to work hard and get an education4 ,i want to be a doctor1 or a lawyer1 or a banker4 ,nevertheless1 you take the ,maryland man's advice and set out some nut trees4 ,let us say you start your nut orchard at age fourteen when you have three years yet in the high school4 ,your trees will be set so far apart that some other crops will be grown between them2 corn1 potatoes1 melons1 or anything that requires good cultivation and fertilization4 ,when you finish the high school your nut trees will not look very big1 but promising4 ,you go on to college and in four years you will see a big change4 ,no crop is in sight yet but you are only twenty-one and ready to go to work4 ,you may forget all about those nut trees for a few years but they are not forgetting their business4 ,they will bear a few nuts some year1 as if to try their hand at a new enterprise4 ,some day when you are needing a sum of money to start in business for yourself1 and you are wondering who will lend you that much1 you will get word from the folks at home that they have harvested your first crop of pecans or ,english walnuts or ,spanish chestnuts and have deposited a thousand dollars in the bank in your name as the net profits4 ,will you try it8 ,before planting nut trees it is important to learn all you can by reading and by correspondence with your ,experiment ,station experts about the kinds that will do best in your region and on your soil4 ,if more boys used a little forethought we should have fewer young college men struggling along on small salaries in work they dislike1 just for lack of a tidy sum of ready money to set them on their feet at the critical time4 ,there are good reasons for this greater interest in nut growing in the ,united ,states4 ,the use of nuts is more common than formerly but they are still a luxury4 ,wild nuts are scarcer1 owing to the destruction of the trees for lumber4 ,the food value of nuts is better understood than formerly1 and many articles of food are manufactured now from nuts4 ,nuts as meat substitutes have come into prominence within a few years4 ,this creates a demand which will increase4 ,there is no danger of over-production4 ,now is the time to get into the nut business4 ,,tree ,,seeds ,in his book on ,forestry ,professor ,gifford says3 ,collection of tree seeds should yield good returns if properly conducted4 ,that is good news1 for if ever a crop was allowed to go to waste it is this crop of tree seeds4 ,any one who has seen a forest of young maples cut down by lawn mowers in the helplessness of their seed-leaf stage realizes that with any sort of forethought those seeds might have been made a source of income4 ,professor ,gifford says a little farther on that many of the seeds of our native trees can be more easily obtained in ,europe than in ,america4 ,we may learn many lessons in economy from our neighbours over there4 ,but who is going to harvest the tree seeds8 ,a mechanic who earns a good wage cannot afford to gather tree seeds2 neither can a bank clerk unless he does the work in his vacation4 ,but our boys and girls are often at a loss to find ways of earning money4 ,here is a crop they can gather without danger of trespassing4 ,there is a market for this harvest4 ,some tree seeds are difficult to get and expensive2 red pine for instance4 ,spruce trees produce seed only once in seven years4 ,this keeps the supply short4 ,in a spruce seed year every seed should be gathered4 ,pecks of hard maple seeds are swept up by street cleaners every year on our home street4 ,they are worth a lot of money1 yet the boys on the street never have all the cash they want to buy baseball gloves and circus tickets and bicycles4 ,no enterprising reader of this book need ever lack for pocket money4 ,remember1 ,professor ,gifford said1 ,collection of tree seeds should yield good returns if properly conducted4 ,every business to be successful must be conducted properly4 ,there are some simple principles4 ,you need not be an expert forester but the more you know about trees the better4 ,if a dealer buys six quarts of red maple seeds of you he will be disappointed if you send him silver maple1 discouraged if you send him sugar maple1 and disgruntled if you send him ash4 ,furthermore1 he will not send you the money nor any orders for more4 ,if there is a maple tree with a peck of seed on it in your yard1 in five minutes or less time you can find out what kind it is with ,the ,tree ,book4 ,before the seeds are ripe write to a several seed men and tell them what you have2 ask if they want any1 at what price1 and on what date4 ,some trees ripen their seeds in the spring1 shake them off1 and let the wind scatter them4 ,in the case of some kinds1 the seeds sprout within a few days after they reach the ground4 ,these should be gathered as soon as ripe1 spread out to dry for a few days1 and planted within a few weeks at latest4 ,seeds of other kinds do not grow till the following spring4 ,none of these should be allowed to dry too thoroughly4 ,nuts and acorns for seed should not be allowed to get dry over winter4 ,these should be packed in moist sand and kept cool but not frozen4 ,cherry1 plum and peach pits are better for being frozen4 ,the supply of white pine seed is never equal to the demand4 ,the market price is said to vary from two dollars fifty cents to four dollars fifty cents per pound4 ,you get a little over a pound of seeds from a bushel of unopened cones4 ,white pine trees require two years to mature their cones and they set seed only once in every four or five years4 ,but every year there will be some trees bearing seed4 ,nineteen hundred and four was a big on year in the ,new ,york white pine forests4 ,you can tell when the tiny cones first appear that a crop is coming4 ,the cones should be watched as ,august wanes and gathered before they open4 ,september is the month as a general thing4 ,boys can earn thirty cents or so a bushel gathering the full cones4 ,but ,i should not be satisfied to let the other fellow get all the profits just because he knows how to cure and market the seed4 ,that is easy4 ,spread the cones out in the barn to dry4 ,slat trays are best to get free circulation of air4 ,you can make these at odd times before the crop is ready4 ,a fanning mill comes in handy to thrash and free them from rubbish and imperfect seed4 ,market them immediately to avoid loss4 ,if you are to keep the seed for home consumption1 mix with dry sand and store in a cool but not too dry place4 ,if allowed to dry or freeze and thaw they lose their vitality4 ,tree seeds need pretty careful handling4 ,any one interested in gathering tree seeds should get information from books and bulletins on forestry4 ,he should write to firms who make a specialty of selling tree seeds and they will help him by giving directions about the treatment of seeds4 ,did you ever wonder where the nursery men get the thousands of apple trees they sell every year8 ,go a step back of the budding or grafting that is done in the nursery4 ,where did the little tree come from whose top was cut off after the first bud was set8 ,it came from a seed2 just any apple seed4 ,and where do apple seeds come from8 ,from apples8 ,yes1 just any apples4 ,did you ever make cider on your farm8 ,you put in whole apples1 skin1 core1 stem1 seeds1 and all2 shovelled them into the hopper4 ,the pulp was squeezed dry and thrown away1 wasn't it1 at your cider mill8 ,that is proof of the wastefulness of some good farmers4 ,if the pulp were washed in tubs1 the seeds would find the bottom 7or the top7 and they would bring a good price per pound4 ,,collecting ,,christmas ,,greens ,once upon a time everybody who wanted ,christmas greens had the fun of gathering his own4 ,that was in the generation when all the grandmothers lived in the country and only the plain fathers and mothers and children lived in the cities4 ,but now we children have grown up and our children want to go to grandmother's house for ,christmas just as we did4 ,can't you imagine how surprised and disappointed they are to find their grandmothers living in city houses1 even in flats8 ,didn't we tell them about going out to gather holly and mistletoe and ground pine and hemlock and even how we used to cut the ,christmas tree itself in grandpa's woods8 ,in the middle ,west where ,christmas trees do not grow in the woods we used to choose a shapely young oak4 ,to make it look like an evergreen we used to get grandpa to go out with his big jack-knife and cut off the largest branches he could spare from the evergreens in the door yard4 ,with good1 strong twine we tied these to the branches of the oak4 ,when all the decorations were on and the oranges and the apples and the popcorn strings and the candles and the presents1 we children who had never seen a real live ,christmas tree couldn't have told the difference4 ,we didn't even mind the fact that some of the oak's outer branches were pine1 some were spruce1 some were cedar4 ,it was all evergreen to us and all ,christmassy4 ,we were easy to please4 ,but now--alas6 ,the gathering of ,christmas greens has been commercialized4 ,it has ceased to be fun1 and has become a business4 ,the boys and girls may share in the profits and perhaps get some fun out of it if they go about it right4 ,holly1 which of all the ,christmas greens is the most popular1 is a hardy and beautiful tree1 which grows wild in great numbers in the ,southern states and in the ,chesapeake region4 ,many country boys and girls make easy ,christmas money from the holly trees in their own woods4 ,to these boys and girls ,i want to say ,don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg4 ,a tree with fine berries on it this year will1 if treated right1 produce a good crop again in a few years4 ,pruning is good for a tree1 but brutally hacking its head out destroys the tree's future1 and the boy who does it is not a good citizen4 ,holly wood is close grained1 light1 and tough and is valuable in some forms of cabinet work4 ,here is an industry that might be developed as a side issue in the holly trade4 ,the best market calls for holly wreaths4 ,i have a picture of a girl of fourteen who can make sixty wreaths in a day and she gets six and a half cents for each4 ,that is good wages for a girl of her age1 but she must get pretty tired making wreaths every minute all day long4 ,if she could help her brothers gather the holly for part of the time1 it would be easier on her back4 ,the wreaths are made on frames of twigs1 twisted into circles1 and tied4 ,young twigs of any flexible shrub are used4 ,somebody has to gather these4 ,it is a wonder that more holly trees are not planted in door yards4 ,and wouldn't it be a good idea for some boys to begin a plantation of holly now so they can reap the harvest later8 ,holly will not go out of fashion in a great many years4 ,but at the present rate the supply cannot last4 ,the amount used every year is past belief4 ,from one small railway station #aej1jjj wreaths6 ,one year1 several carloads were burned because the market was overstocked4 ,the time has come already when raising ,christmas trees is necessary4 ,they still come up like weeds in the woods where enough mature ones are left to seed the bared hillsides4 ,the harvest begins in ,november and the trees are cut and sorted1 roped to preserve their branches1 in bundles of eight or less or singly1 and stacked along the roads to await shipment4 ,hundreds of thousands are harvested every year4 ,no-,christmas-tree clubs are being formed now to try to stop this wastefulness4 ,we go too much to extremes4 ,one ,christmas tree used to be enough for all the grandchildren2 but nowadays every one must have his own4 ,if our children's children are to have real ,christmas trees the boys of to-day must plant the seeds of the beloved balsam fir4 ,the man who discovers and makes popular a new kind of ,christmas greens does everybody a good turn4 ,one of the most remarkable ten-strikes ever made along this line was a sort of accident4 ,a man who calls himself ,caldwell1 the woodsman1 describes his experience as follows3 ,it was several weeks before ,i found the evergreen that was to make the town of ,evergreen1 ,ala41 famous throughout the decorative world4 ,wandering through the woods one day1 my attention was attracted to a beautiful green vine hanging from the topmost limb of a small dead oak4 ,i caught hold of the vine and pulled it down1 and was much astonished at the ease with which it came out of the tree1 and the fact that it seemed in no way injured by my rough treatment4 ,on carrying it to my new home1 ,i arranged it around the mirror in my room1 and1 after leaving it there for about a week or ten days1 found that it was as fresh and green as ever4 ,mr4 ,caldwell saw that in wild ,southern smilax he had found a plant that possessed all the good points required for wholesale decorations4 ,it is used everywhere now4 ,city florists cannot get enough of it4 ,the plant is a perennial1 renewing itself every year1 and grows in greatest profusion in its wild habitat4 ,he had an uphill job1 though1 convincing the fashionable florists of the value of this plant4 ,but he persevered and now he ships five thousand cases of it a year at an average profit of one dollar per case4 ,young long-leaf pines grow in the ,south and are now used extensively for ,christmas decoration in the ,north4 ,it seems a pity to kill a pine tree every time one of these is cut1 but in places where the seedlings come up too thick for good forest growth cutting out some is a benefit4 ,if only the gatherers would be conservers as well6 ,the collecting of ferns in the woods is a business suited to the country boys and girls4 ,this has grown to a really great enterprise since the rage for country things has struck city people4 ,there is some sham about every fad of this kind1 but the fern gatherers are not shamming4 ,they do the real work4 ,to succeed in this1 one must not work haphazard4 ,he must know just what his customer wants1 and the buyer must know just what the collector can supply4 ,ferns is a big group of plants1 and some of them you couldn't sell4 ,if ,christmas ferns grow plentifully in your woods1 you can gather them by the thousand fronds4 ,but will the florist buy those leaves which have the brown spots 7or spores7 on the under side8 ,find out before you waste your time4 ,those spores are more valuable in the woods than on the garbage heap4 ,the boys who pull the plants up by the roots are killing their own goose4 ,the fern can spare all the perfect leaves you find on it in the fall without much if any damage4 ,a new crop will be forthcoming next year if the roots are undisturbed4 ,scissors and care used in gathering only good leaves will pay now1 as well as in the future4 ,there are a number of wild things that deserve more popularity4 ,bitter-sweet is lovely and lasts forever1 nearly4 ,you seldom see it in the market1 though4 ,sumach too1 has great decorative value1 yet whoever saw it in a florist's window8 ,cattails1 pussy willows1 spice bush1 dogwood flowers and berries1 ,solomon's seal1 and a score of other wild flowers are already in use4 ,but there are others you may be able to introduce to city people4 ,it is surprising what they will buy and admire if it comes from the country4 ,i rode on a suburban car one day behind an armful of poison ivy4 ,it was brilliantly beautiful and ,i suspect the gatherer wished ,i had kept still when ,i told her what it was4 ,if she hadn't had a child with her1 ,i should have let her risk it4 ,maybe she was immune4 ,most people are4 ,the funniest thing ,i ever saw for sale was a basket of skunk-cabbage flowers on ,broadway4 ,the shrewd old farmer who had them for sale got a quarter for two4 ,he called them ,japanese lilies4 ,i wonder that the winter berry has not found more favour for decoration4 ,two kinds of shrubs with this name are common in our ,northern woods4 ,they are both hollies1 but1 unlike the ,southern holly1 lose their leaves4 ,one has bright orange-coloured berries1 the other is covered with a great profusion of bright scarlet fruits4 ,nothing could be more effective in a large vase in a dark corner4 ,they light up handsomely at night or in the sunlight4 ,,medicinal ,,plants ,there are a good many kinds of aromatic roots and medicinal plants which are kept in stock at drug stores4 ,some of them are rare and bring a good price2 like golden seal at a dollar or over per pound4 ,digitalis in the drug store is foxglove in the garden2 but who ever thinks of gathering its leaves and finding a market for them8 ,somebody must or the supply would run out4 ,the leaves of the second year's growth are dried for medicinal uses4 ,wild ginger root is used in preserves and for confectionery4 ,i have seen it in market and wondered who gathered it4 ,preserved calamus root1 too2 who buys that unless it is ,br'er ,rabbit8 ,there is a ,bulletin of the ,department of ,agriculture on ,weeds ,used in ,medicine that you ought to have4 ,the list of weeds used in medicine will certainly surprise the unenlightened4 ,how do you know that your doctor isn't dosing you with burdock1 dandelion1 dock1 pokeweed1 foxglove1 mullein1 tansy1 boneset1 catnip1 horehound1 fleabane1 yarrow1 or jimson weed8 ,all these and many more common weeds are collected by somebody1 dried1 and used in medicine4 ,,pokeweed ,pokeweed roots are poisonous4 ,the berries are not4 ,they are used to make a syrup with which to colour frosting for cakes and the like4 ,receipts for this are to be found in many cook books4 ,but the best part of pokeweed is not the fruit4 ,in early spring1 when asparagus is expensive and scarce1 the pokeweed shoots grow rank and as thick as your thumb in fence corners4 ,they will take entire possession of a large garden in two years if given the least encouragement4 ,i cut the stems when about a foot in height4 ,they are covered with short leaves which are best removed except at the end of the shoot4 ,cook exactly like asparagus1 and dress with butter or cream4 ,they resemble asparagus somewhat1 but are more delicate in flavour and less woody in texture4 ,,walking ,,sticks ,i once knew a stubborn man who was convinced that an unproductive orchard full of old gnarled trees on his place was good for nothing but firewood4 ,he had the trunks cut into stove lengths and then burned the brush in ten huge piles4 ,as the last pile was about to be fired1 a manufacturer of umbrella handles offered him ten dollars for what was left4 ,imagine his feelings6 ,thousands of handsome walking sticks and umbrella handles are made of apple1 cherry1 and such woods4 ,the makers cannot get enough of it and yet every year how much salable wood must be burned in the form of prunings4 ,there is a true story of a young man in ,florida who paid his way through college by collecting orange wood suitable for walking sticks4 ,this wood is still popular for the same purpose1 and the idea is worth passing along4 ,roots of quaint or grotesque shape are often found in the woods and may be used as handles of umbrellas or walking sticks4 ,i have a stick made of a small sapling upon which a branch of bitter-sweet had entwined4 ,as the sapling grew in circumference1 the coils of the climber had not been loosened but had become imbedded in the wood of the little tree4 ,the long vine was not cut off1 but trimmed and wound round and round at the head of the stick to make it large enough to grasp comfortably4 ,such a stick is an interesting gift for a friend4 ,illustration3 ,walking sticks decorated by nature ,another pretty bit of nature's handiwork is a walking stick engraved by the engraver beetle4 ,these little insects make their burrows just under the bark and they often work on small branches of a great variety of forest trees4 ,remove a bit of loose bark and ten to one you will find it carved with a more or less intricate design by the engraver beetle4 ,could you do as neat a piece of work8 ,a thorough brushing and oiling are all that such a stick needs to make it an ornament to the hat-rack4 ,sticks intended for handles or canes cannot be bent when dry4 ,they should be steamed until flexible or buried in hot1 wet sand till you can shape them4 ,boiling for a half-hour will sometimes make a piece supple4 ,fasten in the desired shape with stout cords and dry thoroughly before releasing4 ,sticks that are slightly crooked may be straightened by putting them into a bundle with perfectly straight pieces and winding with strong rope2 let them dry in this bundle4 ,sticks which are to be peeled should be partially dried first but not by artificial heat4 ,rapid drying is likely to split the stick4 ,,wild ,,flowers ,,for ,,city ,,children ,children who live in the country part or all of the year do not know how much pleasure they might give if they would gather wild flowers and send them to city children4 ,there is a society which distributes flowers thus collected in ,new ,york but maybe there is none in the city near you4 ,the commonest flowers1 even the weeds like daisies and dandelions and black-eyed ,susans1 are eagerly taken home by children who are so poor that they never even saw a park1 much less a meadow4 ,in one city school over two hundred children had never seen a dandelion4 ,a lady once started with a bunch of daisies to give to a city friend4 ,she was met at the ferry with1 ,please give me a flower4 ,she went on up the street4 ,won't chu gimme one o'yer flowers8 ,children seemed to appear from every direction2 maybe they were always there and she had not noticed them before4 ,the grown-up friend did not get any flowers but she got a good story instead4 ,mr4 ,jacob ,riis founded a flower mission on a similar experience4 ,it is fun to gather flowers anyhow1 and if you can make some other child happy even for a few minutes it would be even more fun4 ,this is only a hint4 ,,shelf ,,fungi ,have you seen those outgrowths on dying and dead trees which stand out like a shelf8 ,they are called bracket or shelf fungi4 ,if you have an artist friend who can make beautiful things on these by carving them with little engraving tools1 gather all you see for her4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,verne ,morton4 ,gathering ,wild ,flowers for ,city ,children ,,dandelion ,,greens ,do your folks cook dandelion greens8 ,mine never did but since seeing them for sale at so much per half-peck ,i have come to think that they must be eatable and have wished we had gathered and sold the bushels that grew in our lawn4 ,,corn ,,husks ,corn husks is a crop that used to be more eagerly harvested than now4 ,in the corn belt1 where the husking is done in the field1 the husk is left on the stalk and would therefore be hard to get4 ,but where corn is snapped1 husk and all1 and left to be husked at leisure in field or barn1 the husks can be saved with profit4 ,for summer beds they are cheaper and softer than hay4 ,for porch cushions they are far superior to excelsior4 ,for braiding into mats they are really valuable1 and well-made ones bring a good price4 ,cornstalks yield another crop that is little known4 ,collectors of insects use thin sheets of cornstalk pith to line their insect boxes4 ,it is peculiarly adapted to this purpose4 ,they cannot get a large supply of it1 yet what boy in any great corn state could not get a ton of it if he had the gumption4 ,ask the entomology man in your state ,experiment ,station1 if he needs cornstalk pith4 ,if you live in a cactus country1 ask him if he could use thin slices of the pith from the flower stalk of the giant cacti4 ,,fragrant ,,herbs ,,and ,,grasses ,of the fragrant herbs1 grasses1 and shrubs which nature provides1 nothing is more in demand than sweet grass4 ,in the parts of the country where it is abundant1 people still gather and cure it and make useful baskets and mats of it4 ,sometimes it is combined with birch bark or porcupine quills or both by skilful ,indian women who learned how from their grandmothers4 ,the good market for such things will keep the art of basket making from becoming a lost one4 ,indian maidens are not the only ones who have learned basket weaving4 ,indeed this has almost taken the place of patchwork1 for girls1 except in very old-fashioned families4 ,clever girls will not be content to use only such conventional materials as raffia and reeds4 ,often the colours of those you buy are so crude that you cannot make really artistic things of them4 ,some of the native grasses1 flower stalks1 strips of palmetto1 rushes1 soft inner corn husks1 cat-tail leaves1 and sedges are used4 ,one basket maker has used the shiny brown stems of maidenhair ferns and the effect is very pretty4 ,another uses long pine needles in her weaving4 ,most of these materials are unfit for use when dry and brittle1 but books on basketry tell just how they can be made pliable4 ,grasses are usually at their best just after flowering4 ,the dried leaves of sweet fern1 sweet clover in blossom1 balsam fir1 and bayberry make sweet smelling cushions and bags for bureau drawers and couches4 ,,balsam ,,leaves ,in gathering what you hear called pine needles for pillows be sure you have the right kind of trees before you begin to gather the leaves4 ,pine needles are long and stiff and sharp4 ,a pillow made of dried ones would not be a very fragrant nor a very comfortable thing4 ,what you want is the short1 soft leaves of balsam fir4 ,these retain their wholesome odour after being dried4 ,in five minutes you can learn to tell the balsam from spruce1 hemlock1 and cedar1 the other common short-leaved native evergreens4 ,,birch ,,bark ,camping parties often leave a trail of devastation behind them which would shock the most hardened and wasteful one of the lot4 ,this is largely if not entirely because they are ignorant1 not because they are intentionally breakers of the laws of the woods4 ,indeed they are probably very ardent believers in the theory of conservation4 ,has it never occurred to them to practise it8 ,in the matter of collecting birch bark much damage has been done4 ,some people in whom you have confidence say3 ,oh1 no4 ,it doesn't hurt the tree4 ,so you strip off layer after layer2 such a fascinating occupation1 ,i do not wonder you hardly know when to stop4 ,but read what ,miss ,rogers says in ,the ,tree ,book3 ,the feminine tourist in ,northern woods loses no time in supplying herself with birch bark note-paper4 ,the bark is usually removed in thick plates1 from which the thin sheets may be stripped at leisure4 ,these sheets are orange-coloured1 with a faint purplish bloom upon them and darker purplish lines4 ,alas6 for the zeal of these tourists4 ,they usually cut too deep1 and the strip that tears off so evenly girdles and kills the tree1 because nothing is left to protect the living cambium4 ,a black band 7of mourning7 soon marks the doomed tree1 and it eventually snaps off in the wind4 ,i know a girl who killed thirty-seven beautiful birch trees before any one showed her how she could get plenty of bark and leave some for the tree beside4 ,she was perfectly horrified when she realized what she had done4 ,so few people know that the live part of the tree is not at the heart--that is quite dead--but just under the skin4 ,cut off the bark in any large quantities and your tree falls an easy prey to disease4 ,hiawatha was not the first ,indian to use the canoe birch for practical purposes4 ,his ancestors used this bark for all sorts of utensils1 dishes1 baskets1 buckets1 and for their canoes4 ,they sewed the pieces together with fibrous roots and filled the cracks with wild gum or pitch4 ,the ,indians of nowadays have degenerated and the things they make have become less artistic4 ,i lately saw a buckskin pouch1 decorated with exquisitely woven bead work1 in simple but charming design4 ,it was a piece of real ,indian handiwork1 but the whole effect was spoiled by a lining of coarse red and blue and green gingham and the pouch flap was secured by a thong looped over a large white agate shirt button6 ,in trying to imitate the ,indians at their game of making things out of birch bark1 quills1 sweet grass1 and other natural materials1 let us keep clear of the shops and use only what combines naturally and artistically4 ,,porcupine ,,quills ,give me of your quills1 ,o hedgehog6 ,hiawatha was talking to a porcupine1 for the chances are that he never saw a hedgehog4 ,poets ought to know better than to confuse their critters4 ,a real ,indian boy in the woods knows that porcupines give up their quills all too willingly4 ,it is strange that the wild beasts of prey and the domestic dogs cannot learn this and let the porcupine alone4 ,they have no quarrel with him4 ,he eats the bark of trees1 and goes about his own affairs4 ,there isn't a word of truth in the story of his shooting his quills4 ,no doubt he would if he could1 if sore pressed1 but he can't4 ,he bristles them up when attacked and then woe be to the tender nose that touches the sharp points6 ,the quills let go of their original owner very easily1 but being barbed on their outer end they bury themselves in the soft parts of the attacking animal4 ,with no thought of revenge in his rather witless head1 the porcupine may pronounce the death sentence on his captor4 ,porcupines are hunted for their quills and easily captured by men as they are slow and awkward4 ,the quills take a pretty polish and their cream white and shaded brown colours blend softly with the tints of birch bark and wild grasses with which they are combined by basket and mat weavers4 ,,maple ,,sugar ,,making ,most of the fifty million or so pounds of maple sugar made in this country is made in six states1 ,vermont1 ,new ,york1 ,ohio1 ,michigan1 ,pennsylvania1 and ,new ,hampshire4 ,the boys and girls of these states have exceptional opportunities of studying the mysteries of tree life and of sharing the bounty the maples provide4 ,i was not brought up in any one of the above-named states1 yet ,i remember the maple sugar making in the woods along the river4 ,one of my early recollections is of a party of ,indian women1 on piebald ponies1 bringing fascinating heart-shaped cakes of maple sugar to exchange at the farm for fresh meat4 ,theirs were no pale1 anmic1 delicate squares of creamy texture1 but ruddy and hard4 ,less discriminating than now1 we children ate with relish the coarse sugar almost black from the bits of bark1 chips of leaves1 and twigs which had undoubtedly been boiled with it4 ,nor did we innocents turn from it with loathing when told by a teasing uncle that its colour was due to the sirup having been strained by the ,indians through their blankets4 ,we didn't believe it then and ,i don't yet4 ,how very bad for the blankets6 ,the ,indians discovered the maple sugar industry long before they themselves were discovered by white people4 ,they taught our ,new ,england ancestors how to tap the trees and boil down the sirup and how to sugar off4 ,they had little or no sugar except what the maples supplied4 ,the ,indians had very primitive ways of tapping the trees1 collecting the sap1 boiling1 and sugaring4 ,these ways have been improved in the last three hundred years4 ,although wooden buckets and home-made spiles made of sumach branches may still be used where only a few trees are tapped1 the up-to-date sugar maker has modern1 patent1 covered buckets1 spouts1 and evaporators4 ,he uses a thermometer and knows for sure when to shut off his fire if he wants to make sirup1 and how high the temperature may go to make the best sugar4 ,he knows1 too1 whether he can afford to make sugar which tests eighty per cent4 or ninety per cent4 pure and get the bounty1 if his state pays one1 or if it costs him less labour and expense to sell his entire product in the form of sirup4 ,but scientific methods can never take away the charm of maple sugar making4 ,there is so much yet to be learned from the trees about the whys and wherefores of their behaviour during the harvest1 that our interest in maple products increases as our interest in mere sweets decreases4 ,if you have a sugar bush planted by your great-grandfather1 the chances are that you have had annual opportunities to help in making sugar1 ever since you could drive a horse on frosty mornings to collect the sap4 ,but ,i am going to suppose that during the winter you have been reading ,trees ,every ,child ,should ,know and have been identifying the trees about your home4 ,the maples are about the easiest trees to identify when leafless4 ,suppose you have found several maple trees1 good big ones1 right in your own door yard4 ,the hard or sugar maple is the one most frequently used for sugar making1 but experiments show that soft maples make good sugar too4 ,it isn't worth while to tap trees in winter4 ,the sugar is in them all right because the leaves were storing up the starch all summer4 ,this starch has been changed to sugar in the living cells of the wood4 ,but you couldn't get any of it until the sap begins to run4 ,it does this with the first warm1 sunny days of ,february4 ,after locating all the trees you expect to tap1 you must make some preparations so that you will not lose any time at the critical moment4 ,i knew one boy who got his bit and brace out the first thing1 bored a hole in the tree trunk1 and lost about a gallon of sap before he could get a spile and a pail ready to catch it4 ,you want a spile or spout for every pail and a pail for every tree4 ,the patent spouts have a hook upon which the bucket hangs4 ,if you use sumach spiles you may have to set the bucket on the ground where it is likely to get dirt in it1 tip over1 and it is so far from the spile that the wind blows the sap away from the pail entirely4 ,the pails should be generous in size unless you expect to collect the sap more than once a day4 ,an average yield per day is five quarts per hole4 ,the pails and spiles should be in readiness before sugar weather begins4 ,beside the pails and spouts you need a wooden mallet1 and a bit and brace or small auger for the outdoor work2 a kettle for boiling down1 a large jar to put the fresh sap in1 and a dipper to dip it out1 a strainer and a skimmer for the indoor work4 ,if you boil your sap outdoors using cheap fuel you will make more out of your enterprise than if you use coal or gas4 ,a good sap-running day is a warm1 sunny day after a frosty night4 ,while the days and nights are about the same temperature the sap does not run much4 ,the best place to tap a tree is about four feet from the ground1 and fortunately that is the easiest place to work with the auger or bit4 ,the bit should be bright and sharp2 a dull1 rusty bit makes a shabby hole in the wood with a lot of woody shreds which clog the flow of sap4 ,clean out the hole1 as any chips left in stop the flow in the same way4 ,the bit or auger used should be about one half inch in diameter4 ,a bigger hole might give more sap but would injure the tree more4 ,the tree fills up the smaller hole in a few years with new tissue4 ,the hole should not be deeper than three inches4 ,it is a mistake to think that the centre of the tree holds the sap4 ,as a matter of fact there is less there than anywhere else and more as you near the surface4 ,the living1 active part of the tree is just under the bark4 ,it is necessary to say this over and over again so that people will get it into their minds4 ,the ,indians used to tap the trees on the south side because they said more sap came from that side4 ,experiments show that on warm1 sunny days1 this is the case4 ,on cloudy days1 however1 sap comes about equally from holes on all sides4 ,if the trees have been tapped before1 it is best to tap at some distance from the old places4 ,the size of the auger and spile should be the same and the latter should be forced in tightly1 and not fall out when the pail is full4 ,pure sap makes the clearest sirup and the lightest-coloured sugar4 ,every bit of dust1 leaves1 twigs1 or bark that gets into the pail leaves its mark on the sugar even though strained out4 ,so covers on the pails are preferred if one can afford them4 ,most of the sap runs between nine o'clock in the morning and noon4 ,it has been found by tests that this morning sap has more sugar in it than that which runs later in the day4 ,it is the custom in some places to throw away the ice if the sap freezes4 ,this is very wasteful1 for this ice contains about thirty per cent4 of the sugar4 ,of course1 melting ice is expensive business so one must try not to let his sap freeze4 ,the sap in the storage jar or tank must not be allowed to get warm1 though1 as it may sour4 ,it should be boiled as soon after gathering as possible to ensure best results4 ,maple sap contains other ingredients beside water and sugar4 ,in boiling1 the water passes off in steam and the sugar and other solids remain4 ,the changes in colour from clear sap to dark brown sugar is caused by the action of the heat upon the sugar and other substances4 ,all sugar makers know that the lightest coloured sirup and sugar can be made from the earliest run of sap4 ,that is because1 as the season advances1 more of the lime1 potash1 magnesia1 and other substances are present in the sap4 ,you see the tree does not stop work just because you tap it2 and the sap is changing every day until1 by the time the buds begin to open1 the sap is so changed that it does not make good sugar at all4 ,water boils when it reaches two hundred and twelve degrees1 ,fahrenheit1 as any thermometer will tell you4 ,in fact1 you cannot heat water hotter than two hundred and twelve degrees1 for at that temperature the water becomes steam4 ,a mixture of sugar and water will not boil at two hundred and twelve degrees but requires a higher temperature4 ,therefore1 as the water passes off the sap in boiling1 and as the amount of sugar per gallon increases1 it gets hotter and hotter4 ,it is necessary to watch boiling sap carefully to avoid burning4 ,in making sirup it is important to have it just thick enough to taste right and not so thick that it will granulate4 ,sirup that weighs eleven pounds to the gallon has long been considered as just right1 and it has been found by testing that if you take the sirup off the fire just as soon as the thermometer registers two hundred and nineteen degrees it will weigh eleven pounds to the gallon and will not granulate4 ,if you take it off when the thermometer says two hundred and sixteen degrees your sirup will be a pretty fair article1 but you cannot expect to get as good a price for it1 because it has more water in it than there should be in a prime article4 ,when the sirup has boiled down to nearly two hundred and nineteen degrees1 it is necessary to pour it off or strain it through thick cloths to take out the dark-coloured impurities4 ,after this the sirup is heated again to boiling point and sealed in jars or cans4 ,a gallon of sirup will make between eight and ten pounds of sugar4 ,can you afford to make your sirup into sugar at this rate8 ,it will depend upon the relative price of sugar and sirup1 the cost of your fuel and the value of your time and whether your market wants sugar or sirup4 ,there is a good and increasing demand for pure maple products1 especially in the form of confectionery4 ,if you can work up a market for fancy maple sugar in the form of bonbons it will bring a fancy price4 ,this is not so hard as it sounds but it takes enterprise and gumption and perseverance and knack4 ,here is a job where brothers and sisters can work together to very great advantage and add to their store of college money by discovering and harvesting a crop right at home which in many cases has been neglected for decades4 ,if you have city cousins they will help you sell your products among their mates4 ,it will pay you to prepare small sample parcels1 enough to whet the appetite but not enough to satisfy4 ,i remember receiving a number of packages of maple cream from a ,vermont friend4 ,the price per pound was equal to that of the finest candy and ,i wanted to share with all my friends4 ,but ,i couldn't afford to give away pound packages to everybody4 ,i might have created a large demand for this delicious confectionery1 had ,i been able to get sample packages to give to friends4 ,this year ,i am to have them4 ,it adds wonderfully to the attractiveness of maple sugar to have each cake or bonbon wrapped in its own piece of waxed paper4 ,this is a kind of guarantee of dainty handling that is appreciated by the purchaser4 ,a shoe box is hardly a dainty parcel1 yet ,i know of one unimaginative maple sugar man who packs his cakes in just such boxes4 ,there is a chance for some one to make a hit in this line4 ,,wild ,,rice ,wild rice sells for two or three times the price of ordinary rice and the supply never meets the demand4 ,but who wants it and what for8 ,wild rice is not likely to become a popular breakfast food except among the ,ojibways1 yet a lot of time and effort have been spent on trying to find out how to grow crops of it4 ,the reason for this is that nothing fattens wild ducks1 geese1 and other game birds quite so satisfactorily4 ,where the wild rice flourishes there is the hunter's paradise in ,september4 ,this is reason enough for wanting to grow wild rice4 ,when our true ,american sportsmen awoke to the fact that game was scarce and realized why1 they set about protecting the wild fowl and studying their habits so as to better supply ideal conditions for the remnant to increase4 ,this is conservation and boys that help in such enterprises are truly patriotic citizens4 ,wild rice grows in swamps1 shallow lakes1 and sluggish rivers covering immense areas in the ,mississippi ,valley and the middle ,north-western states4 ,mud is a necessity to its growth4 ,it grows taller than a man's height above the water and its seed comes in a loose spray at the very top of each stalk4 ,the plants die every year and new ones come up from seed4 ,the grain begins to ripen early in ,september and keeps on until heavy frosts4 ,this is all right for ducks but it makes harvesting a very difficult task4 ,the ,indian women of the wild rice regions go out and shake the heads over their boats4 ,they have to go again and again4 ,if they left it till all the grain had ripened they would get very little seed1 because the wild rice falls as soon as it is ripe and lies in the mud till spring4 ,the long-hid secret of the many failures to get wild rice to grow from seed was discovered by some scientist to be this habit of lying in the mud over winter4 ,thoroughly dried seed does not germinate4 ,wild rice is queer looking stuff4 ,the grains are black and very long and slender4 ,some of them are an inch long4 ,it is said by some to be very good eating1 especially as prepared by the ,indians4 ,they parch it usually1 but sometimes it is made into a sort of porridge and eaten with maple sugar4 ,practically1 the best market for wild rice will always be amongst the wild fowl and it is a sportsman-like act to gather the seed and propagate it for their sake4 ,,gathering ,,spruce ,,gum ,if spruce gum were used only in the manufacture of chewing-gum we had much better let the crop go unharvested4 ,it serves a useful purpose in the tree which produces it4 ,when you have a cut or bruise you like to put something on it that excludes the air4 ,the tree acts on the same principle4 ,the live part of the tree is just underneath the bark4 ,trees are liable to many kinds of injuries4 ,the winter winds strain them sometimes to the point of splitting1 a heedless woodsman blazes the bark in passing1 wild creatures gnaw or scratch the trunks1 a woodpecker digs a hole through the bark4 ,any injury of the living layer is like a hurry call to the cells where the resin is stored4 ,these cells are the health department4 ,they send out to the injured part a covering of balm1 a salve which seals the wound effectually from contact with the air4 ,we cannot say that the tree knows that the air is full of the germs of decay and that to let them get a foothold means decay and sure death2 but the tree has something that serves the same purpose as knowledge4 ,physicians make use of the resinous gums in preparing medicines1 and druggists always try to keep a stock of spruce gum on hand4 ,collectors find their best market for it in the drug trade4 ,the best quality brings as high as one dollar and fifty cents a pound1 while one dollar a pound is not too much to expect for the average collection4 ,all the spruces yield gum1 but the best quality is said to come from the white spruce4 ,the first thing to do then is to learn to recognize this tree on sight4 ,it will take you and a tree book together about five minutes to distinguish between the three short-leaved evergreens which look so much alike to a novice1 the firs1 the hemlocks1 and the spruces4 ,when once you know the spruces by the looks or the feel1 you will begin to know the white from the red and black spruce by the colour4 ,everything about the white spruce is paler than the others4 ,the foliage is light1 almost pea-green1 and the bark is not ruddy but grayish-brown4 ,there are thousands of acres of spruce woods in our northern ,central and ,new ,england states4 ,boys and girls on camping trips can sometimes collect spruce gum enough to pay expenses and have fun doing it4 ,the only equipment necessary is a heavy pocket knife1 a gum spud1 a canvas sack1 a strong hand1 and a pair of sharp eyes4 ,the eyes will get sharper as the knife gets dull and the tree you found nothing on in the morning of your first day may yield a good harvest on the return trip4 ,you will not be able to buy a gum spud1 but a tinsmith can make one for you at small cost1 according to these directions3 ,solder a piece of galvanized iron into a funnel six inches deep1 three inches across the top1 and one inch in diameter at the bottom4 ,a ferrule two or three inches deep and an inch in diameter is fitted into the bottom of the funnel and soldered in tight4 ,fit a long handle into this affair and your spud is ready4 ,you may count on a good majority of the gum you find being out of reach of the knife but the spud gets it down very successfully4 ,the best place to find spruce gum is undoubtedly in woods where no one has been gummin' before1 at least not for five years or so4 ,the most plentiful supply is said to be on slopes where the trees have a southern exposure1 and the smaller trees yield more gum than the big ones4 ,your work is not done with collecting1 for in order to get the best price you must present a fancy grade to the market4 ,if your gum is all thrown in together1 good1 bad1 and indifferent1 your average price is pretty sure to be less than for a carefully cleaned and sorted lot4 ,spruce gum can be collected in summer or winter4 ,which time is better for you depends on circumstances4 ,there is a peculiar charm about gum hunting on snow-shoes4 ,a young man suffering from too little fresh air and attendant ills might find his health among the spruce trees while the gum paid the bills4 ,,mushrooms ,are you sure these are good mushrooms8 ,i asked my seven-year-old daughter4 ,yes4 ,i'm sure4 ,don't you know ,aunt ,j---- says that all the ,coprin are edible8 ,this is a true story and it only goes to show that even a small child can learn that there are a small number of unmistakable mushrooms1 which are edible and there is never any danger of being wrong about them4 ,the puff-balls1 for example1 are all good to eat4 ,when we found the neighbour's children kicking great white spongy puff-balls in the pasture we begged them to let us have them instead4 ,pap says they're p'ison was their reply1 but we heeded them not for their pap was no oracle of ours4 ,we were quite willing the children should go on thinking puff-balls were poison1 if only they would not use them for foot-balls4 ,nobody in his senses would try to eat puff-balls after they have begun to turn black or brown4 ,but when they are white and tender they are very good4 ,skin the ball1 slice thin1 add water and a little salt1 and stew for twenty minutes or so4 ,drain and dress with cream sauce4 ,no doubt puff-ball slices broiled over a camp fire with bacon would be good4 ,i wish ,i had tried it1 but ,i never have4 ,we will agree that no puff-ball can compare with the pink-gilled meadow mushroom1 but we make no such claims for it4 ,the best place to look for puff-balls is in old pastures in late summer and early fall4 ,the giants are sometimes as big as a milk pail4 ,the pear-shaped ones grow on tree stumps and are as big as your fist or smaller4 ,there is an endless variety of tiny ones of all sorts which are either too tough or too small to bother with4 ,but no puff-ball is p'ison1 not one4 ,boys and girls who like to harvest nature's crops are missing a lot of fun besides many pecks of delicious food by neglecting the common edible mushrooms4 ,if you know a few good ones you are perfectly safe4 ,when you have seen them a few times and gathered them a few times and compared them with photographs you are ready to eat them4 ,i should advise always to go mushroom hunting first with some experienced person4 ,personally ,i take no risks4 ,for instance if my book tells me that dangerous fungi resembling this species and sometimes found in company with it--etc41 that's enough4 ,say no more4 ,i let that one alone4 ,i do not like the company it keeps1 and it may be a sheep in wolf's clothing4 ,in my list of edible fungi1 common in ,new ,york and ,new ,jersey1 there are less than a dozen kinds4 ,no one of these looks enough like any other fungus to be mistaken for it4 ,a few good looks at them will fix them in the memory4 ,these are morels1 meadow mushrooms1 shaggy-manes1 inky-caps1 oyster mushroom1 puff-balls1 coral fungi1 and chanterelles4 ,the open season for morels is in early spring1 when arbutus is blossoming1 and later4 ,coral fungi and chanterelles are at their finest in midsummer1 puff-balls in ,september1 inky-caps and shaggy-manes in ,october1 and we ate oyster mushrooms on ,january first one year1 though they appear earlier4 ,the meadow mushroom with white flesh and pink gills is grown indoors and is seen in the market from fall till spring1 but nature's crop must be harvested in fall before frost4 ,morels4--,morels look like nothing else4 ,when full sized they are six inches high4 ,the hollow stalk is as large as your finger and about half the length of the whole4 ,the top or cap is brownish and so covered with ridges and wrinkles that it would never be mistaken for anything else in the world4 ,you ought to see a picture of it because it is difficult to describe so irregular an object4 ,look it up in some mushroom book or bulletin in your library4 ,illustration ,you never know just where morels may appear4 ,we found them in our garden once4 ,they come up right among the weeds or dead leaves4 ,i have often found them along forest by-paths1 especially in wet weather in spring4 ,they are delectable4 ,perhaps you have eaten delicately broiled slices of tenderloin of young pig4 ,morels do not taste like this--they look a little like it--they taste very much better4 ,you taste them4 ,coral ,fungi4--,the coral fungi that ,i eat look like chunks of pinkish or cream white organ pipe coral4 ,they are fleshy1 soft1 yet firm enough to keep their shape1 and the whole mass is made up of tiny thread-or rod-like parts of many branches4 ,there is a fine one which looks like a cauliflower though more yellow4 ,i have found the pink and creamy ones on fallen and decayed tree trunks in deep1 cool woods in midsummer4 ,others equally good grow in thin woods or open places4 ,they vary in size from chunks as big as a walnut to those as big or bigger than your fist4 ,they need careful cleansing under a faucet4 ,some cooks soak them first in cold water into which they put a little vinegar or lemon juice4 ,they then fry in butter4 ,another way is to stew till tender in water with lemon juice in it4 ,then drain and dress with cream sauce4 ,puff-balls4--,what country child has not puffed the smoke from the hole in the top of the tough-skinned little brown balls they find in the fields in autumn8 ,children generally believe them to be deadly poison and call them devil's snuff-boxes4 ,their life history is very like that of other fungi4 ,the most of the year these flowerless and leafless plants spend underground4 ,they spread in a tangle of fine threads all through the soil wherever they find decaying vegetable matter upon which to feed4 ,when their time comes1 little white balls push out and up from the threads4 ,these come to the surface and we know them by their shapes and sizes as our different kinds of puff-balls1 mushrooms1 or other fungi4 ,the puff-balls are white and look like fine cream cheese when they first appear4 ,their business is to ripen their spores1 scatter them1 and disappear4 ,the brown smoke or dust of the ripe puff-ball is blown about by the wind and finds its way into the earth in time2 each tiny spore or grain of dust can start a new mat of threads down underground4 ,when you puff the devil's snuff-box you are doing the plant just the kindness it was waiting for4 ,when a cow steps on a ripe giant puff-ball a great smoke goes up1 and the breeze catches the dust4 ,some of the spores may be carried on the wind or on the cow's foot to far distant pastures1 there to settle down and start a new puff-ball colony4 ,it is just so with all the fungi4 ,all the puff-balls are edible but one of the most eatable is the giant1 which is found in ,august or ,september in pastures or other grassy places4 ,when right to eat it is grayish on the outside and pure white clear through4 ,in size this giant varies from six or eight inches through to two feet4 ,specimens of ten pounds' weight are not rare1 and there is record of some twice that size4 ,when yellow or brown inside1 the giant is past eating4 ,the pear-shaped puff-ball is the commonest one4 ,this is a sort of dirty brown colour outside1 pure white inside4 ,it is found on old wood or on the ground as early as ,july and as late as ,october4 ,in size the balls vary from thimble size to that of a big pear4 ,they grow in companies1 sometimes scores together4 ,the brain puff-ball is larger than the pear-shaped4 ,the top is wrinkled or corrugated1 and grayish or reddish in colour4 ,chanterelles4--,chanterelles are found in late summer in the woods amongst moss where it is damp and cool4 ,they are red or yellow and look as if you had put your thumb in the middle of the top and pushed it down so that the network of gills appear on the outside4 ,the name means a little goblet1 and the perfect ones are goblet-shaped4 ,if you go camping in the woods in summer you are almost sure to find chanterelles4 ,meadow ,mushrooms4--,the wild meadow mushroom usually appears in large numbers after the autumn rains have renewed the pastures4 ,they frequently come up alongside of an old dried patch of cow manure4 ,to make myself familiar with this pink-gilled variety ,i visited a large market where they had them for sale in all stages1 from the little round buttons to the big flat broilers which are turning brown4 ,they are just right when the cap has spread so as to burst the delicate white veil which covers the gills4 ,the flesh is white and the gills a delicate pink4 ,the skin peels off easily like that of a ripe peach4 ,look them over with great care when preparing for the table4 ,the early worm which is on hand to get a first bite of everything sometimes honeycombs the whole plant4 ,the stems of young ones are tender at the top4 ,inky ,caps4--,you never expect to gather your dinner from an ash heap8 ,neither did ,i2 but in the edge of the woods nearest us the public used to be allowed to dump ashes4 ,it is now overgrown with golden-rod1 iron weed and various other coarse plants4 ,a path leads through it4 ,last fall we discovered that the place was fairly swarming with ,coprinus comatus1 the shaggy mane mushroom4 ,this does not look like anything else on land or sea and is delicious4 ,its relative1 the inky cap is just as good to eat1 but not so handsome4 ,both melt away into black ink as they grow old4 ,they should be cooked as soon as possible after gathering4 ,we kept some over night once4 ,such a sight6 ,they looked like black corn smut4 ,the ,coprin push up in such tight clumps sometimes that their heads are all out of shape4 ,they rise literally over night4 ,sometimes one comes up singly and grows tall and perfect1 a truly lovely object1 pure white1 six inches tall1 its shaggy head held high1 its silver-white gills delicate as tissue paper4 ,a few hours later you will see a ragged bit of pulp rapidly dissolving in a pool of black ink4 ,oyster ,mushrooms4--,the oyster mushroom comes out like the shelf fungi on decaying tree stumps or logs4 ,they are ashy colour or dull white1 solid and rather tough1 and vary in breadth from two to five inches4 ,as to why they are called oyster mushrooms1 opinions differ4 ,the flavour is not oyster-like1 though the flesh is about as tough as a boiled oyster4 ,the shape does suggest an oyster shell2 perhaps that is the best reason for the name4 ,one edible relative of the oyster mushroom grows usually on decaying elm stumps as late in the year as ,november4 ,the first thing to do if you get interested in mushrooms is to get some good illustrated book on them4 ,the chances are that your ,state ,experiment ,station has issued a bulletin on the subject4 ,if not you can get those published by the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture or perhaps those issued by some neighbouring state4 ,what you want is information on wild fungi1 especially the edible ones1 not directions about growing the market varieties4 ,when you write for bulletins state just what you are looking for4 ,pictures1 especially photographs1 are of the greatest use in identifying specimens4 ,compare the descriptions and pictures with your mushrooms and do not use them if there is any question in your mind as to what they are4 ,the books mentioned in the appendix of this book have been of help to me4 ,,conserving ,,nature',s ,,crops ,the harvesting of nature's crops is a most fascinating occupation4 ,as boys and girls we do not ask why2 we only know what fun it is4 ,if the time ever comes when you wish to forget that you are grown up1 nothing will help you like going into the woods1 the fields1 or the hedge-rows to help the birds and the little fur-coated animals harvest the crops of nuts or berries or other fruit that grow in nature's orchards4 ,with your sack of nuts or plums on your arm1 or your pail full of berries1 you can easily forget that you live in a flat or work in an office or a factory4 ,some people think when they see how much over-ripe fruit is falling to the ground1 and how much more there is than can ever be gathered by human hands1 that nature is wasteful4 ,perhaps this is why these same people and others who did not think at all1 have been so very wasteful of our country's natural resources1 and brought about such a really alarming state of things in our forests4 ,those who do stop to think will see that although she is lavish1 nature is never wasteful4 ,the berries must decay in order that the seeds may germinate1 and in moulding they nourish the fungi which are just as important in nature's eyes1 so to speak1 as the berries are4 ,nothing is wasted in nature4 ,on the contrary1 everything is saved and is made over into some other form4 ,nothing stands still2 transformation goes on continuously4 ,what was soil yesterday is fruit to-day and is built into our muscles and nerves and brains to-morrow4 ,every boy or girl that helps to harvest nature's crops can do a little to assist in our great national work of preserving the country's natural resources4 ,would you ruin a fine young tree just beginning a life of usefulness8 ,by mutilating it past recognition1 you may add a few nuts to your this year's store4 ,but what an injustice you are doing to the next generation of boys and girls4 ,you are robbing them4 ,i have heard men say3 ,when ,i was a boy we used to bring home arbutus by the wagon load from ,coy ,glen4 ,but it's hard to find any there now4 ,it must have winter-killed or blighted4 ,my tongue burned to tell them that they themselves were the blight that winter-killed the arbutus and robbed me of my right to gather a few sprays4 ,they had torn it up by the roots in their greed to fill their wagons1 and then they cut out all the trees1 and the sunlight destroyed all the shade-loving things4 ,boys and girls of a more enlightened generation know better ways and will not leave behind them a record of selfishness4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,creation ,,of ,a ,,new ,,industry ,i am glad to tell the methods by which ,i have developed a good business in collecting and growing ,california bulbs1 as ,i believe my success can be duplicated in other parts of the country--in fact1 one man already makes a good living by exploiting the wild flowers of the ,rocky ,mountains1 several people are exporting the cacti of our desert1 and there are several nurseries in the southern ,appalachians for the interesting plants of ,north ,carolina4 ,in #ahgj1 when ,i was nine years old1 my family moved to ,ukiah ,valley in north-western ,california1 and there ,i have lived ever since4 ,my early home was a farm1 and my first work to raise hops and a mortgage4 ,my education was such as the district school and an abundance of good reading could give me4 ,at eighteen ,i began to teach school4 ,i was always a lover of nature and fond of wandering about the hills4 ,in ,mendocino ,county in #ahgj the country was just emerging from the cowboy era1 and little attention was paid to vegetable gardening1 while flower gardens were all but unknown4 ,,how ,,the ,,life ,,work ,,was ,,determined ,there was one notable exception to the indifference to flowers4 ,alexander ,mac,nab1 a ,scotchman who had been forced by declining health to leave ,glasgow1 had found new vigour in ,california's mountains4 ,the property which he had purchased for a stock range is one of the most picturesque in northern ,california1 and there he built a modest but ideal home4 ,he sent everywhere for flowers1 and ,i know of no place in these later days where more flowers are well grown4 ,he gave to his flowers not only money1 but love and himself1 and few gardeners were more successful4 ,i often visited there in my boyhood days and the inspiration that ,i received from this place and from another source determined my life work4 ,i had a sister a few years older than myself who had been in the ,east for some years and whose failing health forced her to return to ,california4 ,she was a flower-lover and soon called upon me to begin a garden on the bare hill where our very plain home stood4 ,it was a work of love1 for all of the new soil was carried in buckets1 and the water which our hot climate made necessary was carried from a well1 but it was a great success4 ,my ,scotch friend was most liberal with both plants and instruction1 and between the two my bent was well fixed4 ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,the ,,industry ,it was through ,mr4 ,mac,nab that ,i got started in the collection of native plants4 ,woolson and ,company1 then of ,passaic1 ,n4 ,j41 were the first ,american firm to take up the culture of our native ,american plants as a specialty4 ,they wrote to ,mr4 ,mac,nab1 asking him to secure the native plants and offering to pay for them in eastern grown plants4 ,my love for flowers had interested me in botany1 and it was quite natural that the letter should be turned over to me4 ,in my first letter to ,woolson ,i sent a pressed flower of ,colochortus pulchellus and received in return an order for one hundred bulbs1 which they said they would pay for in cash4 ,this order was filled and it was the beginning of my bulb business4 ,my first idea was to earn money to buy plants with1 but before long ,i saw that a small business might be built up4 ,my progress as a collector went hand in hand with my education in botany4 ,my method was this3 ,first to find something of sufficient beauty to make it probable that it would be wanted2 next1 to find its name1 and then to offer it to some one of the very few firms then interested in such things4 ,such was the first stage in the development of a new industry1 but the latter was no less important1 for it involved knowing the plant at every stage of its growth1 finding when it could best be handled1 and how best packed for shipment4 ,almost from the beginning ,i tried to grow the native plants1 and botanical study1 collection1 and cultivation have gone hand in hand since4 ,,methods ,,of ,,collecting ,every year ,i took longer trips4 ,i went alone1 with the lightest of camping outfits1 slept on the ground1 and penetrated the wildest regions1 learning where the desirable flowers grew1 and collecting those in demand1 at the same time studying the general flora4 ,when ,i had learned the flora of a region1 ,i tried to train some resident as a permanent collector1 for not all of these long trips could be made every year4 ,my horizon fast widened1 and through friends1 by letters to others1 and often by the migration of men whom ,i had trained1 new fields were opened1 and later ,i had men who had been trained under me to send to distant points4 ,before ,i began to collect1 others had been in the field1 but they were principally wandering botanists who seldom collected over the same ground for two years in sequence4 ,their collections were of stuff of all grades1 often made at the wrong season1 and there was no demand except from a few special lists4 ,at first ,i shared their faults1 but after a few years ,i saw the necessity of making a reputation for reliability1 for thoroughly learning the art of packing1 and for such grading as would insure uniform quality4 ,,establishing ,a ,,nursery ,,business ,as time went on1 collection became less important and culture the central feature of my work4 ,my first garden was at the farm home2 later ,i spent much time and money in experiments in a reclaimed lake bed near ,ukiah1 still later at my ,ukiah home1 and since #ahig in the mountains about eight miles east of ,ukiah4 ,each experiment had its value4 ,no one had grown ,californian bulbs in ,california1 and everything had to be learned experimentally4 ,i now have two nurseries4 ,one of them is at ,lyons ,valley1 a lovely spot in the highest part of that branch of the ,coast ,range which ,i found six years ago was specially adapted to lily culture4 ,about three quarters of a mile away1 at ,the ,terraces1 nature has provided endless variations of soil1 climate1 moisture1 sun1 and shade4 ,here ,i grow a great variety of bulbs4 ,in #ahhf ,i sold about seven thousand plants of all sorts2 in #ahhh1 two hundred and fifty thousand1 and the difference was on business principles4 ,,carl ,,purdy ,,iii ,,raising ,,domestic ,,animals ,,raising ,,colts ,every farm boy ,i ever knew was ambitious to own horses4 ,before my eldest brother was twelve he had traded pigs with our father for calves1 then heifers for a horse1 and his favourite air castles were great luxurious barns inhabited by blooded horses of his own raising4 ,if your colt's mother is dutiful1 and they mostly are1 the youngster will have plenty to eat for the first few weeks4 ,petting is a good thing for little colts2 never a cuff nor a harsh word4 ,their confidence won1 their education is begun4 ,while still dependent on the mother for milk the young colt begins to nibble hay from the manger1 and gets a taste of the oats in the feed box1 too1 and finds them good4 ,oats and clover hay1 a little bran and shorts1 a run in the pasture every fine day all winter1 will usually keep the colt growing and healthy4 ,a warm stable with plenty of dry bedding1 preferably in a stall with another colt1 is necessary at night4 ,colts need a plentiful supply of cool1 clean water in summer1 but in winter1 water should be heated just enough to take off the chill4 ,it is bad for a colt to drink at meal-time4 7,that sounds like a rule for boys and girls47 ,a chunk of rock salt handy for colts to lick at helps keep the appetite normal4 ,an ordinary farm colt at three or four months old is worth only thirty or forty dollars4 ,two years later1 with the right kind of care and teaching1 the same colt will bring four times that price4 ,what other farm crop will do as much8 ,the mother of a baby colt once died on our farm4 ,my father felt very badly over it2 losing the old mare was misfortune enough1 but the colt was a noble-looking little fellow1 highly bred4 ,we girls had been foster-mothers to almost everything2 cats1 pups1 and pigs were easy1 and calves4 ,but what of a colt8 ,let's try if we can't raise him on the bottle1 said our mother4 ,the experiments we tried with that colt were many4 ,we gave him half and half at first--a cup full of milk to one of water4 ,our small cousin had once been fed on mare's milk1 much to our disgust1 but it gave us ideas for our colt4 ,mother read somewhere that cow's milk was not so sweet1 but was richer than mare's milk4 ,so we patched our bits of hearsay together and made up our colt's ration about like this3 ,first week3 half sweet milk1 half water1 a teaspoonful of sugar to each pint1 ten times a day--always warm--last feeding at ten ,p4 ,m4--not very much at a time4 ,second and third weeks less water1 six feedings a day1 warm and sweet as before4 ,fourth to tenth week3 increase quantity gradually1 give warm--not very rich--milk three times a day4 ,we gave him a bottle at first with a nipple made of a goose-quill wrapped each time with clean1 soft rags4 ,everything about his food had to be kept sweet4 ,we scalded the bottle and the quill and washed them in water and baking soda1 just as mother said4 ,then we taught him to drink from a pail4 ,he followed us about like a dog and was very playful and frisky4 ,we fed him a little hay and oats and grass when he was old enough4 ,my little sister wanted us to give him less milk so that he would grow up into a pony1 but when he begged for food1 she was the first to go for his bottle4 ,he grew up and developed just like any horse and father said he was the easiest two-year-old he ever had to teach to work4 ,he paid us seventy-five dollars for the colt when he was eight months old and ready to shift for himself with the other colts4 ,,raising ,,sheep ,every boy on the farm ought to have his own particular hobby in the line of stock4 ,it is far easier to keep account of your own if they are entirely different from the animals raised by the other members of the family4 ,an account should be kept with the animals1 to learn whether they pay or not4 ,it is only by this business-like method that the young farmer1 or the older one for that matter1 can know whether his animals are visitors or boarders4 ,if the mother keeps poultry1 the boys pigs1 and the father raises horses and cows1 then why should not the girls raise sheep8 ,there is room on every fair-sized farm for a flock4 ,there is nothing about the care of sheep that a strong1 healthy girl may not do if she is not needed to help with housework4 ,her father will teach and advise her4 ,tending sheep is far more healthful occupation and more remunerative than embroidering sofa pillows or knitting fancy work4 ,whoever undertakes the sheep raising must know first some of the needs of his favourites4 ,they are grazers4 ,they will glean a good living in stubble fields and crop grass in pastures where cows would starve2 they will bite the weeds in the fence corners down to the quick nor leave one stalk to blossom or set seed4 ,they are among the best and cheapest of lawn-mowers1 enriching the ground they feed over4 ,they are easy to care for1 as they can take care of themselves most of the year4 ,what a joy it is to take a quiet walk over the hills of a ,sunday morning to salt the sheep6 ,they are trustful1 playful1 docile creatures1 and their presence undeniably adds to the picture of content and comfort that every homestead should present4 ,while it is true that sheep will keep fat on good pasture with plenty of water and a semi-weekly supply of salt1 it is not to be supposed that they can pick up a living the whole year round in a cold climate4 ,they do not need stuffing in cold weather1 but they do need plenty of good hay in early winter and nourishing food like bran1 oats1 barley1 and clover hay toward spring4 ,alfalfa is ideal1 but many people succeed with sheep who fail on alfalfa4 ,sheep will over-feed if not restrained4 ,they should have exercise and fresh air in plenty all winter4 ,they should go out every day to pasture1 except during storms1 until snow covers the ground4 ,ewes fed but not over-fed over winter and sheltered under some kind of rain-proof roof will be strong and healthy mothers4 ,a new-born lamb is about as weak and wobbly and inefficient as a human baby4 ,the weakest ones seem bent on dying1 but a little coddling and care will put them on their feet4 ,they should be taught how to take nourishment and whoever takes this in hand should use patience and insist that the lesson be learned4 ,i have known of many a good shepherd who sat up late and got up early and visited the sheep at midnight in lambing time and so saved all his lambs4 ,there is something so appealing about a lamb that no owner would like to remember that he slept comfortably through a stormy night while a new-born lamb starved in the presence of plenty or was chilled past help while its mother could only bleat helplessly for the slothful shepherd4 ,lambs should not follow their mothers to pasture until the grass is grown enough to be really long and nourishing4 ,they should be out in the barnyard on warm1 sunny days1 and not weaned until near six months old4 ,after ,august they will fatten on clover pasture and be ready for market before ,christmas4 ,sheep are sheared in spring1 about ,april first1 but this depends on the climate4 ,most farm crops are fall or winter affairs4 ,like maple sirup1 wool is a spring cash crop1 which is a great convenience4 ,an eight-pound fleece is worth nearly half as much as the sheep it grew on1 and the lambs will soon be worth as much as their mothers4 ,so we have a double chance to make good in sheep raising4 ,sheep are so hardy1 so harmless1 and so easily managed that the only wonder is that any farm is without a flock4 ,men who know say that the farm dog is to blame for this4 ,how about the farm dog1 boys and girls8 ,honestly1 now1 is your dog worth his keep8 ,no matter how much better he is than the neighbours' dog4 ,how about your dog8 ,you like him1 of course1 but is he a loafing1 worthless1 sneaking1 sheep-killing dog8 ,look between his teeth before you deny that he is a sheep-killer4 ,are you a good citizen if you let such a dog run at large8 ,if you raise sheep you will need a dog1 and remember that a good collie will protect your sheep from all the roving1 bloodthirsty dogs in the neighbourhood4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,julian ,a4 ,dimock4 ,big ,boy ,blue ,looks ,after the ,sheep ,,raising ,,goats ,boys1 are you really serious about making some money8 ,do you live on a farm where the hills are too steep to plow and the only crop that amounts to anything is the crop of stones8 ,are those steep hills covered with brush and good-for-nothing trees that look too hopeless8 ,don't grind your teeth and say ,there's no chance here4 ,i'm going to buy a ticket for the city4 ,glance at the heading on this page and don't smile derisively nor turn on to some new chapter4 ,goats6 ,humph6 ,if you never heard of anybody making anything out of goats1 here's your chance to hear something new4 ,people can and do make money out of goats and so can you4 ,why1 it is too easy6 ,here1 read these facts about goats3 ,goats prefer rough1 rocky1 wild1 and hilly land4 ,goats always thrive if allowed considerable range4 ,hilly1 bushy land is best for goats4 ,the feed of one cow will keep twelve goats4 ,temperature need not be considered4 ,goats thrive where temperatures are extreme4 ,the ,angora goat fleece is cut annually and is very valuable4 ,we import over one million pounds a year4 ,skins of common goats are in great demand for leather4 ,we imported sixteen million dollars' worth in #ahih and more every year since4 ,goat manure is as valuable as that of sheep4 ,angora venison cannot be told from lamb4 ,goats scorn to eat fresh grass if coarse weeds like wild carrot1 mullein1 dock1 etc41 are in sight4 ,every part of a goat is salable4 ,fleece1 milk1 cheese1 skin1 flesh1 tallow1 bones1 hoofs1 horns1 and manure4 ,goats improve land4 ,they are lifelong scavengers1 and can put land covered with useless underbrush into shape for pasture more cheaply and more quickly than dynamite4 ,a herd of common goats can be built up in a few years4 ,they breed at one year and usually have twins4 ,goats are hardy2 less subject to disease than sheep4 ,a good goat is a money-maker4 ,these statements are quoted directly from the writings of men and women of experience4 ,they have no goats to sell1 so you can take their word4 ,the requirements for successful goat raising are few and easy to provide4 ,they are these3 7#a7 ,space4--,goats do not take kindly to herding nor to small fields4 ,if they have only a small enclosure they are likely spend more time trying to get at what is outside than in browsing4 ,to meet a wire fence every few steps makes a goat restive4 7#b7 ,housing4--,goats must be kept dry overhead and under foot4 ,the shelter for goats should be high and dry4 ,they will not thrive in wet1 marshy land1 nor keep well if their shed is muddy4 ,they dislike filth and will not stand in it nor touch soiled food4 ,they prefer to sleep on the roof of the barn1 you know1 but if a clean1 dry bed in an airy place is provided they will not roost so high4 7#c7 ,water4--,plenty of clean fresh water should always be available4 ,if you can supply these three essentials1 you are ready to raise goats4 ,there are two well-marked lines of business in goat raising4 ,which shall you follow8 ,angoras are raised for their fleece2 common goats either for leather or for milk4 ,angoras are not much good for milk and their skins are not so fine nor durable as those of common goats4 ,the ,angora is free from the offensive odour of common male goats4 ,the greatest demand for goat products in our markets to-day is for ,angora fleece and for common goat skins4 ,the other products1 like flesh1 hoof1 bones and horns1 tallow1 cheese1 milk1 and manure1 can easily be marketed and should pay most of the expenses4 ,the main products should be clear profit4 ,,building ,,up ,a ,,herd ,there is a slow way and a quick way to build up a herd of goats4 ,as usual the slow way requires less capital4 ,if you have but a few dollars you will have to begin with cheap goats1 but to keep a poor goat is poor business4 ,you can buy good1 common goats for one dollar and a half or two dollars each and with time and patience build up from them a herd of ,angoras by crossing4 ,if capital is easier to command than years of time1 you will begin with good ,angora does which cost from eight dollars upward4 ,if you begin with common ones1 choose white1 short-haired individuals4 ,keep only the best does in your herd for breeders2 you will soon learn how to judge them by the quality of their fleece and the price it brings you per pound4 ,in five or six years it is possible to build up a herd of fine mohair producers from common goats4 ,the hair grows coarser as the goat passes six years of age1 so it does not pay to keep one too long4 ,buy young does4 ,a goat's teeth tell its age up to the fourth year4 ,if all the eight teeth are full-sized the goat is certainly four to five years old1 it may be more4 ,,care ,,of ,,kids ,a young kid is not a very sturdy youngster4 ,good care should be given both doe and kid at this time4 ,a warm shelter should be provided4 ,may is the best month for kids to come1 in the ,north4 ,extra feeding should be given the doe and plenty of water4 ,if possible each doe with her kid should have a separate stall or pen so that the doe will know her own young one4 ,if you can arrange that each pen in the kid stable can have an outdoor entrance the mother can come and go at will4 ,a board a foot to eighteen inches high across this entrance will keep the kid from following his mother4 ,when about six weeks old the kid will jump this board4 ,by this token you will know that he is strong enough to jump about over the stones wherever his mother leads him4 ,,food ,,of ,,goats ,the comic papers may be right about some things1 but they are wrong about goats4 ,a diet of newspapers and tin cans will not keep a goat healthy nor produce a salable fleece of fine mohair4 ,angoras like common goats are browsers1 not grazers like sheep4 ,they eat coarse vegetation such as weedy growths and the twigs and leaves of underbrush1 rather than grass4 ,besides this1 particularly in winter1 they should have other food4 ,leaves1 table scraps like potato and fruit parings1 turnips and other roots1 and cabbage are all acceptable if clean4 ,parings and roots should be washed2 if you expect goats to eat swill you deserve to be disappointed4 ,dirty carrots1 rotten apples1 sour or mouldy refuse do not tempt a self-respecting pig2 much less an ,angora4 ,oats in the sheaf are very good fodder for them4 ,grain is not required if clover hay1 alfalfa1 or cowpea stubble is plentiful4 ,too much grain makes a lazy goat and a lazy goat will not produce a handsome fleece4 ,bran may be fed for a change1 and a little cotton seed or corn may be given1 but sparingly4 ,leaves or other coarse food should be given plentifully at night1 as ,angoras relish a midnight lunch beside their three square meals a day4 ,a supply of rock salt should be kept where goats can get it whenever they want it4 ,if it is given only at long intervals they may over-indulge4 ,water should be warmed slightly in winter if practicable4 ,,shelter ,,and ,,enclosure ,hardy as they are1 goats cannot stand exposure to storms4 ,they abhor wet4 ,cold rain or sleet storms are really dangerous to their health4 ,goats will go the long way round every time rather than get into mud4 ,mud is very bad for the fleece1 too4 ,buyers refuse to pay for dirt4 ,goat shelters should be dry1 but they need not be tight except overhead4 ,in fact many goats die of suffocation when huddled in close quarters4 ,if the roof is just high enough from the floor for goats to go under1 it can be open all round except perhaps on the side where the prevailing wind and storms would beat in4 ,no other animals should be quartered with goats4 ,experience shows this4 ,goats prefer hard beds4 ,chaff or straw enough to absorb the liquid manure is all that should be put on the floor4 ,trees are the best shade from the hot sun1 but if none are growing in the goats' pasture other shelter should be provided4 ,it is true that goats thrive best when unconfined4 ,but this does not mean that your goats should be allowed to range on other people's domains4 ,they are a very real nuisance in orchards and gardens1 and if your place is small it is no place for goats4 ,a fence need not be very high to restrain a flock of goats4 ,they are climbers and once in a while there is one who would take a prize for the high jump4 ,ordinarily a fence three and a half feet high is all that is necessary4 ,boards1 rails1 or wire will make a good goat fence4 ,it should go close to the ground to prevent crawling under4 ,if wire is used1 take care that the mesh is too small for a goat's head4 ,you must take your market's demands into consideration when deciding whether to breed ,angoras or common goats4 ,an ,angora fleece weighs from four to eight pounds4 ,this can be cut every year for ten or twelve years4 ,the common goat's skin is valuable1 but he has only one6 ,this makes the ,angora look like the best business proposition1 although requiring more capital to start1 as the care required is about the same and the value of by-products practically equal4 ,,the ,,common ,,goat ,two arguments may be brought forward in favour of the common goat4 ,in the first place1 the herd increases much faster as the ,angora doe usually has only one kid1 while twins are the rule with common goats4 ,there is a decidedly growing demand for goats' milk near large cities1 especially for hospitals4 ,we all know how commonly goats' milk is used in foreign countries4 ,we ,americans have a rather silly prejudice against it1 but we will get over this when we realize how often goats' milk saves the lives of babies and invalids4 ,the following statements are vouched for by physicians and others of experience3 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,feeding the ,goats ,goats' milk is more easily digested than cows' milk4 ,analysis shows goats' milk has a marked similarity to human mothers' milk and is more readily assimilated by infants4 ,goats' milk is generally claimed to be free at all times from germs of tuberculosis4 ,cannot be told from cow's milk by taste4 ,excellent for coffee and in cooking4 ,the goat is claimed by its friends to be greatly the superior of the cow for milk1 for the following reasons3 ,the goat is naturally cleanly4 ,the goat is easy to keep clean because of her small size4 ,goats can be and are put into tubs and scrubbed and sterilized when being used as foster-mothers in baby hospitals4 ,but no such treatment is possible with a cow4 ,a goat can easily be taken from place to place with a family4 ,a cow could not be transported without great expense4 ,goats eat far less than cows4 ,eight milch goats can be kept on the food of one milch cow4 ,the same quality of food should be furnished4 ,i believe there is a great future in ,america for the milch goat4 ,,twenty ,,acres ,,redeemed3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,satisfactory ,,experiment ,,with ,,goats ,,in ,,new ,,england ,in ,january1 #aijb1 ,i bought seventy-five ,angoras1 as ,i had about twenty acres of brush land that ,i wanted to reclaim4 ,i kept the goats in sheds until ,may4 ,i had to put up a wire fence to keep them from visiting my neighbours1 and in early ,may turned them into the first section1 about one half of the piece4 ,i built a shed for them to stay in nights and during rains4 ,the work they did was marvellous4 ,in less than a month this section had the appearance of having been struck by a cyclone1 and it was evident that the goats would soon require more territory4 ,consequently ,i wired the other section of this twenty-acre piece1 and when finished allowed them the range of the other piece1 to which they marched in military precision daily1 returning to the shed at night or during the approach of rain1 which they seemed to foretell as accurately as a barometer4 ,it was not long before it developed that they would require fresher fields or ,i must reduce my flock1 as this ground was all that ,i had of that kind4 ,consequently ,i sold all but twenty-five1 retaining twelve registered does1 twelve kids1 and one buck4 ,for the does ,i paid ten dollars each1 and my buck1 which was a kid1 cost twenty-five dollars4 ,i had some grades that ,i sold at eight dollars and eight dollars and twenty-five cents each1 and also some wether kids that ,i sold at five dollars each4 ,i have this same flock now1 with the addition of ten kids born this spring from these twelve does1 which had twelve kids1 two having died1 leaving thirty-five now in the field4 ,during the past winter ,i have handled more than six hundred that were sent here from the ,west4 ,the test that ,i was anxiously watching for at the advent of spring was to see the effect of their work done last season1 and ,i must say ,i am very agreeably surprised4 ,in the first lot fenced there is scarcely a brush left1 no briers1 and not even ,canada thistles4 ,the entire field between the rocks came out this spring with beautiful1 thick1 green1 grassy foliage1 mostly white clover4 ,on the other lot1 part of the brush tried hard to show its tenacity of life by coming out with green leaves1 but at this writing the shrubs have fallen prey to the devouring ,angora1 and green grass is coming out in about all the ground that they have trod4 ,this alone to me is a satisfactory commercial experience4 ,w4 ,o4 ,,corning ,,raising ,,calves ,feeding the calves is always the boy's job or the girl's4 ,usually the milk is prepared by their mother1 but the responsibility for the calves' welfare is left to the youngsters4 ,if you look upon calf feeding as nothing but a chore to get over with as soon as possible1 you get very little fun out of it4 ,but if you see in those calves the beginning of your own fortune or the foundation of your college fund they look different4 ,whether the calves are yours or your father's1 they are living creatures1 capable of appreciating proper care and repaying it4 ,they are just as capable of showing neglect4 ,if you are going to feed the calves1 make a study of calf nature1 know what kind of animals you want to make of them1 find out how to accomplish your purpose1 and then keep a straight course4 ,find out first the parentage of the calf4 ,then inquire if it is to be a beef animal or a dairy cow4 ,knowing its past and its future you can provide wisely for the present4 ,a new-born calf should stay with the mother from twelve to twenty-four hours4 ,the fluid she gives first is not milk1 but is just what the calf needs to prepare its digestive organs for milk4 ,if left longer with the mother it will be more bother to train4 ,the calf should be fed sweet1 whole milk for two weeks4 ,if put immediately onto a diet of skim-milk1 indigestion is likely to result1 and the calf gets a setback from which it may never recover4 ,when a young calf is taken from its mother1 it knows nothing about drinking4 ,the best practice is to let it fast for from twelve to twenty-four hours till it gets good and hungry4 ,it is then in a state of mind to learn anything rather than go without any longer4 ,they treat human babies the same way if need be4 ,if started right1 a young calf learns to drink in a day or two4 ,holding the pail with one to two quarts of warm1 fresh1 whole milk in your left hand1 stand beside the calf and put your right hand over its nose4 ,insert two fingers into its mouth4 ,did you ever feel anything so funny8 ,the calf will suck your fingers hungrily4 ,gently push its nose down into the warm milk with your fingers still in its mouth4 ,after a while gently pull out one finger4 ,if he misses it put it back and later try again4 ,in a few lessons the calf will drink readily4 ,patience and kindness must be exercised if one little scamp proves dull4 ,a calf that gets a slap for not drinking will come to think that the two disagreeable things always come together and his education and his growth will be delayed4 ,for the first ten to twelve days the calf should have about five quarts of milk a day1 divided into three feedings4 ,this should be warmed to blood heat1 ninety-five to a hundred degrees ,fahr4 ,at two weeks you can begin to substitute skim-milk4 ,a half-pint a day at first is about right4 ,watch the effect on the calf4 ,increase the quantity gradually1 until at a month or six weeks old the calf is getting seven to eight quarts per day of skim-milk1 always warm and perfectly sweet4 ,the worst disease of calf-hood is scours1 and this disease is caused by feeding cold1 unclean1 or sour milk4 ,i'd be ashamed to have a calf of mine sick with the scours6 ,to cure it1 add lime-water to the milk or mix a teaspoonful of dried blood in a small amount of water1 then stir into the milk4 ,or an ounce of wheat bran or kaffir corn meal stirred into the milk will be helpful4 ,some recommend oat or corn meal fed dry1 or a little linseed meal mixed in a little water and then stirred into the milk4 ,if your calves are all heifers to be added to the dairy herd1 you do not want them to lay on great amounts of fat1 but to grow strong and be able to digest great amounts of hay4 ,if they are to be beef1 they need more fat4 ,grain is fattening1 especially corn4 ,begin to feed hay as soon as the calf will take it4 ,clean1 dry clover is best1 but any good hay will help prepare their stomachs for the work which is expected of them later4 ,milk and hay are best for growing calves4 ,grain1 oil-meal1 and pasture furnish variety4 ,have you seen a wild-eyed cow being literally dragged behind a wagon1 scared past endurance and behaving like a savage creature8 ,there is not the slightest excuse for that sort of thing4 ,what fun it is to slip a halter on a calf to-day and let him get accustomed to it2 to-morrow lead him about a little with coaxing4 ,in a few days he will lead like an old horse4 ,he will learn to expect only kindness from his feeder and trainer4 ,it would be well to accustom the calves to the presence of your dog1 too4 ,there are men who think a frightened animal is a humourous sight4 ,but such a man is no gentleman and ,i certainly would never think of trusting him to drive my horses1 or milk my cows1 or even feed my pigs4 ,our calves were kept in an old orchard1 convenient to the house1 with good pasture1 plenty of sun and shade1 and a suitable fence4 ,a shed for wet weather is essential1 for a clean1 dry bed must be provided4 ,calves have no way of cleaning themselves1 therefore they must not be allowed to get dirty4 ,milk should be fed until the calves are four months old1 and may be continued longer4 ,after the first few weeks1 when they have begun to take some hay and grass1 the milk may be given in two feedings4 ,water should be given freely especially in hot weather4 ,if your pasture has a clear running brook1 your calves are in luck and so are you1 for carrying water for a bunch of calves is no joke4 ,a garden hose or a series of v-shaped troughs from pump to pen saves a lot of time and backache4 ,a calf whose mother has a record for milk rich in butter fat and a sire of good family has in it the possibilities of a prize-winner4 ,whether she will earn seventy-seven cents a year over and above her keep1 like those one thousand and twenty poor cows that ,illinois boys and girls know about1 or thirty dollars a year1 like the twenty-five good cows1 depends very much on the care she gets4 ,no amount of care given to a cow will make up for neglect to the calf4 ,there's a big responsibility on the boys and girls of the farms1 for calf feeding is their job4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,two ,,boys ,,and ,a ,,cow ,the suggestion that the suburban home might be a money-making investment would strike the average suburbanite as ridiculous4 ,but a few moments of careful calculation may put preconceived notions to flight and show how considerable money may be made--or saved1 which is quite as important4 ,some years ago a family1 which included two boys of eleven and thirteen years1 took a house in the outskirts of a good-sized town1 about thirty minutes' ride from the city4 ,the father was a buyer for an importing house1 and absent from home for several months of each year4 ,his salary was large1 as such salaries go1 but there were seven children to be raised and educated1 several of them with marked abilities that needed the very best possible instruction to bring them to their highest development4 ,the boys spent one summer vacation at the country house of an old friend of the family and got ideas4 ,they talked them over1 went back to their friend for counsel1 then turned their batteries on their parents to gain their consent to an important new enterprise4 ,attached to the house was about an acre of ground1 three fourths of which was old pasture grown to weeds and a tangle of brier bushes4 ,by promising to work for a farmer during the coming vacation the boys arranged to have the field1 which they cleared and made ready1 ploughed1 harrowed1 and marked in the most thorough fashion4 ,they planted it with the best variety of mid-season sweet corn4 ,the farmer cultivated it1 and the boys hoed it and kept it in almost perfect condition4 ,the season was very dry1 but they laid a hose so as to start a stream of water into the lines between the rows of corn2 then with a good pump they filled the trenches they had dug and completely irrigated the entire field4 ,the crop was a great success4 ,the boys picked and sold at retail prices to private customers twelve hundred dozen ears of the finest corn raised in that section4 ,as it averaged twenty cents a dozen1 it footed up the very comfortable sum of two hundred and forty dollars with small ears and left-overs quite sufficient for the use of the family4 ,two weeks from the first picking the stalks were cut and set up to cure for the cow that was really the object of their endeavour4 ,the friend of the family selected the cow4 ,she was a fine1 fresh1 young ,jersey and ,alderney cross--a high-grade animal1 good for quality as well as quantity of milk and cream4 ,there was small1 well-built barn on the place1 and here the cow was stabled4 ,cleanliness was the first1 last1 and intermediate law in and about the place4 ,the boys had clothes expressly for barn wear and white aprons with long sleeves to put on when milking4 ,such unusual attention to details attracted customers until the demand went far ahead of the supply4 ,for the first six months the cow gave1 on an average1 sixteen quarts a day1 fourteen of which were sold to persons who came for it1 thereby saving all trouble and cost of delivery4 ,two quarts were kept for the family4 ,for the next four months the sales were twelve quarts a day4 ,feed for the cow cost one dollar a week1 besides hay and corn-stalks4 ,the cow was bought late in ,july1 and by the first of ,august the milk trade was well established4 ,after ten months' experience the boys made up a statement to show to their father when he returned from a trip to ,europe4 ,,credit #a1bjj doz4 corn at #bj cts4 a doz4 #bdj4jj ,stalks #bj4jj ,milk1 #ahd days1 #ad qts4 at #h cts4 a qt4 #bjf4jh #abj #ab #aae4bj -------- #eha4bh ,,debit #a cow1 #fj4jj2 #a ton hay1 #ah4jj2 feed1 #dj4jj #aah4jj -------- ,profit1 cash on hand #dfc4bh ,value of #a cow #fj4jj -------- ,total assets #ebc4bh ,,nelson ,s4 ,,stone ,,raising ,,pigs ,when ,i was nine years old ,i laid the foundation of my college fund4 ,my grandmother had a flock of twenty or thirty geese which were kept for the pillows and feather beds they filled4 ,great was my delight when grandma told me that she would give me a pig if ,i would help her pick the geese4 ,helping her would have been reward enough1 for ,i was a great grandma girl1 but the ambition of my childhood was to own a pig4 ,did not my elder brother now own a beautiful mare and colt1 and had he not started with a pig8 ,wednesday was the day set for plucking the geese and all my leisure on ,monday and ,tuesday was spent in building a pen4 ,plenty of material from which to construct this edifice was found about the place4 ,i wisely located it at the back of the henhouse which left me only three sides to build4 ,one corner was roofed with the best boards ,i could find1 for ,i didn't wish my precious pig to suffer from sunstroke or have his bed transformed into a mud-hole when it rained4 ,when the geese were picked to the last feather they could spare1 ,i went with grandmother to select my pig from the litter of sucklings now ready to begin taking their food from the trough4 ,she generously allowed me my choice1 and if ,i did not get the pick of the bunch it was not her fault4 ,i wonder how a girl of nine succeeded in transporting a lusty pig the three quarters of a mile between grandmother's house and ours4 ,i should not like to undertake it now1 but my confidence in my ability to do what ,i wanted done in those days was unlimited4 ,a piece of rope1 a stout cudgel1 a pair of strong1 young arms1 and a high disregard of appearances sustained me4 ,i got my treasure home and into his pen--no mean triumph even as viewed by my elder brother who had passed by the pig stage and even the calf stage and entered into the exalted realm of horse ownership4 ,my father was not the your shoat1 my hog kind of a father4 ,there came a time when he used to say that the girls owned all the cattle and the boys all the horses on the farm4 ,when my pig grew up1 ,i traded it to my father for a fine calf4 ,this calf was the nucleus of my herd1 for ,i never owned a horse4 ,all through my college course when ,i needed money1 ,i used to write to father to sell ,rowena or ,corinne or ,natty ,bumpo4 7,we named our calves after the people we read about47 ,there was always a buyer ready at hand and the price paid was strictly in accord with the market quotations4 ,the cow which bought my graduation cap and gown was the last of her race1 ,betsy ,bobbett1 one of the great-great-granddaughters of the calf for which ,i traded that original pig4 ,no one can deny or doubt that there is profit in pig raising4 ,pork on the hoof is ten cents a pound even as ,i write these words1 with prospects good for going higher4 ,a profit of one hundred per cent4 is recorded by growers when the price is only six cents a pound4 ,with the one exception of poultry1 hogs bring the quickest returns for investment of any live stock4 ,it is poor economy to keep any animal which cannot pay its board1 except for sentiment1 and few people keep pigs on that account4 ,if ,i were beginning again ,i should not trade my pig for a calf but should raise pigs4 ,in selecting a mother for my family of hogs ,i should care more about her individual character than about her breed4 ,a good brood sow ought to have a good disposition1 which means a good digestion1 and respond quickly to kindness4 ,nervous1 irritable sows often develop vicious habits4 ,a short1 broad face1 a wide space between the eyes1 a deep chest1 broad back1 and large hams with rather short legs are all considered good points4 ,a good-natured1 healthy pig has a bright1 friendly manner when accosted and a look of shrewd though guileless interest in his master4 ,dirty as a pig is a slander on the pig and a censure on its owner4 ,pigs and goats are more particular about their beds than either horses or cows4 ,success with porkers is spelt c-l-e-a-n-l-i-n-e-s-s4 ,they like to wallow in the edge of a sluggish stream on a warm day4 ,well1 so do you4 ,mud is not dirty unless mixed with foul manure and decaying vegetable matter4 ,all feeding troughs1 floors1 and beds should be thoroughly scraped1 swept1 and dried if the pigs are to be healthy1 happy1 and comfortable4 ,under no other conditions does keeping pigs pay4 ,you will be very fortunate if your young sow's first litter numbers ten or a dozen lively youngsters4 ,six or eight will not be bad if she raises them all1 and with care she ought to4 ,improper care and feeding before the pigs come are usually responsible for any cannibalistic habits developed by the sow4 ,corn alone is not a good ration except for fattening4 ,used with wheat1 middlings1 bran1 and ground oats1 with plenty of clover or alfalfa hay1 corn is all right4 ,the sow should be put into a pen by herself before farrowing time4 ,the best bedding is clean wheat or rye straw1 which should not be left until it is wet and filthy4 ,sprinkle air-slaked lime in the sleeping pen under the fresh bedding4 ,a sick pig means a neglectful owner4 ,pigs ought to grow fast and without any check4 ,at six months old they should weigh two hundred pounds1 an average gain you see1 of over a pound a day4 ,with a good1 healthy mother little pigs need no extra feeding the first month4 ,the sow should be given nourishing food1 bran and ground oats and rye1 lots of skim-milk and an abundance of clean1 fresh water4 ,if the pigs seem hungry when only a couple of weeks old a little1 new trough should be made for them4 ,a small quantity of boiled corn and skim-milk should be put into this trough where the little fellows can get to it but the sow cannot4 ,they may not take much at first1 but several hours later the trough should be rinsed and a fresh supply given4 ,sour1 dirty milk may produce serious sickness in young pigs and check growth4 ,the sow will wean them when she gets ready1 and they will not know the difference if they get used to their trough early4 ,it is possible to raise and fatten pigs in pens1 but it is not economical4 ,pasture is essential to their best growth4 ,it gives them exercise1 and the green food not only nourishes them1 but aids in the digestion of the more concentrated foods4 ,the expression1 ,pigs in clover1 is based on fact4 ,a happy1 healthy1 money-maker is the pasture-fed pig4 ,he will put on his ten cents' worth a day of bone1 muscle and fat at less expense in a clover patch than elsewhere4 ,alfalfa or cow peas will serve him about as well4 ,fruit windfalls are good for him1 too4 ,if you live on a place where grain or fruit are the main crops and a few cows are kept1 you are losing a great opportunity if you are not raising a few pigs4 ,they dispose of the surplus on such farms1 as well as the unsalable garden crops and weeds1 and pay their board day by day4 ,the owner should keep a close account with his pigs4 ,if they eat what would otherwise be wasted you are so much to the good4 ,what you sell them for1 less what you have paid out for food1 equals what you get for your time4 ,,raising ,,chickens ,success with chickens does not depend upon the breed1 nor upon any patent devices for hatching and brooding1 nor on any special mixture of feed4 ,you can find frenzied advertisers trying to disprove these statements1 but do not your own observations bear me out8 ,however1 ,i venture to say that with common-sense and gumption1 and a real liking for chickens1 success in this line is nearly certain4 ,there are dozens of good stories of boys who have begun chicken raising at twelve to fourteen years of age and have made money at it1 beside training themselves at the same time in business methods and efficiency4 ,there are no good reasons why girls also should not succeed4 ,there are certain principles of poultry culture upon which most people agree4 ,these are based on a knowledge of hen nature and are the result of study and experience4 ,we will discuss them under the following heads3 #a1 ,housing and ,care2 #b1 ,food and ,feeding2 #c1 ,raising ,young ,stock2 #d1 ,business ,methods4 ,,housing ,illustration3 ,frame for eleven-dollar chicken house ,this first department properly includes not only the house proper with all its interior fixtures and its care1 but the runs1 the scratching shed1 and all that has to do with the supply of air1 warmth and sunshine and the protection of the flock from disease and vermin4 ,no matter how plain and ordinary your chicken house is1 the test of your fitness for the business comes with its care1 not once a month1 but day by day4 ,illustration3 ,chicken house a boy can build ,many people have an idea that the only way to keep hens healthy and productive is to let them range4 ,of course it is true that chickens on the farm seem to pick up a free living1 but it is equally true that1 as a general thing1 the farmer does not keep any account with his chickens1 and if they get into the corn crib or granary he does not know how much grain they eat and how much they waste4 ,if they hide their nests and the eggs spoil1 or if they sit and the chicks do not live to get to the barnyard1 the owner is unaware of his loss4 ,if1 having no house and nest boxes1 the hens lay in the weeds1 in the wood pile1 in the straw stack1 in the haymow1 it's no loss1 for the women and children hunt the eggs and their time isn't worth anything6 ,but do you believe there are any farm hens whose portraits will appear in the big magazines8 ,did you see that one last year in ,collier's ,weekly8 ,do you suppose there are many #bjj-;eggers on farms with all their supposed advantages8 ,i don't4 ,but we shall never know1 because no accurate records can be kept of chickens that run at large4 ,i shall take it for granted that you expect to begin in a small way with very little to invest4 ,remember that a few hens pay better per hen than a large number1 but on the other hand it takes about as much time to care for a dozen as it does for one hundred4 ,you will therefore look forward with satisfaction to increasing your flock as your capital grows and your time becomes more valuable4 ,have you a suitable place for chickens8 ,it should be dry1 sunny1 though with some shade1 protected from severe winds and storms4 ,the sun is the greatest purifier and disinfector in the universe1 and you must have your house face the south or east if possible4 ,whether your first house is made of store boxes or of expensive matched lumber the principles are the same4 ,to make the house dry it should be built on well-drained soil and should sit up six inches from the surface of the ground so that air can circulate freely beneath4 ,the only heat in the hen house comes from the hens and the sunshine4 ,therefore1 to make the house warm you should have it small enough so that your hens can generate heat enough to keep warm in winter4 ,the exposure should be such that the sun can get into it4 ,if possible it should be shaded by trees or other buildings against storms and summer sun4 ,every hen needs from four to five square feet of floor space and only eight to ten cubic feet of air space4 ,square houses are more economical to build4 ,figure out with diagrams and drawings to scale just how large a building is needed to house your flock when you get it4 ,how low at the back can you make it without bumping your head when you go inside8 ,how high in front must it be to provide space for your door and window8 ,what shaped roof will be easiest to build1 most economical of lumber1 and most satisfactory as a rain shed8 ,illustration3 ,self-feed grit box ,consider many things in the selection of material4 ,rough boards are a little cheaper1 but how they do ruin good paint and whitewash brushes6 ,matched boards are cheaper and tighter than unmatched boards with strips nailed over the cracks4 ,for the roof some kind of waterproof roofing material will keep the house warm and dry4 ,if you have ever seen a chicken house with a cement floor you will be determined to have that kind4 ,at first the expense may be greater than for boards1 but if you live in your own home you can afford to put a cement floor in the chicken house sooner or later1 especially if you do the work yourself4 ,if you are a renter you will not feel like putting in expensive1 permanent improvements4 ,it will be warm and dry1 saving many losses from wet feet and diseases brought on by dampness and cold4 ,it is easy to clean4 ,it will do away with the rat problem1 and last forever4 ,you can put it in after the house is built4 ,figure out the cost of a layer of cement one and one half inches thick laid on a bed of gravel and small stones4 ,the cement is mixed as follows3 one part ,portland cement1 three parts clean sand1 five parts gravel4 ,mix the cement pretty thick1 tamp it down conscientiously until perfectly level1 then with a trowel smooth it and smooth it1 over and over1 until the surface is free from anything like a stone or large pebble4 ,the door to the chicken house should be well hung1 easy to open1 shut1 and lock4 ,the window is to admit light and sunshine1 especially the latter4 ,very small panes may be cheap but they shut out the sun2 twelve eight by ten panes in a single sash make a window of convenient size4 ,the window should be placed so that the sun can get way back to the very farthest corner of the house4 ,a high window is better for this than a low one4 ,the diagram shows why4 ,illustration3 ,the windows should be placed high enough to let the sun in to the back of the house ,sunshine and exercise are necessary for healthy fowls4 ,they can stand cold weather well1 if they are kept dry and active4 ,scratching sheds or open-front pens provide sunshine and exercise4 ,scratching for food in the litter keeps hens moving and they get to be very athletic1 jumping up to cabbages and fresh meat or grain self-feeders hung just out of reach4 ,scratching sheds in the ,north need adjustable curtains of coarse muslin to keep out driving rain1 snow1 and sleet4 ,the ,state ,agricultural ,experiment ,station at ,orono1 ,maine1 has made valuable studies of curtained sheds1 and the use of this form of poultry house has found favour all over the country4 ,illustration3 ,grain self-feeder for fowls ,the furniture of the hen house consists of roosts1 dropping board1 nests1 dust box1 and utensils to hold ground feed1 grit1 shell1 and water4 ,in making and erecting each piece ask yourself1 ,will this be easy to clean8 ,the roosts should be in the corner farthest from door and window1 out of all draughts4 ,there should be enough of them to provide each fowl with six to eight inches of room and they should be set at least a foot apart4 ,do not have the roosts at different levels4 ,it is hen nature to want the highest place1 and they will fight and crowd and worry each other if there is a higher roost4 ,pieces of two by two1 with the upper edge rounded1 make good perches4 ,as the floor of the chicken house is also the dining table for the occupants it is extremely important that there should be a well-built platform under the roosts for droppings1 in order to keep the floor clean4 ,there should be space enough between this board and the perches to allow you to clean it frequently without difficulty4 ,illustration3 ,corner in chicken house1 showing up-to-date furniture ,if you ever tried to clean a range of wall nests you know why the up-to-date poultry men are discarding them as unsanitary4 ,many are now placing their nests under the dropping board4 ,they are out of the way here1 not too high for the hens1 nor too low for you4 ,square nests1 fourteen inches each way and at least a foot from the droppings platform1 are satisfactory4 ,a long door hinged at the top and hooked at the bottom should form the back of a row of nests4 ,you open this to gather eggs and to clean the nests4 ,the front1 where the hens enter1 should be in behind under the platform4 ,as it is rather dark in there1 the hens are pleased1 because they like to preserve the old-time fiction that they are hiding their nests away4 ,the nest should be five or six inches deep4 ,straw is the best nesting material4 ,short hay is next best4 ,a hen cannot be happy with excelsior twisted round her toes and an unhappy hen is an unproductive hen4 ,the dust bath must be provided4 ,most baths are wet but hens are dry cleaners4 ,the dust bath must be dry to be of any use2 the lighter1 finer1 and dryer the better4 ,a sunny corner of the house or shed is the best place4 ,sifted coal ashes and street dust is a good mixture4 ,allow just as much space for the runs as you can afford to fence4 ,if possible divide the enclosure in two and keep one part seeded to clover while the chickens are in the other4 ,the heavier fowls usually make very little trouble flying over a fence of five foot wire netting even though it have no top strip4 ,clipping one wing may be necessary to restrain some individuals4 ,small trees in the runs are most desirable4 ,plant there such small fruit trees as plum or cherry and the hens will help to keep insects in check4 ,illustration3 ,covered dust bath in sunny corner ,one of the biggest items of work in the chicken business is keeping the house clean4 ,the health1 comfort1 happiness1 and the very life of the hens1 as well as the business1 depend on this4 ,many a boy with a sort of natural knack at carpentry can build a chicken house out of second-hand lumber or out of a couple of piano boxes4 ,but it takes a long distance form of gumption to keep any chicken house sanitary4 ,the droppings should be cleaned up often and right here a word to the wise4 ,hen manure is a valuable garden fertilizer if it is sprinkled with land plaster while fresh4 ,otherwise it may become very nearly worthless4 ,so if you have a garden or can dispose of your fertilizer every day or two you can make something extra on this by-product by a semi-weekly cleaning of roosts and droppings board4 ,litter is not dirt in the chicken house but it ought to be dry1 fresh litter4 ,it is not enough that the house should look clean4 ,the obvious dirt1 bad as it is1 does less harm than the almost invisible vermin that lurk in the crevices of roosts1 nests1 and walls4 ,whitewash is a very wholesome finish for the interior and should be put on at least twice a year4 ,this is not enough however4 ,every square inch of surface should be wet thoroughly with some liquid which is sure death to vermin4 ,spray or brush may be used4 ,i wonder if this could be done too often in hot weather4 ,once a month is probably often enough if good insect powder is used on the hens and in the nests4 ,in winter the vermin are less active1 but it is not safe to neglect them even then4 ,,food ,,and ,,feeding ,hens are known to be omnivorous4 ,they must have animal and mineral as well as vegetable food4 ,they need these things in variable quantities depending on their occupation4 ,the hen's main duties are growing1 laying1 brooding1 moulting1 fattening4 ,she needs a great variety of these three classes of foods throughout her life4 ,study your flock1 read of the experiences of others in magazines1 bulletins1 and books1 follow their advice1 and work out mixtures and methods to suit your conditions after you gain experience4 ,the hens will give you many a hint4 ,let them out of the pen now and then just before feeding time and see how they make for the grass4 ,in the evening the earthworms are near the surface4 ,the hens devour them greedily4 ,you can get the flock back easily if you have a call1 whistle1 or other signal which they associate with grain-scattering1 but they will go in at twilight anyhow4 ,sitting hens need less food because of their sedentary occupation4 ,the main thing is to keep food and fresh water where they can get it when they want it1 or see that they go to it regularly4 ,broody hens are a trial4 ,the common practices of starving them1 ducking them1 and otherwise subjecting them to indignities1 are little short of cruel and often fail to cure their natural desire to sit4 ,stop and reason not with1 but about1 the hen4 ,having laid all the eggs nature has provided during the spring1 the hen's instinct is to brood and rear a nestful4 ,she has worked hard and maybe is run down physically4 ,feel her bones4 ,what you want from her is more eggs4 ,instead of wasting time getting even with her for being a nuisance1 try some rational way of breaking up her desire to sit4 ,remove her immediately from the nest to a coop4 ,instead of starving her give her a plentiful supply of the diet you have found best for layers4 ,she will probably soon begin to lay again if treated sensibly4 ,illustration3 ,racks over feed pans prevent waste and soiling food ,moulting is a perfectly natural process but it occurs at the end of the season and the chickens are often in a low state of vitality4 ,for this reason it is a critical time4 ,study the hens4 ,find out what their physical condition is at moulting season4 ,the best condition is half-way between fat and thin4 ,if they are thin1 provide a wholesome diet rich in fatty foods1 as corn1 oats1 sunflower1 and some flaxseed1 with bran1 meat scraps1 and clover4 ,if heavy with fat from too rich a diet in the summer1 less of the fat-producing foods makes a better moulting diet4 ,the quality and flavour of the eggs and meat depend pretty much on the kind of food given4 ,if filth is taken into the hen's system it affects her general health and efficiency4 ,there is an opinion that hens and pigs are by nature dirty4 ,we will not stop to argue that1 but your hens will eat nothing but clean food if nothing else is provided4 ,that's certain6 ,look to your feeding racks and watering pans4 ,use water freely and a stiff brush or cloth4 ,clean water is positively necessary4 ,all sorts of diseases lurk in dirty houses1 filthy runs1 and stale1 unclean feeding and drinking pans4 ,regularity in feeding is important4 ,do not go into this business if you expect frequently to be otherwise employed at feeding time4 ,the main feedings are two1 morning and late afternoon1 for whole or cracked grain scattered in the litter4 ,ground grain should be there1 in a hopper1 at all hours in summer and all the afternoon the rest of the year4 ,the exercise they must take to get the grain keeps the hens from getting fat and lazy4 ,a busy hen is a happy hen and a productive hen4 ,hang a half cabbage up just out of reach in the house on a stormy day and see them train for the standing broad jump6 ,if you can get what is known as the haslet1 really the lungs1 heart1 and liver of a porker or lamb1 you can suspend this in the same way and they will work all the better for it4 ,,raising ,,young ,,chickens ,illustration3 ,model chicken coop--open on pleasant days ,it is poor practice to set your hens in the chicken house4 ,prepare as many fresh nests as you expect to need4 ,put them in the cellar1 unused shed1 under the porch1 or any convenient and protected place4 ,doors of wire netting or slats are a great convenience4 ,when a hen is broody1 take her off the nest the first night and put her into the new place with an artificial egg or two4 ,ten to one she will stay all right4 ,if not1 do not waste time with her4 ,when assured that her mind is unalterably made up1 give her thirteen eggs and close the door on her again4 ,set two or three the same day and later combine the flocks under one hen4 ,select the eggs with reference to their shape1 size1 and quality of shell4 ,misshapen1 very large1 or very small eggs or those with thin shells are worthless for setting4 ,set the eggs of the best layers4 ,every morning take sitters off nests1 leave food and water for them1 and return in half an hour4 ,usually they are all back in their places in less time than that4 ,if not1 you can replace and shut them in again4 ,in eighteen to twenty-one days the eggs will hatch4 ,probably more little chicks die from lice than from any other cause4 ,preventive measures must begin early4 ,get fresh1 dry insect powder and treat the nest and hen about the third1 the ninth1 and the fifteenth day of incubation4 ,rub the powder all through the feathers4 ,fine dust obstructs the breathing pores of the lice and kills them4 ,when you take the chicks from the nest examine the head1 neck1 and vent regions of every one4 ,if lice are present a drop of melted lard will put an end to them4 ,constant vigilance and nothing short of it1 will prevent death from lice4 ,illustration3 ,prop the door open1 thus1 in rain1 wind1 or too hot sun ,a good home-made lice powder1 costing only about four cents a pound1 may be made as follows3 ,mix together one quarter pint crude carbolic acid 7#ij per cent4 pure71 and three quarters of a pint of gasolene4 ,stir into this enough plaster of ,paris to take up the liquid1 7about two and one half pounds74 ,mix thoroughly and rub through a wire mosquito screen to break the lumps4 ,this can be used to dust through the feathers1 the day after it is made4 ,keep in a tight jar or box4 ,this powder is the invention of an expert in poultry husbandry4 ,the coops for hen and chicks need not be ponderous1 but they should be rain proof4 ,a coop two and one half feet square with removable roof and floor is not too heavy to handle and answers every purpose4 ,a wire netting run three or four feet long attached to each coop is necessary and this combination will house a hen and from fifteen to twenty chickens4 ,illustration3 ,closed for the night4 ,vermin-proof1 weather-proof4 ,screen-covered ventilator on one side ,illustration3 ,bottom of model coop can be cleaned by lifting up the coop ,all the food a young chick needs the first twenty-four hours is provided by nature4 ,after that it is up to you4 ,their first meal may be hard-boiled eggs minced finely1 shells and all1 and mixed with oatmeal or custard made of milk and eggs baked hard1 or it may be baked and crumbled corn bread4 ,by the third day they will be ready for raw broken grain4 ,there are many good commercial kinds3 less trouble than making your own mixtures4 ,the chicks will learn to scratch for this in a week or two4 ,the hen is their teacher4 ,fine grit1 charcoal1 and clean water must be kept where they can get what they want4 ,soft food should not be fed in unlimited quantities2 give what they will eat in five or ten minutes1 then take it away4 ,they are likely to over-eat of wet mashes1 but what they have to work for is not likely to give them indigestion4 ,when chickens are two months old they no longer need wet mash4 ,they should now have access to food whenever they want it4 ,a mixture of cracked corn1 wheat1 beef scrap1 bone1 grit1 shell1 and other grains1 with dry middlings and bran1 may be put into a slatted self-feeder1 like the illustration1 easily constructed by yourself4 ,it is not much trouble to see that this is never empty4 ,if fed only at intervals they rush at you1 bolt the biggest grains1 stuff their crops1 crowd away weak or modest ones2 result1 some are under-fed1 others are over-fed4 ,if food is kept where they can get it whenever they happen to think of it they take a reasonable amount1 then visit the growing clover or grass1 pick up a casual pebble1 take a drink of water1 scratch out a worm1 and return to the feed tray1 all in natural course of the day's work4 ,you will want to get rid of most of your young cockerels as soon as they are marketable4 ,broilers bring highest prices4 ,to put them in tip-top condition they should be fattened for about two to three weeks when they are four months old4 ,there is nothing better for fattening than a mash made of equal parts finely ground corn meal and wheat middlings with one fourth the quantity of meat meal4 ,this should be wet with sour skim-milk or buttermilk and fed in a semi-liquid condition1 about the consistency of pancake batter4 ,ground oats may be added4 ,the product is known in the highest priced city hotels as milk fed or even cream fed chicken4 ,if you can get skim-milk cheap why not buy a bunch of young cockerels and stuff them for market8 ,they have been known to put on a pound for every five pounds of this mixture eaten4 ,,business ,,methods ,the day you drive your first nail into what is to be your chicken house you should start an account4 ,every item should go down1 cost of materials1 cost of stock1 cost of feed4 ,economize where you can by utilizing vacant space for growing clover for summer feed and some root crop like mangolds for winter supply4 ,apples are fine in winter for hens4 ,you can often get bushels of windfalls for the picking4 ,sunflowers are easy to grow and their heads hold a tremendous lot of chicken feed4 ,table scraps ground with a hand mill vary the hen's diet1 but do avoid sloppy messes4 ,there are two sides to every account4 ,if you charge the chickens with what they cost you1 it is only fair to yourself and to them to credit them with the eggs and meat they furnish1 as well as with increase of stock1 etc4 ,illustration3 ,trap-nest open4 ,the hen's weight shuts the door behind her ,in every flock there are some idlers4 ,they lay only a hundred or so eggs1 they leave their eggs too long when sitting1 or they never put on any weight4 ,you want to be rid of all such4 ,you can mark the bad sitters1 and send them to the pot1 as well as those whose habits are such as to make them a nuisance4 ,but you need to know which fowls lay the biggest and best eggs and which lay the largest number4 ,for market in our country where eggs are sold by the dozen it is numbers that count1 but for breeding you want eggs of good size and shape4 ,you also want to set the eggs of the good layers4 ,these eggs taste no better in cake or omelet1 but by careful selection you can breed a strain of extra good layers1 right in your hen house4 ,the device known as a trap-nest is the thing you will need if you go at it scientifically4 ,you want it in winter1 too1 to prevent killing your best hens for potpie1 while the idlers cheerfully eat your grain without recompense4 ,the simpler the mechanism of the trap-nest the better4 ,it must stand open until the hen enters1 then close without frightening her4 ,most of them keep the hen a prisoner until you go and examine the nest1 credit the hen by her leg-band number1 and release her4 ,by following the drawings in the bulletins of the ,new ,york and ,maine ,experiment ,stations referred to in the list of bulletins on chickens you can construct your own trap-nests4 ,illustration3 ,trap-nest closed after hen has gone in ,there are people who claim that common chickens or mixed breeds are hardier than pure bred fowls and better all around producers4 ,how many can show records to make good that claim8 ,american boys and girls who go into chicken raising will want to breed from good pure stock4 ,nothing is too good for them4 ,did you ever hear any one show any enthusiasm when passing a flock of mongrels8 ,contrast this with the delight you and all your friends take in the sight of a hundred fowls all white1 all red1 all spangled1 all black1 all piebald1 all blue1 or all speckled1 as alike as peas in a pod6 ,i vote for the pure stock every time4 ,you can keep it pure and strong by exchanging cockerels with other breeders of the same variety and with similar ideals and practices4 ,keeping chickens isn't mere child's play4 ,there's lots to be done4 ,you must be carpenter1 gardener1 breeder1 merchant1 and even doctor1 all rolled into one4 ,but there is fun in it and profit in it4 ,better than all1 there is a satisfaction in doing a good job and doing it well1 and it keeps a boy out of doors where he belongs if he's a healthy boy4 ,,egg ,,records ,,house ,,no4 ,,matched ,,bird ,,no4 ,,pen ,,no4 ,,variety ,,date ,,nov4,,dec4,,jan4,,feb4,,mar4,,apr4,,ma y ,,june,,july,,aug4,,sept4,,oct4 ---------------------------------------- --------------- #a ---------------------------------------- --------------- #b ---------------------------------------- --------------- #c ---------------------------------------- --------------- #d ---------------------------------------- --------------- #e ---------------------------------------- --------------- #f ---------------------------------------- --------------- #g ---------------------------------------- --------------- #h ---------------------------------------- --------------- #i ---------------------------------------- --------------- #aj ---------------------------------------- --------------- #aa ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ab ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ac ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ad ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ae ---------------------------------------- --------------- #af ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ag ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ah ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ai ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bj ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ba ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bb ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bc ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bd ---------------------------------------- --------------- #be ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bf ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bg ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bh ---------------------------------------- --------------- #bi ---------------------------------------- --------------- #cj ---------------------------------------- --------------- #ca ---------------------------------------- --------------- ,,totals-------------------------------- ----------------- ,the egg record is the up-to-date way of keeping tab on idlers4 ,it goes with the trap-nest4 ,illustration3 ,a useful hen gate ,as with many other products of home industry the first and best market is the home market4 ,credit the hens with every pound of meat you furnish for the table and every egg consumed by the family4 ,but you will soon need to extend your market4 ,across the street1 up and down on both sides1 you can find people who like personally conducted eggs and prefer that the fowls served on their tables should be acquaintances rather than the embalmed kind4 ,you must be business man enough to work up a trade for fresh1 clean eggs in attractive packages1 and for wholesome meat4 ,it would be a good stroke of business to date your eggs if you know what demand you can depend on4 ,that would help impress the idea of real freshness on the consumer's mind4 ,if you pluck fowls for market it will interest you to know that feathers have a market value4 ,they should be plucked dry and the wing and tail feathers kept separate4 ,any large city dealer in chickens will probably take your feathers4 ,by-products often make the difference between plus and minus in a year's business4 ,the winner of the first prize of one hundred dollars in the ,junior ,poultry ,contest of the ,oregon ,agricultural ,college tells this story3 ,,raising ,,chickens ,boys and girls should raise chickens in the city as well as on the farm because it pays and is a fine occupation4 ,it is a work that never grows tiresome and new experiences are always awaiting you4 ,various theories are advocated as to the proper manner of feeding and housing to get the best results but simple rules are the best to begin with4 ,plenty of clean water1 clean houses and yards and good feed are needed to get the best results4 ,spade up a little in the chicken yard every day that is pleasant1 but if it is cold and in wet weather provide a scratching shed4 ,keep the hens busy4 ,read the bulletins furnished free by the government and the various experiment stations4 ,also subscribe to a good poultry paper4 ,the ideas you will get from these together with your own experience will make you a successful poultry raiser4 ,by doing all that was stated above ,i was able to win first prize in the poultry contest just closed4 ,,clarence ,a4 ,,hogan ,,success ,,with ,,chickens ,the contest of the ,portland ,junior ,poultry ,association has closed4 ,it lasted a whole year1 and it seemed as if it would never come to an end4 ,but if it had not been for the contest ,i would never have known many of the interesting things ,i now know about chickens4 ,i had twelve white ,leghorn hens and a cock entered4 ,they were all little beauties and ,i enjoyed working with them very much4 ,they laid one thousand six hundred twenty-two eggs during the year4 ,the eggs were worth from twenty-five to sixty cents a dozen4 ,we fed them wheat1 corn1 barley1 oats1 and bran in which table scraps were mixed1 oyster shells1 grit1 prepared beef scraps1 charcoal1 and green foods such as grass from the lawn1 cabbage1 kale1 and lettuce and other green things from the garden4 ,each hen made us a profit of two dollars and seventy-two cents for the year4 ,chickens need lots of care4 ,their house must be cleaned out1 there should be some fresh ground dug up in the yard1 and they need some green food every day4 ,papa took care of the house1 and ,i mowed the lawn and gave them the clippings and gathered cabbage leaves1 kale leaves1 and lettuce leaves out of the garden and gave them each day4 ,in the spring time we let them out a few minutes every morning to get bugs and worms4 ,they soon had all the bugs and worms scratched out of the garden and then they ran out in the yard and scratched up the flower beds1 which did not please mamma very well4 ,after that they wanted to go to the neighbour's yard but we had to keep them up4 ,this was before we made the garden4 ,chickens make nice pets4 ,they are much nicer than dogs or cats1 and if you take good care of them they will pay well beside4 ,i had a nice little white ,leghorn hen ,i called ,petty4 ,when she was a little chicken ,i would catch her every day and play with her4 ,she would go in the nest and wait for some one to take her out and pet her4 ,she got so tame that ,i could catch her any place in the yard4 ,i would go in the yard and get her and take her out in the garden and dig for her and let her find the bugs and worms4 ,i had another little chicken that ,i called ,jim4 ,he was a cute little rooster4 ,when he was just a little chicken ,i would put him to bed every night and when he grew a little older he would not go to bed alone4 ,one night we weren't at home at his bedtime and when we came home that night we heard a funny little noise in the back yard4 ,it was raining and ,jim had gone under the sweet pea vines to sleep instead of going into his box4 ,the first little chicks we hatched we took away from the hen and raised them by hand4 ,for about a week after they were hatched we put them in a basket and covered them over with warm1 woollen cloths and set them by the stove to keep warm over night4 ,i had a peach box with a wire covering to keep them in1 in the daytime4 ,on sunshiny days we set them out in the sunshine but after about a week they were not satisfied with that4 ,i decided that what they wanted was to get out and run for bugs4 ,so one afternoon when ,i came home from school it was nice and sunshiny and ,i let them out of their box4 ,when they first stepped into the grass they were surprised4 ,that was the first time they had ever stepped on the lawn4 ,they ran right to a rose bush and stayed right there all the time picking off bugs4 ,each evening ,i let them out they would go a little farther away from home4 ,at last they had caught all the bugs around the place and if we did not watch1 they would run over to the neighbour's yard4 ,i am anxious for the time to come when we will have more little chicks4 ,,ruth ,,hayes ,the girl who tells this story is thirteen years old4 ,she won second prize1 fifty dollars4 ,,another ,,prize ,,winner',s ,,story ,during the time that ,i have been taking care of poultry ,i have been successful4 ,i only had six chickens in the ,oregon ,junior ,poultry ,contest1 five hens and a rooster1 but ,i have about fifty other chickens to take care of4 ,the chickens that ,i had in the contest were ,black ,minorcas1 but ,i also raise ,white ,wyandottes4 ,i seem to have better success with my ,white ,wyandottes than with my ,black ,minorcas4 ,the house ,i have for the contest chickens is twelve feet wide and six feet long4 ,the place they roost in is four feet by six and the rest is a scratching shed1 which is eight feet by six4 ,the house is open front and has a ground floor1 which is dry and the chickens can dust in it4 ,i feed them three times a day1 grain morning and noon1 which ,i feed in litter1 and a warm mash at night so they can go to roost warm4 ,i also keep bran1 charcoal1 and grit before them all the time4 ,i have a bone cutter1 and feed cut bone to my chickens once a week4 ,i clean off the drop board every morning1 and once a week ,i coal-oil the roost and where the roost rests4 ,during this cold weather ,i do not let the chickens out very early and when it is raining ,i do not let them out at all4 ,every night after the chickens have gone to roost ,i go out and throw a little grain in their litter and that gives them something to do the first thing in the morning4 ,i am sorry that ,i did not have a photograph of myself to send you4 ,,frank ,,mitchell ,a ,,boy ,,feeds ,,six ,,thousand ,,hens ,,in ,,half ,,an ,,hour ,what do you know about that8 ,i saw this feat done last winter by a fourteen-year old ,california boy1 and ,i took his photograph as he was doing it4 ,what can a boy not do if he has the opportunity8 ,there are other boys who find it a harder task and a more disagreeable one to feed half a dozen hens4 ,a boy can feed six thousand hens and gather two or three thousand eggs a day and go to school4 ,this ,california boy had a gray pony to help him1 but what enabled him to perform this feat day after day was system4 ,his uncle1 the owner of the farm1 had planned the work to make it easy4 ,the farm contains one hundred and twenty acres1 and the six thousand hens are scattered over the whole farm in colony houses4 ,the system of feeding was a liberal feed of soft mash in the morning4 ,three colony houses were placed together4 ,the middle one was a laying house2 the other two1 roosting houses4 ,in one end of the laying house there was a wheat bin holding several sacks of wheat4 ,the bin was a self-feeding hopper4 ,after dinner the fourteen-year old boy jumped on his gray horse and made the rounds of the houses1 opening a door to the hopper of wheat1 so that the hens could eat at will during the afternoon4 ,it took just a moment to jump off of his horse1 open the door1 and jump on again1 the horse going on the lope between the houses4 ,he made the rounds in less than half an hour4 ,about three or four o'clock he hitched his pony to a low wagon and visited all the houses1 gathering the eggs4 ,this was a bigger job than feeding the hens2 he could not go as fast with the eggs4 ,in the morning1 about seven o'clock1 he makes the rounds of the houses1 and without getting off his horse opens the doors to the laying houses1 and does it all in fifteen minutes4 ,what do you know about that8 ,,james ,,dryden ,,an ,,amateur',s ,,experience ,in ,april1 nineteen hundred and one1 ,i purchased four broody hens1 two settings of ,white ,wyandotte eggs1 and two of ,plymouth ,rock4 ,i live in a suburban district where dogs and cats abound and poultry cannot have free range4 ,i therefore made two wire-covered board runs1 six feet by eight1 eighteen inches high1 and against a six-inch hole sawed in one end of each ,i placed a box turned on its side for a coop4 ,of twenty-eight ,wyandotte eggs1 twenty-six hatched1 and three chicks died4 ,of twenty-six ,plymouth ,rocks only three hatched1 and these ,i put with the ,wyandottes in care of the two most motherly hens4 ,every morning ,i fed a mash of meal1 shorts1 and beef scraps1 in equal parts1 mixed dry with boiling water2 at noon and night oatmeal1 cracked wheat1 or occasionally cracked corn1 and clean table scraps at any time4 ,oyster shells and fresh water were always before them4 ,mothers and children ate together1 each taking what she liked best4 ,as often as they soiled the grass ,i shifted the runs1 and on fine days ,i let the families out for an hour before dark into an adjoining field1 keeping an eye on their wanderings4 ,october first ,i sold the four hens1 which had laid meanwhile fifteen and a half dozen eggs4 ,twelve chicks were cockerels1 which were killed as needed4 ,november first ,i reduced the daily feed to two meals--a warm mash at half past eight ,a4,m4 so that they would scratch awhile before being fed1 and for supper grain1 generally oats1 scattered about the yard1 with a few handfuls inside the house to induce more scratching4 ,they had all they would eat1 but if they left any food ,i skipped the next meal and let them get hungry4 ,the water was renewed often1 dishes kept clean1 and field excursions continued occasionally4 ,november sixth ,i sold the first dozen eggs1 and for eleven months the supply never failed4 ,the eggs were large1 and the hens were active1 healthy1 and happy4 ,any success ,i attribute to moderate feeding1 exercise1 and cleanliness4 ,may #a1 #aija1 to ,august #ae1 #aijb ,,expenses ,eggs1 ,white ,wyandotte #b4jj ,express 4#be ,eggs1 ,plymouth ,rock #a4jj #d hens #b4fj ,boards1 net1 and boxes #a4bb ,grain1 #ae months #ca4da ------ #ch4dh ,,receipts ,eggs1 #ad pullets1 #afb dozen #dg4cc ,eggs1 #d hens1 #ae dozen #c4ib #ab cockerels1 #ee pounds #aj4ce #d hens #b4jj #ad hens 7sold by reason of my illness7 #h4jj #b barrels dressing #a4ej ,runs1 etc41 on hand #a4jj ------ #gd4aj #ch4dh ------ ,profit #ce4fb ,,belle ,s4 ,,cragin ,,how ,i ,,started ,,with ,,hens ,i am a boy1 thirteen years old1 and have always been very fond of farm animals1 especially chickens4 ,i like the ,white ,wyandottes best for all-around1 general-purpose fowls4 ,they lay well1 and when they are dressed for market there are no dark pin-feathers to spoil their looks4 ,in ,april1 nineteen hundred and five1 ,i purchased two settings of ,white ,wyandotte eggs at the ,rhode ,island ,college1 and borrowed two broody hens4 ,i bought one of these hens later1 but she soon died4 ,i fixed up an old pig house that was on the place1 and set the hens in this house4 ,while they were sitting1 papa helped me make two coops and pens for them4 ,for the coop ,i took a dry-goods box1 about four feet by one and one half feet by fifteen inches1 and made a door in one corner large enough to admit a hen4 ,in one end ,i bored some holes and covered them with wire netting1 for ventilation4 ,for the pen ,i took four pieces of scantling and a good supply of laths4 ,i used the pieces of scantling for the corner-posts and nailed the laths on the sides1 top1 and one end4 ,i did not put anything on the other end except the top and bottom strips4 ,the pen is just the length of a lath1 but the width is a little less4 ,the open end is placed against the front of the coop2 the hen can then come out into the pen1 and the chicks can go anywhere4 ,after awhile the chicks hatched and there were sixteen of them4 ,at first ,i fed them a mash of corn meal and bran and later a little cracked corn and wheat4 ,they grew finely1 but ,i raised only thirteen of them1 eight of which were pullets4 ,i fed them in the back yard for a while1 but they dug the grass up so that ,i had to stop it4 ,then ,i built a scratching-pen by the wood shed1 to feed them in4 ,in the summer the chickens were roosting in the trees1 and when cold weather came and ,i wanted them to roost in the hen house they would not do it4 ,i tried feeding them there1 and driving them in2 but that did not work very well1 because ,i could not drive them all in at once1 and when ,i drove some in and tried to get the rest1 the first ones would come out again4 ,so ,i had my brother help me1 and every night we would carry them down to the hen house4 ,after a time they learned to roost there4 ,the pullets began to lay early in ,november and laid well all winter4 ,i am proud of one of my hens4 ,she laid two hundred and thirty-eight eggs from the eighth of ,november1 nineteen hundred and five1 to the fifth of ,august1 nineteen hundred and six4 ,i think this is a very good record1 considering that during the most of that time she was fed nothing but cracked corn4 ,during the first part of the winter of nineteen hundred and six to nineteen hundred and seven the hens did not lay very well1 and ,i asked one of the poultry men at the ,rhode ,island ,college what to feed them to make them lay4 ,he told me what he had fed with good success1 and as it made my hens lay1 it may make somebody else's hens lay4 ,,grain ,whole corn ,equal parts1 by weight1 of ,wheat ,oats ,,mash ,bran ,equal parts1 by weight1 of ,middlings ,corn meal ,beef scraps ,this means that they will get more wheat and oats than corn1 and more bran and middlings than corn meal4 ,i feed the grain morning and night1 and the mash at noon4 ,the mash may be fed either wet or dry4 ,i have tried it both ways but ,i like to feed it dry fully as well for two reasons3 ,first the hens cannot gobble it up so fast and all get an equal share2 second1 the hens lay just as well and it saves labour4 ,feed is expensive here and it cost me three dollars and thirty-nine cents for one hundred pounds of both kinds4 ,i think ,i shall continue to feed it till ,i find something better1 and ,i would recommend it to any one who desires a good1 satisfactory feed4 ,my poultry record for one year is as follows3 ,,poultry ,,account ,,dr4 ,,cr4 ,jan41 feed #c4ae ,jan41 eggs #b4fc ,march1 feed 4#bd ,jan41 roaster 4#ge ,april1 shells 4#bj ,feb41 eggs #b4bh ,may1 feed #a4he ,march1 eggs #a4hh ,june1 feed #a4bf ,april1 eggs #a4da ,july1 feed #a4bh ,may1 eggs #a4if ,aug41 feed #c4ch ,june1 eggs #b4cb ,oct41 feed #a4bd ,july1 eggs #a4he ,nov41 feed #a4bd ,aug41 eggs 4#fc ------ ,sept41 eggs #a4ab ,total #ac4hd ,sept41 roaster 4#fe ,oct41 eggs #a4cb ,oct41 premium 4#ge ,nov41 eggs 4#ch ------ #ai4ic ------ ,profit #f4ji ,two of my hens died during the first year1 leaving six1 hence these six paid a profit of one dollar and one and one half cent each1 above cost of feed4 ,,leslie ,e4 ,,card ,,how ,,one ,,young ,,woman ,,made ,a ,,start ,,with ,,poultry ,we had long dreamed of a country home1 my mother and ,i--of a place where living expenses would be lessened and which would be pleasant during the summer for my sisters1 who teach eight months of the year--a place where we could add materially to our income by keeping chickens4 ,after discarding the idea of buying near ,new ,york ,city1 because of the higher value of land and greater cost of living1 we chose a place of twelve acres on the edge of an aristocratic old town in western ,new ,york4 ,being within the corporation limits we have water and sewer connections1 hardware and lumber delivered 7which is quite an item when one is building poultry houses72 and1 best of all1 the expressman comes for all eggs and poultry4 ,a woman intending to go into the poultry business will certainly find such a location a great advantage over being farther from town4 ,the increase in taxes is slight4 ,the cost of expressage is1 of course1 greater than if we had located near ,new ,york ,city1 but grain is cheaper4 ,we purchased the place in the fall to have possession the following ,march4 ,during the winter1 ,i took the three months' ,poultry ,course at ,cornell ,university4 ,the course is comprehensive and very practical4 ,beside learning the principles of poultry husbandry1 ,i gained confidence and courage4 ,we paid two thousand six hundred dollars for the property and spent four hundred dollars more in plumbing and repairs on the house4 ,the place consists of about twelve acres of very good land1 especially suited for poultry1 being somewhat sandy and sloping enough for drainage4 ,the house is small but well built4 ,the view is magnificent1 and the place is easily adaptable to some charming bits of landscape gardening which good taste and personal supervision can accomplish without expensive gardener's fees4 ,we first built some brooder houses1 gasolene heated1 as used at ,cornell1 and purchased day-old chicks of a good laying strain4 ,late in the summer we built a five-pen laying house1 the pens being twenty by twenty feet1 using one pen for a feed room4 ,the entire first year we took care of the poultry ourselves1 with the assistance of a schoolboy who worked for his board4 ,most of the land was in hay1 which we hired cut and sold1 and we raised some corn4 ,i knew nothing about farming1 and was so interested in chickens that ,i had little time to study2 however1 ,i got the ,cornell bulletins on alfalfa and started an acre according to their suggestions4 ,this has been successful and is fine feed for poultry4 ,the second spring we hired a man by the month4 ,one man can take care of twelve hundred hens and the horse1 carry coal1 and drive for us some of the time4 ,the regular farm work we hire done by the day4 ,a woman needs to pay special attention to keeping down the labour expenses4 ,the laying hens have about three acres for yards4 ,this is divided into three different yards1 one for the four hundred best pullets which ,i take the time to trap-nest1 and the third one to be alternated with the other two so that they can all be ploughed and seeded1 in order to keep the ground from becoming contaminated4 ,i have planted cherry trees in one yard and will in the others later1 to furnish shade for the fowls4 ,i chose cherries for various reasons4 ,they can stand the enrichment and the treatment of the land necessary for poultry2 also1 if they are well cared for1 sprayed1 etc41 ,i can get a fancy market for them at home4 ,the place had been noted in former years for its fine cherry orchard1 so ,i believed the soil and location to be well adapted to them4 ,we felt we could not afford to build an incubator cellar1 so we moved the furniture from a north-east bedroom where we placed three four-hundred-egg incubators4 ,we closed the east shutters so that the morning sun would not interfere with the temperature and used the north window for ventilation4 ,it was successful and convenient4 ,the brooder houses are located near the house as long as the little chicks need heat4 ,i have started a hedge for a windbreak in front of them1 which will also screen the poultry part of the plantation from the house4 ,when the chicks no longer need heat the hovers of the brooder houses are removed and roosts put in4 ,the houses1 which are on runners1 are drawn to a cornfield as soon as the corn has grown enough not to be injured by the chicks4 ,here they have free range all summer4 ,by moving the first hatches to some shack houses1 which are cheaply built1 when the chicks no longer need heat the brooder houses can be used once again4 ,there are two cornfields for growing the pullets1 to be used in alternate years so the ground will be fresh4 ,the corn gives shade and a sense of security1 besides furnishing a considerable part of the winter feed4 ,i hope to be able to grow corn for several successive years on the same ground by sowing either clover or rape at the last cultivation to furnish humus for the land4 ,the following were our initial expenses3 #c #djj-;egg incubators #aaa4jj #h brooder houses #cbj4jj #d shack houses #fj4jj ,laying pen for #a1bjj hens #a1ejj4jj ,fences #id4jj ,tools and equipment for poultry #ajj4jj --------- ,total #b1ahe4jj ,last year ,i cleared two dollars over the cost of feed from each of my layers1 from the sale of eggs alone4 ,the pleasure and freedom of country life are worth much4 ,a garden with high quality vegetables1 fruit of all kinds and varieties1 fresh eggs and poultry1 goes a long way in making the cost of living less4 7,we save cracked1 small1 or misshapen eggs for our own use47 ,with a saddle horse and a tennis court1 life in the country is far from dull4 ,,ava ,,hooker ,,preserving ,,eggs ,,for ,,winter ,,use ,when eggs are cheap and plenty is the time when it will pay to preserve some for winter use4 ,remember1 though1 that no amount of preserving1 or cold storing will make a fresh egg out of an old egg4 ,as infertile eggs keep better than fertile ones1 it is well to separate the laying hens from the roosters when the hatching season is over4 ,cold storage is undoubtedly the best method for keeping eggs in wholesale quantities1 but for home consumption there is nothing more satisfactory than a preservative called water glass which is sodium silicate and can be bought in crystal or liquid form at drug stores4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,e4 ,rice of ,cornell ,university says that the liquid form is very much to be preferred owing to the fact that it is very difficult to dissolve the crystal4 ,one part of water glass to nine parts of water makes a liquid having a consistency not quite heavy enough to cause the eggs to come to the surface1 but still sufficiently strong to furnish the coating which prevents the air from entering the shells4 ,stone jars are recommended as inexpensive and not likely to leak4 ,eggs taken out after nearly a year in the water glass and washed look like fresh eggs4 ,as to taste1 a very fastidious person might find the flavour not quite right when served as boiled eggs4 ,in all other ways they are entirely satisfactory4 ,with water glass1 eggs can be preserved for less than two cents a dozen4 ,in communities where the price of eggs varies from a cent apiece to four cents apiece it would be very profitable to preserve all the surplus4 ,,raising ,,guinea ,,fowl ,what would you expect if you ordered ,american pheasant from a bill of fare in a ,london restaurant8 ,no matter what you expected1 when the bird came onto the table it would be guinea hen6 ,this is a dish you probably never ate at home unless you live in the ,south1 where they know what's good1 or make a practice of dining at fashionable hotels where they serve fancy game and poultry4 ,most of the guinea fowls marketed in this country are put into cold storage and sent to ,england4 ,they also bring a good price in city markets in this country4 ,farm boys and girls all over the country are familiar with the strident squawk and the furtive1 hunching trot of the speckled guinea fowl4 ,i doubt if any farmer could tell why he harbours one on the premises1 unless it is to warn his chickens of the presence of danger4 ,i know of very few people in the ,north who eat either eggs or birds 7if they know it71 and the young are very seldom seen4 ,here is a really valuable game bird which silly prejudice is depriving of its fair share of attention4 ,if farm boys realized that there is a good and growing market for guinea fowls1 eggs1 and birds1 they would read this3 ,a fashionable ,new ,york hotel served three thousand of these birds between ,january first and ,april thirteenth1 nineteen hundred and five4 ,listen to the prices3 from one dollar to one dollar and a half per pair for young broilers in midwinter in the large ,northern cities4 ,eggs twice the price of hens' eggs4 ,taking into consideration the fact that they are hardier even as chicks than ordinary poultry and that the market is strictly fancy and not oversupplied1 the chances for success in guinea raising are good4 ,in beginning this branch of business it is not best to buy old fowls4 ,they are swift of wing1 and they are extremely likely to take ,french leave unless closely confined for a week or more to their new quarters4 ,this confinement is not very good for them4 ,my advice is to begin with a setting of fifteen eggs under a common hen in ,may or ,june4 ,the eggs are smaller than hens' eggs and have good1 strong shells4 ,they take from twenty-six to thirty days to hatch4 ,the treatment and care of young guinea fowls varies from that given to young chickens in a few particulars only1 e4 g41 the chicks should be fed very soon after hatching and need a large percentage of animal food when first hatched4 ,dry bread crumbs and hard-boiled eggs minced finely or pieces of cooked meat cut very fine are a good first meal4 ,bread and milk and finely chopped lettuce1 cress1 or other vegetation should be given a day or two later4 ,they will pick up innumerable insects if allowed the privileges of the garden or fruit plantation4 ,little guineas should have access to feed all the time as a few hours without food is very likely to prove fatal4 ,like little pheasants they require a greater percentage of animal food than chickens because if in the wild they would eat little else4 ,soft grains should follow the earlier rations1 and the mixtures given to ordinary poultry should gradually take the place of these4 ,old guinea fowls have the reputation for making very tough meat4 ,for this reason it is better to market them while the breast bone is still tender1 the claws still short and sharp1 and before the crest or helmet has reached its full size or changed colour4 ,in young birds the helmet is nearly black1 growing lighter with age4 ,ordinarily it is more economical when raising a few guinea fowls not to confine them to runs1 in which they are less hardy4 ,partial confinement1 such as coming to the barn yard to roost and appearing regularly to be fed1 is more practical4 ,if kept in runs it is necessary to cover the pens4 ,high roosts should be provided4 ,during the laying season the hens are almost certain to hide their nests and need close watching4 ,they may lay in nest boxes if these are in dim1 secluded corners4 ,guinea hens are very wary and may resent having their nests visited1 by quitting4 ,also1 the hens seem to be able to count and will usually desert their own nests if all but one or two eggs are taken away4 ,they are rather impatient sitters1 often leaving the nest when the eggs are half incubated or when the first chick is ready to go1 even though they have a dozen pipped eggs4 ,the little ones are1 like little turkeys1 susceptible to dampness and cold4 ,very early and very late hatchings are undesirable4 ,,raising ,,turkeys ,among the pictures which my memory calls up is that of an old bushel basket by the kitchen stove on a damp spring morning4 ,from the comforting folds of an old flannel petticoat in the depths of the basket came the feeble peep-peawp of a dozen or more miserable little turkey chicks rescued from the shower4 ,what a chase they had given us through the wet tangles of grass1 weeds1 and bushes1 scooting to cover like partridges1 hidden by their colouring almost as effectually as their wild cousins4 ,we shall never be quite sure that we got them all1 for we weren't certain how many there were originally4 ,if the chill had not penetrated to their vitals1 and these important organs lie disastrously near the pin-feathers1 we had been in time to save them4 ,experiences like these impress upon the minds of farm children much that is characteristic of the turkey4 ,as grown-ups we read of the precautions necessary in raising turkeys and realize that we knew all that years ago4 ,a turkey hen will stay close around the barn yard eating and drinking with the other fowls all winter1 roosting in convenient tree tops1 and giving no hint of wildness or firmness of purpose4 ,but in ,april you miss her4 ,she may return about meal time1 take a dust bath perhaps1 then she is off again4 ,now you must test your wits against her instincts and see if you can find her nest4 ,she may have secreted her eggs in a perfectly safe barrel1 provided with straw and cunningly secluded in the shrubbery4 ,she is likely1 though1 to go far afield and give you a merry chase4 ,it is wise to take away the eggs each day until she has finished and wishes to sit4 ,then you may give her a nestful1 fifteen to eighteen1 or you can set the eggs under hens and when the turkey's broody spell is over she will lay again4 ,four weeks is the time required to hatch turkey eggs4 ,newly hatched turkeys are far from spry4 ,they have no interest in food nor in the world about them4 ,it is forty-eight hours or even longer before they begin to take notice4 ,hard-boiled eggs chopped fine is a good first meal for them4 ,some growers take a pint of sweet milk in a saucepan1 let it come to a boil1 and stir into it two eggs well beaten4 ,this makes a sort of custard and this quantity is said to be enough for fifty new turkey chicks4 ,cottage cheese without salt is recommended4 ,a dusting of black pepper in the food is good for week-old turkeys1 especially in cool weather4 ,two deadly enemies of little turkeys are lice and wet4 ,these are responsible for the high rate of mortality in flocks of all breeds4 ,keep them free from these by all known methods and with ordinary care in other details your profits are safe4 ,if you tide over the first two months you will see the delicate chicks transformed into hardy little poults1 holding their own with any kind of fowls4 ,i don't know of any one who ever made a success of turkeys on a small lot4 ,their habit of ranging can be restrained to the extent of keeping them off the neighbours1 but close cooping opposes their natural instincts4 ,they are great insect eaters and will pick up a fair living away from the feed trough4 ,it is best to train them by a regular evening feeding to roost at home4 ,you will want to count them frequently1 especially as ,november draws near and the price begins to soar4 ,there are a number of breeds in cultivation4 ,the biggest and perhaps the hardiest is the bronze turkey4 ,some consider their flesh less delicate than that of the smaller kinds4 ,there is always a good market for any size4 ,if all your neighbours have bronze turkeys and the flocks are always getting mixed1 why not try the buff or black or the white ,holland8 ,the latter are almost as beautiful an ornament to the country home as peacocks1 and can be seen at a great distance because of their brilliant white plumage4 ,if one wants to get enthusiastic over turkeys let him drive through a thrifty farming community in the fall and catch glimpses of the sunshine reflected from the burnished backs of the great flocks which ornament every farm yard4 ,or1 if inclined to a meal of turkey1 just inquire the price on the farm or in the market1 and you will decide to raise some for your own use next year1 and a few to sell4 ,,raising ,,peacocks ,we have it on the authority of the curator of birds of the ,new ,york ,zological ,garden1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,william ,beebe1 that peafowls are not difficult to raise if the owner is watchful4 ,wouldn't it be a triumph to raise a family of these wonderful birds8 ,mr4 ,beebe says also that peacocks are so common that we sometimes fail to appreciate their really wonderful colours4 ,i wonder if that can be true4 ,they were so uncommon in the ,mississippi ,valley when ,i was a child that ,i never saw one2 it was less than ten years ago that ,i saw for the first time this regal bird spread his wonderful tail in the full sunlight4 ,it was one of ,mr4 ,beebe's own pets and ,i shall never forget nor fail to appreciate the sight4 ,a peahen lays fewer eggs than most birds of her size4 ,she will lay three times a year if you succeed in changing her current of thought when she is broody4 ,she usually wishes to sit on the first six eggs and as she has pretty good judgment in placing her nest and is a patient and courageous mother1 you had better trust her to bring up her family1 unless you wish to raise the first lot under hens or turkey mothers4 ,like young turkeys1 the little peachicks are very tender and susceptible to dampness4 ,woe unto them if the chill of an early ,may rain gets into their bones6 ,this is the time when watchfulness on the owner's part is necessary4 ,for newly hatched peachicks a few meals of finely chopped1 hard-boiled eggs and minced lettuce are right4 ,as they develop appetites1 feed some of the mixtures prepared for game1 pheasants1 etc4 ,by all means let them have space to run in2 a little coop is bad for their health4 ,make it twelve feet long at least4 ,they will eat quantities of insects and will need feed only morning and evening after the first month or two4 ,corn1 wheat1 barley1 and millet make a good mixture4 ,no regular house is required for peafowls1 though shelter must be provided against rain4 ,they prefer to roost high1 where the air is fresh and cool4 ,wind and cold weather they like4 ,indian peacocks cost twenty dollars to thirty dollars a pair4 ,you can grow them for far less from eggs and sell the birds4 ,they live to be twenty or thirty years old4 ,if you are convinced that you want to try your hand at any of these kinds of fancy poultry1 collect all the information you can first4 ,visit some successful poultry plant1 ask questions1 take notes4 ,get all the government and state experiment station bulletins available4 ,breeders often publish information about rearing birds4 ,they are glad to help any one who is interested4 ,it increases their business4 ,write to your agricultural college for information4 ,they may not have a bulletin on the subject1 but the men in their poultry department are glad to answer questions4 ,giving advice is part of their business and you can count on it being good advice4 ,,raising ,,geese ,march is a good month to set goose eggs4 ,as it takes them a little over a month to hatch1 they will come out in ,april and the early birds catch the best prices4 ,it is really surprising that more farmer's boys and girls do not raise geese4 ,they will board themselves if given a chance at pasture1 but need fattening with ground grain if held for ,christmas trade4 ,goslings can be raised under hens1 six eggs in a nest1 but the goose is an admirable mother4 ,unlike most of his feathered kindred the gander is a true helpmate1 often spelling his mate during the sitting period and caring for the young afterward with great solicitude4 ,watchful care is needed to prevent the damp1 cold ,april from getting the best of little goslings4 ,they should begin their careers with a meal of bread crumbs1 scalded meal1 and hard-boiled eggs1 chopped vegetable tops and grass included in the mash4 ,they eat small quantities at a time1 but need it frequently to stay their stomachs4 ,water for drinking should be accessible1 clean1 and fresh always4 ,many a sick gosling can trace his disorder directly to the bad water4 ,a large tub of water for bathing1 too1 is advisable for geese after they are feathered4 ,toulouse and ,embden geese are tremendous creatures1 even reaching the enormous weight of twenty-five pounds4 ,their meat is highly prized in ,european countries and is becoming popular in ,america so that a good market is assured4 ,the business of fattening geese for market is quite specialized now4 ,men engaged in this business visit the farms where a few geese are kept and buy the eight-weeks old goslings for seventy-five cents to one dollar and a half apiece4 ,if you can get this price your profit is fair and certain and your work ended4 ,you can put your cash into some other business4 ,raising geese is a good summer vacation job4 ,on a goose fattening farm near a good ,eastern city market as many as fifteen or twenty thousand geese are fattening at one time4 ,geese on farms when ,i was a girl were kept principally for their feathers which found their way into the pillows and feather beds then used4 ,the best pillows in my house are filled with the feathers plucked from geese with which ,i was personally acquainted4 ,these feathers have a high market value1 higher when you buy than when you sell to be sure1 but you may be able to supply a local market and thus get a better price4 ,geese1 like all the other feathered tribes1 moult naturally in late summer4 ,if the live geese are to be plucked1 it should be done very carefully1 three or four feathers at a time4 ,the geese do not show evidence of minding much when they find that your designs are peaceable4 ,only the breast feathers and the smallest ones from the back are ordinarily taken for home use4 ,avoid the feathers with coarse stiff shafts4 ,no down should be removed4 ,goose quills make good toothpicks1 cleaned and scalded and trimmed into shape4 ,or they may be sold separately as feathers4 ,geese are plucked before sending to market4 ,most of the feathers and some of the down now extensively used by manufacturers of bed clothing comes from the marketed geese4 ,,raising ,,ducks ,probably in many neighbourhoods you would be laughed at if you tried to raise ducks without a pond or stream of water4 ,it is not customary4 ,true1 if you have them for ornament principally1 they look best disporting themselves in what seems to be their natural element4 ,but if you believe there is money in raising ducks for market1 nothing is easier than to prove that the people who laughed were not up to date4 ,you have heard the old saying on a very wet day1 ,good weather for ducks4 ,don't you believe it4 ,if you go into duck raising you must be just as careful about ducks getting wet as you are about your chicks4 ,the duck must have plenty of water inside1 all he will drink1 but keep him dry outside4 ,little ducks are hardy if kept dry and warm4 ,even cold drinking water will give them cramps and should be avoided4 ,the drinking vessels should be so covered that the duckling can get only the bill wet4 ,the advantage of ducks over chicks is this3 they do not bring quite so big a price per pound1 but they grow so much faster during the first two months of their lives4 ,ducks should be marketed at eight to ten weeks old4 ,at ten weeks old a good broiler will weigh about two pounds and will sell for seventy-five cents1 but a duckling will weigh four to five pounds1 which at twenty-five cents a pound will give you from one dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents4 ,the cost of feeding the two will be about the same4 ,ducks have other advantages over chickens4 ,they are not nearly so subject to vermin1 though lice sometimes attack their heads4 ,they seem to thrive in confinement and cost less to house than chickens4 ,their feathers will bring a good price1 and eggs of pure breeds for hatching are in demand4 ,they are excellent layers1 even better than some hens1 as experience will show4 ,if a duck lays nine dozen eggs at four dollars a dozen1 and raises a family1 she does a pretty good year's work1 and is more profitable to keep than some cows4 ,she eats grubs and insects1 too1 and grass and surplus from the vegetable garden4 ,the commonest practice for beginners is to set duck eggs under hens in ,april and ,may4 ,the biggest varieties are the best to raise as all are hardy1 fast growers1 and good layers4 ,the eggs take about twenty-eight days to incubate4 ,treat the hen and nest for lice just as when sitting on hens' eggs4 ,when ducklings are twenty-four hours old1 they are ready for their first meal4 ,mashed potatoes mixed with meal of corn or oats and middlings are good for them4 ,milk1 too1 is excellent as for all fowls4 ,begin to stuff them immediately2 you will find them quite agreeable4 ,green food of all kinds--grass1 lettuce1 cabbage1 vegetable tops--all chopped small1 fills them up and is good for them4 ,such things as turnips and potatoes should be cooked4 ,ground meat should be fed three times a week4 ,have the feeding troughs so arranged that they can get their shovels into it but cannot walk over the food and foul it2 same thing with the water4 ,feed four times a day4 ,they must not get empty4 ,growth will not be rapid unless continuous4 ,grit should be supplied4 ,on duck farms one hundred ducklings are kept in brooders five by seven feet1 with yards five by sixteen feet4 ,they are kept absolutely clean and dry4 ,those you keep over winter for next year's egg supply should have access to a pond and grass4 ,old ducks do not bring high prices for table use and do not put on weight very fast4 ,it was perhaps a young ,boston housekeeper who asked when her market man offered her ,pekin ducks for her table1 ,how are they esteemed8 ,he replied1 ,oh1 my wife1 she don't never steam ducks4 ,she just stuffs 'em like you would a chicken and bakes 'em4 ,,raising ,,squabs ,,for ,,market ,a few years' experience in raising fancy pigeons for pets is the best kind of training for a young man who wants to raise squabs for market4 ,this business on a small scale ought not to take all one's time and can easily be combined with some other business or profession or with attending college4 ,but your experience1 varied though it may be1 has not acquainted you with all that is worth knowing on the subject4 ,the time has gone by when a man can afford to ignore books and bulletins even on a subject upon which he may himself be an authority4 ,a library of pigeon literature will increase your wisdom4 ,a practical man writing of his experience in your business may save you hundreds of dollars if you heed his advice4 ,don't scoff at college bulletins as your grandfather probably did4 ,he had reason1 but the bulletin is not what it was4 ,great strides forward have been made4 ,visit some big squab raiser's plant and take mental and written notes of significant facts observed4 ,the colour of his pigeon loft does not affect the price he gets for his squabs1 but the quality of the grain he feeds has a direct influence on the fullness of his wallet4 ,full-blooded homers are declared by many to be the best1 all things considered1 for table use4 ,good1 mated birds of this variety can be bought for about two dollars a pair4 ,they are hardy1 bright1 active on their feet1 and the squabs have a larger breast than some of the other sorts4 ,homers are not all the same colour2 some are white1 others black1 reddish1 and mixed colours4 ,good stock will rear six or eight pairs of squabs in a year1 while some exceptionally good ones will raise ten pairs4 ,if you make a clear profit of one dollar and twenty-five cents per year on an average from each pair you should do well4 ,it is not profitable to keep birds which produce less than five pairs a year4 ,a record must be kept in order to weed out worthless birds4 ,you do not wish to spend your leisure running a free boarding house for pigeons4 ,you must know which are the big producers and keep only their young as breeders4 ,nests should be numbered and every bird have a leg label with a number corresponding to a numbered description in your book of records4 ,this is good economics4 ,squabs of homers should be ready for selling at four weeks old2 they should be fully feathered but still in the nest4 ,the heaviest grade weigh eight pounds per dozen and these bring highest market prices4 ,lighter birds are considered poor quality and bring a correspondingly low price4 ,prices vary from four dollars and fifty cents to one dollar and seventy-five cents per dozen4 ,dispose of pairs which habitually produce light-weight squabs as indicated by your records4 ,minute directions for killing and dressing squabs for market are given in ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #agg1 which every squab raiser should have in his library4 ,there is1 as yet1 no indication of over-production in squab raising2 although many more are grown every year1 the demand is still on the increase4 ,it is a good business for two people to go into together1 a brother and sister1 two brothers1 or adjoining neighbours4 ,descriptions of house and furnishings1 fly1 foods and feeding1 and details of care are given in ,chapter ,,iv under ,raising ,fancy ,pigeons4 ,,raising ,,pheasants ,the young people on a big ranch or estate with its up-to-date poultry plant1 raising not only plain and fancy chickens1 but pigeons1 ducks1 geese1 turkeys1 and guinea fowl1 all attended by men hired for the purpose1 may look about in vain for a chance to try their hands at raising anything with feathers4 ,to such boys and girls ,i say1 ,did you ever see any pheasants8 ,at the ,zological ,gardens1 yes4 ,aren't they beauties8 ,how would you like to grow pheasants8 ,there is a line that has not been overworked4 ,profit in it1 too4 ,look at prices you must pay for birds and get an idea of how yours will sell later4 ,numerous experiments in pheasant growing have been tried in this country4 ,it is well to know of these and to profit by them4 ,some men raise many varieties1 importing them from every quarter of the globe4 ,their ideal is to have a complete collection4 ,a visit to a large aviary will give you some idea of what a gorgeous family of birds the pheasants make4 ,they are highly prized as game birds4 ,in ,germany they are served in a most surprising way4 ,the edible parts are cooked and arranged on a platter on a bed of parsley4 ,at one end of the platter the cook puts the head with its beautiful neck ruff and at the other end the tail feathers4 ,imagine the waiter's triumphant entrance into the dining-room1 platter held aloft1 and the pheasant's brilliant tail feathers streaming far behind like pennants from a mast top6 ,the pheasant most easily grown in the ,united ,states is the ringneck or ,mongolian pheasant imported from its home in ,china4 ,there is hardly a state in the ,union where no attempt has been made to raise pheasants4 ,it is an industry that appeals to sportsmen everywhere4 ,massachusetts1 ,ohio1 ,new ,york1 ,indiana1 ,illinois1 ,california1 ,new ,jersey1 and some other states have made pheasant rearing a part of the work of their ,fish and ,game ,commissions4 ,the state of ,oregon is the only one where a remarkable success has been won4 ,evidently the climate and conditions there were ideal4 ,about three dozen pheasants were set free in the ,willamette ,valley in eighteen hundred and eighty-one4 ,so rapid was the increase that when the first open season of two and one half months was declared eleven years later it was estimated that fifty thousand birds were shot the first day6 ,they have continued to increase in that state and towards the north1 and many other states get their supply for propagation from ,oregon4 ,the first thing to do after becoming interested in pheasants is to learn something about their nature and needs and to consider whether your conditions are such as would make the business possible or profitable4 ,they are not domestic fowls but more like the jungle fowl from which1 in all likelihood1 our barn yard fowls are descended4 ,but they can be raised in captivity if due regard is taken of their habits and characteristics4 ,books and bulletins are mentioned in the appendix of this book4 ,in some respects pheasants are very like chickens1 being especially susceptible to the diseases of the poultry yard4 ,in ,england1 pheasant rearing is quite common4 ,one sees in open meadow land on great estates the tidy coops where anxious biddies cluck after their wayward foster children4 ,it is a pretty sight to see the fifteen or twenty brown-striped birds scuttling wildly to her protecting wing at the approach of danger4 ,pheasants' eggs for shipping should be most carefully packed in cotton1 hay1 or excelsior to insure safety from jar4 ,you do not have to begin with grown birds which cost five dollars a pair for ring-necks1 as the eggs are best set under hens4 ,the eggs should be set in late ,april or early ,may for best results4 ,bantams are often preferred1 but any good mother will do if she is cleanly and not too clumsy4 ,great precautions should be taken that the nest be clean1 and that the hen should have all the comforts of home1 e4 g41 a dust bath1 clean water1 and regular feeding4 ,can you afford to run the risk of young chickens getting lice as soon as they are hatched8 ,well1 you simply can't take any chances with baby pheasants4 ,hens should be dusted three times during incubation with insect powder4 ,visit an aviary or a pheasantry if you can and ask questions and take observations on how to make nests1 coops1 and pens4 ,study your books1 too1 and be guided by the experience of others4 ,while you wait for your young pheasants to hatch there is plenty to do in preparing coops and learning what to feed them when they arrive4 ,much of our lack of success in rearing all sorts of wild game is because we know so little about what they eat4 ,we probably make lots of mistakes with the animals we have domesticated but the more adaptable of them have grown accustomed to civilized food1 and thrive4 ,there could be no better place for a rearing ground for young pheasants than an orchard where clover abounds4 ,coops1 like chicken coops1 should be rain proof1 well ventilated1 bottomless1 and so built that they can be closed to keep out vermin and to shut the chicks in when the grass is wet4 ,pheasants are omnivorous but they need more fresh animal food than is supplied by ordinary chick mixtures1 to balance their ration4 ,probably they share with other young birds a relish for insects and while their mothers do not actually bring this food to the open bills of their young1 they take the flock to the feeding ground and show them how to find worms1 bugs1 caterpillars1 etc41 by scratching4 ,there are ways employed by experienced pheasant growers of raising a supply of meal worms1 maggots1 and ant pup for their flocks1 but cheap1 fresh meat ground very fine furnishes suitable animal food4 ,during the first three or four days after feeding is begun a custard made of ten eggs to a quart of milk1 baked well1 is their best food4 ,hard-boiled eggs finely minced 7put through a potato ricer71 fine bread crumbs1 and fresh vegetables cut into small bits can be given during the first week4 ,later1 small grains of a great variety of kinds4 ,a sprinkle of red pepper in their food during cold1 damp days is good for half-grown chicks4 ,the young pheasants must have access to fine grit and gravel and they must have fresh1 cool water all the time4 ,in building pens for pheasants we should take into consideration their habits1 their safety1 and their lack of hardiness in domestication4 ,select the site for the pens after due thought4 ,there must be both shade and sunshine4 ,the soil should be well drained and rich enough to grow grass and clover4 ,each run should be at least ten feet by ten with netting of medium mesh for sides1 eight feet high1 cover of the same4 ,a house is an unnecessary expense1 as it is pheasant nature to stay in the open or seek a covert of brush4 ,a rain proof shed1 where they can retire when it rains1 and where a dust bath will always be in readiness1 is a necessity4 ,wild birds of prey evidently consider it perfectly legitimate to visit pheasant runs4 ,raccoons1 foxes1 rats1 and mink1 too1 may work ruin there4 ,the cover of netting protects from above and it may be necessary1 where burrowing animals abound1 to dig a trench a foot deep and set the netting down in the ground that far4 ,a few steel traps set unbaited along the outside of the runs may prevent a serious loss and provide you with a handsome mink or raccoon fur skating or motoring cap4 ,severe cold1 even storms1 are not fatal to pheasants4 ,provide perches in the pen as well as in the shed and they will usually choose those in the open air4 ,because of their great timidity the birds should be disturbed as little as possible4 ,unfamiliar sights and sounds alarm and distress them4 ,what a triumph it would be to induce your pheasants to eat from your hand6 ,it can be done by exercising great patience1 gentleness1 and perseverance4 ,all you know about chicken raising will be useful now4 ,make up your mind that everything that is bad for chicks is simply fatal to young pheasants2 for instance1 wet feet1 lice1 dirty1 or sun-warmed water1 over-feeding1 wrong feeding4 ,if you play this game you must expect a constant succession of hazards1 of narrow escapes1 and losses4 ,but it is a noble game4 ,,iv ,,raising ,,animals ,,for ,,pets ,,shetland ,,ponies ,the perfect pet is the ,shetland pony4 ,this diminutive horse is a model of gentleness1 patience1 good-nature1 and horse sense4 ,one writer says of him3 ,if more than eight children get on his back he will shake himself like a wet ,newfoundland dog and then stand motionless1 while they pick themselves up and out from among his four hoofs4 ,so many generations of ponies have lived right in the family circles of their cold little island that children do not make them nervous4 ,is there a prettier sight than a well-groomed ,shetland pony1 a carriage made in ,lilliput1 and a small driver1 and a reasonable number of little passengers of assorted sizes8 ,a goat team is a joke1 a dog team is impracticable1 a team of young oxen is too plodding and lacks style4 ,the pony outfit is charming and always delights everybody4 ,but who likes to see a grown man in a pony carriage8 ,a small grown person may be necessary1 especially if the baby is to be taken for a drive1 but a full-sized adult makes a pony carriage look top heavy4 ,the ,shetland pony is a sort of boy horse so far as work is concerned4 7,some say1 too1 that he gets out of as much work as possible47 ,there is no better helper at light jobs than the pony4 ,like the yak3 ,he will carry and fetch ,you may ride on his back ,or lead him about with a string4 ,indeed he will follow his master about without a string and can carry a good load4 ,with a light cart or wagon suited to his build and a boy to do the rest1 one of these hardy little fellows will be of greatest help in doing the endless odd jobs that always fall to the boy's lot4 ,the pony will more than earn his board if the boy earns his4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,the ,shetland ,pony is the ,ideal ,pet ,a thoroughbred ,shetland pony should be less than forty-five inches high and weigh less than three hundred pounds4 ,many are raised in this country4 ,a boy is lucky who has a chance to train a pony colt4 ,training should be begun early4 ,one successful breeder says that his children do all the training of his ponies4 ,his boy1 seven years old1 broke the first one they raised to drive to a little wagon4 ,little boys and girls under ten take entire care of the ponies in another man's herd4 ,no doubt their father or mother oversees the work1 but it is fun for the children to groom and feed and pet these wee horses4 ,breeding ,shetland ponies is a very practical way to make a few hundred dollars a year4 ,they eat less than full-sized horses and will keep fat on grass from frost till frost4 ,the price of ponies is #be per cent4 higher than it was five years ago4 ,this makes the cost of going into this business higher1 but the sales begin the second year and selling prices are higher1 too4 ,shetlands are hardy and require shelter only in bitter cold weather4 ,ponies of various sorts are becoming far commoner here than formerly1 so the demand is increasing4 ,i wish every boy and every girl whose heart is set on having a pony could have one4 ,let us all raise ponies until there are enough for every one4 ,,rabbits1 ,,guinea ,,pigs1 ,,and ,,cavies ,rabbits1 guinea pigs1 and cavies are not poultry1 yet there is always a department devoted to them in the great ,poultry ,show at ,madison ,square ,garden in ,new ,york4 ,it was there that ,i first made the acquaintance of these three kinds of popular pets4 ,many a boy has made a neat little addition in two figures1 at least1 to his college fund1 by raising hares1 rabbits1 guinea pigs1 white rats1 fancy mice1 or cavies4 ,common white rabbits can be bought for one dollar a pair1 but these days it is not uncommon for a breeder to pay from fifteen dollars to twenty-five dollars for wearers of blue ribbons4 ,if you had guinea pigs for sale you would be glad that the best ones cannot be bought for less than ten dollars apiece4 ,rabbits are the most popular of these pets1 while cavies come next4 ,there is just now a great demand for cavies4 ,they are odd little creatures1 neither intelligent nor affectionate4 ,neither are they very hardy2 in the ,north they have to be kept indoors in cold weather4 ,cavies are easy enough to feed1 for they eat everything that is set before them1 and keep at it all the time4 ,all sorts of vegetables1 bread and milk1 and corn are the chief of their diet4 ,before going into the business of raising any of these creatures it is well to consult some other boy who has had some experience and find out if there are any peculiar difficulties he can help you provide for4 ,maybe your locality and conditions are better fitted for one than the other4 ,a dealer will often be able to give you valuable information about the different sorts of pets1 and may be able to recommend the best book on the subject4 ,,fancy ,,pigeons ,if ,i were a boy or a girl to-day there is nothing ,i should so much like to do as to raise pigeons4 ,not that ,i think it an easy job4 7,wouldn't you almost as soon work as to look for an easy job1 anyhow87 ,there are lots of disappointments1 discouragements1 and hard labour about pigeon rearing4 ,but young folks with hobbies like this are getting more fun out of life than the idle ones4 ,pigeons are hardy1 easily tamed1 prolific1 and can be made to pay their own way4 ,it would be impossible to associate with them1 care for them1 learn their nature and habits1 without becoming thoroughly interested in them4 ,no pets could be more gentle1 more beautiful1 more docile than pigeons4 ,success in rearing them will not be immediate1 but will come with experience4 ,the business of raising fancy pigeons for pets is quite distinct from squab raising1 treated in the chapter on poultry1 and is far more likely to interest boys and girls4 ,if you were to go to a big poultry show you would be bewildered at the number of breeds of fancy pigeons4 ,the pouters1 the tumblers1 the barbs1 the dragoons1 nuns1 helmets1 the fantails1 and carriers are all there in endless variety4 ,what you like will be different from what ,i like1 probably1 so it is not easy to recommend4 ,beginners would do well to choose some one variety and try their hand at that before investing very extensively4 ,the flying tumbler is recommended by many good authorities4 ,these are not difficult to breed1 are small eaters1 do not need to be caged continually1 and although they are to be had in nearly all the colours of the rainbow they are not very expensive4 ,it is not good economy to buy cheap stock1 in anything4 ,though by getting good ones you must start with a single pair1 it is the best economy4 ,your increase will be very much more valuable4 ,you should ask the breeder for a written guarantee that the pigeons are as represented1 healthy1 young1 mated stock4 ,if he does not care to give the guarantee1 ,i should not consider him reliable4 ,pigeons are not much influenced by elaborate dovecotes4 ,they are quite as happy living the simple life in a dry-goods box1 provided it contains the conveniences they require1 and is placed where the light will be plentiful1 the air pure1 and the roof rain proof4 ,city boys and girls need not sigh and give up the idea because they have no place for pigeons4 ,the attic or the roof serves them just as well as the barn yard1 perhaps better1 as mice and rats are less likely to disturb them on housetops4 ,every precaution should be taken however against these vermin4 ,cracks1 doors and ventilators should be covered with fine wire netting4 ,even the entrances1 holes six inches high by four in width1 should be protected by tin guards which rats and mice cannot creep over4 ,illustration3 ,net for capturing pigeons ,illustration3 ,pigeon roost ,each pair of pigeons will need two nesting compartments4 ,a good kind is described in ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #agg1 and is constructed as follows3 ,inch boards1 twelve inches wide1 with parallel cross cleats nailed on nine inches apart1 are set upright full twelve inches apart against one wall1 and securely fastened at top and bottom4 ,cut twelve-inch squares of inch boards for the bottoms of the nest boxes4 ,it is easy to see how convenient these sliding bottoms will be to clean4 ,provide small earthenware dishes as nests1 with a foundation of tobacco stems1 to discourage lice4 ,the birds will build nests of straw above the tobacco stems1 the male bringing the material which the female arranges to suit her ideas of house furnishing4 ,some growers use sawdust in the nest4 ,if your pigeons are allowed their liberty with no shelter save the pigeon loft1 perches will be needed inside4 ,as the pigeon's feet are formed for perching on flat surfaces instead of on rounded branches like many of their feathered relatives1 you should provide what suits their needs4 ,a good form of perch is made as follows4 ,cut half-inch1 dressed material four or five inches wide into five or six-inch lengths4 ,nail together two of these pieces in v-shape4 ,this can be nailed to a square foundation piece and hung angle up on the wall of the loft4 ,the slanting sides afford no lodging for droppings and as only one bird at a time can perch on so small a place1 quarrelling is avoided4 ,iron brackets with perches attached are also used4 ,two nest dishes are provided for each pair1 as very often the hen will lay a second pair of eggs before the earliest young ones are ready to leave the nest4 ,the male pigeon is untiring in his devotion to the young and their mother1 taking his turn on the nest regularly during the seventeen days of incubation1 doing his share of the work1 and even beating his wife if she shows any disposition to slight her duties4 ,if the pigeons are confined in a wire fly1 perches should be provided there1 and board walks for them to alight upon and walk about on should be placed at a distance of four or five feet from the ground4 ,nothing in the shape of roosts or cross pieces should be put in the fly1 as the pigeons need all the space in which to exercise their wings4 ,illustration3 ,a fly for pigeons4 ,put no roosts across the fly4 ,flying against these would injure the birds ,for one hundred birds the fly should be thirty-two feet long1 eight feet high1 and the entire width of the house4 ,it will be a fine problem in practical arithmetic to figure how much netting will be required to cover the frame of this fly1 how many posts1 and how much one by four-inch stuff will be needed to complete the frame4 ,the advice of some one who has built a pigeon fly would be most valuable to the inexperienced person1 and the pictures in books1 bulletins1 and magazine articles will be helpful in making your plans4 ,holes1 at least two1 rounded at the top and six inches each way1 provide for the going and coming of the birds between house and fly4 ,for yourself1 an outside door into the fly is a necessity1 of course4 ,before installing your pigeons in their house1 use the whitewash brush there freely4 ,into each gallon of your mixture of lime and water put a half-teaspoonful of crude carbolic acid4 ,clean sand is recommended for the floor of both fly and house4 ,it is very bad practice to scatter food for pigeons on the floor or ground4 ,you will see1 if you try it1 how much is wasted2 any that they leave becomes soiled1 moulds1 or sours1 and if eaten in that condition is nearly sure to injure the birds4 ,a shallow feeding trough should be placed near the centre of the house4 ,fine charcoal1 table salt1 and cracked oyster shells should be kept permanently before the birds1 the boxes cleaned out at least weekly4 ,clean water in stone or galvanized iron fountains should always be there1 too4 ,daily or semi-daily is none too frequent to clean these vessels4 ,pigeons are not gluttonous feeders but they want what they want1 when they want it4 ,in other words1 regularity is important to their well-being4 ,an early morning feed1 six-thirty in summer1 seven in winter1 of equal parts cracked corn1 wheat1 and peas1 and an afternoon feed1 at four in summer1 three in winter1 of equal parts cracked corn 7with no fine meal in it71 kaffir corn1 millet seed1 and peas1 is a fair ration4 ,pigeons like a variety but not as a steady diet4 ,hemp may be substituted for millet once or twice a week2 a little broken rice1 green vegetable food1 like lettuce and onions1 will be taken sparingly1 and tiny bits of fat bacon seem to be acceptable4 ,nothing but first-class grain should ever be set before pigeons4 ,the quantity needed should be determined by watching4 ,if food is left in trough1 feed less next time4 ,water for bathing is as necessary for pigeons as the dust bath is for hens4 ,a broad galvanized iron pan three inches deep makes a first-rate bathtub4 ,although fancy plumbing is out of place in a pigeon house1 it is the greatest convenience to have running water passing through a trough constantly2 this solves completely the problem of sanitary drinking water4 ,the best fanciers clean their houses weekly4 ,with a few birds this may not be necessary4 ,but when your nose gives unmistakable evidence that it is time1 do not put it off4 ,a spade to scrape the floor1 an old knife for the nest boxes1 and a broom are necessary utensils4 ,mated birds will choose a nesting box after becoming accustomed to their new quarters4 ,the nest pans1 with their foundation of tobacco stems cut in six-inch lengths1 should be in place1 and a supply of short hay or straw where it can be found4 ,two eggs are usually laid1 with a day between and sitting begins as soon as the second egg is laid4 ,if the sight of a young squab does not make you sick of your choice of a hobby1 you are a hopeless case1 and ,i predict great success for you4 ,young robins are not beautiful to behold1 but squabs are such ghastly looking little beasts1 with nothing to recommend them except their entire helplessness4 ,evidently the parents are well satisfied with the appearance of their offspring which look just as they expected1 no doubt1 and begin almost immediately to feed them4 ,pigeon milk is injected into their open throats by the parent birds1 in whose stomachs it has been manufactured4 ,the squabs gain rapidly after a few days of this milk diet2 pin-feathers replace the scanty yellow down in about a week4 ,at three weeks they are able to walk1 but are still fed by their parents1 although grain is brought to them instead of the predigested food4 ,although they are hardy1 do not suppose that pigeons have no diseases4 ,however1 the author of a government bulletin on squab raising says that with wholesome food1 proper housing1 and proper care1 very little disease is usually encountered4 ,to prevent disease1 and avoid dampness in house and fly1 keep the food and water untainted1 and the house clean4 ,it is very desirable1 whether raising squabs for market or for pets1 to keep a record of the performance of each pair4 ,this is usually done by the use of numbered tags on the birds' legs4 ,the record makes it possible to prevent inbreeding1 gives you knowledge of whether certain pairs are profitable1 and keeps up your own interest far more than haphazard methods do4 ,,bantams ,almost every family that keeps chickens has two or three banties for the children4 ,what an amusing sight it is to see a tiny fuss-budget clucking and bristling to protect a half-dozen lubberly ,plymouth ,rock broilers that she has been inveigled into rearing4 ,but the raising of pigmy fowls is not confined to the child's play of the chicken yard4 ,at the big poultry shows almost every breed of fowl from ,brahma to ,silkie has a diminutive mimic1 and the requirements for the dwarfs are just as rigid as for the big fellows4 ,to be just right a bantam ought not to weigh much over a pound1 the cock should be impetuous1 pugnacious1 and haughty2 the hen should be smaller than her lord1 and meek in demeanour except when her flock is in danger4 ,bantams are very popular with amateurs who regard them as a sort of joke1 but the poultry fanciers take them quite seriously4 ,it is not unusual for the prize-winning bantams to bring as high prices as the heavy weights4 ,game bantams are great favourites with fanciers4 ,they are easily recognized by their game-fowl characteristics3 tall1 upright carriage1 oval body tapering from shoulder to tail1 very long legs and neck1 small head1 and almost no show of comb4 ,there are eight standard varieties in ,america1 and the ,game ,bantam ,club is interested in improving the breeds and increasing the popularity of the birds4 ,as the varieties of bantams are pretty thoroughly mixed1 it is no simple matter to breed birds fit for exhibition4 ,but after all there is so much fun for boys and girls in growing any sort of pigmy chickens and such a good market for both eggs and pairs for pets that ,i wonder that more young people do not go into the business4 ,bantams take less room than ordinary chickens which is an advantage on a small place4 ,care should be taken to save for setting eggs of none but the smallest and most perfect members of the flock1 and to dispose of any which are larger than the standard or poor in shape or colour or in any characteristics peculiar to bantams4 ,if you start with eggs of some fine breed1 try to keep your stock pure1 and improve it by selecting the best individuals for breeding4 ,in matters of housing1 feeding1 cleanliness1 and care1 bantams should be treated just like other chickens4 ,the young of some varieties are exceedingly delicate and cannot stand the least neglect4 ,these are more like little wild things1 partridges or quail1 than like domestic fowls4 ,other varieties are as hardy as ,plymouth ,rocks1 but any one who has tried it knows that raising ,plymouth ,rocks is no mere joke1 especially in a cold1 damp spring4 ,if your father objects to your going into the bantam business instead of raising standard size fowls bring these arguments to bear upon him3 ,bantams occupy one fourth the space4 ,their food costs one fifth as much4 ,their eggs are two thirds as big4 ,pairs can easily be sold without expensive advertising4 ,,fancy ,,fowls ,if you want to make the neighbour boys open their eyes1 and the passers-by stand still to admire1 try the experiment of raising fancy fowls4 ,growing them for exhibition purposes is such a separate and distinct department of the poultry business and demands familiarity with many show standards1 tricks of the trade1 and special practices in breeding and grooming to bring a fowl up to a high score1 that it may be best not to undertake to compete with more experienced breeders4 ,a visit to a fancy poultry exhibition is like a trip to ,wonderland4 ,just looking at the pictures of the prize winners1 and studying the alluring advertisements arouses enthusiasm4 ,but to read the accounts of the fanciers1 or to hear them talk about the merits of their favourites makes a chicken lover fairly thrill with ardour4 ,how to decide upon which variety to try is a hard problem4 ,take a lot of things into consideration4 ,discount what the enthusiasts say about the one they have for sale2 they mean every word of it1 but they are prejudiced4 ,don't be influenced to select one breed when you really prefer another4 ,here is a department where personal preference should cast the deciding vote2 the one you like best is the best one for you4 ,it is not well known except by specialists that there are so many distinct varieties in breeds of fowls4 ,for example take the ,polish4 ,there are blue ,polish1 plain white1 golden1 white-crested1 black1 buff-laced1 and silver2 of the ,hamburgs there are black1 silver-and gold-spangled1 silver-and golden-penciled white1 and so on through the list4 ,the ,polish and the ,houdans are remarkable for their tremendous top knots1 the ,hamburgs1 ,lakenvelders1 and many others for their wonderful plumage and colour combinations1 while the most astonishing creatures in the whole chicken tribe are the ,yokahamas whose snow-white tail feathers trail gracefully behind them like a bride's gown and veil at a fashionable wedding4 ,these must be the originals of the extraordinary fowls represented on ,japanese and ,filipino pottery and embroidery4 ,it is not much wonder that fancy breeds are growing more popular in our country4 ,although as a rule they are non-sitters1 they are all described by their advocates as prize layers1 some hens even reaching the remarkable record of two hundred eggs a year4 ,the ,hamburgs1 for example1 are called ,dutch ,everlasting ,layers4 ,their eggs are smooth and satiny white2 ,polish eggs are very large and snow-white1 but they are not winter layers2 ,houdans lay white eggs of great size and almost certain fertility1 and are1 besides1 excellent table fowls2 the ,lakenvelders rank with ,leghorns as layers and their eggs are also of a porcelain whiteness which insures a fancy market in ,new ,york where the preference is for white eggs4 ,do not think that you can just as well house your fancy breeds in with your ordinary chickens4 ,it is a mistake4 ,they should be kept apart from the beginning4 ,light hens of commoner breeds are successfully employed as foster-mothers for the fancy fowls1 but it is important to provide separate pens even for the young4 ,if young chicks are kept in the same run with those somewhat older1 they are crowded away from the feeding dishes2 chicks with top knots should never be raised with other sorts4 ,the crest interferes with their sight1 and they are not fighters and will allow themselves to be driven away from the food4 ,crested chicks should be treated with a grease lice-destroyer at least once a fortnight4 ,a little of the lard or sweet oil is enough but it should be worked into the feathers to be effectual4 ,use powder on the hens1 but not while the chicks are oily4 ,making the neighbours gape in open-eyed astonishment is not all there is to raising fancy chickens4 ,with a few years' experience in chicken raising back of you1 it would not be risky to raise them for commercial purposes4 ,the popularity of fancy chickens is just beginning in this country4 ,there is a fine market for eggs for hatching1 but as it is extremely important to keep the breeds pure your fancy birds should be kept by themselves practically the year round4 ,most of the breeds mentioned are quite hardy1 and the same care required for ordinary poultry as to housing1 food1 prevention of disease1 cleanliness1 and records will insure a good measure of success with fancy fowls4 ,,dogs ,raising dogs may prove a profitable business for any one who likes dogs1 understands them1 and is willing to doctor them when they are sick1 and train them to good habits4 ,an untrained dog is a nuisance1 however well bred he may be4 ,to start a small kennel does not require any more room than to start in the chicken business in a small way4 ,just now the prices are so absurdly high on high-bred dogs of popular varieties that few but fanciers can afford to own the best stock4 ,why is it not better to raise some first-rate but not fashionable breed1 and not enter into competition with men whose living depends on the number of blue ribbons they can win at dog shows8 ,buy a young female dog1 teach her1 and train her4 ,get experience with one dog and her young ones before you put in much capital4 ,find out by going to a good dog show what are the points of a good dog of your chosen breed1 make out a score card1 and mark your own dogs4 ,sell for pets those which do not come up to the mark4 ,i have before me a balance sheet made out by a young man who began raising white ,english bull terriers in nineteen hundred and three4 ,in spite of a lot of bad luck1 which1 with better arrangements1 need not have happened1 he netted nearly a hundred dollars the first year and over two hundred the second year4 ,this young man kept chickens1 too1 beside his regular business which kept him at an office seven hours a day2 and he found dogs better money makers than chickens4 ,in raising puppies there are three important essentials3 the right sort of food1 fresh1 clean water to drink1 and exercise4 ,i believe more dogs get sick from water or lack of it than from any other one cause4 ,if a dog's dish is not clean enough for you to drink out of yourself1 then it is not fit for your pups4 ,keep that in mind4 ,fresh air and sunshine are as necessary for puppies as for children4 ,kennels should be airy1 face the south1 and have shavings or straw bedding4 ,authorities differ about a dog's food4 ,it is safe to feed him about as you would a growing boy4 ,like the boy he may overeat of his favourite dish4 ,for breakfast1 oatmeal or other cereal with milk and no sugar2 for lunch1 some dry dog biscuit or stale bread2 for afternoon tea1 soup or gravy thickened with boiled rice or corn mush4 ,but a puppy's supper ought to be a good square meal because he is an outdoor sleeper1 and it is easy for dogs to take cold on an empty stomach4 ,for supper1 then1 give the puppies some bits of cooked meat1 stale bread1 and gravy or cooked vegetables4 ,never feed a puppy hot bread or any rich1 greasy1 or highly seasoned foods4 ,avoid all sweets4 ,doesn't that sound like a book on what children should eat8 ,but it is quoted right out of a dog book4 ,if your dogs get sick1 eczema1 distemper1 or fits1 consult a veterinary surgeon4 ,a good book on dogs and their care will be of greatest value to you for such minor troubles as dogs are heir to4 ,full-grown dogs do not need more than two meals a day4 ,most dogs are over-fed1 under exercised1 and are therefore unhealthy beings4 ,dogs eat slowly and should not be hurried4 ,they should be fed regularly but not fussed over4 ,a word to boys and girls who own pets3 if you live cooped up on a small lot you have no right to keep a dog1 much less dogs4 ,if you have a dog and let him run at large1 you will probably lose him1 and you deserve to4 ,nobody has any right1 law or no law1 to allow his live stock1 let them be chickens1 dogs1 cats1 or children1 to annoy the neighbours4 ,a dog or a cat1 a rabbit1 or a family of chickens can do more damage in a garden than anybody would believe1--except the gardener4 ,your dog may be worth ten dollars2 he may do ten dollars' worth of damage in ten different bulb beds in ten days4 ,a thirty-cent cat can frighten away more birds in five days than an owner can attract to his garden in a whole season4 ,be fair to yourself1 your neighbour1 and your animals1 and keep them on your own place4 ,if you are out with your dogs1 that is a different matter2 if you have them trained to heel1 people will welcome you4 ,,goldfish ,i have already said that the ,shetland pony is the ideal pet4 ,that is true still1 but ,i should have said for out of doors4 ,of all the candidates for the office of ideal indoor pet1 ,i believe goldfish would get the most votes4 ,they are peaceful and innocent1 their needs are few1 and their manners engaging4 ,they are attractive in colour1 shape1 and movements and never get under foot4 ,above all they have no bad habits4 ,they neither squawk nor whistle1 bark1 sing1 nor howl4 ,they never stay out late nights1 nor make trouble with the neighbours4 ,they require a minimum of attention and a minimum of expense both for quarters and for food4 ,for developing a sense of responsibility in children they serve a good purpose1 and they can even be taught4 ,it is very evident that they have memory as well as sight1 hearing1 sense of smell1 touch1 and taste4 ,they easily learn1 if patiently taught1 to know their master's voice and to come when he signals4 ,they will learn their feeding time and place and seem to enjoy attention4 ,just as with horses1 dogs1 or elephants1 the first essential in teaching goldfish is to gain their confidence4 ,this can only be done by patience and gentleness4 ,a restless1 nervous goldfish rushing from one side of the tank to another when any one approaches tells its own story4 ,teased1 frightened1 neglected1 and unhappy they are indeed in a sorry plight1 for they are1 even more than some other pets1 utterly at the mercy of their owners4 ,the sooner they die and pass into oblivion1 the better6 ,but what a pretty sight it is to see a well-balanced aquarium1 water plants spreading their delicate fronds1 a clean1 pebbly bottom1 and bright-coloured1 healthy1 happy1 care-free goldfish glancing in and out in the sunshine4 ,china is the greatest place for goldfish4 ,rearing them there has been reduced to a science4 ,we find them running wild in our waters1 but they are not native to ,america4 ,under ideal natural conditions they are said to live to be a hundred years old4 ,many are known to have lived to the age of ten years in one aquarium4 ,goldfish are hardy1 live in sluggish streams or ponds1 and eat all sorts of vegetable matter4 ,they also eat soft-bodied insects1 worms1 and small fish1 even their own spawn and young4 ,for directions for keeping goldfish happy and healthy in an aquarium in the living room of your home1 ,i must refer you to various books and articles on aquaria and on how to make and maintain them4 ,raising goldfish for profit is a horse of quite another colour4 ,goldfish are sold by the thousand in department stores as well as in shops which deal wholly in pets4 ,some fish are imported1 but the bulk of them are grown in this country4 ,one of the most scientific growers in this country is ,mr4 ,hugo ,mulertt1 whose book on the subject is quite enough to make its readers enthusiastic fish culturists4 ,the best markets are in cities1 and transportation is difficult and expensive4 ,fancy varieties would not be in demand except in large cities4 ,one can begin goldfish growing in a small way at very small expense4 ,four tanks or reservoirs are required4 ,any boy who can make a hotbed frame can make these4 ,they should be in a series3 ,no4 #a1 spawning pond2 ,no4 #b1 rearing pond2 ,no4 #c1 storage pond2 ,no4 #d1 winter pond4 ,whether one makes artificial tanks or utilizes a natural valley1 separated by little dams1 it is essential that the four ponds should be so fitted that they can be emptied at will4 ,they should be sheltered from cold winds and from direct summer sun4 ,the spawning pond should be built first1 and furnished with water plants as much like nature as possible4 ,female fish ready to spawn can be bought from growers4 ,these men are reliable and know how to advise you4 ,it is to their advantage to increase the interest in goldfish4 ,while building tank ,no4 #b1 keep watch for eggs in the spawning tank4 ,laying begins late in ,april or early in ,may outdoors4 ,the egg is no bigger than a pinhead1 yellow1 or cream-coloured4 ,look for them on the plants4 ,snip the twigs off with great care and transfer the eggs1 twigs and all1 into large candy jars in clean water2 one hundred eggs is enough for a gallon jar4 ,be careful that the water is of the same temperature in the jar as in the tank4 ,eggs should be kept not lower than sixty degrees ,fahr41 and not higher than ninety degrees ,fahr4 ,they hatch in two or three days or at most in less than a week4 ,do not disturb the water4 ,sudden changes of temperature will kill the young fish4 ,when the fish are three days old1 they are pretty lively and will soon begin to need other food than that supplied by the egg4 ,to transfer them from the incubator to the rearing tank is a delicate operation4 ,mr4 ,mulertt advises putting the tiny fish into a small1 shallow1 nursery tank first to make the change more gradual4 ,the jar can be emptied very gently1 fish and all1 into this tank4 ,prepare the rearing tank1 taking every precaution against enemies4 ,it should be covered with a screen to keep the dragon flies from laying their eggs in the tank4 ,dragon fly nymphs are death on new-hatched goldfish4 ,if the fish get a good start they will hold their own4 ,let me warn you again to take great precaution against chilling the fish4 ,a few degrees difference may be fatal4 ,when the fish are a week to ten days old1 they should be about a half-inch long1 darting swiftly about in the nursery tank4 ,be sure the temperature of the water is right1 then set a wide-mouthed pail or jar full of water down in the tank with the fish1 and dip the biggest one at a time with a little hand net of soft material4 ,do not crowd the fish in the transfer pail1 but rather make more frequent trips4 ,extremely delicate handling is absolutely necessary4 ,do not dip the fish out of the jar1 but put it down in the water deep enough so they can swim out of their own accord4 ,they are to stay a long time in the rearing pond so must not be crowded4 ,in a tank covering an area of one hundred and sixty square feet1 two hundred to three hundred fish can be reared4 ,when they are only one half an inch long1 the tank looks thinly settled1 but they soon grow4 ,the young are silver-gray at first4 ,they usually get their permanent colour before reaching the age of two months4 ,in warm ponds1 in sunny weather1 goldfish may grow to be six inches long in the first summer1 but between two and three inches is more normal4 ,goldfish in outdoor rearing ponds do not require artificial feeding4 ,nature supplies them with their natural food4 ,the storage tank is simply to keep the fish in while awaiting purchasers4 ,it should be divided by partitions into small compartments4 ,it is convenient to sort the fish taken from the rearing tank1 so that those of one size or colour or variety can be separated and buyers can readily see the stock4 ,it is easier to catch them in the small tank also4 ,in the storage tank some feeding is usually needed4 ,fresh1 dry bread crumbs are recommended by most fish growers2 feed small amounts until they get used to it and until you know just how much they require4 ,the winter pond costs the most to build4 ,it should be three feet or more deep1 lined with boards or cement1 and located so that water will be moving through it1 in and out slowly all winter1 to prevent freezing4 ,it should be covered during storms4 ,growers plan to get rid of their stock except breeders before winter sets in4 ,one can dispense entirely with a winter tank if he can establish a house aquarium successfully for wintering the fish from which he expects to obtain spawn the following spring4 ,as might be expected of animals which have for so many centuries been associated with man1 goldfish have a good many diseases4 ,their ill-health can almost invariably be traced to neglect or ignorance on the part of the person upon whom they are dependent4 ,the signs of ill-health are usually quite noticeable4 ,they are3 ,faded colours1 bloody streaks1 coated or inflamed fins1 and swollen gill covers4 ,most of the troubles have to do with air supply4 ,when a fish loses colour and appetite1 has a slimy coating1 and acts weak and dejected1 it should be put into a hospital aquarium where plenty of plants are flourishing1 at a temperature of seventy to eighty degrees ,fahr4 ,one teaspoonful of salt to each gallon of water will be good for the fish1 but no food should be offered for several days4 ,this remedy will usually restore the fish if its trouble is asphyxia or itch and has not gone too far4 ,in the open water conditions right themselves more readily1 but fish acting queerly should be taken out from among the others4 ,the greatest harm may result from hail storms and heavy rains on unprotected tanks4 ,the natural enemies of goldfish inhabit the same ponds and to succeed one must daily wage war against crayfish1 tadpoles1 salamanders1 snakes1 fish-eating birds1 muskrats1 and aquatic insects4 ,toad and frog spawn found in goldfish ponds should be removed to some other pond to mature4 ,these creatures are useful as destroyers of insects but you can dispense with them in goldfish tanks4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,boy',s ,,animal ,,cage ,two years ago1 when ,i was ten years old1 my father built me a house for my animals4 ,it is twenty feet square and ten feet high4 ,the framework is of wood4 ,the walls are covered with wire netting4 ,in winter they are boarded in4 ,last winter we had a fire in a stove in the passageway1 but we decided that the animals were better off without it4 ,the pen cost about one hundred and fifty dollars4 ,i keep in it three 'coons1 ten to thirty rabbits1 and about twenty pigeons4 ,two 'coons1 ,tom and ,jerry1 ,i have had three years2 the other one1 ,pauline1 ,i have had two years4 ,my oldest rabbits1 ,harry and ,lily1 ,i have had six years4 ,the 'coon pens and the passageway have wooden floors4 ,the walls of the 'coon pen have double wire to prevent the 'coons from grabbing the other animals4 ,their pens go up to the roof of the house4 ,the rabbit pens are separated by movable wire panels six feet high4 ,on this side of the house there is a second story for the rabbits and pigeons4 ,this is reached by a step-ladder1 and is divided by movable panels4 ,the pigeons' house is over the passageway4 ,there are shelves with nappies in them for nests4 ,it is open at both ends in summer4 ,i have kept crows and white rats2 they were not a success4 ,the crows killed the rabbits1 and the rats smelled bad4 ,i feed the rabbits morning and night and water them once4 ,their feed is oats in the morning and hay at night4 ,they have from two to eight little ones in a litter4 ,when they multiply too fast we eat them4 ,their meat is like chicken4 ,the only way to distinguish it is by the bones4 ,i feed and water the 'coons twice a day4 ,they have a sort of cake made of corn meal4 ,they grow very fat in the fall1 but in the spring and summer they get very thin4 ,they are not of any use except to look at4 ,i did play with them until they bit my sister4 ,since then ,i have been timid about playing with them4 ,i feed wheat to the pigeons once a day4 ,i have tumblers and magpie pigeons4 ,both kinds are great fighters4 ,i have four ducks1 also1 two ,mallards and two ,pekins4 ,their pen is outside of the rabbit pen4 ,in summer ,i keep them shut up here4 ,in coldest winter weather ,i keep them in the barn4 ,the rest of the year they wander about as they please4 ,they have a tub1 which ,i keep filled with water1 where they can bathe4 ,i feed them corn4 ,they are much more interesting pets than hens4 ,a ,,story ,,of ,,success ,,with ,,dogs ,some years ago two young women1 one a bookkeeper1 the other a stenographer1 decided to exchange city for country life4 ,born and reared on farms1 they secured seven acres of farm land1 with cottage1 but sixteen miles from ,chicago1 and started a chicken business4 ,this did not prove entirely successful1 mainly1 as the now prosperous farmers admit1 because of ignorance and inexperience4 ,meantime the fine collie dog1 kept as guard and companion1 was bringing many requests for good puppies1 and it was determined to raise collies instead of chickens4 ,so ,daisy ,rightaway1 an ,english champion1 was purchased1 later being joined by imported ,master ,clinker1 son of the famous ,wishaw ,clinker1 which was brought from ,england about three years ago by ,j4 ,pierpont ,morgan at a fabulous price4 ,warned by the trying chicken experience1 ,miss ,porter1 who conducts the farm while ,miss ,benson retains her business position and looks after the city end of affairs1 resolved to make haste slowly in the new direction4 ,few1 but good1 animals were chosen1 only the best of the young stock was placed on the market1 and if the farm books at first showed but small profits1 the upward trend1 both in cash and reputation1 was gratifyingly steady4 ,with less than four years of professional dog rearing behind them1 and with all buildings1 runs1 etc41 originally lacking1 the pleased proprietors of ,sylvan ,farm rejoice in promising financial statistics for the last half of that time4 ,about two years ago came1 apparently by chance1 that branch of the business which has1 perhaps1 proved most lucrative1 and which is especially worthy of note by other women with country homes1 love for and some knowledge of dogs1 and a desire to make money4 ,a friend who owned fine collies envied the splendid environment under which the ,sylvan canines flourished1 and asked permission to board some of his young puppies with ,porter and ,benson1 to give the young women their official title4 ,the dogs sent thrived remarkably1 and he mentioned the matter to other dog fanciers1 and they to still others4 ,almost without knowing how it happened1 the delighted farmers soon found themselves caring regularly for from forty to seventy-five well bred dogs4 ,only collies were at first accepted1 but business and accommodations alike gradually widened until practically all kinds of dogs are now handled1 in a most progressive and hygienic manner4 ,an isolation house for dogs when first received or suspected of illness2 heated homes for young mothers1 puppies1 and lapdogs2 winter houses1 with shelters for open-air exercise in bad weather2 commodious separate runs--these are among the conveniences now enjoyed by the happy visitors whose owners are off for the summer or winter or are otherwise unable to care for their cherished pets4 ,the ,desplaines ,river runs by the farm and a picturesque river run is much appreciated by water dogs and those enjoying an occasional frolic in cool water4 ,two fine cows provide fresh milk in abundance for the nursing mothers and young puppies4 ,every dog1 whether boarder or family resident1 is personally and intimately known to ,miss ,porter1 who takes sole care of them with the aid of an intelligent boy to perform the rougher tasks4 ,five dollars monthly is charged for the board of healthy dogs1 with special rates for those needing special care4 ,the standard dietary1 varied to suit individual and class needs and varying occasions1 is composed of soup made of meat and vegetables1 meat jelly1 rice1 plenty of bones1 and dog biscuit1 with warm milk every two hours for the young mothers and puppies4 ,the other dogs are fed twice daily--to the minute4 ,in this incessant1 indispensable care is found the chief drawback of the business for those fond of personal freedom1 since the important duties of feeding1 inspection1 etc41 seldom can be delegated to those not personally interested in the dogs4 ,the little farm provides all the vegetables needed and some corn1 but all other food supplies must be purchased4 ,with more ground the recurring feed bills might be made smaller1 but the labour outlay would be correspondingly augmented4 ,eliminating unnecessary details1 the financial situation for the two years in which the dog experiment has been successfully running stands thus3 ,,expended ,stock1 buildings1 and fences #ghe ,miscellaneous expenses1 labour1 etc4 #bhf ,feed #hae ,cash on hand #gaf ------ ,total #b1fjb ,,received ,original investment #djj ,sale of puppies #iij ,board of dogs #a1bab ------ ,total #b1fjb ,the balance of seven hundred and sixteen dollars does not represent a bad profit in less than three years made from an investment of four hundred dollars1 and while the young farmers feel that perhaps in other lines of work such increase might have been more quickly and easily acquired1 they feel that perhaps in no other field could they have received such high dividends of health1 happiness1 and independence4 ,the work is hard but enjoyable1 while its widening scope and success bring true satisfaction4 ,sylvan ,farm now receives dogs from1 and sends dogs to1 all parts of the ,united ,states1 and the farm family of high-bred animals from time to time receives judicious addition4 ,some famous canines have been raised1 welcomed1 and boarded1 and one young puppy1 born on the place1 recently sold for one thousand dollars4 ,v ,,work ,,and ,,play ,,with ,,trained ,,animals ,,dairy ,,cows ,if the boys and girls of the farms are looking about for a big thing to do1 the very best place for them to look is at their father's herd of cows4 ,even if it isn't a strictly dairy herd it is kept partly for dairy purposes4 ,every cow demands stabling1 pasture1 feed1 and attention4 ,she is supposed to give value received for all this4 ,but how many cow owners know which cows pay their board with a bonus1 which barely keep even1 and which are eating their heads off8 ,the margin of profit when feed is high is too small to risk feeding an unproductive animal4 ,if your father has not been in the habit of keeping accounts with his cows1 you can make him open his eyes4 ,you do not need ledgers and daybooks for your simple statement of facts4 ,bring every animal face to face with her record4 ,on one side of the account put the cost of what you give each cow4 ,on the other side what she gives in return4 ,you will have a page like this3 ,roberta ,grade ,holstein #e years ,,debit ,to feed 7at prices you would have to pay if you bought it7 ,to stabling1 estimate ,to care 7so much an hour7 ,,credit ,to milk1 so many qts4 at so much ,to calf ,to compost ,you will have to reduce the item feed to many items1 and remember that hay produced at home is not free hay4 ,it is worth to feed to ,roberta just what you would have to pay wholesale for it if you had to go to the feed store1 minus the cost of cartage4 ,to work this out is good arithmetic1 better than covering acres of blackboard space with examples in partial payments4 ,now ,roberta may give a good quantity of milk but of poor quality4 ,at first you might think that didn't matter2 it brings just as much a quart4 ,but does it1 when your mother and sisters make it into butter1 for example8 ,or1 if you sell cream1 wouldn't you want a cow whose milk tested high in butter fat8 ,your customers would1 whether they bought milk or cream1 ,i know4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,julian ,a4 ,dimock4 ,holding a ,conversation ,the boys and girls in many of the great dairying states1 notably ,illinois and ,wisconsin and ,new ,york1 are learning in school how to test milk for the butter fat it contains and the chances are that every agricultural college in the ,united ,states is ready to instruct boys and girls by letter in this important part of dairying4 ,many of them send out printed lessons giving careful directions about using the ,babcock testing apparatus1 and ,i have seen a class of boys and girls in a country school testing milk from their fathers' cows4 ,it is astonishing how many cows are kept on farms purely for ornament--or maybe to give the boys plenty of chores4 ,these cows consume as much food as good ones1 but they are idlers4 ,it isn't their fault but the farmer's4 ,can your father or you afford to keep money invested in any cow that returns him less than a dollar a year over and above the expense of feed8 ,a good cow may cost twice as much to buy1 but a good cow will make thirty or forty dollars a year clear gain4 ,these figures are not guess-work but facts4 ,so ,i say again to the farm boy and girl--if you want to do a big thing for your home place and for the neighbourhood1 reform the dairy herd4 ,keep a record for every cow4 ,weigh the milk of each one separately every day for a week1 then again two months later1 and so on through her milking days4 ,take an average of all these weights as the weekly weight of milk and multiply by the number of weeks the cow gave milk4 ,this will give the total number of pounds produced4 ,learn how to test for butter fat4 ,your neighbourhood creamery tests the milk with a ,babcock test and you can learn how4 ,persuade your father to sell all the cows which fall below a fair standard and buy good ones4 ,test the milk of the cows he thinks of buying4 ,a poor cow often looks as well as a good one4 ,the ,illinois ,experiment ,station shows by tests that twenty-five of the best cows in the state produce as much butter fat as ten hundred and twenty-one of the poorest cows1 while eating only one fortieth as much food1 to say nothing of the stable room1 the time spent in milking1 etc4 ,and a quarter of the million cows in the state of ,illinois are making their owners only seventy-seven cents a year apiece4 ,can your father afford to keep that kind of a cow8 ,,clean ,,home ,,milk ,i know what milking is on the farm4 ,take it on a frosty ,october morning about sun-up1 when you make the cow get up from her bed so that you can stand in the warm spot to warm your feet4 ,it gets no better from that time on1 even if you do milk in the cow stable4 ,but the boys that do the milking do not realize how perfectly filthy the milk often is when it gets to the house4 ,take a milk pail from the shelf1 go down to the cow barn4 ,there is the cow4 ,throw her down an armful of hay to chew on while you milk1 brush off the stool1 rub off the cow's bag with a wisp of hay if she is especially dirty1 never mind your hands or the open pail1 throw a stream of milk onto each palm and begin4 ,is there a little hay and dust in the pail8 ,never mind2 it will strain out4 ,when you get through1 set the pail down while you drive the cows out to pasture4 ,to be sure1 they will raise a lot of cow-stable dust and the smell is pretty bad in there1 but if you set it outside the pigs would get into it4 ,it is nearly school time and you have other chores to do4 ,take it to the house and strain it4 ,mother always doubles the strainer cloth1 but it takes an awful time for it to run through that way4 ,there1 you said the dirt would strain out1 and look at it there in the cloth6 ,this is a cold-hearted picture of one of the chores the farm boy particularly hates4 ,compare each item with your own methods and improve on each4 ,home milk is not always clean milk4 ,illustration3 ,sanitary milk pail ,the boy that milks ought to do a better job than this4 ,he ought to bring clean milk into the house4 ,how shall he do it8 ,a clean place to milk1 a clean cow1 a clean boy1 and a sanitary milk pail2 these four things are within the reach of every farm that can afford a cow4 ,i have seen a good many patent milk pails1 mostly in stores1 seldom on farms4 ,the sanitary milk pails keep the dirt out1 they don't strain it out4 ,here is one described by the man who invented it for his own use4 ,this pail is tin1 holds ten quarts or so4 ,on one side is a spout two and a half inches in diameter and three inches long4 ,the spout has a tin cover like a baking powder can cover4 ,to keep the dirt out of the top of the pail the man bought a tin pan1 just the size to fit tight into the top of the pail4 ,just above the bottom of the pan on one side he had a tinner cut eight or ten small holes1 like a collander4 ,scald the pail1 double the strainer cloth and lay it across the top of the pail4 ,press the pan down on the cloth till it goes down into the pail tight1 taking care that the edge of the cloth comes up all round4 ,do all this at the house4 ,with this pail1 a clean milker can milk a clean cow in a sweet smelling place1 and get clean milk4 ,this may look like a pound of prevention1 but think of the tons of cure it will save4 ,,marketing ,,milk ,there are lots of boys delivering milk in towns and cities4 ,most of them do their part well4 ,but ,i believe they would like to do it better4 ,driving from one house to another is pretty dull business for a live boy and unless he has something to think about his mind wanders4 ,why not put some thought on the very business he is engaged in8 ,does he know what milk is8 ,that children's lives depend upon the care he gives it8 ,does he know that dirt in ice and dust from streets may be deadly if they get into milk8 ,if dust gets into that little puddle that ought not to be on top of the bottles does he wipe it off with a dirty rag1 ignorant of the danger8 ,if he thought of these things and studied out ingenious ways of keeping his bottles free from dust1 life would no longer be dull but interesting4 ,he would be well started toward good citizenship4 ,,training ,,pet ,,animals ,trained pets have a greater market value than those which have no education4 ,parrots1 for example1 with nothing but their native harsh squawk1 can be bought for very little4 ,but every word added to ,polly's vocabulary can be expressed in dimes added to her price4 ,there are very few domesticated or tamed animals so lacking in wit that they cannot be taught4 ,but it takes a particular kind of patience and persistence4 ,some animals learn very quickly2 mice for instance4 ,one trainer has taught them to walk the tight rope1 climb ladders1 swing in a trapeze1 pull tiny wagons1 and do other little tricks4 ,we have all seen trained animals in shows and have marvelled at them4 ,it is hard to believe that they are real4 ,it takes genius to train fleas1 for example1 or geese1 yet these animals are tamed4 ,every boy has a little spark of such genius and with use the spark would grow4 ,dogs are about the easiest animals to train4 ,teach a dog first to obey4 ,he must learn to understand just as a baby does4 ,how long does it take a baby to learn what no1 no means8 ,a bright dog will learn to charge about as quickly4 ,when he knows what you mean and that you really do mean it and are not fooling1 he will suit the action to the word or signal4 ,a little training every day will do the business4 ,rewards in the form of food or caresses appeal to the dog's understanding4 ,never forget to give the reward4 ,you may sometimes have to punish a dog1 but you should be careful to make certain that he associates the punishment with the crime4 ,whipping a dog to get even with him is not the way to make him a good dog4 ,he may take his chance to get even some day4 ,do you blame him8 ,most children expect a dog to learn too fast4 ,for instance1 a boy wants his dog to draw a wagon or sled4 ,the dog is big and strong and there are leaves to be gathered or kindling to be brought in4 ,don't make a harness1 force it onto the dog1 hitch him up regardless of his protests1 and expect him to trot off like a pony4 ,ponies are trained to the feel of the harness from their youth up4 ,your dog will rebel1 not angrily1 but none the less emphatically4 ,he will lie down or slip the harness or otherwise rid himself of the burden4 ,or he will balk4 ,train him gradually1 just as you would a colt or calf4 ,he will learn faster than either4 ,dogs are sometimes trained to carry baskets or bundles and can even be trusted to go on errands alone1 if1 by going over the same route daily1 their minds are impressed sufficiently4 ,training a dog should begin in puppyhood4 ,make commands in single words and accompany the word with a sign4 ,use always the same easily interpreted sign with the command word4 ,teach him his name first1 then to come when called4 ,after these commands are thoroughly learned1 teach him to come to heel1 charge1 and similar commands4 ,a poor teacher will make a poor dog1 so teach yourself patience4 ,your voice should be firm but never loud or high-pitched4 ,a young dog will learn to herd cattle1 sheep1 or goats more easily from an old dog than from you4 ,he will follow his leader at first1 then later he can go on ahead driving the herd on his own responsibility or in obedience to a command4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,george ,g4 ,mc,lean4 ,gyp ,has ,an ,ax to ,grind ,did you try to teach your dog to retrieve by ducking him8 ,how silly6 ,how soon would you learn to swim by that method8 ,begin by letting him think he is bringing you his play-ball1 although really you are pulling it by an attached string4 ,insist on his giving up the ball every time4 ,do it again and again till he is out of the primer class4 ,throw the ball a few feet at first1 then farther and farther away till he has that trick down fine4 ,when the water is well warmed by the spring sunshine1 take him to the shore and repeat the same lessons patiently1 a little each day4 ,if you have an old retriever with you the youngster will be ambitious to go him one better and will learn more quickly4 ,it is necessary in training dogs to consider the inborn instincts of the breed4 ,a terrier is a nat'ral ratter and needs little training for that1 but you would have to train a long time to get a spaniel to catch rats4 ,a dog on the farm can be trained to save the boys a lot of steps4 ,we had a shepherd dog once which was a famous runner4 ,when my father suspected that the cattle were breaking into the cornfield1 he would go first to the top of the knoll by the house1 hold ,nimp up in his arms1 point in the direction of the cows4 ,nimp would whimper and squirm and when let down was off like a streak of brown lightning4 ,he would not go in a bee-line1 but followed first the road1 then the line fence to where the marauding cattle were at work4 ,by the time my father or one of the boys on horseback reached the break in the fence the fleet-footed dog would be hustling those cows4 ,if he didn't actually get them back into pasture he kept them moving so that they got no more green corn than was good for them4 ,good old dog was all ,nimp expected for little deeds of kindness like this4 ,he wagged his head1 hung out his long pink tongue1 and almost smiled with satisfaction4 ,there was no doubt that he was pleased with having outwitted the cows1 for which he had small respect4 ,teaching a collie to herd sheep or goats is a special sort of business2 experienced shepherds can teach you how it is done4 ,training hunting dogs is also a work for experts4 ,anybody knows that a poorly trained dog makes the difference between real sport and disgusting failure4 ,a young man with a real aptitude for training dogs for various forms of hunting can find opportunities to turn this genius into cash4 ,,training ,,young ,,horses ,breaking colts is a phrase handed down to us1 ,i think1 from the days way back when our pioneer ancestors used to go out and catch a wild horse and break it to saddle and harness4 ,on ranches where colts range over vast areas and never get acquainted with human beings except at branding time1 it is little wonder that they must be broken4 ,they do a little breaking on their own account1 too4 ,but on the small farm where three or four colts a year or fewer are raised1 no colt should need to be broken4 ,all should be trained1 which is one way of saying taught or educated4 ,everything depends upon the colt's learning each thing right first4 ,if you put an old1 worn strap on him1 or a fraying rope which he can break1 he will just as likely as not become a halter and bridle breaker4 ,a little colt starts out without any habits4 ,all the bad ones as well as all the good ones are learned4 ,every bad habit harks right back to some mistake4 ,you can manufacture balky horses by overloading a wagon for your team of colts4 ,i have seen boys tease a colt just to see him kick4 ,that strikes me as lacking in horse sense4 ,every time you go out with your father to visit the two-year-olds and the yearlings1 be sure that you pet and caress them4 ,don't attempt to mount one till you have accustomed him to the feel of a burden on his back1 a very small weight first1 then the saddle of an old harness1 then a very light saddle4 ,don't act as if you were in desperate need of a saddle horse4 ,his training cannot all be done in one visit4 ,a yearling must be taught to lead1 then to be driven4 ,after a two-year old has been accustomed to the feel of a harness1 one part at a time1 he can safely be hitched with some old stager to a light wagon1 and taught what pulling means4 ,he should already know that a pull on the right rein means gee and on the left means haw2 never give the command whoa to a colt1 unless you have the muscle to make your command good4 ,a runaway may not break any harness1 nor any vehicle1 nor any bones1 this time1 but a runaway horse is an ill-trained horse4 ,it is almost an impossible thing to train an old1 high-spirited horse to regard an automobile or a trolley car with anything but disfavour4 ,a young horse can learn easily4 ,soon after a colt is well halter-broke he should be led around where the farm machinery is at work4 ,he must be held with a strong hand and not be allowed to bolt when the mowing machine starts4 ,break the automobile to him gently4 ,lead him up to a quiet one4 ,have a bit of his favourite dainty to offer him from the seat and see to it that he is convinced that the automobile is harmless4 7,would that it were true67 ,speak reassuringly to him4 ,if he jerks back1 don't get mad and whack him1 just to vent your impatience4 ,he will associate your whack with the automobile1 and you will have your work to do over again4 ,i have known of a colt being made trolley-wise in an hour and he never has forgotten2 he would no more shy when one whirls by than he would at his own mother hitched to a load of hay4 ,,treadmills ,,and ,,cranks ,how a boy does hate the sight of a crank4 ,turning the grindstone1 running the washing machine and churning are part of a country boy's daily life4 ,he may do these things cheerfully1 because he knows they are boys' jobs or because he hates to see his mother doing them even worse than he hates doing them himself4 ,but that doesn't prove that the boy's tastes run to crank turning4 ,why not train a dog or a sheep to turn the crank8 ,that's a scheme4 ,it's fun to train an animal and then it will be more fun to see him do the work while you read a book and watch him4 ,here is a picture of a big wheel from which a belt runs to a grindstone out under a tree4 ,in the wheel stands a good dog2 by his bright eyes1 his erect carriage1 and the near-smile on his face1 you can see that he is no brow-beaten labourer4 ,a man at the grindstone holds the axe and the wheel is ready to turn4 ,this fine dog knows that a certain signal means work4 ,he does not skulk off and hide1 nor yawn and look limp4 ,he steps up into the wheel1 waits for the signal1 then begins a steady tread4 ,on ,mondays he does the washing1 on ,tuesdays and ,fridays he churns1 on other days he helps grind the axe1 the sickle1 the scythe1 or the butcher knife4 ,when the job is done1 at a well-known signal1 the dog stops1 steps off the wheel1 and waits for the kindly pat of his mistress or the ,good old fellow of his master4 ,,making ,,animals ,,happy ,in training any domestic animal you will find their greatest weakness is fear1 just as with wild animals4 ,you do not want to develop this but to win their confidence4 ,with horses taken right from the range or wild1 the men who are most successful are those who train by kindness4 ,a horse whose spirit is broken and who does his task because he is afraid not to is not a safe horse4 ,i wouldn't trust him in an emergency4 ,a horse who lives in a state of fear has very little sense4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,julian ,a4 ,dimock4 ,a ,group of ,happy ,farm ,animals ,one blow1 yell1 jerk1 or even a threatening motion will often obliterate all the work you have done4 ,so the animal trainer must not lose his temper1 especially with dogs and horses4 ,the more intelligent the animal1 the more kindness and gentleness are required4 ,on one farm1 you will see the calves trembling when coming for their food1 trying to keep one eye out for sudden blows while drinking2 the horses jerking timidly up as if expecting their tender mouths to be yanked2 the cows kicking the milkers2 the colts hard to toll in from pastures2 the dog with tail between his legs2 the cat on her way up a tree4 ,do you know the owners of such animals8 ,how are the boys of the family liked in the neighbourhood8 ,are the girls popular and good-natured8 ,has the mother the sweet and patient look that the best mothers have8 ,every domestic animal ought to be kept happy4 ,a happy hen will lay eggs1 a happy cat will purr and rub your leg in passing1 not because she wants anything out of you1 but because she thinks you are a good fellow and that's her way of expressing herself2 she will catch mice for you1 too4 ,a happy cow will give down her milk2 a happy pig will lay on fat faster than a miserable one1 a happy horse will almost trot at the plough4 ,so really it pays to keep animals happy4 ,having creature comforts alone is not enough for most animals4 ,they like attention1 caresses1 and even seem to enjoy and understand conversation4 ,boys that train animals will find that the animals train them4 ,if you have a hot temper and can keep it in enough to train a dog to draw a wagon1 you will find it isn't so hard to hold in when you are playing ball4 ,self-control is one of the biggest things in life4 ,the training of a calf or colt should begin early1 just as with other animals4 ,if the animal has never been frightened the task is easy4 ,begin gradually4 ,petting for a day or two will get him used to being handled4 ,a rope may be knotted round his neck and worn for a day or two1 or a rope halter put over the head2 something that slips on easily so that you don't have to hold the youngster's head4 ,when he is accustomed to the feel of the halter1 you can lead him to his food without his realizing it4 ,unconsciously he gets used to the pull on the rope4 ,a pair of well-matched oxen1 trained by kindness1 taught to gee and haw at the word without reins or goad1 with no bad habits like kicking or turning in the yoke1 are worth between two and three hundred dollars4 ,they started out worth four or five dollars a head for veal4 ,training and grass have done most of the rest4 ,if trained in kindness1 they are docile1 gentle1 industrious1 and though less spirited than horses1 they are also steadier and far better suited to many heavy farm tasks than horses4 ,the harness for oxen is very simple1 costs little1 and seldom needs mending4 ,every county fair ought to offer prizes for animals trained by boys and girls4 ,i believe boys train animals more often than girls do4 ,i wonder how that comes4 ,practise on the hens1 girls1 and on the cat4 ,i know of a cat which picks up nuts and puts them in a basket quite as a child might4 ,this cat treads a wheel1 too1 to turn the churn4 ,if all the animals were happy and earned their living1 helping do the work1 as well as reproducing their kind1 farm life would be less dreary and hardships would seem less hard and the country would be a better place to live in4 ,,taming ,,wild ,,animals ,all little children are interested in animals4 ,it does not take much argument to convince a boy that he needs a dog or the girl that she needs a canary bird4 ,if1 as they grow older1 they seem to lose their pleasure in the companionship of animals1 it means that something is wrong4 ,probably home conditions are such that an intimate acquaintance with any animal is inconvenient or else some unnatural lessons in natural history have been forced upon the children at school and their interest in the real things has been deadened4 ,i have heard many boys and girls say that they dislike zology4 ,take these same boys and girls out on an excursion1 with an opera glass or with an insect net1 or show them a rabbit's tracks in the new snow1 and who will say they are not awake and interested8 ,the first thing you want to know about an animal is its name4 ,the same is true of a new neighbour or a new schoolmate4 ,the name does not tell you much about the animal or the boy4 ,when you know them better you will give them names that fit4 ,the new boy's name may be ,reginald4 ,when the boys get to know him they may call him ,piggy1 or ,chief1 depending on what kind of a boy he is4 ,but a name is a great convenience4 ,next after the name you want to know where he lives1 how he lives1 and above all what he can do4 ,after all what he can do is the boy1 and the same is true of other animals4 ,how are boys and girls going to find out what animals can do1 how they live1 how they make a living8 ,the good old natural way to find out what an animal can do and will do is to catch him and watch him4 ,some small neighbours of mine did not catch grasshoppers and throw them into the water because they were cruel1 although their mother berated them for cruelty4 ,they wanted to find out whether grasshoppers could swim or not4 ,the boys who catch squirrels and rabbits and birds and put them in cages want to take care of them and teach them tricks4 ,but1 seeing the wild ones unhappy and drooping1 most boys will voluntarily let them go4 ,there is no good word to be said for the practice of caging wild creatures merely for the entertainment their misery will afford an irresponsible and curious crowd4 ,i am glad to know that those horrid whirling cages in which squirrels used to be shut have become less common4 ,in these days of hunting without guns1 there is also a good deal of taming without cages4 ,this is the real thing1 and has everything in its favour4 ,there are two sides to it4 ,from the animal's side the tamed one has nothing to lose4 ,he1 and for his sake1 all his fellows1 receive protection1 consideration1 care4 ,if he tells any secrets1 his confidence is not betrayed to the enemy4 ,he comes and goes at will and pays his debts by keeping true that balance which existed in nature before mankind upset it4 ,from the human side taming wild things is a delightful though not an easy way to learn to be patient1 persevering1 and gentle4 ,you simply have to practise these virtues or you will fail4 ,furthermore1 the domestication of wild animals useful to man results in very great practical value4 ,from the naturalist's point of view1 this is a most fruitful method of discovering the true habits of the wild creatures1 about which so much is yet to be learned4 ,most efforts to tame full-grown animals result in complete failure4 ,taken when young1 almost any of them can be tamed4 ,no one ought ever to have a pet of any kind unless he sees one thing clearly3 ,forcing his pet to become dependent upon his protection and care involves a real responsibility4 ,when ,i consider the number of cases of neglected pets ,i am inclined to discourage children from keeping them4 ,it is a very good method of developing responsibility1 but1 if the method fails1 the innocent pet suffers4 ,the uncaged pet has an advantage over the caged one in that he can1 if neglected1 return to the wild and shift for himself4 ,,birds ,a great many famous people have made friends with our native birds4 ,john ,burroughs could depend on an audience of robins to perch on his knee4 ,they would listen politely while he remonstrated with them for stealing his grapes1 well assured that the next forkful of earth he turned would yield worms enough to repay them for waiting4 ,it is not uncommon to see photographs of birds perching on the hands of children or grown people4 ,one noted naturalist is pictured with a piece of bread in his mouth1 out of which a bird is taking a bite4 ,to really tame a full-grown bird is practically impossible4 ,to gain its confidence is difficult4 ,it means that the person has never in its presence made a motion sufficiently sudden to startle the timid creature nor lost his patience or self-control once during many trials4 ,a bird is not tamed in an hour nor a day4 ,a quick wave of the arm or a sharp noise is enough to undo all that has been accomplished in long1 patient hours spent in establishing friendly relations4 ,the photographs are records of triumphs4 ,professor ,hodge encourages the taming of young birds in the interest of increasing our valuable bird life4 ,he says3 ,it is a rare lesson in gentleness to capture a young bird without frightening it1 but1 if successfully done1 your bird is practically tame4 ,if even a young bird is caught after a severe chase1 it is likely to be days1 weeks1 and even months1 before the effects of its fright can be obliterated4 ,if they can be picked up without frightening them1 they will often immediately perch on the finger and feed from the hand4 ,i have tested this with young vireos1 chipping sparrows1 orioles1 grackles1 and repeatedly with young robins1 which some even put down in their books as untamable4 ,think what a monster the open hand must seem to a bird6 ,those of you who have read ,mrs4 ,stratton-,porter's story of ,freckles will remember how he tamed the wild birds4 ,they were residents of the great primeval woodland and had not learned yet from sad experience to hide from men4 ,they swarmed about the gentle ,irish lad because he had made himself a part of the forest4 ,to them he was like some new kind of beneficent tree1 yielding nuts for the nut-eaters1 grain for the grain-eaters1 and bits of suet or scraps of meat for all who came for it4 ,he called them all1 ,me chickens4 ,was there anything wonderful in this8 ,yes2 so thought the ,scotch woodsman with whom ,freckles lived4 ,and no1 because anybody can do the same who will follow the same tactics4 ,if you read on in the story1 you will readily believe that his relations with the birds and the forest helped make ,freckles the lovable boy and the fine1 sweet-natured man he grew up to be4 ,how to do something toward domesticating wild birds in order to make the country a better place to live in is treated more fully in a later chapter4 ,humming-birds are said to be entirely without fear if tamed when nestlings4 ,they sometimes fall from the nest and are1 of course1 helpless so far as feeding themselves is concerned4 ,they will take sweetened water from a spoon1 but should not be expected to thrive on this diet alone4 ,their natural food while growing1 and probably afterward1 too1 is largely insects4 ,a supply of these should be given the young birds4 ,they become very tame and perch on the hand and on the flowers in vases4 ,they will visit your best hat1 too1 if it has flowers on it1 and will even try to collect nectar from the flowers on wall-paper or curtains4 ,,toads ,,and ,,their ,,kin ,one is really surprised at the long list of wild animals that have been successfully tamed4 ,that is1 they are sufficiently tame to come to the tamer1 eat from his hand1 nestle in his pocket1 follow him about--in short1 to show perfect confidence and little or no fear4 ,the toad for example1 ugly and venomous1 7we have ,shakespeare's word for that1 but he was mistaken7--1 a very useful animal and absolutely without disagreeable traits4 ,it has been carefully estimated that every toad is worth twenty dollars to the garden he lives in4 ,yet how seldom one hears of a tame toad4 ,at best they are tolerated1 but not often encouraged by protection or by a little attention4 ,to tame a toad1 one only needs to feed him4 ,frogs1 salamanders1 newts1 snakes1 turtles1 and fish have all been tamed in the same fashion4 ,as nearly all are insect eaters1 we are benefiting mankind when we encourage them4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,charles ,w4 ,miller4 ,the ,crow ,may ,be ,tamed ,when ,young ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,chester ,k4 ,reed4 ,the ,skunk is an ,amiable and ,well-,mannered ,pet ,,squirrels ,tame squirrels are amusing4 ,it takes very little encouragement to make them tame enough to eat from the hand and even to rummage the pockets for nuts4 ,i remember a case when the red squirrels made so free with the books in a great man's study that he became positively annoyed1 although he had himself encouraged them and had enjoyed their friendliness and tameness4 ,the case got so bad that he was forced either to vacate or to get rid of the squirrels4 ,he finally had a trap set4 ,the first squirrel that came in ran straight into the trap4 ,the great man had really not counted on any such circumstance4 ,he was nonplussed4 ,in all his diplomatic career no such a situation had arisen4 ,he gave the matter earnest thought4 ,he considered all the pros and cons4 ,he weighed all the evidence4 ,the squirrel was guilty6 ,when asked by a friend what penalty he pronounced1 the great man replied3 ,i read him such a lecture as he will never forget--and turned him loose6 ,the relations of the red squirrel with the birds are such that we are pretty sure they should be discouraged4 ,they are1 alas6 egg-suckers and nest-robbers4 ,the gray squirrel has not been caught in this nefarious occupation4 ,if plenty of nuts1 fruit1 and water were supplied for red squirrels1 maybe they could be cured of their bad habits4 ,the flying squirrel is to me the most beautiful member of his family4 ,he is said to tame easily1 but ,i remember the only pair we ever caught were shut in a convenient closet till morning4 ,when morning came there were only a little pile of gnawings and a hole under the door to tell the story4 ,they had flown1 nor could ,i blame them4 ,,raccoons1 ,,woodchucks1 ,,and ,,skunks ,a raccoon is a most satisfactory pet and will afford about as much amusement in the back yard as a cage of monkeys4 ,raccoons are more numerous1 especially in ,new ,england1 than formerly4 ,they are extremely fond of green corn1 but corn in any form is eaten greedily4 ,also1 ,i regret to say1 they are nest-robbers4 ,in fact1 they will eat fish1 flesh1 and fowl1 as well as vegetables and insects4 ,this makes the food problem for a pet 'coon a very simple one4 ,but we can not afford to encourage them1 because of their bird-eating habits4 ,sometimes a hunter finds a suckling 'coon in the woods4 ,he cannot let the helpless thing starve1 as it certainly would if left4 ,when he gets it home1 he will realize that its natural food is 'coon's milk4 ,some bright member of the family will suggest that a bottle of cow's milk with rubber nipple will do the trick4 ,having no such convenience as a rubber nipple1 we once successfully brought up a baby pig on a bottle4 ,we took a goose quill and wrapped it with a strip of clean old cotton cloth till we made a stopper for the bottle4 ,this was fine1 and ,i can recommend it for suckling lambs1 pigs1 fawns1 'coons1 and other young mammals4 ,there are well-authenticated stories of baby 'coons being adopted by cats whose young have been disposed of4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,e4 ,s4 ,kane4 ,a ,bottle ,baby ,a 'coon is a most mischievous creature1 and if you tame one you should really not expect your mother to feel all the enthusiasm you do about him1 for his mischief is sometimes exasperating4 ,an animal enclosure in the back yard may be necessary1 but that means more work for you to keep the 'coon and his mates happy4 ,tame woodchucks are said by experienced boys to be a great success4 ,young ones are easy to capture1 for they are not allowed to hang around the home nest after the parents decide that they are big enough to earn their own way4 ,in ,american ,animals there is a good story of a tame 'chuck for which the author traded an old fish line with a broken hook and thirteen cents to boot4 ,this little chap was brought up by hand and developed most interesting traits4 ,he made life miserable for the family tabbies by nipping their heels1 and he tunnelled under the door step till he made the earth cave in4 ,a wild woodchuck will show fight when in danger of capture1 but the tamed ones are not vicious4 ,the last creature ,i should ever think of becoming familiar with is the skunk4 ,yet ,i have a photograph of a lady feeding a full-sized one from her hand4 ,the account that went with the picture said that this skunk was in perfectly good working order1 too4 ,several naturalists have tamed these little animals1 and there is no doubt that they make amusing and well-behaved pets4 ,prairie dogs1 chipmunks1 badgers1 fawns1 'possums1 crows1 and many other native wild animals have been successfully tamed4 ,you may have read of ,red ,saunders's pets1 the bob-cat1 the snake1 and ,judge1 the hawk4 ,whether you would call them tame or not depends4 ,they certainly had wild1 wild ways1 though they frequented the kitchen and slept under the stove1 one at a time4 ,the same methods must be employed1 no matter what the creature is4 ,gentleness1 patience1 and common sense will succeed almost every time with young animals4 ,,vi ,,making ,,brooks ,,and ,,springs ,,useful ,,reclaiming ,a ,,trout ,,stream ,i used to ketch trout that 'ud weigh two pound in that little crick back of my pasture when ,i 'uz a boy4 ,who has not heard old men say that8 ,they seem to have just accepted the lack of trout as one other piece of bad luck1 like wormy apples1 blighted wheat1 and other dispensations of ,providence4 ,the younger generation are not satisfied with this view4 ,if good wheat can be grown by modern methods1 and wormy apples prevented by spraying1 why shouldn't trout be caught in grandpa's old brook8 ,no reason in the world4 ,in between you and grandpa there was a generation of neglect4 ,your father and his brothers probably went to town to seek their fortunes4 ,anyhow1 everybody was too busy to fish1 and something went wrong with the brook that needs to be righted4 ,any stream that has been a trout stream once can be so again1 provided that the water is not fed with poisoned drainage from some mill or factory4 ,if the forest has been removed and natural conditions so changed that the brook that used to be perennial is now only semi-annual1 going dry in time of drought1 it will be necessary to build a series of dams to make sure that the water will always be deep enough for trout4 ,a spring-fed brook is best2 it is cool and constant4 ,lower the channel by digging where refuse has choked the natural course of the stream1 but don't tidy it up enough to make it artificial4 ,the ideal brook1 and the country is full of them1 has gravelly or sandy stretches which serve as spawning beds1 swift rapids where exercise is necessary1 and deep pools for rest and quiet1 shallow places where insects lurk in the overhanging vegetation1 and once in a great while a real little waterfall where the water gets well churned and mixed with air4 ,the brook ought to supply enough food for all1 but ,i have seen fish so plentiful in well-cared-for streams that it was necessary to feed them4 ,we would take great pans of specially prepared food to the water's edge2 as we threw it broadcast on the surface the trout would leap entirely out of the water in their eagerness to get the morsels4 ,we did not feed them liver because the epicure does not like his trout to have a liver flavour4 ,the natural food of the trout should be encouraged to breed in the trout stream4 ,you can restock your stream with the little crustaceans1 insect nymphs1 and similar fish food from other streams if you think it necessary4 ,a few pails full of mud carried across will start them4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,plenty of ,trout in ,this ,stream ,when ,grandfather ,was a ,boy ,the greatest necessity is to protect your fish from their natural enemies4 ,big fish will eat little fish1 trout will eat trout1 so will bass1 pickerel1 and suckers4 ,you can keep the big fish out by screening the spillway at the upper dam4 ,there is good fun to be had in raising trout from the egg4 ,this work has been regarded by most people as too complicated and too difficult for any but an expert4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is no more difficult than many of the occupations boys engage in1 chicken raising1 bee-keeping1 and photography1 for instance4 ,visit a fish hatchery if you have one near1 get all the government bulletins on the subject1 and1 if you have available running water1 you can try your hand at trout growing4 ,it would not appeal to many1 but it is really fascinating work4 ,,springs ,,for ,,trout ,,culture ,if there are constant1 cold springs on your place1 you are neglecting a golden opportunity for earning money in an easy and delightful way4 ,a spring is capable of furnishing living room for a large family of trout4 ,you can sell live trout at sixty-five cents to a dollar a pound to a first-class hotel4 ,the big fish bring the smaller prices per pound1 those weighing from half a pound to a pound being most popular4 ,clean out your spring first and make a basin ten to twenty feet square1 the bigger the better4 ,put a fine1 galvanized iron netting over the overflow of your reservoir4 ,young fish can be bought from a fish hatchery in the form of eggs1 fry1 fingerlings1 yearlings1 or even larger4 ,the government will stock your streams for you free1 but it imposes certain conditions1 which is quite just and proper4 ,get all the information you can from state fish hatcheries or the ,united ,states ,bureau of ,fisheries1 before you decide finally4 ,,reclaiming ,a ,,spring ,there is often a neighbourhood tradition concerning a wonderful spring somewhere near1 a spring that never ceases to flow1 no matter how complete the drought4 ,the water is pure1 cold1 and clear2 maybe the oldest inhabitant had it from his grandfather how the ,indians used always to camp near it on their cross-country marches from the ,catskills to the ,blue ,ridge4 ,they call it ,the ,old ,indian ,spring4 ,sometimes they tell hair-raising tales of midnight adventures and hair-breadth escapes1 till you wonder that the spring itself never turned red with the spilt blood4 ,from stories of early pioneer days one gets a good idea of the very great importance of the ever faithful spring4 ,with the certainty of a pure water supply for family and beasts1 a man might safely carve a home in a primeval forest4 ,without it1 he must push on yet another lap toward the wilderness4 ,i remember such a spring4 ,generations of red men1 trekking from one hunting-ground to another or maybe waging their own peculiar war in the enemy's country1 have depended on this spring for their success4 ,later generations of pioneers have passed that way and refreshed themselves with its sweet water4 ,as years went by1 the spring fell into disuse and gushed on forgotten4 ,but forty years ago it was re-discovered by a searching party1 identified as an historic spot1 reclaimed1 and made permanently useful and beautiful by public spirit4 ,nobody knows just how to appreciate a spring except the person who discovers it1 reclaims it1 and makes it do his bidding4 ,no bit of his own ingenuity pleases the householder quite as much as his spring1 his piping1 his reservoir1 and his little hydraulic ram1 yet one of the last springs ,i visited was in a ,new ,england pasture4 ,its only protection was a sort of fence of poles to keep the cattle out4 ,to approach it you had to leap from hillock to hillock1 in constant danger of losing your balance and sinking in a deep mud hole4 ,the spring bubbled up clear as crystal in a most unromantic hole in the ground2 its overflow simply spread out on the ground between the hummocks4 ,it didn't look thrifty to me4 ,two days' work would have laid a basin rim of small stones about that spring with a piece of tile for an overflow pipe1 and a shallow channel might have been dug to carry the surplus to the edge of the slope where another basin for the cattle might have been made1 or to a trough4 ,the water of a spring ought to be analyzed by a chemist before it is used for drinking4 ,nobody knows what contamination is possible to a spring whose sources are mystery4 ,campers ought to be particularly careful in this1 especially if their camp is near settlements4 ,the first step in reclaiming a spring is to dig out a basin4 ,the chances are that the one made by the water is too shallow for practical purposes4 ,compute the number of gallons you want in reserve and take out enough cubic feet of soil to make a basin of that capacity4 ,decide next what to do with the surplus4 ,your basin is not designed to hold the spring's daily output4 ,if the spring is in a ravine1 nothing is simpler than to lay a tile drain from the basin down to the stream bed4 ,by damming the stream you can make a pond for waterfowl1 for trout raising1 or for a swimming hole3 but that is another story4 ,the basin should have a protecting rim4 ,for a number of reasons this should be solid and permanent4 ,you are sure to want to sit on it and watch the water1 for one thing4 ,then1 too1 you want a protection against surface water4 ,all sorts of decaying animal and vegetable matter must be kept out of the spring1 so cover it tightly4 ,,making ,a ,,swimming ,,pool ,in a country where wooded brooks are plentiful there is absolutely no good reason why boys shouldn't have a swimming pool4 ,it needn't cost a thousand dollars1 either4 ,every outdoor club ought to have one as a special feature4 ,the same dam that holds back the water for the skating pond may serve in summer to make the swimming hole4 ,it is really fun to build a dam4 ,your father or the other boy's father will know how4 ,you can dig out the stream at low water1 and make the pool deep enough for diving4 ,high banks make the place more private2 trees and underbrush serve the same purpose4 ,but if the banks are not high naturally1 and the trees have been cut away you have no idea how quickly you can make a natural screen4 ,willows love the margin of streams and they grow tremendously4 ,a frame of poles covered with wild cucumber or morning glory will make a good screen the first season while the permanent trees and shrubs are growing4 ,you don't need to swim all your spare time1 so you can give some time to making the pool more secluded4 ,move a few big bushes from the woods in winter4 ,they will never know the difference if you transplant them while their roots are frozen in a big ball of earth4 ,let me make a suggestion to you4 ,you believe everybody ought to know how to swim1 don't you8 ,that includes your father1 of course1 who taught you4 ,does it include your sisters and the other boys' sisters8 ,everybody is a big word1 now you think of it4 ,why it includes even your mother6 ,do mothers know anything about swimming8 ,some of them do1 already1 only they never get a chance to keep in practice2 but they like it4 ,it is precisely as natural for girls and mothers to enjoy the water as it is for boys and fathers4 ,just be generous and let it be understood that a certain day in the week is ladies' day1 and turn the pool over to them4 ,their bathing suits may not be in the latest fashion1 but you won't be there to criticize nor to see how well they really swim4 ,a ,,home-,,made ,,skating ,,pond ,the family who own a tennis court and enjoy no skating in the winter have their own want of ingenuity to blame1 if they live in the ,jack ,frost belt4 ,any level piece of ground1 even the grass plot in the back yard1 can be skated on4 ,you need first to set a six-inch board on edge all round the level plot4 ,this board should be three inches in the ground and three inches out4 ,as winter approaches1 rig a trough from the pump to the pond-to-be or have the hose where it can be attached to the spigot at a moment's notice4 ,wait for a hard freeze4 ,when it comes1 and the ground is like rock1 give the word all hands to the pumps4 ,let on enough water to cover the surface1 then let it freeze4 ,if you get a smooth surface the first go you are luckier than most boys4 ,cover the first coat with a second and that with a third layer until you have smooth ice4 ,then skate4 ,on cold nights spray the worn places if you use a hose1 or run on another half-inch of water4 ,a good skating pond can be made by boys with a little ingenuity1 which in this case means engineering ability1 by damming a brook until it floods a naturally flat area above its own level4 ,or by damming the outlet of a pond before dry weather comes on and holding the water at a higher level than it would naturally have4 ,it is perfectly astonishing what a small dam will do1 if cleverly placed4 ,study the work of beavers if you know of any4 ,you can get pointers from mill-dams built by your great-grandsires1 if there are any in your vicinity4 ,in one of the books for boys1 mentioned in the book list1 are practical suggestions about building dams4 ,sometimes boys think nature has not done as much for them as for boys who have a natural swimming pool1 a skating pond1 or a trout brook4 ,maybe if you helped her out a little1 nature would do her part in your case1 too4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,reclaiming ,a ,,spring ,when ,i was fourteen years old my father bought his property in ,ithaca1 ,n4 ,y41 on which we live4 ,that part of it on which there is now a fine spring was considered worthless4 ,through this property ran a well-wooded glen1 the upper end of which was very wet and swampy4 ,this condition was due to several small springs emerging from the ground at the head of the glen4 ,all of these springs joined and flowed down through the glen1 forming a fairly large stream4 ,this stream flowed continually throughout summer and winter1 without change of volume4 ,the first step in the reclaiming of this spring was to collect all the water through tile drains into a large1 concrete reservoir4 ,this reservoir1 which was four feet wide1 four feet high1 and twelve feet long1 was constructed about two feet under ground4 ,an open spring basin was connected with this reservoir by a two and one-half inch iron pipe4 ,this basin was made of rough stones laid in cement1 and the back side of it arched over a foot or more1 forming a partial roof4 ,on the open side is a concrete seat where one can conveniently sit and get a drink4 ,my father and ,i did all the work except part of the ditch digging4 ,from this basin was laid a one and a quarter-inch iron pipe which carried the water down the glen a distance of about sixty feet to a hydraulic ram4 ,this ram is always running1 and is made to go by the constant pressure of the water from the spring basin4 ,the water is forced through a half-inch iron pipe to a large tank in the attic of the house situated on the hill above4 ,the tank1 which holds about five hundred gallons1 supplies the house with pure1 cold water for all purposes4 ,as the water is always flowing into the tank it is provided with an inch and a half overflow pipe1 which carries the surplus water back into the glen4 ,thus1 through a series of pipes and a ram1 the water is conveyed from the reservoir throughout the house4 ,by building a small dam farther down1 we made a fair-sized pond on which to domesticate some wild fowl4 ,the ground drained by concentrating the springs was well adapted because of its fertility for the growing of shrubbery and flowers of many sorts4 ,in the wetter places1 ferns and pink and yellow lady slippers were planted1 and in the dryer area shrubbery1 such as the red bud and azalea4 ,thus1 what was once a mud hole was transformed into a useful piece of ground4 ,,john ,,needham ,a ,,back ,,yard ,,swimming ,,pool ,somewhere and somehow our boys came into possession of the idea that they could make a swimming pool4 ,i think the original suggestion came from ,country ,life in ,america1 wherein was described1 with beautiful pictures1 a swimming pool that cost five thousand dollars or six thousand dollars4 ,the boys had land a-plenty1 water1 too1 and a will to work if they were shown what to do4 ,with the decision made that a swimming pool must be had1 a council was held to decide on ways and means4 ,the oldest boy1 aged thirteen1 stoutly maintained that he could do the entire work himself1 while the youngest1 aged four1 was equally confident that the job was entirely within his capacity4 ,it was finally agreed that ,i should stake out the ground and furnish the material1 and the boys would do the work4 ,with some slight modifications this plan was followed throughout4 ,it was decided to make the pool twenty-five feet long1 ten feet wide1 and four feet deep4 ,the ground was thereupon staked off and the boys fell to with a will removing the earth4 ,it was hard digging1 but the youngsters stuck to the work and finished within a week4 ,earth to the depth of three feet was removed1 and by piling this around the entire margin of the excavation the level was raised about one and one half feet for a distance of eight feet on all sides4 ,this plan avoided the necessity of hauling away the earth1 gave the desired depth1 and provided a flat surface eight feet wide all around the pool4 ,the rough digging being finished1 the sides of the excavation were trimmed with a spade to an angle of about forty-five degrees4 ,rough two by four-inch studding was then cut into lengths of four and one half feet and placed four feet apart all around the banks4 ,where each piece of studding was set1 the earth was removed1 so that the timber was made flush with the soil4 ,the end of each piece of timber was also sunk in the earth at the bottom of the pit for about three inches1 in order that it might be held firmly against the bank4 ,rough pine boards1 free from cracks and knot holes1 were then nailed to the timbers at the top only4 ,these boards were twelve inches wide1 and thus formed a border or rim all around the upper portion of the pit1 one foot in width4 ,at right angles to the twelve-inch rough boards others of the same size were nailed1 the last projecting out on the level ground1 thus forming a boardwalk around the excavation4 ,the main object of these boards was to keep the waves from washing the banks and to give a clean place upon which to stand or sit while not actually in the water4 ,the boards being up1 there was still left about three feet of the sides1 and the entire bottom of the excavation1 without covering of any kind4 ,it was decided to cover the sides and bottom with cement1 plastering this material directly upon the earth4 ,the cement was mixed with sand1 one part cement and two parts of sand1 and was spread on with a mason's trowel4 ,two and a half barrels of cement and about four barrels of sand were used4 ,toward the last1 pure cement was applied as a thin wash to the entire surface4 ,the cementing was a pretty tough job1 but with the help of an old coloured man the work was finally done in a thorough manner1 and the pit was then as tight as a jug4 ,it was allowed to dry for two days2 then the water was turned in4 ,the water was supplied from the service pipe of our home near by1 and as it is furnished by meter1 we had no qualms as to the quantity used4 ,the pool holds about eight thousand gallons and requires from twelve to fifteen hours to fill it through a three-quarter inch pipe4 ,the entire cost of the work1 not counting the boys' time1 was as follows3 #ab boards1 #a #ab #af #b4be #h pieces rough pine1 #b #d #af #a4je #b barrels cement at #a4ej per barrel #c4ge ------ ,total #g4je ,the pool was located in the shade of some willows on ground slightly higher than the adjacent territory4 ,every few days some of the water was siphoned off through a piece of hose and fresh water run in4 ,once a week1 however1 about a handful of copper sulphate was tied up in a piece of cheese cloth and thrown into the pool1 where it was whipped up and down in the general fun until all the copper was dissolved4 ,the copper kept the water absolutely pure and sweet throughout the entire season1 and not a sign of alg appeared4 ,the pool was a source of constant delight1 not only to our youngsters1 but to those of our neighbours4 ,all but the four-year-old learned to swim1 and by the end of the season even he could make some preliminary moves in that direction4 ,the moral of the story is that if you have some youngsters1 a back yard and a city water pipe you do not need to go to the seashore for fun4 ,give the boys a chance to make a swimming pool and they will enjoy it all the more if it is the result of their handiwork4 ,,beverly ,t4 ,,galloway ,,vii ,,keeping ,,bees ,i picked up a number of the ,bee-,keeper's ,review one day and my eye caught this surprising headline3 ,a ,,boy',s ,,business ,,worth #ajjj ,i opened my eyes and read on in astonishment about a boy who started with no more capital than any boy could get together1 and1 without sacrificing his school or college plans1 built up a bee business which he sold for one thousand dollars4 ,in the meantime his bees had not only paid their own board but his as well4 ,if one boy can make a success like that1 other boys can4 ,so can girls1 for bee-keeping is a form of outdoor work which seems admirably suited to sensible1 nature-loving girls4 ,,how ,,to ,,begin ,there are a good many ways to begin this like any other business1 but there is probably a best way for each person4 ,fortunately one does not have to begin on a large scale4 ,in my opinion the only way to learn how to keep bees right is to keep them4 ,experienced bee-keepers advise young people to visit a practical apiary and watch the owner among his bees1 taking note of what he does and says4 ,offer your services if he needs help1 asking him to explain what he is doing and what for4 ,stay a few days or a week if he will keep you and learn all you can4 ,one young woman spent a summer vacation on a farm where twenty or thirty colonies of bees were kept1 and helped whenever anything was to be done with the bees4 ,when she went home she took a colony of bees with her1 and now she is manager of her own apiary with a larger income than the average teacher and ten times the leisure4 ,for beginners the cheaper bees are satisfactory4 ,later1 nothing will be too good4 ,a stand of bees can be bought for two dollars or three dollars1 but a colony of choice ,italians in a modern hive with tested queen may come as high as fifteen dollars4 ,better have them to sell than to buy at that price4 ,there are cheaper ways of getting them than buying them4 ,if a runaway swarm which no owner claims1 alights in your yard the bees may be yours by right of discovery and if you hive them successfully1 by right of possession4 ,this method though practised by some has not the sanction of the golden rule1 and is not here recommended4 ,what fun it would be1 though1 to secure a runaway swarm and make the visitors comfortable in a temporary hive4 ,you would probably find they belonged in the apiary nearest you and ten to one the owner would just as soon you kept them unless they were a very choice kind4 ,he will be so pleased that you were able to hive them that he will offer you something substantial for your work4 ,he may give you the bees1 and your bee-keeping will begin by accident as did the life-work of the famous veteran apiarist1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,i4 ,root4 ,make a small beginning4 ,many successful bee-keepers had less than twenty dollars to begin with4 ,one colony is a start4 ,it is astonishing how quickly bees begin to pay their way and this test ought to be applied in all your ventures4 ,keep a strict account of all your expenditures in supplies1 and credit the bees with all the honey you take off and with the new swarms4 ,if ,i say this often1 it is because it must be repeated to fix its importance in the mind4 ,if you make good interest on your money you know it is safely invested4 ,if1 however1 you charge up your time against the bees you must credit them with the fun you have1 the outdoor exercise you get in caring for them and the consequent freedom from doctor bills4 ,,the ,,best ,,place ,,for ,,bees ,you will read of keeping bees on a city roof1 in a suburban attic1 and on boats2 but the most natural place for them is in the village or country1 where fields of clover1 groves of basswood1 and patches of buckwheat abound4 ,an orchard or large garden is incomplete without a few hives4 ,the young bee-keeper with these advantages is to be congratulated2 the conditions are ideal4 ,all he needs is a liking for bees and spunk4 ,before you get the first colony decide where your apiary is to be located4 ,even one hive must have a place and you must plan for increase4 ,an orchard is a fine place1 and the hives should be at least fifty feet from the street or road1 because bees do not recognize the laws of the open road and turn neither to the right nor to the left4 ,if necessary to put them next the street or close to a neighbour's garden1 there should be tall bushes1 a hedge1 or a high fence to protect the passers-by4 ,otherwise your venture into bee culture may make you bad friends with the neighbours and even carry you before the justice of the peace4 ,in very hot weather some shade is necessary for beehives1 but too much shade may result in failure4 ,the morning sun and the late afternoon sun are good for bees1 but the heat of the mid-day sun may cause the comb to melt and bring disaster to bees young and old4 ,as moving the active colonies is not always safe1 it pays to make a plan in the beginning for the whole number you expect to have4 ,this is a case where it is justifiable to count your chickens before they are hatched4 ,it will not take much imagination to draw a plan on paper locating the principal objects in and near the apiary-to-be1 and to sketch in the location of the ten1 fifteen1 or twenty hives you are likely to have five years from now4 ,if you have no large1 deciduous trees to offer ideal shade you needn't give up the idea of keeping bees4 ,with the modern ventilated covers1 bees are successfully kept out in the sun1 if protected from wind and storms4 ,a grape arbour affords good protection4 ,it should run from east to west4 ,any trellis with quick growing vines like hops1 ,virginia creeper1 or grapes1 will serve well4 ,grapes give best return as they bear fruit and their blossoms supply honey in season4 ,where no natural shade is possible a shade board or air-spaced cover supplies the lack4 ,a shade board can be made of any old box material4 ,lay a couple of sticks across the top of the hive to rest the shade board on and to let the air circulate4 ,wind is worse for bees than too much sun4 ,bless the pioneers of the windy country if1 by reason of their forethought1 you have a real evergreen windbreak on your place4 ,if you have not this ideal windbreak1 a building will serve1 or your hedge or high board fence should be on the windy side4 ,if you start1 as many have1 with one or two colonies let them face the south or east and leave space enough between the hives to run a lawn mower4 ,as your number increases1 your original plan may be changed1 but it always pays to make the plan4 ,try to consider1 in the arrangement of the hives1 not only convenience but beauty4 ,if a board fence is necessary1 train vines to cover its bare ugliness2 a fringe of low shrubs will help make it beautiful4 ,as your apiary grows1 experience will teach you how to group the hives to get the best results4 ,twenty hives grouped in fives under the north side of four big1 spreading apple trees would be the ideal ,i would set for myself if the orchard was ready for occupancy4 ,if ,i began at the age of fourteen years1 ,i could easily reach this ideal in six years and keep my other duties up1 too4 ,by that time ,i should know whether ,i wanted to be a bee-keeper or not4 ,a great many people find that the chicken business combines well with some other business or profession4 ,it is surprising that more people do not consider bee-keeping in the same way4 ,barring accidents1 bees are far easier to handle1 cleaner1 and they board themselves4 ,you can leave them over ,sunday without any qualms of conscience and without arranging with somebody to feed and water them4 ,the bees will not get out and scratch up your garden or your neighbour's1 but they will do work in the garden that is too fine for your hands to tackle1 and your crops will be bigger because of their visits4 ,chicken owners always sleep with one ear open1 expecting night prowlers to appear and carry off their best stock4 ,but who ever heard of a burglar alarm on a beehive8 ,there are honey thieves1 but they are not common4 ,beehives look best on a carpet of grass1 but if you have to be away during much of the summer wide rough boards should be placed in front of the entrance to the hives to keep the grass down4 ,a bee is likely to come home heavily laden and pretty well fagged out with a long flight4 ,if she should settle in a tangle of grass she would be likely to give up the struggle and fail to answer to roll call the next morning4 ,keep the grass short in front of the hives1 then1 if you have to cut it with shears1 which is not as dangerous as it sounds1 once you get used to it4 ,this is best done on cold or wet days when few bees are going in and out4 ,salt1 ashes1 or gravel may be sprinkled close up to the hives to kill the grass4 ,,buying ,,bees ,even the people with bees to sell advise beginners to buy from some one in their neighbourhood4 ,it is not safe1 though1 to move bees less than a mile and a half as they are likely to return to their old location4 ,buy from an up-to-date apiary if you can1 and get standard hives2 the old box hives are not worth anything2 neither are fancy hives of complicated structure4 ,the entrance to the hive should be closed with wire cloth after the bees all get home in the early evening4 ,if closed in the middle of the day you are cheated4 ,in warm weather the cover should be taken off2 in its place should be put the super over which wire-cloth has been tacked4 ,strips of wood can be nailed on top of this to which the cover can be fastened4 ,by this arrangement ventilation is secured4 ,we once lost a colony shipped by express without any provision for the circulation of air4 ,night is the best time to move the bees1 though it can be done in the daytime2 a cold day is best4 ,remove the wire cloth the first night after placing in permanent location4 ,spring is the best season to buy your first colony4 ,the price may be higher but the risk is less4 ,get a strong colony that has wintered well1 which contains1 on the average1 twenty-five thousand to thirty-five thousand worker bees4 ,it would be well just here for the beginner to get acquainted with the opinions of the best bee-keepers about the kinds of bees4 ,there are varieties among bees as well as among hens1 pigeons1 dogs1 and horses4 ,americans like to be hail1 fellow1 well met with all their live stock1 and although even the best tempered bee might resent a cordial slap on the flank1 there are bee-lovers who tell of stroking their little winged friends with a grass stem4 ,it requires real sympathy to succeed with bees just as it does with chickens or cows4 ,no one can work long with them without becoming intensely interested4 ,most people learn to love them and find absorbing occupation in studying their ways4 ,two races of hive bees are common here1 though none are native3 ,german1 or black1 and ,italian4 ,all the books and magazines as well as bee-lovers unhesitatingly recommend the latter as the more good-tempered1 being at the same time hardy1 prolific1 and industrious4 ,good hybrids1 that is1 a mixture of black and ,italian blood1 may do almost as well as pure stock1 but pure-bred queens are a necessity to keep the grade up4 ,when you hear of people who gather bees by handfuls into aprons or baskets you may be sure that those concerned are all thoroughbreds4 ,if there are no bees for sale near by1 the best plan is to order from a dealer in the spring what is known as a nucleus4 ,this is a very small colony1 about a quart of bees 7three thousand two hundred71 should be accompanied by a tested queen1 and housed in a modern hive with three frames of comb4 ,the queen sets to work laying eggs in the cells1 new frames should be added as needed1 and if pollen and nectar are plentiful the hive will soon be full of busy young workers4 ,by fall the frames should be stored with the honey needed for the winter4 ,your first expense after securing a colony will not be for mixed grain or middlings1 but for a smoker1 a bee veil and gloves1 extra hives for your swarms1 honey sections1 and other supplies4 ,don't buy everything that looks useful or is highly recommended by the salesman4 ,maybe he never saw a bee4 ,sometimes an old spoon or other cheap utensil can be made into a more useful tool than the one he wants fifty cents for4 ,the following list includes the supplies you are pretty sure to need the first year3 ,one colony of bees1 in an up-to-date though simply constructed hive4 ,on the whole1 the ten-frame hive seems to me to have advantages over a smaller one4 ,a deep telescope cover gives room for two supers on top at once4 ,the only advantage in the chaff hives seems to be that winter protection is not needed for bees housed in them4 ,the obvious disadvantage is their greater cost1 size1 and weight4 ,single walled hives are so easily made weatherproof1 7see ,wintering7 that the expense of the chaff hive is not necessary4 ,three extra hives4 ,two supers2 four super covers4 ,two to five hundred section boxes for comb honey4 ,you will not need very many of these the first year1 but they come cheaper in larger lots4 ,one smoker4 ,of the several kinds offered1 you may safely choose the one that you have seen used successfully4 ,one pair bee gloves2 one bee veil4 ,one pound brood foundation1 for the new swarms to begin on4 ,two pounds thin super-foundation for starters in the honey sections4 ,one foundation fastener4 ,one experienced bee-keeper tells me that he likes the ,dewey best4 ,others prefer the ,daisy4 ,one ,porter bee escape4 ,one bee brush4 ,one queen and drone trap4 ,the new ,alley trap is made with bars instead of perforated zinc1 and works better4 ,a bee-keeper's guide4 7,see list of books in the appendix47 ,complete directions for putting together the hives1 etc41 should accompany the filled order1 and the novice should work with one eye on the printed page4 ,a good book on bee-keeping should be included in the beginner's order4 ,those recommended in the book list in the appendix are all good books for beginners4 ,,bees ,,as ,,wage ,,earners ,average ,american boys and girls are a pretty sensible crowd and they don't expect to get much for nothing4 ,if they make money they like to see for value received written on it4 ,they may get enthusiastic over the work they undertake1 but there is a difference between enthusiasm and gush4 ,enthusiasm helps you do the hard part of your job4 ,gush only makes you ridiculous4 ,is there anything worth doing that doesn't take time and work8 ,the honey-producing business is no exception4 ,but the people who keep bees like their job4 ,yes1 they say1 it takes thought and energy and some hard work1 but it is such fun4 ,the little people are so interesting that you forget that it is work4 ,compared to butter money1 egg money1 and fruit money1 the women of the household regard honey money as easy4 ,how much can you count on your bees earning8 ,general statements will give you some idea4 ,you may do better or not so well as the average4 ,a good colony ought to turn out thirty or forty pounds of comb honey a year beside what they need for winter1 which is fifteen or twenty-five pounds if wintered in a cellar1 twenty-five or thirty-five pounds if wintered outdoors4 ,the best market for honey is the home market1 and the price is the best4 ,you get the commission man's profit and the retailer's profit as well as the grower's4 ,the last honey ,i bought was twenty-five cents a pound4 ,if ,i bought your thirty pounds at that price you can see for yourself what you would get per hive4 ,the new swarms add to your assets and you are out nothing except for supplies4 ,compare this with the expense of going into chicken or squab raising4 ,the following is quoted from a good authority3 ,two dollars a year clear profit per hive is the very lowest estimate and twenty to thirty hives infringe very little on one's time4 ,this many colonies may easily be managed by a woman or by the younger members of the family4 ,the ,united ,states has to import two and a half million pounds of honey annually1 and a half million pounds of beeswax4 ,will not our bees work just as cheaply as those in foreign countries8 ,let us have more bee-keepers4 ,,hives ,little flat-topped white houses varying in height1 standing under the trees in back yards are not an unfamiliar sight to most of us4 ,we say as we pass on the road1 ,those people keep bees1 and our mouths begin to water4 ,but what do the hives look like inside8 ,they are not mere hollow boxes4 ,wild bees are content with a hollow tree1 but modern domesticated bees require a special kind of furniture4 ,the first eaters of honey were simply robbers of the wild bees4 ,when man began to domesticate bees1 and that was so long ago that we cannot stop to count the centuries1 there came to be two sides to the bargain4 ,in return for a share in their stores he kept them in clean quarters1 provided abundant pasture1 protected them from their enemies and from the weather4 ,the old-fashioned hives were very picturesque affairs2 you see them in pictures1 and when you travel in ,europe you may see them still in use4 ,those skeps do not encourage doing much with the bees or knowing what is going on in the dark hive4 ,i wonder how the folks ever got any honey to eat4 ,the modern bee-keeper wants to open his hive for a good many reasons4 ,he not only wants honey when the bees have an over-supply1 but he wants to know what is doing4 ,he wants to know if his expensive queen is doing her duty2 he wants to know if too many young queens are being developed2 he wants to know if any diseases or other enemies are present4 ,he therefore must have a hive that permits frequent and minute inspection of its interior4 ,but1 said one boy1 ,i don't intend to open my hives and get stung all over4 ,now who expects to get stung all over8 ,there's no denying that bees sometimes sting1 cats often scratch1 dogs sometimes bite1 goats butt1 cows hook1 horses kick1 and so on4 ,some method of self-defence is their right1 and ,i doubt if we should find bees so interesting if they did not carry concealed weapons4 ,we certainly respect their rights as we might not if they were defenceless4 ,a bee sting is uncomfortable while it lasts1 but people afraid of bees get very little sympathy from me4 ,rest assured that you will open your hives often and the less said about being stung the better4 ,illustration3 ,modern hive1 showing parts in their correct order ,if possible examine at a dealer's or at some apiary an empty hive4 ,learn the uses and names of the parts4 ,the bottom board represents the foundation1 the brood chamber is the living room1 and the supers are the attic store rooms4 ,the flat cover is the rain-proof roof4 ,the hive must be a good home for the bees and easily handled by the operator4 ,the bottom board should not rest directly on the ground because of dampness1 which rots the wood and is not good for the bees4 ,some use hive stands1 others set the hives on a platform1 supported by wooden blocks or on tiles as illustrated here4 ,beehives1 like cottages nowadays1 must have all the modern conveniences1 and up-to-date furniture4 ,in the brood chamber there are movable frames into which the bees build the combs where the young are reared4 ,with the introduction of these movable frames by ,langstroth1 fifty years ago1 a new era in bee culture began4 ,the furniture of the second-story rooms consists of rows of little section boxes1 empty at first1 but ready to be stored with comb honey4 ,when nectar is plentiful and the brood-chambers are full to overflowing with honey1 the workers are quick to take the hint and begin to store their surplus in the section boxes4 ,you will notice that there is just one entrance to the hive4 ,this front door is sacred to the occupants4 ,when going among his hives1 the bee-keeper who knows his place keeps to the rear4 ,if you respect their privacy to this extent1 the bees will come out in front1 rise1 and sail off above your head without taking the slightest notice of you4 ,,what ,,goes ,,on ,,in ,,the ,,brood ,,chamber8 ,bees are the most public-spirited of creatures4 ,they devote their time to the service of their colony4 ,their industries are all directed towards one end3 the increase of the number of bees in the world4 ,when the hive gets too full of bees1 the colony divides and a swarm is the result4 ,thus two colonies are established where there was but one1 and the number of individuals goes on increasing twice as fast4 ,the honey bee1 like its wild cousin the bumble bee1 passes through four changes of form during its development4 ,these are the egg1 the larva1 the pupa1 and the adult4 ,the queen is no ruler1 but she is the mother-bee1 and upon her depends the future of the bee colony4 ,dealers in bees rear some of her young before selling each queen1 in order to be sure that she has mated with a pure-blooded drone4 ,these are called tested queens4 ,their progeny can be depended upon to possess the good qualities of both parents4 ,if the eggs of fine ,italian queens develop into nervous1 lazy1 black-coated1 and black-tempered workers1 you may safely say1 ,they take after their father's family4 ,the egg-laying begins in the spring and at the height of honey harvest the queen bee may lay as many as three thousand eggs every day4 ,she hurries over the open comb inserting her body into the empty cells1 and leaves an egg stuck fast at the bottom of each4 ,the worker bees grow from egg to maturity in small1 hexagonal1 or worker cells4 ,three or four days in the egg1 six days as a footless grub or larva floating serenely in a tiny well of liquid food supplied her by the nurse bees1 twelve days wrapped in a silk coverlet of her own spinning1 the young worker bee passes through her four stages of growth4 ,at the end of her three weeks some inner impulse tells her to be up and doing1 and she obeys the stern call4 ,she cuts a hole in the cap of her cell1 sheds her skin for the last time 7she did this five or six times during the larval or growing stage71 and comes forth4 ,it takes her about one day to dry her feathers1 adjust herself to her environment1 and get busy4 ,she finds many little open wells of unsealed honey1 and as nobody pays any attention to her she drinks her fill4 ,a round of duties await her1 and she goes at them without being told how4 ,she must do nursing1 comb-building1 cell-capping1 and general housework1 and all without the least training4 ,after about a week of this1 the young worker goes out to play1 and then to work4 ,she is young1 inexperienced1 and self-conceited1 and tries to call attention to herself like any vain young miss4 ,when she brings in her first load of pollen she fairly swaggers with importance4 ,mr4 ,root says1 ,her first load of pollen is just what the first pair of pants is to a boy baby4 ,when a bee is a month old1 she is in the prime of life4 ,three or four months of hard work in summer means old age for the workers1 but in the bee colony there is no such thing as an old ladies' home4 ,with their wings worn to stumps1 their once velvety backs rubbed shiny1 they may be seen creeping away from the hive to die1 having given their very lives in willing and faithful service of the commonwealth4 ,of the unexplained wonders of the development of queens and drones1 the mystery of the laying workers1 and the other many and varied activities of the hive1 we cannot tell much in detail here4 ,your own book on bee-keeping and larger books of reference will be mines of information4 ,but there are undiscovered ,north ,poles in the bee world1 and the young bee-keepers of to-day may be the ,greeleys and the ,pearys and the ,shackletons of this new-old science4 ,,swarming ,did you ever wonder why bees swarm8 ,they have no regular dates for doing things4 ,although they have been known to swarm in ,may1 and even in ,april1 you are not likely to get a swarm before ,june4 ,early swarms are the most valuable1 therefore you should be ready1 for bees are like time and tide4 ,have the hive fitted with frames and keep it in a cool place4 ,bees swarm to increase the number of colonies4 ,the date of swarming depends on local conditions and nobody can tell but the bees themselves1 and they won't1 what these conditions are exactly4 ,if there are too many bees1 too much honey stored1 thousands of workers hatching daily1 many young queens ready to emerge1 the bees are likely to swarm4 ,the bee-keeper is on the lookout after he knows the signs and can guess pretty shrewdly whether the swarm will be out in a few days or later4 ,he gets his apparatus together and his hives ready4 ,bees often hang out on the outside of the hive1 and we used to think that was a sure sign1 but it often fails4 ,it is the old queen that leaves the hive1 but the bees that go out with her are a mixture of young and old ones4 ,no one knows how the decision is made as to who shall go and who shall stay behind1 but there is never any indecision in the community that we can reckon with4 ,some hot ,sunday you will be roused from your book by the excited cry3 ,the bees6 ,look1 there they go6 ,the air's full of them4 ,they're swarming4 ,i'll bet they get away4 ,no1 they're settling4 ,meantime1 if you are the boy who owns the bees1 you are getting ready to hive your first swarm4 ,it's no joke1 for thrills will be chasing up your spine1 and if you didn't have so much to do you would be as excited as the rest4 ,but success may depend on your keeping cool4 ,you have probably already instructed the family in modern methods so that no one will be raising a din by beating an old wash boiler1 etc4 ,if you have a garden hose handy1 let some one play a fine spray on the whirling bees4 ,nothing brings them to time more quickly4 ,when the bees have settled1 place the hive conveniently near them1 with a sheet or hive cover in front4 ,cut the branch on which the bees are clustered and shake them off into or in front of the hive4 ,if well disposed they will go in promptly4 ,if high trees and no shrubbery is the rule in the vicinity of your hives1 you will probably need your long-handled swarm-catcher4 ,or you will very soon begin the practice of clipping the wings of your queens4 ,when the clipped queen brings out a swarm she hops about near the hive4 ,she may climb into a shrub if one is near by4 ,why not provide her with a still more convenient forked stick as some bee-keepers do8 ,she climbs up this1 calls her family together1 and you do the rest4 ,you may prefer to capture the queen in your little queen trap1 and place her at the entrance to a new hive which you should place on the stand where the old hive was4 ,the bees will return to their old location when they discover that the queen is not with them4 ,the new hive will receive them and the queen when released will go in with her family4 ,if the bees refuse to stay in the new hive1 it may be because the hive is too hot4 ,prop up both hive and cover to allow extra ventilation4 ,,making ,,apparatus ,while ,i do not advise any amateur bee-keeper to try to construct his own hives and frames1 ,i do think it is a fine idea to begin right away to study how to improve the appliances now in use4 ,you will have to discard many of your own ideas as useless when you come to try to apply them to practical use4 ,there are lots of patented appliances for sale that make an experienced bee-keeper smile4 ,he undoubtedly knows a clever boy at home who can rig up a home-made contraption that will cost nothing at all1 and do the work better than the expensive tool4 ,a boy that keeps bees will find a knowledge of tools and wood-working of great advantage to him1 and a girl's deft fingers will know how to put materials together that a professional would never think of4 ,in this connection ,i will here describe a swarm-catcher1 devised by a practical bee-keeper many years ago and recommended by an expert in ,apiculture of the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture4 ,the construction is so simple that ,i believe ,i could make one myself6 ,though home-made1 it is interesting to see how thoroughly scientific are the essential features of this device1 all based on a knowledge of bee instincts4 ,this description is adapted from an article by ,dr4 ,b4 ,n4 ,gates in one of the annual reports of the ,maryland ,bee-,keepers' ,association4 ,the accompanying drawing was made from a picture of the swarm-catcher in the same report4 ,the apparatus consists of a box with one end open and supported on a pole4 ,the materials required are nails1 a large wire hook1 some thin boards1 and two or three poles of different lengths4 ,a saw1 a bit and brace1 and a hammer are the only tools required for making it4 ,illustration3 ,swarm-catcher that works like magic4 ,any handy boy can make it ,it is bee nature to try to get into some small hole4 ,to take advantage of this instinct the five sides of the swarm-catcher are perforated with holes about one half an inch in diameter4 ,while the framework of the box should be light1 it should also be strong and the materials good so that the swarm-catcher will last for years4 ,a convenient size has been found to be eight by eight by sixteen4 ,a hole to fit the size of the poles should be bored in the centre of the top and one at the bottom4 ,the big wire hook should be screwed into the top far enough from the centre so that it will not be interfered with by the projecting end of the pole4 ,a slot should be cut lengthwise of the top1 sufficiently large to allow a frame of honey-comb to be put in so that it hangs down inside to attract the bees4 ,this honey bait is essential to the successful working of the swarm-catcher4 ,you can devise other ways of suspending it to the top inside of the box4 ,it is thought that a coat of green paint on the outside and one of black on the inside induces the bees to enter the box more readily4 ,a swarm-catcher like this cuts out all the loss of time and danger of losing a valuable swarm of bees while preparations to hive them are going on4 ,and you can practically catch a swarm anywhere with this device4 ,if they light on a stone wall1 a tree trunk1 or on the ground1 you simply brush a pint or so of them into the box1 stick the sharp lower end of the pole into the ground near by1 and go off and leave them to go in at their leisure4 ,a whiff or so of smoke is needed when you first go up before beginning to wield the brush4 ,for swarms hanging in the ordinary way from limbs of trees or vines1 while the bees are clustering1 take a frame from one of the hives and hang it in the swarm-catcher4 ,it is best to take a comb containing developing brood and some honey4 ,this forms a well-nigh irresistible lure for the swarming bees4 ,one look at the pendant mass of bees will tell you what length of pole you need in the box4 ,put on your veil and gloves and hoist the box up into the tree4 ,put the open end of the box up against the mass of bees and get as many of them into it or onto it as possible4 ,catch the branch with the hook on the box and give it a vigorous shaking4 ,this unsettles the rest of the bees and they will be attracted instinctively to follow the rest into the box where the brood cells are4 ,once the bees are safely clustered in and on the box there is no rush about hiving them4 ,they are safe to be left hanging by the hook within ten feet or so of their original clustering place or with the pole stuck in the ground near by4 ,they are secure there for hours1 even for days1 but one usually has time to hive them the same day4 ,the swarm should not be left in the hot sun4 ,hiving is done in the usual way4 ,after the hive is prepared with combs or foundation1 shake the bees from the swarm-catcher either into or in front of the hive4 ,with large swarms it is advisable to prop the hive body up slightly from the bottom board to enlarge the entrance4 ,the marching in is a wonderful sight4 ,an established colony of bees cannot be moved five feet without causing them confusion4 ,before the newly hived bees have had time to locate themselves and set to work at honey gathering1 the hive should be moved to its permanent location4 ,it is not safe to delay longer than twilight of the day they are hived4 ,when once they get a location fixed they return to it and are lost4 ,if they refuse to be reconciled in a new hive1 put in a frame of young brood from some other hive and try them again4 ,they seldom desert an obvious duty like the caring for young4 ,,opening ,,the ,,hive ,the modern art of bee-keeping was made possible by the invention of the hive with movable frames4 ,some of the many reasons for opening the hive are3 #a4 ,to take off honey4 #b4 ,to see if enough honey has been stored for winter4 #c4 ,to find the queen4 #d4 ,to introduce a new queen4 #e4 ,to examine the brood4 ,before opening the hive know just what you are going to look for4 ,get the smoker well going2 shavings1 punk1 excelsior1 or chips crowded in make a good smudge2 you want much smoke and little fire4 ,put on your bee veil4 ,for a greeting1 blow a little smoke in at the entrance of the hive you are going to open4 ,loosen the cover which you will find to be glued tight with propolis by the bees4 ,a dull putty knife or screw-driver is a good tool for this job4 ,as fast as you unseal the cracks1 blow smoke into them4 ,at this juncture it is well to close the hive for a few minutes to give the bees time to think it over4 ,the better the grade of bees the less smoke is required4 ,take your time4 ,keep your nerve steady and the smoker handy4 ,loosen the frames and take them out one by one4 ,in order to see what is going on in the frames you must clear off the bees4 ,do this in such a way that you will not endanger the queen if she should be on the frame4 ,poke the bees off so that they fall bewildered back into the hive4 ,set the frame down against the outside of the hive and take out another4 ,there are cells of three sizes in the brood combs4 ,queen cells are large1 standing out from the surface of the comb quite prominently4 ,the drone and worker closely resemble one another1 but the drone cells are the larger4 ,honey is stored in both drone and worker cells4 ,if you wish to destroy the queen cells to prevent swarming you will find it a ticklish job1 even with a sharp1 slender knife1 not to ruin a lot of comb4 ,illustration3 ,drone and queen trap at hive entrance ,it is often important to locate the queen4 ,if you wish to clip her wings1 find her you must4 ,she is usually near the middle of the hive1 surrounded by her court1 a rosette of workers4 ,she is quite different in shape from the workers4 ,it is well to study her picture before going to look for her4 ,a queen's wings are not much to cut1 but you will need a steady nerve if you do it free hand4 ,many devices are to be had to make the operation less difficult and to insure safety to the rest of the queen4 ,the danger is all to her1 for although she is armed she will not sting you4 ,she reserves her sting for some rival in her own class4 ,harvesting any crop has interesting features1 but nothing has the peculiar charm of taking off honey4 ,loosen the cover1 puff in a little smoke1 lift the cover1 then the whole super off4 ,put on a new super and replace the cover4 ,have your bee brush ready and as you lift the fitted sections out of the super1 brush the bees that cling to them down to the entrance to the hive4 ,this is the old way and is fraught with dangers4 ,moreover1 the bees may regard one robbery as sufficient excuse for another4 ,robbery is a serious matter in the apiary4 ,the modern way is to use the ,porter bee-escape4 ,this device obviates all the difficulties and once you have got the hang of it1 you will have no further trouble getting honey from your hives4 ,,stings3 ,,prevention ,,and ,,cure ,the bee mittens1 the veil1 and the smoker are all preventive measures4 ,a good deal depends on the way you behave when working with bees4 ,if you are nervous and anxious you probably will act that way and the bees have a way of understanding and are likely to find you4 ,remove the sting by a scraping motion with a knife blade or some hive tool you happen to have handy4 ,if you use the thumb and finger you squeeze the tiny bulb at the outer end of the sting1 and inject the poison into your blood4 ,experts have little or no faith in cures which are rubbed on4 ,they underestimate the comfort one gets doing something for a spot that hurts so mighty bad4 ,so go ahead and put on alcohol or baking soda or ammonia2 you can't do a bit of harm that way4 ,in the meantime nature is busy neutralizing the acid the bee punished you with4 ,mrs4 ,comstock1 in ,how to ,keep ,bees1 gives these maxims for opening the hive3 ,have the smoker ready to give forth a good volume of smoke4 ,use the smoker to scare the bees rather than to punish them4 ,do not stand in front of the hive lest the bees passing out and in take umbrage4 ,be careful not to drop any implements with which you are working2 take hold of all things firmly4 ,move steadily and not nervously4 ,do not run if frightened1 for the bees understand what running away means as well as you do4 ,if the bees attack you1 move slowly away1 smoking them off as you go4 ,if a bee annoys you by her threatening attitude for some time1 kill her ruthlessly4 ,,wintering ,before buying your hives you must decide where your bees are to winter4 ,if you have a suitable shelter you can use the ordinary hives2 but if your bees are to winter outside1 you may decide that you want the great chaff-packed1 double hives4 ,as the summer wanes every hive must be examined to make sure that the colony is strong and that the supply of honey is not short4 ,if the season has been a bad one for flowers1 or if the region provides few blossoming fields it may be necessary to feed the bees4 ,special directions are needed and any bee book will supply them4 ,a strong swarm1 supplied with twenty-five pounds to thirty-five pounds of honey1 will winter without serious loss in a chaff hive4 ,other protection than that afforded by a good windbreak is unnecessary4 ,in our furnace-heated houses no part of the cellar is cool enough all the time for the bees4 ,the temperature should not go above forty-eight degrees ,fahr41 nor below forty degrees2 forty-three degrees is considered just right4 ,sudden changes are bad for bees4 ,illustration3 ,beehive covered with newspapers and waterproof paper for wintering outdoors ,many experienced bee-keepers winter their colonies successfully outdoors with home-made protection4 ,the ordinary hives1 with the covers on but with the supers off1 of course1 are put into winter quarters in this way3 ,fold seven or eight thicknesses of newspaper over the top of the cover and sides4 ,make a neat job of this as if you intended to send the box by mail4 ,use a few tacks if needed4 ,over this fold a large piece of tar or other waterproof paper4 ,there is a right way to fold the ends of this outer wrapper1 and a wrong way4 ,the illustration shows the right way4 ,if the paper is brought down from the top first and round the ends from the sides over that 7the wrong way71 pockets will be formed which hold snow and water4 ,nail thin pieces of wood on to hold the folds securely4 ,the entrance to the hive should not be closed as bees come out more or less on warm days in winter4 ,be sure that the entrance is always free from dead bees4 ,another way to protect hives from the cold when wintering outside is to construct a packing case three and a half inches bigger in all dimensions than the hive4 ,set one of these down over each hive and pack the space between hive and case with any kind of dry packing material1 such as shavings1 sawdust1 cork chips1 dry leaves4 ,any of these materials used wet would do more harm than good4 ,some sort of shelf or projection should be so placed over the entrance as to keep it open as with other forms of winter protection4 ,,feeding ,in the spring1 bees need water4 ,if the tree blossoms are late in coming out1 sirup is often fed to the bees to give them a start4 ,patented feeding devices are not necessary4 ,a flat tin pan works admirably4 ,the best sirup for all purposes is plain granulated sugar and water1 made cold4 ,stir in all the sugar that the water will hold4 ,fill the feeding pan with excelsior first1 then sirup1 and place it in the super4 ,little ladders leading up to the top of the pan will help the bees get at the sirup4 ,feeding is also practised in the fall if the amount of stored honey is short4 ,the feeding of honey is likely to start the bees to robbing4 ,under no circumstances should market honey be fed to bees4 ,diseases are transmitted by this practice4 ,,plants ,,that ,,furnish ,,honey ,,or ,,pollen ,,or ,,both gill-over-the-ground shadbush tulip tree willow grape sorrel spring4 elm maple dandelion hawthorn red bud fruit trees clovers 7cultivated7 alfalfa wild sweet clover raspberry bee-balm blueberry chestnut corn summer4 fig-wort locust basswood catnip horse mint mustard sage sumach buckwheat spider flower sunflowers fireweed smartweed fall4 milk-weed golden-rod aster rape ,,the ,,products ,,of ,,the ,,hive ,besides honey1 bees make use of wax to construct combs1 bee-bread for larv food1 and propolis for glue4 ,if you think the bees gather honey from the flowers you are greatly mistaken4 ,nobody knows yet quite how honey is made4 ,chemists say that it has in it water1 grape sugar1 a little formic acid1 some mineral matter1 albuminoids1 and essential oils4 ,but this list leaves us little the wiser4 ,no chemist has been able to combine these materials into honey4 ,the nectar gathered by bees passes directly into a receptacle1 the honey-sack or honey-stomach1 which is used for that purpose only4 ,it does not go the same road as the bee's food4 ,the notion that bees swallow the nectar and then unswallow it is as erroneous as it is unappetizing4 ,the flavour1 body1 and colour of honey depend on the source of the nectar1 the age1 the amount of chemical change wrought by the bees1 and the completeness of the ripening process which goes on in the hive before the cells are capped4 ,honey is a very wholesome sweet1 far more easily digested than cane or grape sugar4 ,if the making of honey is mysterious1 what can we say of wax production8 ,in the height of the honey season we can watch the bees making wax through a glass-sided hive4 ,mrs4 ,comstock says3 ,a certain number of self-elected citizens gorge themselves with honey and hang up in chains or curtains1 each bee clinging by her front feet to the hind feet of the one above her1 like ,japanese acrobats2 and there they remain sometimes for two days until the wax scales appear pushed out from every pocket4 ,sometimes a honey-and pollen-laden bee will come home from pasture with flakes of wax exuding from the wax plates on her abdomen4 ,but this happens only when wax is needed for comb making4 ,at other times no amount of honey gorging will produce a scrap of wax4 ,does this not hint at mystery and something higher than mere intelligence8 ,you would think in such a perfectly organized community there would be something like specialization4 ,such appears not to be the case4 ,all the workers seem to do all the different kinds of things4 ,let us say a bee goes out and gets a load of honey the first thing in the morning4 ,when she comes in she goes to the comb to deposit her honey1 then to the brood cells where she combs the pollen off her legs into a cell where it is stored to feed the young bees later4 ,perhaps she sees in passing some cells which need capping1 does that1 then away to gorge herself with honey and make wax1 then builds her own or her neighbour's wax onto the comb4 ,if the day is hot it may occur to her and a thousand others to construct a living fan and keep the air stirring inside the hive by waving their wings4 ,in a system like this there is no resting1 no play1 no shirking1 no specializing4 ,there is always work to do and always somebody doing it with a will in the perfect socialism4 ,many boys and girls of these days are fortunate in having had at school an observation hive4 ,no bee-keeper will be long without one if he has any curiosity about what is going on in the dark hive1 or if he is ambitious to solve some of the mysteries4 ,an ordinary hive can be made into a good observation hive by putting a pane of glass in the sides and top4 ,there should be hinged doors to fit tightly over the glass4 ,a two-frame hive devised by ,prof4 ,v4 ,l4 ,kellogg has both sides of glass so that the whole domestic economy of the bee family can readily be observed4 ,,diseases ,,and ,,enemies ,you will not be in the bee business long before you learn that bees have diseases and enemies4 ,in fact1 it is better to face that fact at the beginning and learn how to recognize and combat the troubles4 ,carelessness along this line is inexcusable and will surely cause failure4 ,several states have official inspectors whose business it is to know bee diseases and methods of controlling them4 ,he is required to inspect apiaries where diseases are suspected1 and the best thing to do is to interest him in your work and get all the help from him you can4 ,an ounce of prevention will save a pound of cure1 every time4 ,if there is a ,bee-,keepers' ,association in your county1 by all means join it and help make it a live1 active organization4 ,the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture can give you much needed information as to who the men are in your locality who are officers in the associations and official inspectors4 ,,marketing ,,honey ,the best honey market is the home market as ,i have said4 ,you may have to work up a demand in your neighbourhood and there are many ways to do this which ingenious boys and girls will devise4 ,most of us1 if we can afford to use honey at all1 know it only as a spread for hot biscuits or griddle cakes4 ,but not every one knows that honey is a very much more wholesome sweet than cane sugar4 ,many people cannot eat sugar at all1 but find honey does not cause indigestion4 ,if you could persuade your neighbours to buy your honey for their children instead of candy1 all-day-suckers coloured with cheap dyes1 and sirups made of nobody knows what1 you would be doing something worth while4 ,honey is used in cooking too1 in many ways4 ,get your mother or sister interested in trying some receipts in which honey takes the place of sugar4 ,if you make a success of this you can get other people to making honey cakes1 thus creating a demand for your product4 ,one enterprising chap made a great success by first going from house to house and giving away samples of his honey4 ,he also left a self-addressed postal card with prices and order blank printed on one side1 and nine out of ten of the people he called on sent orders4 ,it seemed a pity to waste a good postal card and everybody likes to help a bright boy along2 and beside they wanted the honey6 ,it might be well to have a little pamphlet telling about your honey and of the many uses it may be put to1 with a receipt for honey cake1 perhaps4 ,you will get a reputation1 if you try1 for pure products1 neat packages and courteous dealings4 ,as your output increases from year to year your market will grow1 until you1 like the boy we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter1 have a business worth at least a thousand dollars4 ,,my ,,experience ,,with ,,honey ,,bees ,it was just by chance that ,i ever got started in keeping bees4 ,there were several boys about my size in the neighbourhood at my home and we used to go swimming and play ball together4 ,one fine spring day a few of us were walking down the road toward the swimming pool when we found a swarm of bees on a fence post4 ,one of the fellows knew how to hive the swarm1 so we got a box from the store and watched while he got the bees into it4 ,it was the first time that ,i had seen a swarm hived and the performance proved very interesting to me4 ,i bought that swarm in the old box for seventy-five cents1 very well satisfied with the bargain1 for of course the box would be full of honey in a short time6 ,the colony was placed upon a bench in the front yard4 ,one night the old bull got out and upset the bench4 ,the bees were ready to sting anything next day4 ,i bundled up until ,i was sting proof and then got them straightened up4 ,the combs were broken which gave the bees a setback from which they did not recover4 ,i did not get any honey from them and they died out in the winter4 ,an old bee-keeper who lived near us gave me two swarms the next spring4 ,one of them left the hive and flew to the woods and the other was weak and died4 ,it began to seem as though bees were hard to keep4 ,i got a book called ,a ,b ,c of ,bee ,culture1 and read it4 ,i soon learned that bees should be kept in movable frame hives so they could be easily handled4 ,i had no bees now1 but1 although we were laughed at1 my father and ,i entered into a partnership4 ,he furnished the hives and implements and ,i furnished the bees and labour4 ,we were to divide profits equally4 ,we bought two hives1 a smoker1 and a bee veil4 ,i caught one swarm in the woods and bought another4 ,they were both late swarms and died in the winter4 ,success was still far off and things did not look very bright1 but ,i had learned how not to do lots of things4 ,the two hives we had were not the best1 so we sold them and bought five of a different kind for the next spring4 ,the outlay was large and no profits1 but ,i was determined to succeed4 ,in the spring ,i caught a swarm early in the season and it made a few pounds of surplus honey which we used at home4 ,during the latter part of ,august my chum and ,i were out squirrel hunting and he found a swarm that had built combs on the limb of a large tree4 ,we got it into a hive and ,i bought his share of the swarm4 ,this colony needed feeding1 so ,i fed it on sugar and water4 ,both colonies lived through the winter and made a strong start in the spring4 ,each gave a swarm and ,i caught both4 ,the book and the old bee-keeper taught me that ,italian bees were better than the wild bees1 so ,i invested in two ,italian queens which ,i got by mail from a queen breeder4 ,i killed the old queens in two of the colonies and introduced the new ones4 ,they did some good work that summer and lived through the winter4 ,the next spring ,i had two colonies of black or wild bees and two of ,italians4 ,the blacks together made about twenty pounds of surplus honey1 while the two ,italians made nearly two hundred pounds4 ,this showed me that there was a great difference in bees4 ,each colony swarmed once1 making eight in all4 ,we had now made a success and the business was on a good footing even after four years of failure4 ,that last honey crop was worth about thirty dollars1 and the bees and hives were worth about forty-five dollars4 ,we were encouraged4 ,that fall ,i was sixteen years old and had decided to go to college4 ,the president of the agricultural college in this state offered me a chance to work my way through college by taking charge of the bees on the college farm4 ,i gladly accepted it and sold my bees at home4 ,life at college was very different from home life1 but the bees always furnished a source of pleasure and recreation during my spare moments on week days and on ,saturdays4 ,in the summer months ,i either worked with the government bee-men or for the college4 ,the bees have not only given me lots of pleasure1 but they have made it possible for me to pay my entire tuition and expenses for five years at college4 ,besides studying and attending to my bees1 ,i have had time for much other fun1 and this year ,i made the 'varsity football team and played in every game4 ,some people think that the honey is not worth the stings1 but my advice is to get a colony and try your hand4 ,,sydney ,s4 ,,stabbler ,,how ,i ,,earned ,,two ,,hundred ,,dollars ,i had helped with the bees more or less all my life1 so that ,i already knew how to handle them when my high school course was broken into by illness and ,i had an enforced vacation of one year and a half4 ,i was able at this time to devote to the bees one full season1 that is1 from ,april through ,july4 ,my father allowed me the use of bees1 hives1 combs1 etc41 for queen rearing4 ,the queens ,i sold for seventy-five cents and one dollar each1 according to the grade4 ,to my father ,i furnished one hundred queens at the reduced price of fifty cents each as rent for the bees1 hives1 etc4 ,i had about ninety nuclei of two frames each4 ,during the swarming season ,i used a good many natural cells from the better colonies4 ,later ,i used artificial1 dipped cells which ,i made myself4 ,in the latter case ,i took larv from the very best queens in the apiary and placed the cells in queenless colonies to be developed1 or sometimes in colonies which were superseding their queens4 ,when the cells were nearly ready to hatch they were placed in the nuclei where the young queens remained until they commenced laying1 when they were ready for sale4 ,altogether ,i made a little over one hundred dollars that season4 ,i was then eighteen years old and determined to go to college4 ,two years later ,i began my studies at the ,university of ,california1 working for my board in a private family and drawing from the one hundred dollars for incidentals4 ,clothing ,i had received at home and had made myself for the most part4 ,the ,san ,francisco earthquake occurred on the eighteenth of ,april1 in the spring of my freshman year1 and college was closed immediately1 so that ,i was able to enter again into the queen rearing business4 ,that season ,i sent out advertising cards to the members of the ,california ,bee-,keepers' ,association and sold nearly all my queens to them4 ,the financial result was nearly the same as for the former season4 ,so in all ,i made about two hundred dollars1 which paid for the incidentals during three years of my college career which is as far as ,i have gone4 ,by incidentals ,i mean books1 paper1 and such necessities1 also subscriptions to the college daily paper1 class and association dues1 tickets to college jinks1 theatricals1 games1 etc4 ,i also spent a good deal for tickets to concerts1 plays1 etc41 as that was my first opportunity to hear the great musicians and actors and ,i considered that a part of my education4 ,,flora ,,mcintyre ,,profits ,,of ,,bee-,,keeping ,i have been asked to tell something of my early experiences as a bee-keeper1 for boys and girls who may become interested in this very fascinating1 and1 ,i may say at the same time1 profitable1 pursuit4 ,i think it may be said of bee-keeping as sailors say of seafaring--once a bee-keeper always a bee-keeper4 ,i should like to tell you in a few words what can be expected from a dozen and a half hives of bees with an average of one and one half days a week spent in the apiary4 ,i believe really1 though1 that when ,i began keeping bees it was not because ,i expected to make much money4 ,the whole story of the bee life1 as read from different books which ,i secured after becoming interested1 was so wonderful and fascinating that ,i could hardly wait until spring so that ,i might study the two hives acquired through the winter4 ,that first spring and summer there were only those old box hives1 which could not be opened for inside study1 and all observations had to be confined to watching the bees from the outside4 ,the next summer some modern hives that could be taken apart and every nook and corner laid open to observation were bought4 ,in the fall ,i was very fortunate in securing eighteen colonies of bees at an auction sale1 paying therefor only fifty cents a colony1 much to my satisfaction and my neighbours' amusement4 ,most of the hives were frame1 but of an undesirable sort of frame4 ,the next summer these colonies were transferred to up-to-date hives4 ,that summer1 and for the next succeeding six summers1 these colonies did not fail to yield on an average about seventy dollars' worth of honey and wax4 ,counting out winter losses the number of colonies per year would average twelve1 the number of pounds of honey about three hundred and seventy-five1 worth twenty cents a pound4 ,the bees received only a small part of my time each day4 ,later1 when a student at the ,ohio ,state ,university1 as manager of the apiary there1 about the same results were obtained1 so that an average of about five dollars a hive is a conservative estimate4 ,if one begins in a small way1 in a few years he should be able to manage one hundred colonies4 ,but it should be remembered that the yield per hive may decrease somewhat as the number of colonies increases1 because of the danger of launching in the business on a large scale4 ,the best insurance against loss is a thorough study and understanding of all the details by the practice of bee-keeping on a small scale for a term of years first4 ,i may say that the income from the bees aided not a little in helping me through college1 and ,i may say1 also1 without exaggeration that this interest in bees by one enthusiastic student helped in no small degree toward the inauguration of a course in bee-keeping at our own ,ohio ,state ,university4 ,to make the story complete ,i think ,i should add that the writer of this article is at present engaged as assistant in apiculture1 doing experimental work in apiculture in the government apiaries at ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,there is opportunity for those who wish to take up some problem relating to apiculture as a subject of investigation1 and the agricultural colleges and experiment stations will no doubt in the future give more and more attention to the investigation of problems related to this interesting and profitable pursuit4 ,,arthur ,h4 ,,mccray ,,viii ,,raising ,,silkworms ,although silkworms are not actually reared in the open air1 there is so much outdoor work and moderate exercise connected with their care that the subject may properly be included in a book on outdoor work4 ,the best food for silkworms is the leaf of the white mulberry4 ,if you have already a hedge of this or several trees you can begin at once4 ,if not1 several years must elapse while you raise your preliminary crop of mulberry trees from seeds or cuttings4 ,it is useless to buy silkworm eggs if you have not the wherewithal to feed your infant caterpillars4 ,you may not think of going into silkworm rearing in a commercial way but only as an interesting bit of nature study4 ,why not make up some neat attractive cases1 each containing a little collection illustrating the four stages of the growth of this insect8 ,heat a few eggs to destroy life1 then glue them to a card2 preserve a caterpillar in a vial of alcohol2 glue a cocoon to a card2 pin and spread two of the moths1 a male and a female1 and pin them into the box4 ,from such a box school children will get a far more definite idea of insect metamorphosis than they will ever get from a book on zology4 ,such little collections ought to sell well in schools where nature study1 zology1 or agriculture is taught4 ,the mulberry silkworm makes the best silk1 although it is by no means the only silk-spinning insect4 ,every now and then we read of some one who is experimenting with the silk of our ,american or giant silkworms1 the ,promethea or the ,cecropia1 or with the silk spun by spiders4 ,but none as yet compares with ,bombyx mori in either quantity or quality of its product or in ease of rearing or in reeling of the silk4 ,the adult moth lays between three and seven hundred eggs during the first three days after she emerges from her cocoon4 ,in a week or ten days she dies1 her work finished4 ,moths in the wild state are at some pains to deposit their eggs on the favourite food plant of their young1 but in the case of ,bombyx mori this instinct has been lost in the countless years of domestication4 ,the eggs1 when laid1 are moist with a sort of glue which secures them to the surface upon which they are deposited4 ,the winter is passed in the egg stage4 ,a cool1 dry place is safest for them1 where no sudden changes of temperature are possible4 ,a steady temperature of thirty-five degrees is ideal1 and they must be enclosed in something that is mouse proof1 though not air-tight4 ,a perforated tin box is right for this purpose4 ,silkworm eggs for study may be obtained from dealers in miscellaneous insects1 birds1 animals1 etc4 ,as spring approaches you must watch the mulberry leaves and make your preparations4 ,any room in which temperature and ventilation can be regulated will serve for rearing silkworms4 ,you should have some racks made of lattice work1 and shelves1 open to the air1 on which to place them4 ,i have seen a clothes-horse1 with racks resting upon the rungs1 used for this4 ,a supply of cheap wrapping paper or newspapers should be on hand to put on the shelves1 and some coarse netting1 the use of which will be described later4 ,do not make the mistake of getting too many eggs4 ,an ounce does not seem like very much1 but the well-grown worms from an ounce of eggs ought to have at least seventy-five square yards of shelf space4 ,they will require during the first six days only eleven pounds of leaves1 six meals a day1 but during the eight days just before spinning they will require over half a ton of food4 ,imagine lugging in two hundred weight of fresh mulberry leaves five times a day to feed these ravenous things so dependent upon you6 ,illustration3 ,movable frame and light shelves for feeding silkworms ,warmth and moisture are required for hatching the eggs4 ,as the spring advances and the mulberry shows signs of putting forth its leaves1 the silkworm eggs should be spread thinly on sheets of paper on the shelves in a temperature of about fifty-five degrees ,fahr4 ,the temperature should be increased after three or four days and gradually raised to seventy-three degrees ,fahr4 ,sprinkle the floor to make the air moist1 but do not wet the eggs4 ,at this temperature hatching will take place after about ten days' time4 ,watch the eggs4 ,when they begin to whiten you must get to work1 as the first worms will soon be out4 ,take two thicknesses of coarse tulle or bobinet cut the size of the racks4 ,chop some young1 tender mulberry leaves very fine4 ,scatter a thin layer of these bits over the cloth and lightly lay it over the hatching eggs4 ,no sooner do the young silkworms become aware of the presence of their favourite vegetable than they make their way to it1 coming up through the holes of the bobinet as easily as rolling off a log4 ,they are tiny creatures4 ,eight of them laid end to end would hardly measure an inch4 ,as hatching usually takes place in the morning1 by ten o'clock the worms will all have crawled through the netting to the leaves on the upper layer of the net4 ,this can now be transferred to the rearing shelf4 ,the netting should be kept well stretched1 as the worms may be injured if buried down amongst the leaf bits4 ,all through life silkworms must be handled with extreme care4 ,if necessary to lift any individual from one shelf to another it should be done with tenderest touch4 ,rough treatment is fatal4 ,illustration3 ,a clothes-horse fitted with racks for feeding silkworms ,for young worms the newly opened leaves are the best4 ,as they grow older their tastes change and the more mature leaves may be given4 ,a quantity of leaves may be gathered at one time and kept fresh4 ,the leaves themselves should never be put into water4 ,prepare the food by removing the foliage you intend to feed from the stems4 ,then chop or cut it into fine shreds4 ,six times a day a small quantity of the prepared leaf should be sprinkled lightly over the netting4 ,like other caterpillars1 silkworms shed their skins at certain intervals4 ,the six-day period between hatching and the first moult is called the first age4 ,on the fourth day it is best to change the beds1 as the droppings from the worms and the litter of uneaten leaves are not healthy for the moulting caterpillars4 ,spread fresh leaves on nets and place over the worms in the evening4 ,by morning all will be ready for the clean shelf and doubled space4 ,as the sixth day approaches1 the worms lose appetite and cease to move about4 ,finally the skin whitens1 the head seems to grow larger1 and each little creature pulls himself out of his old skin and finds himself clad in a new suit4 ,i imagine he must feel very much as a boy does when on the first really warm day in ,april his mother allows him to shed his winter underwear1 get his hair cut short1 and wear his summer blouse and knickers4 ,the young worm1 however1 does not feel very lively at first4 ,no food should be given for several hours4 ,when signs of waking are evident1 food should be given and the worms transferred to clean shelves by means of the nets4 ,on the third day they should be changed to fresh papers4 ,four meals a day are needed by the caterpillars at this time4 ,the second age is shorter than the first1 being only four or five days4 ,the skin now changes in colour from gray to yellowish white4 ,after the second moult their food need not be cut much1 but they require a lot of it1 as they should double their size during the third age1 which lasts six or seven days4 ,if the weather is pretty warm their development is faster4 ,they should never be crowded nor allowed to go hungry4 ,always change to clean shelves when the dead leaves and excrement become the least offensive4 ,this odour1 which you can escape by leaving the room1 may be deadly to your pets4 ,they are helpless to escape it1 and are entirely at your mercy4 ,during the fourth age1 i4 e41 after the third moult1 give more space and feed small branches with leaves on4 ,always remove every berry from the mulberry branches or the worms will eat them and be made sick4 ,their appetites are enormous1 their growth rapid4 ,change the beds four times during this period of nine days4 ,illustration3 ,a rack or ladder for silkworms to spin on ,after the fourth moult the worms pass into the last age4 ,five or six days of voracious feeding brings them near that most dramatic event in their lives--the cocoon spinning4 ,for three days1 now1 instead of eating steadily they wander aimlessly about1 as if seeking they know not what2 they wag their heads2 they behave in an altogether restless and uncertain way4 ,is it some mortal ailment or mere weakness of intellect8 ,you are expecting this and have prepared for it beforehand4 ,they will not need to search long for a place to mount and spin in safety and security their cocoon of shining silvery silk4 ,farmers' ,bulletin1 ,no4 #afe1 recommends the use of small1 clean1 leafless brush tied together into bundles and fastened between the shelves in rows a foot or so apart4 ,some use a sort of rack or ladder of narrow strips of wood which should be placed upright on the shelf where the worms can easily find it4 ,they spin between the slats4 ,any worms which seem not to be ready to spin with the others should be fed until they1 too1 feel the impulse to travel4 ,as the process of spinning takes some hours1 there will be no difficulty in observing it from start to finish4 ,you are entitled to this exhibition1 for1 without your constant care and feeding1 these creatures would not have been able to develop4 ,the dull1 inactive silkworm has acquired wonderful agility1 and without practice is able to weave himself into his sleeping bag with astonishing celerity1 reeling out his twelve hundred or sixteen hundred yards of silk in one continuous thread4 ,there are no knots or kinks in it4 ,it is inaccurate as well as rather silly to refer to the cocoon as a shroud or burial casket1 as some do4 ,the creature inside is just as much alive as ever it was4 ,the cocoons with the live pup inside are called green cocoons4 ,to prepare them for market they are usually subjected to heat either in the oven or by steaming4 ,no water should touch the cocoons1 neither should the oven be hot enough to brown them4 ,after heating they should be dried in the sun or other heat4 ,open one when you think they may be dry2 if they are1 the pup inside can be rubbed into powder with the fingers4 ,a good price per pound is paid for dried cocoons1 but it takes five hundred or more to weigh a pound4 ,if you have never seen a moth emerge from its cocoon you should keep several of your cocoons4 ,in eighteen or twenty days the moth comes out1 usually in early morning4 ,invite your friends to have a look1 too4 ,must the moth break the threads in getting out1 or is the cocoon woven in a manner to provide a gateway when it shall be needed8 ,how does the creature get out anyway1 and what is it like when it first arrives in the open8 ,wonderful happenings must have been going on inside to make a winged moth out of that naked caterpillar4 ,something left in the cocoon rattles when you shake it4 ,examine the dried ball and you will recognize in it the cast-off clothes1 hat1 coat1 socks1 and boots that he had on when he shut himself in4 ,there1 too1 is the brown shell he wore as a pupa4 ,you may think you know these things by reading about them1 but you do not1 really4 ,hearsay is not the real thing in any realm of life1 least of all in the realm of nature4 ,,ix ,,making ,,collections ,,plants ,collecting plants has always been an important feature of practical scientific work4 ,great sums of money and many years of time have been spent in searching through little-explored countries for new plants4 ,agents of many governments1 representatives of great nursery companies of this and other countries are all the time looking1 looking1 often at the cost of the greatest hardship1 for new plants4 ,why is this8 ,not as you will readily conclude1 merely to add new specimens to museum collections1 nor merely to find and name a new species1 though some collectors are in the field for these purely scientific reasons4 ,but our ,department of ,agriculture is on the lookout for new plants from foreign parts which will be commercially valuable to us4 ,our enterprising nurserymen are after the same game4 ,at the present time very great interest is being taken in plants from western ,china1 a vast and little-explored region4 ,strangely enough1 the plants from that far away country seem to be peculiarly fitted to thrive here1 and while the government and the nurserymen are telling the people about these new plants1 the botanists are trying to discover the reasons why ,asiatic plants fit our conditions better than the plants of ,europe seem to4 ,the making of collections of plants1 then1 is a big1 important work1 and well worth the while of any boy or girl4 ,if you would read stories of exciting adventures1 narrow escapes1 thrilling encounters amid romantic surroundings1 read some of the accounts of scientific explorations4 ,the collectors of plants and insects in the ,philippines1 ,central ,asia1 little-known islands of the far ,east1 and such wild nations1 must needs be men of valour1 and to know any one of them is a liberal education4 ,making a collection of plants is probably not the best way to arouse an interest in outdoor life4 ,indeed it was made such a deadly dull business for me that my early interest was entirely nipped in the bud and lay dormant many1 many years4 ,collecting is one of the recognized and useful ways of introducing ourselves to our neighbours of the vegetable kingdom4 ,living in a plant-infested world as we are elected to do1 eating plants1 wearing their products1 utilizing them in all our arts1 buying and selling them daily1 unable to get through an hour of the day without being constantly reminded of our entire dependence upon the members of the vegetable kingdom1 what is more natural than that we should wish to know them8 ,to know their names is not the end and aim of plant study4 ,the name is a convenient handle for a plant4 ,it enables you to talk about the plant to others without the necessity of a lengthy description4 ,it enables you to read understandingly what other students have said about the plant in books4 ,it is only the beginning1 like the introduction to a stranger4 ,to make of a stranger a friend1 you must know something of his family1 of his relation to the rest of the world1 how he lives1 gets a living1 how he makes use of his faculties1 what are his peculiarities1 his habits1 his environment1 in fact all about him4 ,in discovering the name of a plant by use of a botanical key you learn a few but not all of these things4 ,as with some people so with some plants1 the more you know of them the less you think of them2 the less you wish to have to do with them4 ,take poison ivy for an example4 ,knowing its characteristics you pass it by without touching it4 ,you observe it from afar off1 so as to be able to warn others of its whereabouts4 ,on the other hand1 if you had only known well the giant puff-ball you so wantonly crushed under your heel1 you might have enjoyed a delicious supper of creamed mushrooms4 ,making a collection of plants is an extremely simple job4 ,the materials needed are not expensive nor hard to get4 ,here is a list of what is required for a beginner's collection3 7#a7 ,a dozen or so newspapers4 7#b7 ,driers1 two or three dozen1 #ab #ah inches4 7#c7 ,two boards1 #ab #ah inches4 7#d7 ,a stone of twenty to thirty pounds weight4 7#e7 ,mounting paper4 7#f7 ,genus covers4 ,cut the newspapers into half sheets4 ,each specimen is to be placed in a folded piece of this4 ,the driers may be cheap blotting paper or pieces of carpet felt1 cut to the desired size4 ,arrange a specimen just as it was taken from the ground1 inside of one of the half pages of newspaper4 ,while it is not desirable to put too much time on the arrangement of each specimen1 it is as well to place it in a natural position and in such a way that the leaves will not lie all over each other and the flowers be crowded so that the appearance will be awkward4 ,but do not overdo this3 if a flower droops naturally1 do not make it stick upright4 ,with one of the boards as a foundation build your pile of pressing plants up as follows3 ,lay on two or more driers1 then a folded newspaper holding a specimen1 then a drier or two4 7,if the specimen is a juicy thing1 several blotters are needed between it and the next one47 ,now another specimen1 a drier1 a specimen1 etc41 until you are through with the day's collecting1 or until the pile begins to topple4 ,finish with a drier1 then put on the other board1 and weight it with your big stone4 ,the driers must be changed every day4 ,do not disturb the specimens1 but lift each folded newspaper from the old to the new pile1 building up with fresh driers as before4 ,in a week or ten days most plants will be thoroughly dry4 ,if at all moist they are likely to mould after being mounted and your work will be spoiled4 ,a dried specimen is brittle and needs careful handling4 ,mounting paper1 to be standard and uniform1 should be white1 plain paper of a very heavy quality4 ,it costs a cent a sheet1 size eleven and one half by sixteen and one fourth inches4 ,no other size would be acceptable if you wish at some later time to donate your collection to the local museum or to sell it to some school4 ,there are several ways of fastening specimens to the sheet4 ,some like to use little strips of gummed paper or court-plaster1 but old-fashioned glue is about the most satisfactory stuff4 ,it is mussy to work with till you get your hand in1 but it holds the plants fast to the sheet1 and that's the intintion4 ,it is best to keep the specimens in the newspaper wrappers until you have a lot ready to mount4 ,then with a pot of glue1 a dry cloth1 a damp one1 and a small brush you are ready for business4 ,lift the specimen from the newspaper and lay it first on the mounting sheet to get some idea beforehand of how you will place it4 ,you may have to prune it some to get it all on1 but this is not likely as your drying sheets are the same size as your mounting paper4 ,having decided at what angle to place it1 lay the specimen back on the newspaper upside down4 ,with your brush wet1 but not dripping1 with glue1 brush the stems1 buds1 leaves1 and flowers lightly over the back4 ,lift it again1 turning it over as you transfer it to the white sheet4 ,with a light pressure make the parts fast and lay the sheet aside for the glue to dry4 ,small specimens should occupy a place just a little below the centre of the sheet1 and if more than one specimen is required to show all parts they may be arranged on the sheet as their various shapes and sizes look best4 ,illustration3 ,plants should be mounted on paper #af #aa inches ,a few facts should accompany each plant to refresh your memory of that specimen when you come to study it later4 ,these facts should have been recorded by you in whatever way you like and referred to the specimen by a number while in the press4 ,finally each mounted specimen should have its label1 bearing the name of the plant1 the collector's name1 the date collected1 locality1 and any useful information regarding it4 ,glue the label into the lower right-hand corner1 which should always be reserved for that purpose4 ,these loose sheets1 covered with mounted specimens1 must not be allowed to lie in a shelf or drawer unprotected4 ,each group of them should be put into a folded sheet of manilla paper4 ,such a holder is called a genus cover4 ,its size1 folded1 is eleven and three fourths by sixteen and one half inches4 ,this word genus suggests that in time the collector is going to be able so to classify his specimens that each genus cover may contain only plants so closely related one to another that they are of the same botanical genus4 ,the beginner need not be seriously disturbed if there are many plants in his collection that he does not know the names of yet4 ,the collection is for study or it is worth nothing4 ,knowing plants is more important than knowing names4 ,you cannot handle plants much and observe them in their places without noticing how different they are4 ,then you begin to see that some are more like than others4 ,this is the beginning of classification4 ,you need not know even the common names of the plants to do this1 although you will know some1 of course4 ,professor ,bailey says3 ,learn first to classify plants2 names will follow4 ,look for resemblances1 and group plants round some well-known kind4 ,look for sunflower-like plants1 lily-like1 rose-like1 mint-like1 mustard-like1 pea-like1 carrot-like plants4 ,these great groups are families4 ,after you have handled your common plants a good deal you will be surprised to find how easily you can guess at one's family1 and guess right4 ,when you have reached this stage in your collecting you will feel that you need some book to guide you and act as a check on your studies4 ,all the books mentioned in the lists in this book are useful for beginners4 ,if you find a book which pretends to take the place of the plants themselves1 you would better throw your money away than buy it4 ,instead of helping it will hinder your progress4 ,you will find in beginners' botanies what is known as a key4 ,now1 a key is obviously to unlock something with4 ,if you had a door key which turned with difficulty1 or fitted the lock imperfectly you would be sure to have it repaired or get a more modern one4 ,some of the old botanical keys seem to be rusty and it is difficult to use them4 ,choose the key that works most easily4 ,in making a key for classifying plants one begins by dividing the whole vegetable kingdom into two big departments1 thus3 ,a4 ,plants which never have flowers4 ,,aa4 ,plants which do have flowers4 ,as your specimens are all of the flowering kind we shall for the present forget all about the others and begin to divide our big group ,,aa into smaller groups4 ,this is how it is done3 ,,aa4 ,flowering plants4 ,b4 ,flowers not showy1 seeds in cones 7usually71 leaves needle--or scale-like1 evergreen 7usually74 ,,bb4 ,flowers showy1 seeds not in cones1 leaves of various shapes1 deciduous 7usually74 ,you will see that in dividing a group it is important that ,a is just the opposite of ,,aa1 and ,b is just the opposite of ,,bb1 and that the place to look for ,,bb is just the same distance over from the margin of the page as ,b although it may not be on the same page1 if there are a great many divisions under ,b4 ,these little things make the key easier to use than the old-fashioned ones were4 ,some people still use botanical keys as mental gymnastics but ,i do not believe in that4 ,after all you are studying plants not keys4 ,you will want to go back to the group we called ,a1 for to the non-flowering plants belong the lovely ferns which must certainly grace your collection4 ,this is a delightful group to study and it is possible with a reasonable amount of persistence and by exchanging with fern collectors in other parts of the country to get a very nearly if not quite1 complete collection of native forms4 ,only one hundred and sixty-five of the four thousand species of ferns are native to the ,united ,states4 ,such a collection should be very valuable4 ,some boys and girls lose interest in collecting plants after the first season1 especially if they have done well the first year and secured most of the species in their locality4 ,if the opportunity to collect elsewhere does not come the next spring there can be nothing more interesting than to try to get the same things you already have1 but in some other stage of their growth4 ,for example3 most collections will have several kinds of violets1 blue1 white and yellow1 in all the beauty of their flowering4 ,but whoever thought of getting one that showed the seed pods8 ,what is a violet's seed pod like anyhow8 ,is the seed pod of the white one like that of the yellow8 ,are the seed pods of one plant all alike8 ,when do the pods open and how8 ,how do the seeds germinate and when8 ,these and other questions are waiting to be answered by every plant in your collection4 ,would it not be fine to know the pure white trillium in midsummer when it has grown a leaf nearly a foot across and has a red fleshy seed case thrust up where it will be conspicuous8 ,some plants are far more showy in fruit than in flower and you will begin to see why these and other things are true as you carry on your studies throughout the year4 ,many a teacher of botany is forced to depend upon pictures when she wishes to teach children to discriminate between two kinds of leaves1 kinds of roots1 kinds of stems1 kinds of inflorescence4 ,what a boon to those teachers would be a collection put up to illustrate the lessons as they came along6 ,i wonder if there is not a market for such collections in schools where no herbariums are made or kept4 ,for little children1 making blue prints is delightful occupation4 ,i knew a child of four who learned to recognize the leaves of most of the common trees one spring by means of this work1 and she did every bit of it alone4 ,a small printing frame1 blue print paper of the required size1 and plenty of water is all that is required4 ,a child soon learns to use good judgment in printing1 exposing the frame just long enough to get a fine blue4 ,the outline of the leaf comes out distinctly in white against a blue background4 ,the prints should be thoroughly washed and may be dried on panes of glass4 ,the blue prints of leaves and of flowers do not show anything but the outlines1 of course4 ,leaf prints of other kinds are made which bring out the veining as well4 ,the outfit for this work is simple4 ,two print rollers1 a pane of glass1 and a tube of printers' ink1 sheets of paper to print upon1 and leaves4 ,put a small quantity of the ink on the clean glass1 and work it into a thin film over the surface4 ,lay a leaf upon this film of ink and go over it with the inky roller4 ,transfer the leaf to a sheet of paper and cover with a second sheet4 ,one whirl of the clean roller ought to give you the desired print4 ,it is surprising how delicate and true these are and how perfectly they show the characteristic margin1 indentations1 venation1 and even something of the texture of each leaf4 ,a little practice makes one able to make impressions which are like leaf shadows1 so delicate and lace-like can these prints be made4 ,it is an excellent way of fixing the leaf forms in the memory1 as well as in the note-book4 ,in making a collection of plants the same rules of the game should hold good as in collecting insects and other natural objects4 ,take only what you need4 ,do not uproot and leave to die the near neighbours of the specimens you select4 ,the taking of rare specimens is discouraged4 ,i shall never forget the look of indignation our dear old professor gave an ambitious youth who had uprooted for his paltry collection every plant of a species of rare fern which the professor had been trying for years to re-establish in its old location4 ,after all is said and done1 a live plant is better than a dead one4 ,this is all a part of the great spirit of conservation that has so taken possession of our people of late years4 ,out of these little acts of preserving our resources will grow a more beautiful ,america and a better appreciation of all things beautiful4 ,,collecting ,,sea-,,weeds ,every child ought to be familiar with that musical poem of ,percival's beginning3 ,deep in the sea is a coral grove1 ,where the purple mullet and goldfish rove4 ,and then when the child grows bigger he should have an opportunity to go out in a glass-bottomed boat1 at ,santa ,catalina ,island or elsewhere1 and see for himself that those yellow and scarlet tufts of ocean1 bending like corn on the upland lea1 are not pictures from a poet's dream1 but beautiful realities4 ,sea-weeds are exquisite things and few people can resist the temptation to collect them when spending a vacation at the beach4 ,when going on a collecting trip for these it is well to take a net and two pails1 one small enough to hold the smaller things and carried inside the larger4 ,a heavy knife may be useful1 too4 ,the best time is after the spring-tides1 because at the lowest ebb of the water one may find forms of great beauty and brighter colours than elsewhere4 ,the rocks1 the rubbish left by the tide1 the pools1 the piles1 the sea-wall1 the surface of the waves themselves1 are all good places to look for sea-weeds4 ,they are fewer on sandy beaches than elsewhere4 ,they vary in size from great1 coarse1 leathery rock-weeds to those so delicate as hardly to be seen at all4 ,sea-weeds are real plants1 belonging to that great group of non-flowering plants mentioned before4 ,they are called alg4 ,they do not have true stems and leaves1 neither do they feed by means of roots4 ,many of them are so shaped that they appear to have stems1 roots1 and leaves1 but as these parts do not do the work of true stems1 roots1 and leaves they are not classed as such4 ,the root-like parts of a sea weed are usually simply hold-fasts1 which anchor the plant to the rocks4 ,alg which live in sea-water get their nourishment from the water which washes their entire surface4 ,when collecting alg1 every specimen which is intended for immediate mounting should be kept continuously in sea-water4 ,this is what the pails are for4 ,every part of the plant should be taken1 as the attachment to the rocks is as valuable as the rest4 ,the knife is useful here1 or a staff with a metal point1 for scraping the weeds off the rocks4 ,the natural element of the sea plant is sea-water4 ,do not put your specimens into fresh water even to wash or rinse them1 as they will lose some of their beauty4 ,unless dried soon after gathering they will decay and fade4 ,in collecting1 try and get plants of various sizes even though they look alike4 ,the larger ones may be in the fruiting stage4 ,do your mounting out of doors if possible1 where you can have all the basins of sea-water you want and need not be careful about spilling4 ,if your collection of sea weeds is for a regular herbarium you should by all means have mounting paper of the standard size and quality2 heavy white1 unruled paper1 of a quality which will stand wetting without being spoiled1 eleven and one half by sixteen and one fourth inches4 ,if you are merely making a few souvenirs of your summer at the shore1 your own taste is the only thing to be considered4 ,you will require genus covers1 labels1 etc41 just as for flowering plants4 ,for the work of mounting you will want plenty of driers1 some pieces of muslin the same size1 sheets of standard size mounting paper as described above1 a heavy needle fitted into a wooden handle1 a pair of forceps1 scissors1 two smooth boards1 and weights4 ,for complete enjoyment of the work you will surely have a little magnifying glass1 for your pressed specimens will never be as beautiful as the fresh ones4 ,illustration3 ,sea weed mounted on paper of standard size ,with several shallow dishes of sea-water within easy reach of your hands1 and your pails of specimens floating in sea-water1 you are ready to begin4 ,select your first specimen and lift it with care from the water4 ,dip it up and down gently in clean water4 ,every bit of matter that does not belong strictly to that plant must come off1 and all the sand or other dirt4 ,let it spread out naturally in the water and with your scissors prune it to suit your purpose4 ,some grow in such a bunch that they will not show well on the paper1 others may have to be trimmed to get them onto the page4 ,do not1 of course1 trim them down to look alike but preserve their peculiarities and characteristics4 ,the great charm in a collection of this kind is in its variety4 ,when the plant is absolutely clean1 float it in a dish of clean water4 ,this last dish should be a broad one for now you are to slip your sheet of mounting paper right into the water and get the plant onto it1 floating it out in a natural attitude4 ,this takes a knack1 you may be sure1 but the knack can be acquired with practice4 ,if you can provide yourself with a pane of glass to lay the sheet upon when you take it from the water you will have the best conditions4 ,some people get along very well with a shallow plate4 ,some of the delicate parts will be certain to cling together as you lift them out of the water1 but you can remedy that by dipping a few drops of water onto them and with your needle you can arrange them as you wish4 ,take your time4 ,this is not a job for a person in a hurried mood4 ,examine and admire each piece as you work at it4 ,make it yours for all time1 although you may sell it the following day and never see it again4 ,lay one of your driers on the lower board1 put a mounted specimen all wet as it is1 on this1 then spread over the sheet a piece of muslin1 lay on another drier1 mount another sea-weed1 cover it with cloth and so on you may build up your pile4 ,top it with a drier1 put on the second board1 and your weight1 of ten pounds or so4 ,coarse1 thick alg should not be pressed in the same pile with the fine ones as they would make the pressure uneven4 ,blotters and cloths must be changed every day at first1 dried in the sun to be ready for the next day4 ,after two or three days the cloths may be taken off1 and the plants left in press at least a week longer1 changing driers every day4 ,if you can set aside a regular time each day for this job1 it is not so likely to be forgotten4 ,moulding specimens are very disappointing4 ,after one has made a little collection of sea-weeds all the stories about the wonders of the deep will take on a reality4 ,you will want to read all you can find about the ,sargasso ,sea1 which sounds like a fairy story4 ,maybe you have a specimen of this sea-weed in your collection1 maybe you have been fortunate enough to sail through that vast acreage of vegetation as large as the continent of ,europe1 lying southwest of the ,azores6 ,do you wonder that the first navigators1 sailing uncharted seas1 were alarmed by this vast expanse and thought of course there were concealed shallows beneath the feathery fronds of this gulf weed8 ,you must read1 too1 of some of the giants of the sea-weed tribe2 the devil's apron1 the sea-otter's cabbage1 with its air-vessel as big as a hogshead1 and its stalk a slender cord hundreds of feet in length4 ,these are all alg1 and so are the microscopic plants which produce that wonderful phosphorescence on the surface of the ocean4 ,there are still unsolved mysteries about these plants and there is always a chance that the boys and girls who collect sea-weeds to-day on the beach may in the years to come read some of the secrets now hidden from all eyes4 ,it is well worth while to keep such a big thought in mind even while doing the simple and easy work of mounting specimens4 ,,collecting ,,shells ,of all the kinds of collections of natural objects that ,i have seen1 there is none that has quite so much beauty1 in itself1 as a collection of shells4 ,how easily they can be displayed in a cabinet for our friends to enjoy1 too1 and they are never attacked1 so far as ,i know1 by what we call museum pests1 those destructive little creatures which make life a burden to the owners of collections of insects1 plants1 stuffed birds1 and the like4 ,perhaps the products of the sea possess an especial charm to the landlubber1 but most people admire shells and love to handle them and to wonder where they came from and what kind of creatures built them4 ,did any one ever visit the shore and come home without a pocket bulging with shells8 ,or a big handful tied up in a grimy handkerchief8 ,probably that is the way most of the great collections in the country were begun4 ,you can begin one this summer or any time that you visit a beach1 and add to it daily if you are spending the summer on the shore4 ,as your collection and your interest grow1 you can exchange specimens common on your coast with collectors who live on the other oceans and the ,gulf4 ,remember that every shell is rare until you get it in your cabinet and what is common as the sand on your coast may be a rarity in other parts of the world4 ,you will probably begin your collection by picking up empty shells of various sizes1 colours and shapes4 ,sometimes you will find a pair still held together by the tough tendon that worked the hinge when the bivalve that built the shell was alive and going about his affairs4 ,many of these will be worn by their daily encounter with the tide1 and some will be pierced with small round holes too neatly ground to have been made by accident4 ,these holes give you a hint as to why this shell is empty for they are the work of a band of little pirates which live by boring into their neighbours and sucking their life-blood4 ,many of the dead shells are those of animals which live far out at sea or in the deep water and have been washed ashore when the tide was high4 ,search along the shore where the water has drifted a line of sea-wrack4 ,it looks like rubbish at first glance but it is almost sure to hold many small shells you will want1 some even from far-off coasts4 ,the collector will not long be satisfied to gather only such shells as he finds on the beach4 ,his eyes are opened4 ,what seemed to him at first a flat1 smooth surface of sand strewn with bits of rubbish and a few shells1 most of them not worth picking up1 has awakened into life4 ,every pool has become as a village1 its inhabitants engaged in a variety of occupations4 ,the smooth sand is inhabited4 ,the centre of population is down at the low-water line4 ,the rocks1 the bridge piers1 the wharf piles1 and the sea-walls are seen to be covered with living things4 ,now collecting begins in good earnest4 ,on the sandy beach one needs a net1 a sieve1 and a shovel4 ,the best costume for such work is the same as that worn when bathing4 ,you will need to be in the water part of the time and will not wish to be hampered by anxiety as to clothing4 ,the best time to go is the time you can go1 of course1 but you are more likely to find a great variety of things at the very lowest tide4 ,you have heard of planting by the moon and you are right in supposing that the moon has little influence on potatoes and cabbages4 ,but to go collecting on the sea-shore by the moon is quite reasonable4 ,when the moon is full and when it is new they have what are called spring tides at which times the ebb is lower than ordinarily4 ,after a storm is a fine time to look for things which have been dragged by the force of the water from their anchorage in the depths1 and tossed ashore4 ,when you arrive on the sand all will appear to be quiet4 ,your best plan is to sit still and wait for some signs of life4 ,in a moment some clam may send a jet of water into the air near you4 ,if you are quick enough with your shovel you may catch the joker1 but he has had more practice in the game than you and will probably elude you4 ,watch for bubbles and jets of water and dig frantically4 ,you will be able to work up speed after a few trials and land your fish4 ,after some practice you will be able to unearth many living things you little suspected of being there4 ,crabs of various kinds are common and sea-worms of rainbow colours and curious forms4 ,creatures in snail-like shells1 little and big1 are common in the sand of our coast4 ,as you shovel away try to have presence of mind enough to throw the sand into your sieve4 ,take this to the water's edge and wash it4 ,you will in this way get many small things which you otherwise would not see4 ,do not discard anything about which you have an unanswered question4 ,many of the mollusks leave egg cases on the sand or these are washed in by the tides4 ,they are no less wonderful than the shells1 for they are chapters in the same story4 ,the egg-cases of the whelk are common4 ,those of the skate are called devil's pocket-books by natives4 ,muddy shores have their own special forms1 while rocky coasts differ from all the rest4 ,some creatures1 like the hermit crab1 are abundant everywhere4 ,you can read the story of this fellow in any book on shells4 ,take some of the stories about him with a grain of salt4 ,he may not be as bad as he is painted for much of the gossip about him has never been proven4 ,his affairs need investigation4 ,the creatures which build the shells are for the most part soft bodied and can not be preserved except in some liquid like alcohol or formalin4 ,these would be difficult to transport but will be of greatest value if you are studying the structure of the mollusks4 ,if you wish to preserve the shells only1 you should take great care to free every part from any animal matter that adheres to them4 ,boiling the shell will usually accomplish this4 ,labels should be used and record made of the locality1 date1 collector's name1 and other interesting data4 ,every naturalist of any experience has the note-book habit4 ,many a collector who trusts to his memory finds himself sadly at a loss when he comes to work with his specimens and especially when he wants to write about them4 ,if his note-book tells him the story he will be able to make his account accurate as well as interesting4 ,,collecting ,,insects ,the two principal reasons for making insect collections are first1 to study1 second1 to sell4 ,the beginner's outfit will be the same whichever reason is his4 ,time was when any one carrying an insect net was looked on with a sort of pitying suspicion4 ,he or she was thought to be the victim of a mild form of lunacy1 which might or might not take violent shape4 ,all that is past now that insect study has grown so important and popular4 ,it is quite safe to conclude that the hundreds of trained scientists employed by the government to investigate the problems involving insect life all started their studies by making a collection4 ,probably the easiest kind of collection to make is one of plants4 ,once you see them1 their fate is sealed4 ,escape is impossible4 ,but collecting wild plants about your own door yard and in the woods is tame work compared to insect capturing4 ,your eye marks a butterfly or a dragon fly for your own1 but you have him yet to reckon with and his wings may carry him far beyond your reach4 ,the outfit necessary to an insect collector is simple and inexpensive4 ,for general collecting1 and that is the best for a beginner1 you need3 #a4 ,a net4 #b4 ,a killing bottle4 #c4 ,insect pins4 #d4 ,insect boxes4 ,while you can add to your collection almost every day in the year when once you have the fever1 the best time to begin is summer4 ,more insects are in evidence then1 and their active flight1 their beautiful colours1 and wonderful variety of form all help arouse the interest4 ,as the collection grows you will find that many insects can be captured without a net1 but as you will want every new butterfly1 moth1 dragon fly1 and grasshopper that comes into your line of vision you must certainly have a net the first thing4 ,the materials needed for a net are these3 #a4 ,a smooth1 light1 but strong handle about three feet in length4 7,an old broom handle will answer47 #b4 ,a strip of tin1 four inches wide1 and long enough to fit around the handle4 7,why not use a piece of a tin can if you have strong shears87 #c4 ,three and a half feet of heavy wire4 7,no4 #c galvanized is the thing47 #d4 ,a piece of cheese cloth1 three fourths of a yard4 7,get a good grade to stand a season's wear47 ,almost every boy knows a tinsmith and when it comes to putting these materials together1 the services of a skilled workman are very valuable4 ,if pocket money is scarce1 there are any number of jobs a boy can do for the tinsmith in exchange for his help in making the net4 ,that piece of wire is to form the ring which holds the cheese cloth bag2 the ring must be fastened securely into the end of the handle4 ,bend the wire into a circle a foot in diameter1 then bend back three inches of both ends and force them into the end of the handle1 a hole for the purpose first having been made by burning or boring4 ,bend the tin round the handle at the net end to keep it from splitting when in use1 and tack it on tight4 ,illustration3 ,insect net ,if you know how to sew you are more fortunate than most of the boys ,i know1 although why should not a boy learn to use a sewing machine8 ,the bag ought to be sewed on the machine4 ,you must first lay the finished edge or selvedge around the wire to make sure that it goes around and has a little extra for the seam4 ,pin the cloth together where it meets around the wire1 then lay it on a table1 double4 ,cut the bag1 rounding the bottom neatly4 ,cheese cloth is the worst stuff to ravel1 and if you sew the bag with a single seam you will soon be sorry4 ,pin the cloth so that the two edges are exactly together and sew a seam about a quarter of an inch wide all the way round4 ,now turn the bag inside out and fold it so that the seam you just made will be right on the edge4 ,sew another seam1 three eighths of an inch deep this time4 ,the ragged edge of the goods will now be inside of this second seam and can not fray out and make a nuisance of itself4 ,if all this is worse than ,dutch to you1 take the bag to your sister4 ,she is not so much cleverer than you but the chances are that if you ask her to sew you a ,french seam1 she will make it just as ,i have described4 ,sew the finished bag onto the wire with heavy double thread and your net is ready for use4 ,materials to make a killing bottle3 #a4 ,a wide-mouthed bottle4 7,i advise every collector to have two bottles1 one to carry in the pocket all the time1 the other for special trips for large things4 ,for the first a small olive oil bottle1 a test tube1 or any convenient sized bottle with a mouth nearly or quite as large as the body of the bottle4 ,a fruit jar1 pint size1 does well for the very large things47 #b4 ,a cork which fits the bottle tightly1 and is an inch long4 ,a cork any shorter than this is an aggravation as it is so unhandy4 #c4 ,a lump of cyanide of potassium as big as a hickory nut for the small bottle1 two or a little more for the big bottle4 ,yes1 cyanide is a deadly poison1 and the druggist will not sell it to you and your father will not let you buy it4 ,but if you convince your mother that she can trust you to use a cyanide bottle as it is intended to be used1 her objections will melt away4 ,just as likely as not she and your father1 too1 and your teacher1 and maybe the druggist all made insect collections when they were your age and one or the other will make your cyanide bottles for you following these directions3 ,illustration3 ,killing bottle #d4 ,a teacup full of plaster of ,paris4 ,handle the cyanide with a couple of sticks or drop the lumps from the paper into the bottles so as not to touch them with your fingers1 mix a little of the plaster of ,paris and water till it is like a thin paste and pour enough in on the lumps of cyanide to entirely cover them4 ,put in on top of this all the dry plaster of ,paris the water will take up4 ,let the bottle stand open for an hour or so1 then wipe it out with a rag1 which may be burned afterward4 ,put in the cork and your killing bottle is ready to do its share toward making a collection for you4 ,don't forget to label your bottles poison1 and always be careful not to inhale the fumes4 ,the smell of the breath of the bottle will be enough to remind you4 ,it was a ,japanese student1 who1 when he found one of his pinned moths had come to life and beaten its wings to pieces in the box1 said3 ,it ought-a be dead4 ,he in cy'ni' bot'l' a' night4 ,i should not wish to be quite so stoical4 ,his bot'l' was probably an old one1 which did its work too slowly4 ,,mounting ,,insects ,the first insects ,i ever saw in a collection were a sorry sight4 ,beautiful as the specimens had been1 they were all spoiled by the collector4 ,the moths were all out of shape1 wings half folded1 the pins used were short common pins1 and every specimen was disfigured with masses of verdigris1 they were pinned into rough boxes in higgledy-piggledy fashion1 and showed every sign of neglect and careless handling4 ,my interest in insect collecting did not date from that hour but from a look ,i had at a friend's cabinet years later4 ,the first mistake a beginner makes is to use common pins4 ,really1 before you begin to collect1 you ought to send away for a supply of ,german insect pins4 ,these can be bought from dealers in entomological supplies and a hundred each of ,nos4 #c and #e will cost thirty cents4 ,with them your collection may be salable1 and you may exchange your duplicates with other collectors1 while if you use common pins your specimens will have no commercial value1 and will soon be spoiled1 by the corroding of the pins4 ,illustration3 ,cross-section of spreading-board1 showing construction ,the first insect you get will probably be a butterfly1 or a moth1 for these showy ones are all you are able to see4 ,later the smaller ones will attract your attention4 ,therefore you will not be able to mount your first specimen properly without a spreading-board4 ,the drawing of one which appears on this page will tell you more about how to make as well as how to use it than any amount of description4 ,if you can earn seventy-five cents more easily than by making a set of three of these in assorted sizes1 you can buy for that amount an adjustable one which will serve you for all winged insects of all sizes4 ,illustration3 ,spreading-board1 in use ,i will suppose that you have captured your first butterfly4 ,do get a good sized one first as it will be easier to learn on that than on a small one4 ,an hour in a freshly made cyanide jar is long enough to insure a painless death4 ,if any one calls you a cruel boy at this time1 assure the person that butterflies are very short-lived and that this one would have been eaten by a bird within an hour or two anyhow4 ,the cyanide is the least painful form of dying for the butterfly4 ,its work is probably done1 already4 ,you can prove that you do not kill insects for the fun of seeing them die1 by putting the bottle back in your pocket where they can die in private1 and by never killing any unless you need them for your collection4 ,a few duplicates for exchange is also legitimate4 ,it does not injure a specimen to leave it in the jar over night4 ,if you cannot spread it immediately1 do not take it from the jar1 as when dried they cannot be spread1 as they are very brittle4 ,if you never looked at a butterfly before1 you will look at this one4 ,you will note that it has four broad wings attached to a rounded body4 ,the portion of the body to which the wings are fastened is called the thorax4 ,for a medium-sized insect1 a ,no4 #c pin should be taken4 ,the butterfly should be pinned through the thorax1 half way between the front wings4 ,direct the pin so that it will come out in the middle on the under side of the thorax4 ,one fourth of the pin's length should remain above the insect4 ,this may seem a small matter but insects unevenly pinned look badly1 and it spoils their salability4 ,you will want some black-headed pins for use on the spreading-board4 ,common pins hurt the fingers1 insect pins are too flexible and expensive4 ,pin strips of paper on to hold the wings in place4 ,with the picture of butterflies on a spreading-board as a model1 you will1 after some experience1 get so that you can do this well4 ,it is no job for an impatient person1 though4 ,leave the butterfly on the board until it is thoroughly dry1 which takes three days4 ,put the board where the air can have free circulation around it1 but not the mice4 ,illustration3 ,showing how to pin common insects ,the only insects that are not pinned through the middle of the thorax are the beetles1 those hard-shelled creatures like ,june bugs 7which ought to be called ,may beetles71 and potato bugs 7which are also beetles74 ,if you put a pin through the centre of a beetle's thorax1 it spreads the wings out in an unnatural way4 ,so collectors agree to pin them through the right wing-cover4 ,illustration3 ,pin butterflies through the thorax1 between the front pair of wings ,your next requirement will be boxes to put the specimens in4 ,many a fine collection has been begun in ordinary cigar boxes4 ,at first you will probably try to pin the insects right into the bottom of the box4 ,after you have spoiled two or three of your rarest ones1 bent a dozen or so expensive pins1 you will conclude that the wood is too hard and does not hold the pins well4 ,be warned in time to save yourself this bother4 ,the boxes should be lined with a thin layer of some material which1 though soft enough to push a pin into easily1 must at the same time be elastic and firm enough to hold the pins4 ,cork1 linoleum1 and slices of pith are all used4 ,you may have noticed1 though1 if you have been to a large1 up-to-date museum1 that the specimens of insects are all pinned into solid blocks of wood4 ,many an hour ,i have spent pinning specimens into blocks in their permanent places in a great museum collection4 ,it is hard work and has to be done with a tool4 ,when once fastened on a block the insect is supposed to be a fixture2 when it moves the block goes along4 ,but the material you use in your boxes ought to be soft enough to make shifting of specimens easy4 ,for example1 at first you will get a great assortment4 ,a butterfly to-day1 a beetle or two to-morrow1 a pair of moths the next day1 some crickets1 a dragon fly1 a cicada1 a waterbug1 and so on4 ,take everything unless you already have it4 ,that is the only way to collect4 ,if you say1 ,oh1 ,i'll get a better one to-morrow1 the chances are that the season will go by and you will not get that variety at all4 ,illustration3 ,glass-topped insect case ,,classification ,your first box full will be a varied assortment4 ,when you have all you can conveniently pin into three boxes without crowding1 you will want to arrange them4 ,if you have begun to study science you will know what classify means4 ,every school is made up of classes4 ,so with insects4 ,you will know by the looks of the insects that certain ones belong together4 ,a good way to start is to put all the butterflies and moths into one box4 ,you may not know what you have done1 but you have simply separated the members of the order ,lepidoptera from all the others4 ,look over those that are left and you will see that some1 like the blundering ,june bug1 have their wings so placed that a straight line appears down the middle of the back4 ,these belong together1 regardless of their colour1 size1 shape1 habits1 or other considerations4 ,they belong to the order ,coleoptera4 ,grasshoppers1 katydids1 and crickets belong to another group and can be pinned together4 ,all the flies have two wings1 and belong in a group apart from all the four-winged ones4 ,the dragon flies go together4 ,you will have representatives of other orders1 less easy to distinguish1 but by the time your collection has grown to this extent you will be ready for some beginner's book on entomology1 which will make further classification simple enough4 ,as you shift your specimens from one box to another observe a certain regularity of arrangement4 ,the heads should all point in one direction4 ,when pinning a group all of which are about one size1 set the pins all in line1 in military fashion4 ,how much better they look6 ,this neat1 formal arrangement of the specimens adds greatly to your satisfaction and enjoyment of your collection4 ,avoid crowding and breakage4 ,a dried specimen is almost everlasting1 but at the same time it is the most fragile thing you can imagine4 ,as your collection grows in size1 value1 and interest1 you will certainly want wooden cases4 ,perhaps your manual training teacher will be willing to let you build a box under his direction4 ,a cabinet-maker can make them at one dollar or less1 apiece1 of well-seasoned basswood4 ,before you have been collecting long1 you will have learned by observation quite a lot about insects and their ways4 ,you will know that some localities are very poor collecting ground1 that other places yield an abundant variety2 that the best time for butterflies is in a sunny forenoon2 while moths are abroad in the early twilight and later4 ,you will see that dragon flies are fond of flying about over streams or ponds and you may wonder why as you try in vain to net a fine one without getting your feet wet4 ,other insects are frankly aquatic and you can get them only by dipping your net in4 ,it is well to have a second net if you expect to do much water collecting as the cloth is hard to smooth out after a wetting4 ,as a majority of insects are vegetarian you will naturally seek among plants for specimens4 ,if the winged forms are not eating the foliage you may discover that they are laying eggs on the leaves of the food plant on which their young must develop4 ,if you live in town you will find it worth while to carry your bottle with you when you go out in the evening4 ,nocturnal insects of all kinds are attracted to electric lights1 many of them to their death1 as you will see4 ,a candle in your open window will attract some valuable additions to your collection and also some you will sleep better without4 ,some collectors care nothing for a specimen unless it is rare4 ,a better way is to regard them all as rare until you secure a specimen for your box1 and of equal value towards building up a complete collection4 ,a ,,life ,,history ,,collection ,you can not collect insects very long before you begin to see a lot of things you never noticed before4 ,you see leaves cut or eaten in strange forms1 or you find a cluster of tiny eggs on a leaf1 or several leaves sewed or stuck together with strands of silk4 ,perhaps you find strange abnormal growths on certain plants1 swellings on their stems1 leaves transformed into balls1 or pod-like or cone-like affairs which do not look natural4 ,these things are sure to arouse your curiosity4 ,sometimes the answer to your question is right there4 ,cut open a swollen golden-rod stalk and you will find the culprit which caused the plant to grow that way4 ,but how did the footless1 helpless grub get there and when8 ,you break down the mud-dauber wasp's nest from among the rafters of some building4 ,what is that yellowish object that rolls from among the ruined adobe walls8 ,look6 ,it is a spider4 ,what business has a spider in the wasp's nest1 if it is her nest8 ,spiders have none too good a reputation1 but this spider does not act very spry4 ,seems to be alive1 yet not alive4 ,the secret of the relation between the spiders and the wasps you can read in many a book4 ,you might even guess at it1 but there was no guess work about the observer who first studied out this secret4 ,he did not get his knowledge from books4 ,he patiently watched the mud-dauber going about her house building4 ,he knew that her painstaking labour could have but one meaning4 ,she was building not a home for herself1 but for her children4 ,the wasp's children are not little wasps1 yet they are none the less young wasps for being footless1 colourless1 wingless1 stingless grubs4 ,they are eggs at first of course1 just as all insects are4 ,when the mother wasp has one cell of her apartment house finished she concerns herself immediately with stocking the larder4 ,knowing the tastes of her yet unborn young1 she leaves for a time the mud hole1 and visits the haunts of certain spiders4 ,finding one to her liking1 she captures it4 ,not appreciating the fact that the law forbids the use of preservatives in meats1 she injects a drop of some wonder-working fluid into the spider and preserves the creature1 not only fresh but alive1 though paralyzed4 ,upon the inert body she places an egg1 then seals the cell1 well assured in her mind that when the grub hatches it will find the food just as she left it and just enough to nourish the young one to maturity4 ,before your first season of collecting is past you will find yourself bringing home as specimens many insects which you will see are not fully grown4 ,little grasshoppers1 scarcely bigger than a fly yet possessed of such strength of leg that they can hurl themselves into the air for a distance equal to twenty times their own length4 ,how do you know that they are young grasshoppers and not fully grown ones of some tiny race8 ,look at one closely and you will see a look of youth about him that is unmistakable4 ,he is fuzzy1 his head is too big for him1 his legs out of all proportion to the rest of him4 ,then1 too1 he has no wings1 just little buds where the wings will be some day4 ,by these tokens you will know him for a baby4 ,you can find them in all sizes and can have a series to show the stages of growth4 ,this is one of the first steps in the making of a ,life ,history ,collection1 far more valuable to the naturalist than a collection containing only mature insects4 ,generally speaking1 all adult insects have wings1 and all winged insects are adults4 ,there are exceptions to this1 but they will take their places when the time comes4 ,the young of the insects belonging to certain orders resemble their parents enough so as to be placed where they belong at a glance4 ,this is true of the grasshoppers1 katydids1 and crickets1 of the true bugs which include the squash-bugs1 the chinch-bug1 the stink-bug and others4 ,of most of the other orders this is not true4 ,the young do not look at all like the adults4 ,in many cases as1 for example1 the dragon fly and the mosquito1 they are fitted in the immature stages to a life in the water4 ,they must1 on this account1 have organs for swimming1 for aquatic breathing1 and for getting a living in the water4 ,the forms of these young insects are just as varied as those of the adults1 but they do not resemble the winged ones in the least4 ,the life history collection must contain specimens of the immature forms of insect life as well as adults if it is to be most useful and complete4 ,some orders of insects1 as for example the moths1 butterflies1 beetles1 flies1 bees1 wasps1 ants1 and others pass through four distinct changes of form4 ,they always follow the same order4 ,every generation1 beginning with the egg1 passes next to the larva 7called caterpillar or incorrectly worm1 or grub1 or maggot71 on to the pupa1 then to the adult4 ,the egg of an insect is often a most beautiful object4 ,with a hand lens1 which every collector will surely need1 one can see its delicate colouring1 its pearl-like shell1 its curiously carved or sculptured surface4 ,to get some idea of the great variety in form1 colour1 shape1 and markings of insects' eggs1 ask at your library for a book on butterflies1 with coloured plates1 and the chances are that you will be surprised4 ,the second or larval stage of the insect's life is the eating1 growing stage4 ,during this stage the young bee1 butterfly1 ant1 or moth moults several times4 ,in this process the entire old skin is shed1 an operation well worth seeing4 ,under the old coat a new one has formed1 which being larger1 accommodates itself to the insect's increased size4 ,the larval stage is in the case of many insects the active time when1 if they are vegetable feeders1 they injure crops4 ,when the larva has completed its growth it changes into a pupa4 ,some insects pass this third stage inside of silken cases they spin about themselves1 others1 after shedding the larval skin1 find themselves each clad in a sort of horny coat of mail4 ,we call these chrysalides4 ,some larv creep away into the ground1 there to shed their old coats and rest inside of the pupa cases which nature provides4 ,each one follows the fashion of his own family and is in no danger of being mistaken for any one else4 ,out of the pupa1 whether it be cocoon1 chrysalis1 or just plain pupa case1 comes the adult4 ,the main business of adult insects is to reproduce their kind4 ,after the eggs are laid there is little excuse for their living4 ,in the case of a great many kinds of insects death follows soon after4 ,there are some noted exceptions to this rule as for instance the wasps which build with so much skill and patience the homes in which to rear their young1 the ants and the bees1 both social and solitary1 which carry on such a complicated home life4 ,of these highly civilized insects only a word can be spoken here4 ,from the chapter on ,bee-,keeping and from other books you may learn of the wonders they perform4 ,we must return now to our life history collection4 ,how the subject opens as we add specimens of cocoons and pupa cases to the collection6 ,to get a complete series illustrating the life1 let us say1 of one of our common butterflies1 the monarch or milk-weed butterfly1 you should visit the clusters of milk-weed along the roadside or anywhere1 in the forenoon of a sunny ,july or ,august day4 ,a few butterflies are probably flitting about in rather casual fashion4 ,watch them light on the leaves1 mark the leaf with your eye and hurry to the spot4 ,search well4 ,the tiny speck of pale yellow may be a drop of milk but if it stands up on the leaf it is likely to be a butterfly's egg4 ,your lens will tell you4 ,having made sure of one you will find others4 ,you may find a young caterpillar lunching on the leaf4 ,if just out of the egg it is a dull lead colour1 but when half grown a young monarch is striped with rings of greenish yellow and black4 ,though handsome as to colour scheme1 this caterpillar has manners unbecoming a plain citizen1 let alone a monarch4 ,touch its back with a grass stem and see what happens4 ,if time permits you should visit your clump of milk-weed daily or better still take home the eggs and the young caterpillars4 ,keep the food plant fresh in a jar of water and get more when needed4 ,as you want a specimen of the egg-shell for your collection1 you must be on the spot when the young caterpillars come out4 ,they sometimes eat the shell the first thing4 ,it is a delicate operation to glue a thing as frail as this shell onto a dried milk-weed leaf1 and you may have to content yourself with making a sketch of it on a small square of drawing paper4 ,pin the leaf or the drawing in the box4 ,it is not easy to keep specimens of caterpillars4 ,there is a method of preparing the inflated skins1 but as the process is a difficult as well as a ghastly one1 you can wait till you go to college to learn it4 ,for the milk-weed caterpillar ,i suggest instead1 a coloured drawing4 ,when your caterpillars are full-sized they will transform into chrysalides4 ,it is worth sitting up all night to see a sight like this4 ,when a caterpillar spins a little mat of silk and suspends itself by a tail-hook1 you will know that the performance is about to begin4 ,the chrysalis is a lovely light green with spots of gold upon it4 ,all this beauty was hidden under the skin of the caterpillar4 ,with an egg1 a caterpillar1 a chrysalis1 and an adult you have all four stages of the monarch's life represented4 ,,insect ,,homes ,nothing in the insect world interests me more than their homes4 ,the collector sees many of these in his rounds1 and begins to consider how he can complete his series by adding samples of them as specimens to his collection4 ,i was lucky enough to find1 when on a collecting trip one day1 a curious structure made of mud on a weed stem4 ,it was declared by the professor to be an ants' cow-shed4 ,knowing that the museum specimen was in a bad state of repair ,i readily offered my find to replace it4 ,the professor refused the gift1 but offered me what he thought it was worth4 ,i accepted and bought a pair of shoes with the money1 which shows that these things have a market value4 ,it is well to press a specimen of the favourite food plant of a species of insect and make it a part of the collection4 ,but dried butterflies1 fastened in utterly unnatural attitudes upon dried plants they would scorn to eat in life1 framed or put under glass globes on the parlour table do not appeal to the naturalist4 ,they are fakes pure and simple4 ,there will be a few among the many who begin to make collections of various kinds who will keep at it4 ,i know one young man who sold his stamp collection for enough to take him on his first trip abroad4 ,six hundred dollars was the sum realized1 ,i believe4 ,those of you who have read ,mrs4 ,gene ,stratton-,porter's story ,the ,girl of the ,limberlost remember that the girl sold ,indian relics and insects enough to send herself to high school and start a college fund4 ,she made up little life history collections to illustrate the talks she gave as special teacher of nature study in the grades in a city school system4 ,the ,limberlost girl had an offer of three hundred dollars for a complete collection of the butterflies and moths of the ,united ,states4 ,she had a wonderful collecting ground in and about the big swamp1 and she had enough duplicates to exchange with other collectors for things she could not get at home4 ,in order to have perfect specimens1 both male and female1 she made breeding cages and reared the moths and butterflies4 ,she dug in the earth about the tree roots and other likely places for pup1 she searched the shrubs and vines and trees for hanging cocoons1 she brought in innumerable eggs1 caterpillars1 and chrysalides and the story of her successes and failures fills many delightful pages4 ,it all rings so true that you can't help hoping that you may see her insect collection some day1 and hear her tell how she brought this butterfly up by hand1 how she had to wait a year to get a male to complete one series1 how narrowly she escaped the quicksands in a wild chase she had for another1 and other details of her occupation4 ,,rearing ,,insects ,illustration3 ,bandbox breeding-cage for insects ,breeding insects is easy4 ,look at the home-made breeding-cage illustrated on this page4 ,materials needed3 ,one round or oval hat box1 a strip of wire screen1 two and a half feet wide or so and long enough to fit around the inside of the box and lap three inches4 ,either sew the screen together in the form of a cylinder or fasten it every six inches with paper fasteners4 7,any way to keep it together good and tight47 ,push the screen down inside the box till it touches the bottom1 put the lid on and you are ready for business4 ,if the screen is too wide you will have trouble in reaching to the bottom of the box which you will have to do sometimes1 for one reason or another4 ,into breeding-cages made on this general plan you can put all sorts of material while waiting developments1 and get many additions to your collection that you would otherwise miss entirely4 ,some surprising facts are often discovered by accident4 ,a breeding-cage containing a female ,cecropia1 one of our largest and most beautiful moths1 was accidentally left near an open window over night4 ,the next morning between twenty and thirty moths of that species were found fluttering about the cage4 ,they had evidently been attracted from some distance1 but found their way to their imprisoned sister unerringly4 ,collectors have many ways of capturing night flying moths4 ,one way is known as sugaring4 ,this consists of daubing a sticky1 sweet preparation on the trunks of trees and visiting the baits later in the evening with cyanide jars and capturing the specimens which are attracted by the odour to the feast set for them4 ,it is unsportsmanlike and entirely unnecessary to put any poisonous substance in the bait and this practice should be darkly frowned upon4 ,the best places for sugaring are these3 a strip of woodland edging a stream1 the rim of the woods adjoining an open field or pasture1 old roadways through woods of beech1 oak1 chestnut1 or any mixed growth1 wooded slopes in city parks where there is some protecting undergrowth1 anywhere about the old groves surrounding country homes4 ,windy or wet nights are not the best for sugaring1 neither are moonlight nights4 ,the ideal night for this is the evening after a hot1 sticky day in late summer1 the sky overcast and dark but not foggy4 ,you will need a lantern to work by4 ,keep calm4 ,quick1 nervous movements frighten away more moths than the light4 ,the following is the unspeakable concoction recommended by one collector as the best ever for baiting moths3 ,four pounds darkest sugar4 ,one quart ,new ,orleans molasses4 ,one pint stale beer or ale4 7,this should have been allowed to stand uncorked in a warm place for a week1 before using it47 ,mix all together and heat gradually4 ,boil till about as thick as varnish1 which takes about five minutes4 ,when cool add four ounces of ,jamaica rum4 ,cork loosely and keep in a cool place4 ,the strong odour of this mixture pervades the air for a long distance1 and proves attractive to the olfactories of moths though none of us would care to have it about4 ,a good evening's work at sugaring ought to furnish moths enough to keep you busy spreading all the next forenoon4 ,a night in the cyanide jar will do them no injury4 ,it is well to have a pair of light pincers to take specimens out with4 ,if all are emptied out at once some will dry too much before you are ready to spread them4 ,every time they are handled they lose part of the scales and become slightly defective4 ,if practical1 put the very large specimens into the jar hinder end first4 ,this will make it easier to get them out head first4 ,it is almost inevitable that the inveterate collector of insects shall become a naturalist4 ,by constant watching1 he discovers how insects live1 and how they affect plants4 ,he will witness many a tragedy4 ,he will find that there are among them thieves and robbers1 pirates1 cannibals1 assassins1 scavengers1 and disease carriers4 ,he will witness many acts of heroic self-denial1 some feats of strength1 endurance tests1 and acrobatic turns4 ,he will admire the ingenious architecture and wonder at the never ending variety of forms1 colours1 and markings they exhibit4 ,many questions will come up in the course of his studies4 ,he may seek the books in vain for information on some of the commonest insects of the garden4 ,entomology is a new science4 ,boys and girls who begin the study by collecting their first insect to-day may1 before they stop1 discover some important fact to add to the sum of human knowledge and make the world a better place to live in4 ,x ,,odd ,,jobs ,,kindling ,,wood ,cutting kindling wood was ever a boy's job4 ,most set tasks have little to them but drudgery4 ,but cutting kindling used to be interesting4 ,what is there about it8 ,the struggle to master a stubborn stick1 the danger that a slip may bring the axe down elsewhere than on the stick1 or that a careless blow may cause the stick to rebound1 leap into the air1 and give the chopper a whack on the head8 ,scarcely a boy but can show a hatchet's scar on the foot and ,i know a girl who will always carry one in the place where most people carry a corn4 ,the problem of a source of kindling supply on the farm is never one to be reckoned with4 ,there are always old fences going to pieces1 old buildings being torn down1 and the problem is rather how to store the supply where it can be had when needed4 ,in town things are different4 ,the fences1 if any1 are iron1 the buildings are few and kept in repair because they cost so much to build4 ,there are practically no loose boards lying around and kindling has to be bought outright4 ,the ex-farmer always resents this as an uncalled-for expense4 ,but kindling is a necessity wherever fires are to be made4 ,no patent article quite fills the bill4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,an ,odd ,job ,that is ,never ,out of ,date ,why should grown men monopolize the kindling business8 ,because there is good money in it8 ,but any boy can go into this business1 if he has any spunk4 ,the capital required is very small4 ,if your credit is good you can borrow a hatchet4 ,the chances are that spunk will supply the wood4 ,it may be rotting in somebody's wood lot waiting till the right boy comes along4 ,boys in the ,south are lucky4 ,they can get fat pine which is in great demand both ,north and ,south4 ,some say the supply has given out1 but who believes such tales8 ,the demand for this will never be less than now and there is no substitute for fat pine4 ,collecting driftwood is another occupation for boys1 sea-coast boys1 this time4 ,a kind of substitute for this is being sold4 ,it is a mixture of chemicals and does very well for toy fireplaces in city apartments4 ,but the real thing will always bring a fancy price4 ,it is the common practice of ,american lumbermen to regard no part of the tree as valuable1 but the trunk4 ,all the rest is rubbish and the expense of trimming off the branches reduces the amount of profit on every log4 ,some day when our young foresters get enough experience to see all round the great subject they are working at1 they will think out ways of disposing economically of the tops and branches of the cut trees4 ,this is one of the big problems of forestry for these reasons3 7#a7 ,the huge amount of this refuse wood chokes out the young growth and the forest cannot renew itself as it would naturally4 7#b7 ,the brush dries quickly and whenever a small fire gets started there is fresh food for it everywhere4 7#c7 ,the brush prevents the fighters from making their way to the threatened district4 ,they have to fight the brush piles before they get to the fire4 ,this refuse wood might be put to a number of uses1 e4 g41 for pulp wood1 thus saving the trunks for lumber2 for fuel1 nothing makes better fires than the smaller limbs2 for kindling1 the branches which are too small to use for stove wood make splendid kindling1 particularly for fireplaces4 ,some of us think gathering faggots too slow and laborious4 ,but we needn't make work of it4 ,when ,i see men1 women and children poking over the masses of evil-smelling rubbish on the mammoth dump-heaps that deface the landscape near some of our great cities1 or going from house to house collecting old iron or rubber or newspapers1 or picking over the slag along the railways for chance lumps of coal1 ,i wish that there were some way of getting them away into the woods where firewood is rotting and doing harm besides1 a waste that works both ways1 you see4 ,there is no excuse for the poor people of a village near woods suffering for fuel4 ,they needn't steal4 ,let them get permission from the owner to clean up his wood lot4 ,it will be good for the wood lot and the owner knows it if he is an intelligent man4 ,the boys and girls are much safer gathering faggots in the woods than coal along the tracks4 ,faggots for kindlings bring a fair price1 too1 and ,i recommend it as a way of earning money out of your father's wood lot if he has one4 ,in some villages in ,germany the people have the right to break off in the forest all the branches that they can reach when standing on the ground4 ,in those forests there is never any loss of life1 nor lumber1 by fires1 no choking out of young growth by brush piles4 ,you could walk through the forest there and see in every direction miles and miles of clean trunked trees of varying ages1 but no underbrush1 no rubbish1 no decaying logs1 no diseased wood4 ,maybe those thrifty ,german people made mistakes when their country was as young as ours4 ,but they found out the way to take care of their forests hundreds of years ago and we can learn how from them4 ,,cleaning ,a ,,carriage ,if you get home late at night after a drive in the mud the chances are that you will not clean the carriage till the next day4 ,but if thin mud is allowed to dry on a varnished surface it will be sure to leave spots4 ,water is the first aid to the injured in cleaning highly polished vehicles4 ,plenty of it should be flushed onto the varnish1 the mud washed off by the force of the water rather than being rubbed off or scraped off4 ,keep your buggy out of the bright sunlight when not in use1 especially when it is wet4 ,slow drying is better for the varnish4 ,a coarse sponge is a good thing to wash a carriage with2 this should be thoroughly rinsed after each rub to free it from grit4 ,never use soap on varnish4 ,it may be used on the metal parts of the carriage4 ,prepared chalk is the best for polishing the ornamental parts4 ,for glass1 clean water and a cloth or chamois skin are all you need4 ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,orchard ,illustration3 ,shield-budding ,many are the light jobs in the orchard or fruit plantation1 which fall to the boys4 ,i know a boy who at thirteen was his father's expert budder4 ,there are high school boys in localities where nurseries and orchards are plentiful who follow this as a trade1 making good wages at it4 ,it is a wonderful thing to do1 a very neat job in handicraft1 and while a book might tell how it is done1 nobody could learn how to bud or graft without seeing it done and then trying1 till the trick is learned4 ,boys also follow the grafter and tie in the bud or wax the graft4 ,boys are often employed in vineyards to follow the pruners and tie the vines to the trellis or wire with rags or raffia4 ,they become very expert and tie an incredible number in a day4 ,in fact many of the light jobs grow pretty heavy after eight or nine hours4 ,,making ,,rustic ,,furniture ,collecting material for making rustic furniture is a pastime that is suggested by walks in the woods4 ,sometimes a bit of twisted branch may look like the arm of a settee or the leg of a tea-table4 ,procuring the first part suggests the quest for the other pieces and the fitting them together to make a natural looking1 balanced1 artistic piece4 ,rustic furniture to be good1 should appear to have grown that way4 ,there is too much of the kind that looks as if it were made to sell4 ,the truth is that the more truly artistic it is the better price it will bring in the right market4 ,laurel wood is particularly adapted for rustic furniture4 ,,selecting ,,seed ,,corn ,by a careful study of what experts have to say about the best corn for seed1 and of the photographs of ears of prize corn1 any young man of intelligence may learn to select from his father's field the best corn for seed4 ,it may be that your father buys his seed corn from a seedsman4 ,my experience is that seed corn bought in bulk contains a large number of poor grains4 ,they probably shell the whole ear4 ,the best farmers never plant grains from tips or butts of ears1 since it costs just as much to plant and cultivate and harvest a runty corn stalk bearing a nubbin as it does a lusty1 towering stalk with two good ears of corn on it4 ,illustration3 ,prize seed corn ,find out what a good ear of corn looks like4 ,make note of all the points to be encouraged4 ,the habit of producing two good ears of corn is a good one to establish4 ,go through the field when the corn is ripe1 before the huskers1 and select the best ears1 with all the points you have learned in mind4 ,take off the outer husks and draw the rest back1 exposing the entire ear4 ,when you have ten or a dozen ears braid the husks together1 starting with three ears1 adding one after another to the braid till all are secure4 ,fasten with strong twine and make a loop to hang the bunch by4 ,seed corn should hang for a few weeks in the open to cure1 but should be taken inside before snow4 ,you will have to use a good deal of ingenuity to keep chickens1 rats1 squirrels1 and other thieves away from your seed corn4 ,when spring comes the corn should be shelled1 and every imperfect grain should be discarded4 ,by selecting the seed in this way1 demanding of each ear that it shall be perfect1 you find the crop will improve1 if cultivation is good1 the soil well enriched1 and the season normal4 ,every time a farmer boy uses his mind first in connection with any kind of work1 the quality of work improves and his interest in his work increases4 ,selecting seed not only gives better corn but it helps make a better farmer4 ,,making ,,cider ,,vinegar ,every good apple year there are thousands of bushels of apples that go to waste4 ,it doesn't pay to pick and put them into barrels when the price of barrels is more than you can get for the apples4 ,the farmer is the last man to learn how to make use of what ordinarily goes to waste4 ,nature is lavish always1 but wastes nothing4 ,the farmer has learned to be lavish and wasteful too4 ,they say that every part of the pig is utilized in the packing house except the squeal4 ,that is the principle which the farmer will have to live by if he would succeed4 ,what can be done with those wasting apples8 ,let the boys have them to make into pure cider vinegar4 ,every one knows how vinegar has been adulterated1 and now the law-makers have put their veto on the practice and a penalty to match the crime4 ,there is nothing very difficult about the physical part of vinegar making4 ,nature does the hard work but we can aid nature by providing the ideal conditions for making the product we want4 ,the best apples for making pure cider vinegar are clean1 ripe apples4 ,if you use green1 dirty1 decayed1 or over-ripe apples1 your vinegar will probably not meet the lawful tests and your time and work will be wasted4 ,green apples have not enough sugar in them4 ,the same is true of over-ripe apples4 ,but there isn't much sugar in cider vinegar1 you say4 ,no1 that is true1 but without sugar in the cider you wouldn't get any vinegar4 ,if you were a chemist you could find out just how much sugar was contained in the juice of your apples4 ,unless the cider has #he per cent4 of sugar it will not make vinegar good enough to satisfy the requirements of the law4 ,however1 plenty is found in cider made from sound1 ripe apples1 and he who makes cider out of anything else deserves to fail4 ,expose any fruit juice to the air and it will change4 ,we say1 ,oh1 that is fermented1 and throw it away4 ,but what is this ferment8 ,set a glass of fresh apple juice in the sun and watch it4 ,in a few days you can actually see that some change is taking place4 ,it is working1 as they say4 ,the sugar is changing to alcohol2 so the chemists tell us4 ,what makes it do this8 ,the chemists must answer again4 ,they say that there are yeast plants in the apple juice4 ,how did they get there8 ,we did not put yeast in the apple juice4 ,no1 but the air is full of the spores of wild yeast plants so the juice does not have to wait till we put in domesticated yeast from a little silver wrapper4 ,as these yeast plants grow they cause the sugar in the juice to change to alcohol4 ,there are lots of other wild spores in the air and in the dirt which collects on the apples if they are left out very long4 ,some of these spores may be of a kind that would delay the fermentation4 ,for this1 if for no better reason1 we should wash our cider apples4 ,in a glass of cider set out in the sun it does not take long for the yeast plants to convert all the sugar to alcohol1 because warmth hastens the work4 ,in the barrel set in a cool cellar it takes longer1 about six months4 ,but you have no vinegar yet4 ,you have nothing but hard cider which isn't fit for anything4 ,but in the barrel along with the yeast plants are lots of other bacteria1 to be seen under the microscope4 ,among them is a kind that causes alcohol to change to acetic acid4 ,did you ever pour off the vinegar from a jug and find a mass of jelly-like substance stopping the mouth of the jug8 ,they called it mother didn't they8 ,this mother contains great numbers of acetic acid makers and if placed in your barrels will hasten the changes that fit the hard cider for use on the table4 ,the making of cider vinegar is almost all profit for there is very little outlay for materials and very little work is required4 ,it does take some knowledge of what to do and when4 ,a little study and experience makes success almost certain4 ,a bulletin of the ,new ,york ,state ,experiment ,station at ,geneva gives the following directions1 somewhat abbreviated here1 for making good cider vinegar at home3 ,use sound ripe apples1 picked before they have become dirty or crushed4 ,observe ordinary precautions to secure cleanliness in grinding and pressing1 and use no water4 ,let the juice stand a few days to settle1 then draw off the clear liquid into barrels that have been cleansed and treated with steam or boiling water4 ,do not fill more than three fourths full4 ,put a loose plug of cotton into the bung hole4 ,if kept at a temperature of fifty to forty-five degrees ,fahr4 the alcoholic fermentation will be complete in about six months4 ,this time can be shortened to three months by keeping a temperature of sixty-five to seventy degrees in the storage room and by adding one cake of ,fleischmann's compressed yeast dissolved in a little water1 to every five gallons of juice4 ,when the cider stops 'working' you will know that the sugar has all been changed to alcohol4 ,the clear liquid should now be drawn off1 the barrels rinsed and filled again4 ,to each barrel should now be added from two to four quarts of good vinegar containing some 'mother4' ,if kept at a temperature of sixty-five to seventy degrees ,fahr4 the vinegar may be ready for use in six months4 ,if kept very cool it may be two years4 ,when sour enough to be 'just right' the barrels should be filled as full as possible and tightly corked or the sourness may disappear4 ,,making ,,grape ,,juice ,any girl with a little experience in canning fruit can make for home use and for sale a harmless and delectable beverage out of the surplus grapes4 ,every good grape year on the farm there comes the question of what to do with the grapes4 ,a little jelly is made when the grapes are green but most people prefer currant jelly or blackberry or crab apple4 ,canned grapes are pronounced no good by all the family1 and grape marmalade is full of splinters of glass1 though how they got there who can say8 ,the housekeeping magazines give receipts for preserving grapes but cold storage alone gives good results and few farms have cold storage plants4 ,those grapes hang there by the bushel and try as you may you do not get them all eaten fresh4 ,grape juice is not wine4 ,if you should try to make wine you would probably fail4 ,but unfermented grape juice is easier to make than jelly and as it needs no sugar your investment is small4 ,grape juice has food value1 as it contains more solid matter than milk1 and is recommended as a drink for children and for invalids4 ,in many ,european countries grape cures have long been popular4 ,in the pure1 unadulterated1 unfermented juice of the grape we have a palatable1 nourishing food and a refreshing drink in one4 ,it is highly recommended as a preventive of some diseases1 a cure for others1 and as a restorative of general health4 ,so much for the product4 ,now how is it made8 ,it is possible to make grape juice from start to finish in the open air4 ,if the grapes grow on an arbour what more delightful occupation can you imagine than spending a day or two converting the perfect fruit into nectar8 ,idling in a hammock may appeal to some1 but a row of shining fruit jars worth seventy-five cents apiece looks better to an enterprising girl than a finished novel4 ,you will need a table1 a rocking chair1 a large basket and scissors1 granite pans and double boiler1 an oil or gasolene stove1 clean jelly bag and flannel filter1 jars or bottles1 corks1 rubbers1 etc4 ,when the grapes are just right to eat out of hand they are right for grape juice4 ,green or over-ripe grapes are not worth working over4 ,discard all unsound fruit1 wash1 and crush4 ,put into a freshly washed bag of coarse1 strong muslin1 tie securely and twist and squeeze it until the juice is all out4 ,two people can work to advantage at this job4 ,the juice should now be put into a stone jar set in a pan of water or heated in a double boiler4 ,it is just at this point that most people make a mistake and destroy the fine flavour of the grape by boiling the juice4 ,it should never boil4 ,if you have a thermometer use it now4 ,the object of heating this juice is to destroy the yeast spores and other organisms which have alighted on the grapes as they hung in the arbour and which are so small that they came right through the mesh of the muslin bag4 ,a temperature of one hundred and eighty degrees to two hundred degrees ,fahr4 is high enough4 ,take the juice from the fire when the two hundred ,fahr4 is reached4 ,a thermometer is not absolutely necessary4 ,when the juice begins to steam it is getting close up to two hundred and twelve degrees ,fahr41 the boiling point1 which you must avoid4 ,making prime quality unfermented grape juice requires two forenoons4 ,if you want your jars to be clear from top to bottom instead of muddy with sediment you will set the juice away in an enamelled or glass vessel until morning1 when you will see why this precaution is necessary4 ,with greatest care dip the clear liquid off and filter it4 ,a flannel bag made in the shape of a cone with a stiff wire or wooden ring at the top to hold it open1 is the best filter4 ,several thicknesses of flannel or felt are better than one4 ,all the tiny particles of sediment will be caught in the woollen meshes and the juice will be pure4 ,the last traces of settlings1 will be removed and the liquid will be clear4 ,the colour and flavour will depend on the kind of grape used4 ,put the filtered juice into bottles or fruit jars that have been sterilized by boiling in water4 ,do not fill them quite full4 ,wiping is unnecessary4 ,fit a false bottom made of a thin board or slats into the bottom of the washboiler and set the jars of grape juice with rubbers and covers on but not screwed down in on this4 ,put water into the boiler till it comes up to the shoulders of the jars4 ,heat now until the water is on the point of boiling1 but do not let it boil4 ,remove jars from the water and screw down the covers4 ,if bottles are used1 clean1 sterilized corks must be put in1 while the juice is still in the hot water4 ,if the corks are very tight further sealing is not required1 but wax or paraffine is put over them by cautious persons to make assurance doubly sure4 ,quart jars are probably most economical and will find a ready sale4 ,grape juice will ferment very soon after unsealing and should be used immediately4 ,even a small family will have no difficulty in consuming a quart if given the opportunity4 ,many delicious desserts can be made with this juice combined with sugar1 eggs1 gelatine1 cream1 lemons1 and other fruits4 ,,making ,,leaf ,,mould ,every year ,i see boys and girls raking leaves from the lawns and either piling them in the street or in the back yard and then burning them4 ,nobody likes an outdoor fire more than ,i do1 whether it is a real camp fire1 a little back yard faggot fire just enough to roast a few potatoes and onions and play gypsy1 or a big blazing bonfire1 almost dangerous and wholly splendid4 ,what ,i don't like is a sickly1 smouldering pile of leaves sending out a suffocating smudge1 bursting with sudden flame at night and having to be put out after you had your slippers on and had begun a new book4 ,such a fire is a nuisance to you and to the neighbourhood and no satisfaction4 ,burning leaves is like burning money4 ,that is quite another way of looking at it4 ,why1 most people have to pay out money to get their leaves taken away1 you say4 ,true1 but that is because we are such a lot of wasters4 ,we are just beginning to learn to be economical1 because we must4 ,to make a long story short1 turn your leaves into money by composting them4 ,for greenhouse work pure leaf mould is a necessity and the supply of the real article is never equal to the demand4 ,ask the florist in your town where he gets leaf mould and how much it costs him4 ,making leaf mould is simple4 ,all you have to do is to rake the leaves into a pile where they can lie still and rot4 ,to make a really neat job and lose none of your work or leaves make a frame of boards a foot high or so and as large as you think your leaves will require4 ,set this frame in some part of the yard where it will not look unsightly but as near the source of leaf supply as is permissible4 ,if you have to carry the leaves by wheelbarrow you will see the force of this4 ,use a pony and cart for the job if you have them4 ,a big box or barrel on a wheelbarrow is better than the wheelbarrow alone4 ,get a layer of leaves a foot deep1 then tramp it4 ,if water is handy1 wetting them with a few pailfuls would make them pack well4 ,put on layer after layer of leaves if pure leaf mould is to be made4 ,lay boards over the top to hold the leaves down or the autumn winds will scatter them for you4 ,forking over a few times will hasten the process of decay4 ,a very small quantity of leaf mould for home use can be made in a store box or barrel4 ,this should not be water tight4 ,let the leaves be exposed to all the elements2 the rain1 the air1 freezing and thawing1 help on the process of decay4 ,leaves are a very valuable ingredient in the making of compost for the garden4 ,i have from an expert gardener this receipt for his favourite ,,garden ,,fruit ,,cake ,three parts selected leaves4 ,three parts cow manure4 ,two parts garden soil4 ,one part kitchen refuse and weeds4 ,one part pasture sod4 ,compost these in alternating layers for one1 two1 or three years under cover4 ,the result is a rich1 brown1 moist compound which1 added to common garden soil at suitable times1 is warranted to raise flowers and vegetables fit for the queen's table4 ,now then1 instead of burning your leaves1 go out and gather all you can from the neighbour's yard as well as your own and make leaf mould4 ,combine the boys on the street into a ,leaf ,mould ,syndicate and get the local florists interested in a home-made product4 ,,making ,,lavender ,,sticks ,the weaving of lavender sticks has been described to me as the harmless occupation of old-fashioned fingers4 ,in these days when the revival of old-time industries is so often undertaken1 it is well to learn from our aunts or our great-aunts some of the fancy work that employed their elegant leisure when they were girls4 ,the lavender stick is such a sweet and dainty object that ,i hope for it a renewed popularity4 ,it is one of the always acceptable gifts the ,pacific coast can send to the ,atlantic where it is so hard to make lavender grow4 ,i might say here that there is good reason to advise the growing of lavender in the light limestone soil of some of our ,southern states4 ,immense quantities are used in the manufacture of lavender water and perfumery1 and although the dried flowers are retailed as a preventive for clothes moths1 ,i have grave doubts about that4 ,the best way to learn how to make lavender sticks is to have some dear old lady show you4 ,failing this you may try to follow these directions and the picture that goes with them4 ,late ,june is the best time1 ,september the next best4 ,the lavender must be in full flower4 ,if too young the stems will cure limp4 ,the finest odour passes with the going to seed4 ,cut the flower stalks in clear weather and before the heat of the day4 ,illustration3 ,a lavender stick ,as some lavender sticks should be shorter and some longer to suit their various purposes1 you should next sort the stalks into groups according to length4 ,for a handkerchief box nine short ones would be right4 ,to make a large stick for a linen closet shelf choose twenty-five of the longest1 heaviest heads4 ,always have an odd number4 ,strip off the leaves1 draw the stems down till the heads are all on a level1 then tie them gently but firmly1 under their chins with soft cotton yarn that will hold but not cut4 ,use plenty of string and leave very long ends4 ,build the thistle-like head into a shapely oval--but not with cotton1 after the way of the ,philistines4 ,plump it out with a little sheaf made of the heads that are too small to use1 and add a few leaves to round it out4 ,with those long string ends wind the head1 now1 and tie securely4 ,the next step is one where skill and care are necessary4 ,each stem is to be bent directly backward at a sharp angle and it will be a wonder if you do not break every other one4 ,crease each stem over your thumb-nail before turning it back over the head4 ,when all are safely reversed1 double one end of a bolt of lavender ribbon over one stalk1 close to the top and begin to weave4 ,the simplest weaving is the most artistic1 under one stalk and over the next1 passing round and round till the head is covered4 ,at this point it is best to fasten the end of the ribbon1 wind the stems with common string and begin on another till you have brought all to the same stage4 ,lay them all away for a month to cure4 ,you will find that the weaving will then have to be tightened about the head4 ,now wind the ribbon tightly round the handle and fasten it there4 ,a tuft of loops at the end is a simple and old-timey finish4 ,the less attempt at decoration the better4 ,a lavender stick is a very acceptable gift for one who is fond of its perfume and can detect the aroma of homely sentiment that mingles with its sweetness4 ,,drying ,,corn ,in my girlhood the surplus sweet corn was not left to dry on the stalks4 ,it does not make very good fodder4 ,the best ears were marked and left to ripen for seed1 but the surplus green corn was dried4 ,the boys would bring in a bushel or so of ears in the husk4 ,we prepared these as carefully as if for immediate use on the table4 ,every silk was removed4 ,the ears were then put into boiling water a few at a time and left only five or six minutes1 just long enough to set the milk4 ,as soon as the corn had cooled sufficiently we began to cut it off1 with thin1 sharp knives4 ,with the butt of the ear resting on the flattest big platter1 one sliced from top to bottom4 ,we had orders not to cut deep the first time--just to take off the tops of the grains4 ,the next cut was thin1 too1 and came off in a slice which fell apart4 ,we cut three slices1 at least1 before we came to the cob4 ,by this means we obtained a final product far superior to that of the neighbours who made one cut suffice4 ,when a platter was full1 the corn was spread evenly and put out in the sun1 on a long table and covered with netting to keep off flies4 ,when partially dry we transferred it to a large cloth and continued the drying until every vestige of moisture was gone from it4 ,it was then put into a loose muslin bag and hung up near the ceiling where mice and dampness could not get at it4 ,i have eaten evaporated corn1 and find it a poor substitute for the sun-dried article4 ,to prepare dried corn for the table wash well1 soak over night1 and then steam slowly on the back of the kitchen stove from morning till late afternoon1 with salt to taste4 ,by this time most of the water will have been absorbed or evaporated4 ,the corn will be soft and all its native sweetness will be right there4 ,add a generous libation of cream1 a lump of butter1 a whisk of pepper1 and you have a delectable dish4 ,,making ,a ,,tennis ,,court ,the largest item in all the estimates for making a tennis court is for labour4 ,if a boys' club can supply this they can have a court without expense except for the wire netting and the necessary posts4 ,a standard double court is seventy-eight feet by thirty-six4 ,choose a well-drained piece of ground2 the more nearly level the better4 ,locate the courts with reference to the time of day when they will be most used and the direction of the sun's beams at that hour4 ,the first job is to get rid of the grass and weeds1 root and branch4 ,if a plough is used do not begin the levelling until every root is gone4 ,turning grass under is bad practice4 ,some kinds of grass can grow no matter which end is up4 ,next with rakes make the surface fairly level4 ,level is one of those adjectives that can not be compared4 ,if a court is level it can't be any leveller1 and to be right it must be done with a straight edge and a spirit level4 ,if there is one boy in whom you all have confidence1 it is a good plan to elect him boss of the job and follow his instructions4 ,team work is the right thing in this kind of a job1 just as in games4 ,when the court is level it must be rolled and rolled and rolled again1 with the heaviest roller you can get4 ,a surface of ordinary dirt does not wear well4 ,some people prefer to spread on a layer of ashes1 next three inches of sand1 soil1 and clay mixed4 ,roll each layer thoroughly4 ,for a top finish a very fine gravel is used on some courts1 sand is used on others4 ,you will probably use that which is most available4 ,clay is hard to work with1 but when overlaid with fine sand makes a hard court on which the swiftest experts can play with enjoyment4 ,the care of the court should be taken week about1 two boys working together4 ,the roller should be used often1 especially after a rain1 and worn spots mended immediately before they get bigger4 ,most clubs count in an expensive marker when estimating the cost of tennis4 ,an ingenious boy can make one for nothing4 ,a square varnish tin or olive oil can holding a gallon or more can easily be held by a framework upon a wheelbarrow or wheel hoe in such a way that the drip from two nail holes will fall upon the broad rim of the wheel4 ,fold a piece of paper into funnel shape1 fill the can with thin whitewash and paint mixed and you are as well equipped as if you had spent five dollars for a marker4 ,if conditions favour a grass court the sod should be taken off and the ground beneath spaded1 raked1 and made level4 ,then the sod should be matched and laid accurately1 then rolled1 sprinkled1 and rolled again2 for three days at least the rolling and sprinkling should be repeated4 ,,shovelling ,,snow ,the boys of our neighbourhood made an abundance of pocket-money in the winter time by combining into a ,snow ,shovellers ,union4 ,most of the men on our street take early trains and have very little time1 and even less inclination to shovel snow4 ,the boys are out early before the snow gets packed on the sidewalks4 ,they work by the job or by the hour1 whichever the employer prefers4 ,at first the boys expected the employers to furnish the tools4 ,but that didn't work very well4 ,to make work a pleasure one must have his tools right and an expert snow shoveller does not want to use a dilapidated spade on one job1 a short-handled shovel here1 and a long-handled one there4 ,he wants snow shovelling tools and after a little experience he knows what he wants4 ,the tools can be made by the boys4 ,our boys made a most efficient plough for walks1 out of cheap store boxes1 and a scraper for steps that fit every corner accurately so that one scrape did the trick and no false motions to waste time and strength4 ,for informal paths to chicken house1 garden1 etc41 a shovel made of light barrel staves sawed in halves was found to be better than an expensive iron-bound shovel from the department store4 ,if there is a lame boy on your street take him into the ,union too2 although he can't keep up with you at the shovel1 he can have a book1 keep track of the time each boy can work1 call at patrons' doors to arrange about their work1 and these things are just as important as the actual shovelling4 ,,mowing ,,lawns ,in summer the ,snow ,shovellers ,union can reform into the ,lawn ,mowers and ,irrigators1 ,limited4 ,every year ,i used to send my lawn mower to a tinker who charged me one dollar and twenty-five cents for sharpening it4 ,i learned one day and it made me sad1 that a lawn mower properly cared for keeps itself sharp4 ,any boy who is strong enough to run a lawn mower ought to be smart enough to take care of one4 ,he needs to know how the machine is put together1 what parts do the work and where the wear comes on the parts4 ,the directions which come with a good machine are worth reading4 ,the man who sells the mower may not be able to explain any part you don't understand4 ,his business may be to sell1 only4 ,if you go into the hardware store and find the man who knows all about lawn mowers1 he will be only too glad to show you how to run the machine so that it will do its work and last4 ,it is to his interest to have you recommend his machine4 ,make yourself familiar with a machine in perfect working order4 ,your ears and your eyes ought to tell you when it is going wrong4 ,it is1 above all1 of greatest importance to know how to adjust a lawn mower4 ,a wrench1 a screw-driver1 and an oil can should be your constant companions4 ,go over the machine before you begin and put it in shape4 ,it is ten minutes well spent4 ,tighten screws1 oil the parts that rub1 adjust the knife to the kind and condition of the grass4 ,when the job is done1 look the mower over4 ,if a screw is lost be sure to supply a new one before the next using2 clean the machine and put it away in a dry place4 ,,utilizing ,,wood ,,ashes ,boys who have as part of their daily work the cleaning out of ashes would do well to stop and consider before they dump their pails4 ,coal ashes are as nearly worthless as anything ,i know of although they can be used in making a tennis court1 and are even advised by some for a very stiff garden soil4 ,a garden must be pretty bad off to be improved by coal ashes4 ,but there are thousands of cords of wood burned every year and wood ashes are very valuable4 ,there is no fertilizer equal to them for certain purposes4 ,not only are they valuable at home1 but they are an article of commerce1 and have a market value4 ,who has a better right to the ashes than the boy who manages the ash pan8 ,barrels are the most convenient receptacles to store ashes in4 ,cheap boxes come next4 ,they should be tight and kept under cover4 ,leaching takes the value out of wood ashes4 ,,planting ,,crocuses ,,on ,,the ,,lawn ,did you ever see crocuses1 yellow1 lavender1 and white1 scattered informally in the lawn1 coming into blossom with the earliest springing grass4 ,one fall we tried the experiment of poking a crocus bulb down in the hole where we took out a dandelion and the result was charming4 ,there are philosophers who profess to a liking for dandelions in the lawn4 ,perhaps it is ,hobson's choice with them1 as with many1 but although the dandelion flower is bright as gold the leaves are a real nuisance4 ,they are coarse and rank and they resist the lawn-mower1 and discourage the fine grasses4 ,except when in blossom they are a disfiguring feature4 ,crocuses are certainly more delicate in flower than dandelions and their leaves are more like grass4 ,moreover they die down early and are out of the way of the lawn mower4 ,so instead of just digging out a dandelion or a thistle and leaving a bare hole1 ,i recommend that you poke in a crocus bulb next fall4 ,your reward will come in gold and purple4 ,,making ,,ice ,lots of us get along without ice in winter because we cannot afford to buy it all the year round4 ,we put things outside and they freeze1 we keep them in the kitchen and they spoil4 ,the butter is either too hard or too soft all the time4 ,boys and girls like ice-cream the year round and yet many of us do without it in the winter time because the iceman does not come around4 ,sometimes you may have thought when you broke the ice in the watering trough that there was nearly enough to make a freezer of ice-cream4 ,did it not occur to you that you could make home-made ice1 supply the refrigerator in coldest weather1 and make ice-cream whenever you want it8 ,all you need is the cold weather and a heavy tin pail4 ,fill the pail with clean water some clear1 cold night and stand it where it will get the greatest exposure4 ,if the mercury is a little below zero it will freeze a coat of ice two or more inches thick on top and sides of the pail4 ,turn the pail upside down on a bench and turn enough hot water over it to loosen the pail2 then take it off4 ,the ice on the bottom will be thin4 ,break this and dip out all of the water1 but about two inches4 ,this will freeze very quickly in cold weather and you can put in more4 ,keep filling it up until your ice pail is solid4 ,it is then ready for the refrigerator4 ,from making one block of ice in a heavy tin pail it is an easy step to making a winter supply to store in sawdust where the sun cannot melt it during a thaw and where you can get at it when needed4 ,from this the logical conclusion is that a man and his boys could make a supply of ice for both summer and winter by following the same tactics4 ,how well ,i remember the hardships of the ice harvesters of my home neighbourhood4 ,the ice had to be cut in the river three miles away1 and hauled up a bad hill4 ,if the roads were good the ice was bad as a rule4 ,good sleighing meant ice covered with snow4 ,there was always anxiety for fear we should not get a supply1 and often the houses were filled with thin cakes1 for fear the cold weather was over for the year4 ,then the hauling and the cutting in the bitter weather was bad for men and teams4 ,the ice was river ice and we knew it was unsafe4 ,a writer in ,country ,life describes how he made his supply of home-made ice4 ,he first had a tinner make heavy tin boxes of a size convenient to handle4 ,he had them made an inch smaller at the bottom than at the top and the top was bound over a heavy wire4 ,when the cold weather came the clean pans were filled from the well4 ,the cakes were turned out of the pans next day and dipped and filled just as described above1 as solid cakes formed4 ,these were packed in the ice house for the summer's supply as fast as made4 ,the cost was less in time and cash1 than putting up wild ice1 even including the cost of pans1 which can1 of course1 be used over and over1 year after year4 ,,cutting ,,seed ,,potatoes ,illustration3 ,for cutting seed potatoes ,cutting seed potatoes is a job that most boys and girls dislike and no wonder4 ,it takes so long1 is so dirty1 your thumb gets so scored and even cut seriously4 ,but most fathers want the potatoes cut before planting and who is to do it but the boys and girls8 ,two ingenious boys invented a contraption which decreased the time and labour to a minimum and almost made the job a pleasure4 ,this description of their potato cutter is adapted from ,farming for ,april1 nineteen hundred and seven4 ,a dry goods box holding several bushels was fitted with four strong legs1 just long enough to lift the box to a height convenient to sit by4 ,at the bottom of one side of the box a board was removed to let the potatoes roll out on a shelf attached beneath the opening4 ,the shelf should have a rim two or three inches high and there should be a crack where shelf and box come together to let the dust sift down4 ,the knife is driven into the end of a short piece of plank and held with fence staples4 ,the boy sits on the plank4 ,the potato is pushed forward against the sharp blade and the pieces drop into the basket4 ,a man can cut forty bushels of potatoes in a day with this outfit4 ,the work ought to be done out under a tree1 and if the boys want to wear gloves to keep their hands clean and smooth for more delicate work1 ,i should encourage them to do so4 ,,pruning ,illustration3 ,rosebush before pruning ,when ,i see a lot of ignorant labourers put onto the job of pruning trees1 my blood fairly boils4 ,their work1 unless overseen by an expert1 is pure butchery4 ,many a noble tree has been so mangled by saw and axe that it has become an easy prey to all sorts of diseases4 ,illustration3 ,rosebush after pruning ,pruning is work that requires intelligence4 ,in orchard and door yard any one with the strength to wield a saw or shears can do the annual pruning4 ,a woman can do it as ,i can testify1 except occasionally where large limbs are to be handled4 ,such occasions seldom arise on a well-cared-for place4 ,it is impossible to treat the whole subject of pruning in one short chapter1 but there is nothing difficult to understand about the principles or practice4 ,in ten minutes an expert grape pruner could show a pupil how to prune a grape-vine so as to produce the best and largest crop4 ,each kind of shrub whether for fruit or flowers requires its special treatment4 ,it takes experience to acquire judgment but the principles are easy to learn and to practise4 ,you should go to a book on pruning to learn just how to prune the various kinds of shrubs1 vines1 and trees4 ,illustration3 ,the right way4 ,the wound is healing ,illustration3 ,the wrong way4 ,the stub prevents healing ,but if there is a limb to be cut off a tree in the door yard who is likely to be delegated to the job8 ,every boy ought to know how to do this right4 ,you may be acquainted with the boy who sat on the limb and sawed between the tree and himself1 but you will certainly not share his fate4 ,when you use the pruning shears on the branches and twigs of a tree or shrub you are1 so to speak1 cutting its fingernails or hair3 but when you go up with a saw you are performing a far more serious operation4 ,do not forget that the life processes of the tree1 the circulation of the blood1 the assimilation of the food1 the respiration1 all go on right under the bark4 ,the heart of the tree is a misnomer4 ,that fresh moist layer which is uncovered by the skinning of a tree is the only part of the tree which is really actively alive and at work4 ,this layer1 called the cambium1 extends like a tight-fitting garment over the entire tree4 ,every tiny twig and spur is overlaid with it4 ,if you ever had an infected finger from a scratch or pin prick or cut you have some idea of the danger the tree is exposed to when the cambium layer is laid bare and the wound neglected4 ,compare the two drawings on this page4 ,look at the trees in your yard4 ,are there some like ,no4 #a and others like ,no4 #b8 ,in ,no4 #a the pruner cut a branch off close up to the main trunk4 ,the wound was dressed with thick paint to close the pores4 ,all around the edge of the wound was the cut edge of the cambium layer4 ,a roll of new tissue formed there1 covering a part of the wound the first year4 ,in a year or two more the roll became broad enough to close over the smooth base where the severed limb was4 ,the wound is healed4 ,but look at the long stubs of ,no4 #b4 ,that was the work of a tree butcher4 ,already the stub has begun to rot and the injury has gone far into the tree1 past cure4 ,you have seen a fine board ruined by a knot hole8 ,that knot hole was made by careless pruning4 ,have you seen beautiful curly places in fine woodwork8 ,those curls or eyes are made by the healing over of places where limbs came off4 ,as the cambium adds layer after layer over it1 the base of the old limb becomes more and more deeply buried in the wood4 ,learn the principles of pruning3 cut off the branch1 no matter how small1 close to the trunk or larger branch from which it grew2 cover the wound with a dressing to prevent decay4 ,trees1 shrubs1 vines1 and bushes should be pruned every year4 ,cut out all dead wood1 and then prune to shape the tree or shrub as you want it or to produce the greatest quantity of fruit1 blossoms or branches4 ,,cleaning ,,rugs ,the sanitary home has never a carpet these days1 but rugs on bare floors4 ,these rugs1 if small enough to handle every week1 make the semi-annual old bugbear of house-cleaning a thing of the past4 ,what could be more dreary than to come home from school some afternoon and find the floors littered with flattened old straw1 so gray with dust as to be scarcely recognizable8 ,getting that straw out was the boys' work1 the girls did the sweeping and mother washed the floor4 ,how cheerless the days that followed6 ,how damp the floors1 how extra careful we had to be not to carry in dirt on our way to bed6 ,the whole house wore a dejected expression reflected by the family4 ,all because of those miserable carpets4 ,they had to be beaten1 too1 and the clouds of dust that had to be breathed before we heard the welcome call1 ,that's enough now4 ,don't whip that carpet all to pieces4 ,fold it up and bring it in4 ,as we folded it we realized how far from clean it really was and how we longed to turn the hose on it4 ,but no one had the courage to suggest such an unorthodox proceeding4 ,probably the colour would all run and the carpet would shrink and everything4 ,but anyhow we wished it was really clean1 now that so much discomfort had been endured to clean it4 ,rugs on bare floors are preferable4 ,they can be swept and beaten every week and they can be washed4 ,no rug should be hung on a line to be beaten4 ,it is bad for the rug and a waste of energy4 ,a rug-beating rack can be made which will save the wear on the rugs and get them more nearly clean than any other dry method ,i know of4 ,it is described1 by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,egan1 who devised it1 as follows3 ,illustration3 ,rug-beating frame up against the barn ,make a frame of four by four pine timbers1 braced across the corners4 ,it should be somewhat bigger than the biggest rug you expect to beat4 ,stretch galvanized iron fencing over this frame and staple it securely all round4 ,the best place for this frame is at the side of the barn4 ,strong strap hinges should be used to attach it to a piece of four by four spiked to the barn at a height convenient for your beating4 ,when the frame is not in use it is pushed up and rests against the side of the barn1 held in place by hooks4 ,a rope and two pulleys enable one to raise and lower the frame easily4 ,when down1 the frame rests on swinging legs made of inch iron pipe and attached to the frame at the outer corners4 ,the rug should be laid on the netting pile downward4 ,rug-beating is hard work no matter what kind of tools one has4 ,but who does not love to ply the hose8 ,i made up my mind once that a rug that had to have an expensive compressed air bath or stay dirty was not living up to its function as a sanitary floor covering4 ,i experimented with an all-wool rug1 some good white soap1 warm rain water1 and a scrubbing brush4 ,a good lather was laid first on the back1 then ,i threw discretion to the winds and lathered the face of the thing4 ,i scrubbed it as if my life depended upon making the colours run1 if they would4 ,then ,i let the children turn the hose on it4 ,we turned it over and over and over again1 till it was very1 very wet4 ,it was also clean4 ,we left it on the grass in the shade the first day4 ,then we laid it still damp1 face down1 on the clean1 dry floor of the porch where the sun could get at it and the breeze4 ,it was dry by the night of the second day and so clean that it was a real joy to handle it4 ,one by one we put every rug in the house through the same course of treatment4 ,a couple of ,wiltons1 a few of ,brussels carpeting1 some that were woven out of old ingrain carpets1 the rag ones1 and finally the precious ,orientals went through the water cure4 ,before ,i dared do this last act1 ,i got advice from a rug man1 who said that really good rugs would suffer no harm from such treatment4 ,but one never believes until he tries it1 and now we all believe1 and our rugs are more beautiful than before4 ,we treated the best rugs very gently1 of course1 but none the less thoroughly1 and we dried them face up on the hard floor right in the sun part of the time4 ,it takes about three days and nights to get the dampness all out4 ,illustration3 ,rug-beating frame1 down in use ,good rugs ought never to be treated roughly4 ,they should be swept gently with the nap1 and never beaten with a whip1 hung on the line1 or shaken4 ,lay on a soft carpet of grass or on a rug-beating frame and beat gently with a flat rattan beater4 ,when rolled1 roll with the nap2 never fold them4 ,,xi ,,making ,,the ,,country ,a ,,better ,,place ,,to ,,live ,,in ,i once asked ,professor ,bailey1 ,what is the most important farm crop raised in the ,united ,states8 ,without a moment's hesitation he answered1 ,boys and girls4 ,of course they are4 ,the best farmers1 the real bone and sinew of the country1 are the kind that raise the crops themselves1 without much help from the outside4 ,they grow nearly every thing they eat1 and exchange their surplus for the food and clothing that they can't raise4 ,there is a type of farm life where the family is brought up on the principle that what is too poor to sell is good enough to eat4 ,the boys and girls of such a family are too good for such a life4 ,they do not stay in the country4 ,like the big apples1 the prize potatoes1 and the gilt-edge butter1 though raised on the farm1 they are consumed in the city4 ,the country is the best place in the world for boys and girls to grow up in1 just because it is the country4 ,but there are ways in which country life can be improved and if the grown folks are too busy raising crops1 the young folks must head the campaign which is to make the country a better place to live in4 ,since this is a book on outdoor work we cannot consider ways of making the life indoors more attractive1 more comfortable1 more convenient1 and more sanitary1 but concern ourselves with outdoor problems only4 ,boys and girls1 stop and think4 ,what can you do to make your own particular corner of the country a better place for you and your companions to live in8 ,when a crowd of boys meet together1 what do they talk about8 ,are they interested in local affairs or do they tell each other of the great things they expect to do when they get away8 ,a wise old man once said1 ,in a republic you ought to begin to train a child for good citizenship on the day of its birth4 ,are you going to be a good citizen8 ,are you patriotic8 ,do you salute the flag at school1 and then go out and break the game laws8 ,train now for citizenship4 ,there is more patriotism in obeying the laws of your home1 your school1 your town1 and your state than there is in parading with flags and band in the ,national ,guards4 ,good citizenship begins at home4 ,how can you make your own home a more desirable place for your brothers and sisters to live in8 ,take a look at the house4 ,is it plain and unadorned and uncomfortable8 ,are the surroundings bare and ugly8 ,have you had experience in building1 painting1 and planting8 ,if you can help build a corn crib1 you can make a porch over the front door or a sidewalk connecting the back door with the pump or the milk house4 ,if you can help paint the barn1 why not the house8 ,if you can plant trees in the orchard1 why not shrubs in the door yard1 and vines over the porch8 ,don't think you must have expensive pillars and fancy railings4 ,they will not look as well as rustic work or pillars of home-made cement4 ,the vines will soon cover the porch with their greenery if given half a chance4 ,,outdoor ,,clubs ,have you a boys' club in your neighbourhood8 ,or a girls' club8 ,you used to have a literary society in school1 and it failed8 ,why was that8 ,the boys didn't take any interest in it4 ,why not have a club that the boys will take an interest in and a club that the girls will take an interest in8 ,what kinds of clubs do boys like8 ,athletic clubs where they wrestle1 box1 turn handsprings1 have jumping1 skating1 walking1 and running matches1 and play such games of skill and endurance as hare and hounds1 pitching horseshoes1 and baseball4 ,they like all sorts of clubs that get real things done1 like raising prize corn or cotton or pigs or training colts or steers or dogs4 ,boys and girls like to compete for prizes4 ,how boys or girls will work to do something so much better than any other boy or girl in the crowd that the judges will award the prize to them4 ,it is hard in contests like these to be able to walk up like a true sportsman and congratulate the winner4 ,but a boy can learn to do it2 so can a girl4 ,all over the ,united ,states boys are banding together to raise better corn1 better cotton1 better chickens1 better fruit4 ,north1 west1 east1 and south1 thousands of boys are raising corn4 ,they test their seed1 prepare the soil1 plant1 cultivate1 and harvest the crop1 weigh it1 take it to the exhibition where they compare it with other boys' crops1 and see for themselves who has the best yield4 ,one boy1 a member of the ,winnebago ,county ,farmer ,boys' ,experiment ,club took first prize of fifteen dollars in gold for the best ten ears of corn4 ,this club has about eleven hundred members4 ,there is a ,winnebago ,county ,girls' ,home ,culture ,club with an equally large membership4 ,these boys and girls are growing up to be good citizens right there in the country1 where they were born4 ,they don't have to go to the city to find education or good manners or a good time4 ,the fathers and mothers1 the school teachers1 the ministers1 and the county superintendent of schools all work together in ,winnebago ,county1 ,ill41 and they can everywhere4 ,illustration3 ,photograph by ,helen ,w4 ,cooke4 ,is ,this ,work or ,play8 ,the boys in your home school can form a ,boys' ,agricultural ,club now4 ,the first thing you need is information about other clubs4 ,your club will not be just like the others4 ,it ought not to be4 ,but if you know how the others are managed it will help you to manage yours4 ,send to the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 and ask for ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #che on ,boys' and ,girls' ,agricultural ,clubs4 ,on page fifteen of this bulletin are suggestions as to an invitation to be sent out for the first meeting4 ,if your teacher is willing you can hold the first meeting some ,friday afternoon in the early spring at the school-house4 ,if the teacher is not yet interested hold the meeting at some home in the neighbourhood4 ,if you are acquainted with the county superintendent or the school commissioner1 tell him about the club you want to start1 and maybe he will arrange for the first meeting and get all the boys and girls in the county organized4 ,you could have a local chapter of the club1 with local exhibits and local prizes2 then you could have a space at the county fair1 and members of different clubs all over the county could compete for first prize4 ,the bulletin gives suggestions for a constitution1 enrollment of members1 and a scheme for cards on which to keep a record of the crop you are going to grow4 ,there are rules1 too1 that each person who competes for prizes must observe4 ,a good many boys' clubs start in with growing a crop of corn1 and girls' clubs with bread-making4 ,they need not do these same things every year1 although one can learn something new about growing corn1 raising chickens1 or making bread every year4 ,the country would be a better place to live in1 if there were more boys' and girls' clubs4 ,,attracting ,,birds ,the country would be a better place to live in if there were more song birds there4 ,i know of a shrewd firm of real estate men1 who wished to attract a certain class of residents to their suburban section1 knowing that others would follow and property become more valuable4 ,they laid out the woodsy tract with as little change from the natural conditions as they could1 and still have a sanitary1 convenient1 and comfortable suburb4 ,they did not chop down the trees in order to run straight roads through1 nor did they fill in the small gully that wanted to be a brook4 ,they encouraged the brook and ran their roadways so as to avoid the big trees and give each building site a character of its own and privacy4 ,then they put a man in charge with strict orders to make the place attractive to song birds2 to protect and feed them2 to destroy their enemies4 ,he was also to foster and encourage such wild flowers and ferns as grew naturally in the woods1 and to propagate and increase them so as to make the place a paradise4 ,the man entered into the spirit of their idea and succeeded wonderfully4 ,the real estate men advertised and the right people came and were convinced and bought homes there and lived happy ever after4 ,,bringing ,,back ,,the ,,song ,,birds ,how can boys and girls bring back our song birds8 ,i will not say much about why we want them1 for in enlightened ,america we take it for granted4 ,some people still want to be convinced that birds are of practical value4 ,i will say only that the damage to crops by insects in nineteen hundred and four1 is estimated at nine hundred and seventy-five million dollars4 ,investigations by scientists in state and nation all go to prove that a vast percentage of this loss could have been saved by birds4 ,i wish every child would be ambitious to increase the bird life on every farm1 on every village block4 ,here are some facts that ought to be convincing4 ,i take them at random from my notes3 ,kingbirds kill bot-flies4 ,brown thrashers feed mostly on insects1 especially white grubs and curculios4 ,cat-birds1 cuckoos and orioles are very important enemies of gypsy moth4 ,the red-eyed vireos are premium caterpillar hunters4 ,bluebirds board themselves4 ,eat cut-worms1 furry caterpillars1 and grasshoppers4 ,wrens' food is ninety-eight per cent4 animal matter4 ,warblers1 titmice1 creepers1 and nut hatches eat lice4 ,a pair of robins fed their nestlings this menu in three hours1 bringing food every three minutes3 sixty-one earth-worms1 sixteen yellow grubs1 thirty-eight other insects4 ,also four grasshoppers1 several dragon flies1 and a few moths4 ,robins rank first as enemies of white grub4 ,kingbirds protect poultry by driving away hawks2 ninety-eight per cent4 of their food is insects1 mostly injurious sorts4 ,woodpeckers destroy grubs in living trees4 ,phoebes catch flies1 lighting on backs of cattle so as to be handy2 also elm-leaf beetle1 adults of canker-worms1 cut-worms and gypsy4 ,baltimore orioles are worth their weight in gold as destroyers of gypsy and brown-tail moths4 ,rose-breasted grosbeaks cleaned out potato beetles4 ,scarlet tanagers ate gypsy moths at the rate of thirty-eight per minute for eighteen consecutive minutes4 ,thirty cedar waxwings will destroy ninety thousand canker-worms in a month4 ,so we can pile up the evidence in favour of the birds4 ,,how ,,to ,,attract ,,birds ,two words tell us what to do to increase bird life3 provide and protect4 ,we must provide food1 water1 and nesting places4 ,we must protect from disturbance1 from natural enemies1 from destruction by hunters who sell the feathers4 ,illustration3 ,a birds' table hung with wires ,all over the country1 laws to protect birds are being introduced into legislatures4 ,boys and girls may think that they cannot do much to help make laws4 ,they can if their fathers are in the legislature as lots of fathers are1 take the country over4 ,maybe your father does not know how much birds are worth4 ,get him to read the bulletins issued by the government4 ,the boys who protect the birds around home will be the law makers some fine day themselves4 ,they'll see to it1 then4 ,but now what can you do to-day8 ,is it winter8 ,feed the birds4 ,there are many winter bird residents4 ,where are the insects in winter8 ,have they gone south8 ,not a bit of it4 ,they lurk under the bark on your apple trees4 ,they hide on the fence rails and under the leaves4 ,trust the birds to find them unless snow prevents4 ,the extra feeding you give them will not toll them away from the insect food they love1 but will keep them on the job and will keep them from starving in stormy weather4 ,water1 too1 they often suffer for in winter4 ,supply it in shallow basins and slightly warmed4 ,tie suet to the trees2 sacks made of loose netting will hold nut meats for them4 ,scatter grain for the grain eaters on a platform4 ,in spring furnish nesting places and material1 protection from cats and distressing disturbances2 mud for robins1 string for orioles1 floss1 feathers1 and straw for others4 ,do something every day for your birds4 ,drinking fountains are a necessity1 especially in towns where there is no running water4 ,shallow basins are best4 ,they will often come right to the door and drink or bathe1 unless frightened by some real or fancied danger4 ,to make the birds tame you must make them feel safe1 and supply their wants4 ,,the ,,traffic ,,in ,,bird ,,skins ,not many girls wear birds' feathers in their hats4 ,but many women do1 and girls get to be women very soon4 ,no one knows how many birds are slaughtered in ,america each year for hat trimmings4 ,a few facts are available such as3 seventy thousand skins were sent in four months from a small district on ,long ,island2 one ,new ,york house contracts to furnish to ,paris forty thousand skins in one season2 four hundred thousand bird skins from ,america sold in one ,london auction room in three months4 ,these numbers fairly stagger the reader4 ,i don't know one ,american girl who would kill a bird4 ,if every one of them would refuse ever to wear any bird feathers there would be a great falling off in this traffic4 ,collecting birds' eggs and nests is still quite common1 and should be discouraged4 ,the present state of the bird population does not warrant the destruction of any except for the big museums4 ,their collectors are trained experts who collect only such birds as are needed for scientific purposes4 ,they go at the right season to do the least damage1 and they do not slaughter by wholesale4 ,besides cats1 which can be regulated to a certain extent in our homes1 birds have other enemies4 ,crows1 though valuable insect eaters1 are bad nest robbers and have been caught in the act of killing nestlings and even small adult birds4 ,snakes eat both eggs and young4 ,guards for cats will keep out squirrels which molest the birds' nests4 ,ground nesting birds may be protected with wire netting4 ,where this has been tried1 in no case did it cause birds to desert the nests4 ,birds need thickets1 hedge-rows and shrubbery for nesting places1 hiding places1 and shelter from storms4 ,every farmer who kills the birds on his place justifies the destruction by the evidence that they eat fruit4 ,true1 some of them do4 ,but if water is provided many of them prefer it to fruit juice4 ,to preserve our strawberries and cherries1 we should plant ,june berry and ,russian mulberry1 which the birds like better4 ,chokeberry1 buckthorn1 elder berry1 and mulberry will attract birds away from blackberry and raspberry patches4 ,wild cherry will protect the grapes1 as both ripen late4 ,,domesticating ,,wild ,,game ,the country would be a more attractive place to live in if there were more wild game4 ,thirty years ago1 when ,i was a little girl in the middle ,west1 my brothers used to shoot prairie chickens 7grouse71 quail 7bob-white71 wild geese1 brant1 wild ducks1 and even bigger birds4 ,but now the guns are all rusty1 and the powder flask is empty4 ,i came across the old wad-cutter in the attic and hardly recognized it4 ,efforts are being made in several states to rear wild fowl in the barn yard4 ,bob-white1 grouse1 mallard1 wood ducks1 and ,canada geese are being experimented upon4 ,a measure of success has already been achieved1 but more experience is necessary especially with regard to the feeding of the young birds4 ,illustration3 ,a wood duck will nest in a box like this ,probably the wild fowl for young hunters to experiment with is wood duck or mallard4 ,a man whose ten years' experience with raising wild fowl has earned him the title of expert1 writes as follows3 ,i think it would be a most useful work to educate our young people up to the fact that with a little patience and a small outlay they can help to increase our supply of wild birds4 ,for raising wood ducks1 all one needs is a small pond or even an artificial tank surrounded by a few bushes enclosed by a wire fence4 ,in one corner1 place a box on a post three feet high with a cleated boardwalk leading up to a platform from which they can reach the entrance1 which should be a round hole4 ,turn a pair of wood ducks into the enclosure the first of ,march1 and with luck your duck will build her nest1 and lay from eight to twelve eggs4 ,in about four weeks the eggs will hatch and the troubles commence4 ,he goes on to say that some kinds of wild geese are comparatively easy to raise and that they do not require much of a pond1 but ample grazing facilities1 like their domestic relatives4 ,mallards1 also1 are very easy to raise4 ,as wild fowl bred in captivity bring a very good price and the demand is increasing with the spreading interest in the subject1 raising wild fowl might be a source of income to an enterprising young man or woman4 ,all spring shooting of wild fowls ought to stop4 ,don't say1 ,if ,i don't shoot them1 somebody else will4 ,that is not the attitude of a good sportsman4 ,public opinion among boys can only be established by boys4 ,if you don't believe in hunting in spring1 when the ducks are laying or brooding the young1 you can not only stop doing it1 but you can influence others4 ,will you do this8 ,to kill one mother duck this year means eight or ten less next year4 ,it is a plain example in arithmetic to see what a big blunder you make if you shoot in spring4 ,a ,,game ,,preserve ,if you live on a big farm or ranch well wooded and watered1 your conditions are ideal for creating a private game preserve4 ,if a few wild birds are known to be already at home on your place1 encourage them4 ,let them breed in security and plant their favourite food crops4 ,small areas of land in various out of the way places can be ploughed and planted in spring to buckwheat and millet1 wheat1 rye1 and barley4 ,the bob-white has become so rare that you will probably have to plant some seed birds1 as they say4 ,they can be bought for five to ten dollars a dozen4 ,care should be taken that the birds are not frightened when liberated4 ,to spend ten dollars for birds1 only to lose them by carelessness1 is poor business4 ,these suggestions are given by an experienced game warden3 ,take the boxed birds out near some good1 thick shelter where they can hide and gain confidence4 ,attach a long rope to a soap box1 scatter grain about near the end of the box nearest the cover1 and scatter sheaf grain along toward the cover4 ,take only three cocks and three hens from the shipping box and put them in the liberating box4 ,go some distance off and be deliberate4 ,let the quail get rested and quiet4 ,pull the long rope1 lifting the box gently and steadily4 ,the birds will see the grain and hop out4 ,watch them from your safe distance following the wheat toward the cover4 ,keep up the supply of wheat until they are accustomed to their new home1 and can find their way back after roaming4 ,birds should not be planted later than ,may first4 ,,protecting ,,the ,,wild ,,flowers ,the country would be a better place to live in the whole or part of the year or to visit for a day or a week or a month if there were more wild flowers there4 ,even the man who doesn't know one flower from another will acknowledge1 if asked1 that wild flowers make the woods and the roadsides and the meadows prettier to look at4 ,the country over1 our loveliest wild flowers have met the same fate as the bright-feathered birds4 ,they have been hunted for their blossoms and the gatherers have not cared whether they pulled the plants up by the roots or not4 ,the case of trailing arbutus is a particularly sad one4 ,in localities where it used to flourish1 selfish and wanton hands have literally rooted it out until none remains4 ,only lately has any effort been made to protect the wild flowers and multiply them4 ,now1 in the general awakening of the public to the fact that we are blundering and wasteful1 a widespread interest has grown up in saving the wild flowers4 ,in your own locality you can help this good work4 ,refrain from destroying the plants yourself4 ,when you gather flowers in woods or meadow do so in moderation4 ,a few loose1 graceful sprays will give you as much pleasure as a huge bunch inartistically crowded into a vase4 ,have you not often seen children returning from a walk in the woods bearing handfuls of columbine8 ,these frail blooms wilt in the hot sun1 and the roadway is often strewn with forlorn bunches of them1 dropped by tired children4 ,how much better that each child should gather a few and put them all in a botanical case or wet paper to be distributed when they reach home4 ,those hundreds on the dusty road will never be visited by the ruby-throated humming-bird1 nor set any seed for next year's flowers4 ,older boys and girls can do much to influence the younger ones to gather sparingly4 ,another way to increase the wild flowers in your locality is to propagate them4 ,gather their seeds and plant them in your garden where you can protect the young seedlings from harm4 ,where they are big enough1 set them out where they will have natural conditions4 ,or undertake a bit of wild gardening right in the woods or the roadside where the plants grow naturally4 ,clear out less desirable sorts1 lessening the struggle for your favourites4 ,cultivate them a little4 ,see that they do not suffer from too much sun or rain or drought4 ,if you know of a plot of woodland soon to be denuded or a piece of wild land to be improved1 get permission to gather bulbs1 roots1 and plants there4 ,if you know the flowers the year 'round1 you will be able to recognize the lilies1 the orchids1 the blood roots1 the wild ginger1 hepatica1 violets1 and can transplant them to your own woods or garden4 ,,preventing ,,forest ,,fires ,it is ,october now1 and this morning's paper had accounts of terrible forest fires raging in ,minnesota4 ,hundreds dead1 thousands homeless1 and millions of dollars' worth of property wiped out4 ,nobody knows1 who has not fought fire1 what a fiend the foresters have to deal with4 ,i have looked up many forest fire statistics and ,i find always noted among the sources of fires1 this item3 ,forest ,fires ,set ,by ,children4 ,there may not be much that boys and girls can do to put in practice the big things we hear talked about under the name of conservation1 but one thing you can certainly refrain from doing1 and that is1 setting a forest fire4 ,a person who makes a fire in the woods is responsible to the community for that fire and its consequences4 ,to boil a coffee pail1 to broil bacon1 to bake biscuits1 to fry fish1 to give comfort to the hunter1 trapper1 camper1 or picnicker1 many are the legitimate uses of a fire in the woods4 ,no real sportsman forgets his fire4 ,his last act before leaving a camp is to see that no vestige of it remains4 ,he makes sure every spark is dead1 then throws on another pail of water1 and goes on with a light heart and a clear conscience4 ,if you have ever left a fire in the woods1 anywhere1 your conscience ought to give you a good jab when you read of forest fires1 though distant1 a jab that will prevent your repeating the offence4 ,,killing ,,weeds ,weeding is the boy's job1 isn't it8 ,if only one could get some kind of inspiration into weeding1 so as to rob the work of its drudgery6 ,if we must serve our time at weeding1 let us at least weed intelligently4 ,what is a weed anyhow8 ,in ,germany1 ,i am told1 the peasants call weeds ,unkraut4 ,since ,kraut is cabbage1 ,unkraut must be weeds4 ,a weed is really a plant growing where we don't want it4 ,the worst weed in a hill of four corn stalks is the fourth stalk of corn that crowds the others4 ,the worst weeds in a row of beets are the little beet plants that crowd each other4 ,what a plague they are6 ,some of the plants we usually include among our coarse native weeds are grown in gardens in ,europe4 ,mullein1 for example1 over there is called the ,american velvet plant and a well-grown specimen is really handsome4 ,if weeds are plants out of place there is much to be done by boys and girls in the way of ridding gardens1 lawns1 school grounds1 and village streets of their overgrowth of weeds4 ,if you clear out one thing put in something better or nature may put in some plant that will not please you4 ,save seeds from your own garden and drop them along the roadside4 ,the school grounds are the particular province of the school boys and girls4 ,join together to make the grounds more beautiful and there is no end to the improvements that will follow4 ,a lecturer once visited the school in a small village in the state of ,new ,york4 ,on his way from the village to the school-house he was impressed with two things3 first1 the wonderful size and vigour of the burdocks that seemed to have possession of even the front yards on the business streets2 and1 second1 the quantity of rubbish accumulated on the margin of the pretty little stream which wandered under the bridges of the town4 ,do boys and girls know what public spirit is8 ,do you know how your little village strikes a stranger8 ,the lecturer was so struck by the sad state of the town that he made up his mind to talk to the school about it4 ,he did4 ,he found that public spirit was not dead there2 it was only dormant4 ,the boys and girls had passed by the burdocks so often during their growth that they had taken them for granted4 ,they had so often thrown papers1 broken dishes1 worn-out baskets1 barrels1 and rubbish over the bridges that they forgot to notice how it looked4 ,what else is an old creek like that good for anyhow8 ,can't go swimmin' in it4 ,before the man finished his sociable little talk with the boys and girls he had organized the younger ones into brigades of twenty to make war on the burdocks4 ,with the help of teachers and boys he mapped out the town and assigned given localities to certain groups4 ,each group had a captain with orders4 ,the lecturer had a burdock plant brought in1 a tremendous one1 root and all1 from the school yard4 ,he showed the boys and girls how well adapted this weed is to make a living1 how by means of burs it steals rides1 travelling from place to place1 dropping a few seeds here and a few there4 ,he showed them the tough1 long root and told them the plant's life history4 ,has the burdock any vulnerable spot they wondered8 ,the only time when burdock is weak is when it comes up as a seedling4 ,one scrape of the hoe would kill hundreds then4 ,hearing what was up at school1 an enterprising business man offered to give ten dollars to the squad of pupils who brought in the largest number of burdock plants4 ,this added zest to the work and a generous emulation4 ,before the week was up1 the town was rid of burdocks1 and there were wagon loads of them withering on the vacant lot near the school4 ,the squad that won the prize brought in upwards of seven hundred plants1 root and branch4 ,they donated the money to the school library4 ,the boys and girls in that village didn't need to be waked up but once4 ,they went to work on the little stream4 ,they had bonfires at the water's edge4 ,they planted willows and other water loving trees on the banks1 they asked the selectmen to pass a law to forbid the throwing of rubbish and sewage into the stream4 ,they enforced the law themselves4 ,then they built two little dams1 and made a skating pond right near the school house4 ,,getting ,,rid ,,of ,,poison ,,ivy ,if there is any one thing that would make the country a better place to live in for some people1 it would be to eradicate poison ivy4 ,when it once gets possession of a fence row1 it is an awful job to get it out4 ,cutting off the tops is about as effectual as cutting your hair4 ,it grows again thicker than ever4 ,the roots and the creeping stems run under ground and every cubic inch of soil has to be gone over4 ,a great many beautiful plants will have to be destroyed in our fence rows in getting out the poison ivy4 ,but we can replace these1 and by constant watchfulness keep the ivy out4 ,in some localities the village selectmen have seriously undertaken the eradication4 ,any one who has ever suffered will agree that the work ought to be taken hold of in a public way4 ,many people are immune4 ,those who know themselves to be so should undertake the work4 ,a bounty is offered by some towns for uprooted plants4 ,the hands should be washed frequently with hot water and plenty of soap when working on poison ivy4 ,washable overalls and shirt should be worn1 as the oil of the ivy gets on the garments and may poison any one who handles them4 ,,lessening ,,the ,,plague ,,of ,,mosquitoes ,every boy and girl in the mosquito belt realizes keenly that the towns as well as the country would be better places to live in if there were no mosquitoes4 ,some people do not believe that it is possible to lessen this plague1 much less end it4 ,but such a belief is pure ignorance4 ,i know of an army post where in one season the mosquitoes were eradicated4 ,it was easy there1 because the post was isolated and because1 when the commandant issued a general order that all rain barrels were to be covered or emptied1 the people went right out and obeyed4 ,you see1 army people get a fixed habit of obedience4 ,then the health officer1 who really had the matter most at heart1 though backed by his superior1 had squads of prisoners at work gathering up and carting off tin cans or other rubbish capable of holding water4 ,pools were drained4 ,sewer openings and ponds were oiled4 ,before the mosquitoes had fairly got out of winter quarters all the stagnant water was coated with an oil film4 ,there was no use trying to lay eggs under those conditions1 so they left for parts unknown4 ,as mosquitoes cannot fly far unless carried by the wind1 they undoubtedly perished just outside the gates1 and the people came out and sat on their porches safe and happy4 ,they were ashamed that they had grumbled when the orders came to cover the rain water barrels4 ,mosquitoes breed in water4 ,the wigglers of the watering trough or rain barrel are young mosquitoes4 ,you can raise your own mosquitoes as well as your own chickens and pigs4 ,a little precaution would save much annoyance4 ,neighbourhoods should unite to rid themselves of the pest4 ,boys can do the work required4 ,the school children in ,worcester1 ,mass41 wage very effective war against mosquitoes every year under the guidance of their teachers4 ,the saving in cost of netting and wire screens would almost pay the expense of a campaign against mosquitoes and flies4 ,after emptying or covering all the water receptacles on the place1 it is well to place a few decoy pails in promising situations4 ,when the mosquitoes have deposited their eggs1 tip over the pails and that is the end of that lot4 ,one female can produce four hundred eggs1 so you see what a calamity it is for her young to come to maturity1 which they may do in eight to ten days4 ,mosquitoes have their natural enemies4 ,where areas of water are too large to oil1 we should see to it that fish are plentiful1 especially goldfish1 sunfish1 roaches1 killies1 and minnows4 ,toads1 frogs1 and lizards also prey on mosquitoes as do the nymphs of dragon flies and other water insects4 ,swallows and purple martins catch mosquitoes on the wing4 ,,fighting ,,flies ,the house fly is no longer a mere nuisance1 but is a menace to health4 ,he is well named the typhoid fly and the filth fly4 ,the boys and girls who help rid their neighbourhood of these disease-carrying pests are real patriots4 ,flies are not a heaven-sent plague in this day and generation4 ,flies in the milk1 flies in the pantry1 flies on the kitchen door1 flies buzzing about the table1 are the obvious result of carelessness and mismanagement4 ,what is more1 the remedies are not hard to apply4 ,the typhoid fly 7house fly7 breeds in horse manure4 ,the adult fly feeds upon every known variety of filth as well as upon good food1 but the undeveloped fly is a footless maggot and it breeds in your own and your neighbour's stable yard4 ,people will go on buying fly paper1 fly poison1 fly traps1 screen doors1 and window netting to keep flies out1 but the very fly that has visited a typhoid patient to-day may to-morrow leave the imprint of his foul feet on the baby's face1 or drown himself1 but not his germs1 in your gravy4 ,what does your father have a manure pile for8 ,if he is a frugal farmer he expects to put it on his fields when the other work is out of the way1 and plough it in4 ,he knows the value of manure on fields4 ,but does he realize that the best time to carry the manure out is while it is new8 ,every expert will tell him so and why4 ,in the pile by the barn it lies and burns4 ,have you seen it smoke8 ,burnt manure is wasted fertilizer4 ,when it rains1 the valuable elements needed by the soil leach out and nourish the crop of jimson weeds and burdocks that will crowd round the barn yard next year4 ,meantime the flies buzz round the manure pile4 ,the worse it smells the better they like it4 ,they are there for business4 ,eggs1 thousands upon thousands of tiny flies' eggs1 are deposited by industrious and prolific flies4 ,a fly's egg6 ,the hired man will laugh at you for bothering over a thing so insignificant4 ,but when his wife comes down with typhoid and the flies come in and worry her1 he will complain of his luck and drive out the flies1 which go merrily forth to start little private epidemics all over the neighbourhood4 ,destroy their breeding places4 ,that is one remedy for flies4 ,trap them1 poison them1 discourage them4 ,is it worth while for you to do this when the rest of the people do not8 ,yes1 indeed4 ,if you have very near neighbours1 their flies may get to you to some extent1 but with nothing to furnish breeding places1 and no foul-smelling swill or decaying animal or vegetable stuff around1 they will not be attracted to your place4 ,awaken the neighbour's interest in your fly-destroying crusade4 ,if you can reach results best by forming a club1 organize and pass resolutions and wake people up to their responsibilities4 ,this is practical work for a boys' good citizenship club4 ,,trapping ,i know a city boy who is fortunate enough to have a farm home to go to as soon as school closes in the summer4 ,with his parents and brothers and sisters he lives the life of the farm boy1 with enough of gardening1 a little of chicken raising1 one cow to milk1 and a chance to measure his cunning against that of many varmints which would otherwise destroy his garden and steal his chickens4 ,he knows how to use a gun1 and when1 and where4 ,he can make a good trap1 a scientific and humane trap1 and he knows the ways of the two-or four-or six-footed enemies he is at war with4 ,between them and him there is a fair field and no favours1 just as between one wild creature and another4 ,if to-day he outwits a crow1 to-morrow a skunk pays the crow's score with heavy interest by making a meal of a nestful of young chickens4 ,this boy has learned enough of the art of preparing skins to make those he gets salable1 and he exhibits with just pride a handsome fur skating cap made by his mother out of skins of mink he has taken4 ,his traps add something every year to his growing college fund4 ,illustration3 ,simple box-trap ,there are a great many things about the business of trapping that seem very horrible and brutal to a sensitive person4 ,because many cruel men have gone into that life1 which is a life of the greatest hardship and has little in it to encourage gentleness1 we have rather taken it for granted that all trapping is unjustifiable and that a boy who wants to set traps is an inhuman monster and not to be tolerated in a civilized home4 ,if fathers and mothers were all like my young friend's parents1 they would see that trapping ought to be a part of a boy's training1 just like using an axe1 or a saw1 or a gun4 ,trapping everything would be bad business4 ,you would not catch squirrels in a trap any more than you would shoot bluebirds or brown thrashers4 ,one could easily damage his neighbourhood and himself by trapping the wrong things or trapping in the wrong way4 ,a trapper who is a sportsman will see to it that his traps are of the right kind4 ,i would not have a mouse-trap in the house that made a practice of catching mice by the foot or tail4 ,there are traps of many kinds for a variety of purposes and the trapper must either catch his prey alive and provide a way of despatching it humanely or use a trap which is instantaneous in its deadly work4 ,illustration3 ,box-trap and figure #d ,boys who have learned to trap in the natural1 legitimate way do not become fish butchers or game hogs when they grow up4 ,i once saw a picture of a game warden standing triumphantly beside a mound of dead crows1 two thousand and twelve was the number1 ,i believe4 ,he had cunningly learned to imitate their call so successfully that they could not resist coming within range of his deadly weapon4 ,crows may be harmful to wild fowl but no boy with right instincts would be guilty of an act so base as this1 so unbecoming a sportsman and a gentleman4 ,getting rid of the animals which prey upon orchard1 garden1 and chicken roost is1 without question1 one of the ways of making the country a better place to live in4 ,trapping may be regarded as clean sport when done for this purpose1 or for food when needed4 ,catching animals alive for the sake of taming and training them as pets is treated in another chapter and has its own rules4 ,there are a number of fur-bearing animals which1 though too shy to venture inside the barn yard1 prey so successfully upon the less fortunate ones1 that it has become our duty to take up warfare against them4 ,this duty is all the more heavily laid upon us because1 in the act of civilizing the woods and converting the hills and valleys into cultivated fields and pastures1 we have destroyed the natural hiding places of the wild things and upset the balance4 ,if we were suddenly to abandon this country1 it would not be many generations before the buffalo1 the wild pigeon1 and the wild turkey would return to their haunts1 the forests would recover the hills1 the potato beetle would go back to its ,colorado weed1 and some natural enemy would control the ,san ,jos scale and the ,english sparrow and reduce them to their natural places4 ,in some localities trapping of fur-bearing animals is still a money-making small industry and if properly carried on will lead to no evil results4 ,the more a boy knows about the habits of the animals he seeks to outwit1 the greater will be his chances of a capture1 and when he knows a little he will want to know more4 ,he will learn that there are rules in this game as well as in games with his human fellows1 and that there are things that no man would do1 and pretend to self-respect4 ,a knowledge of woodcraft is indispensable to the trapper and helps him to take care of himself and act with good judgment in cases of emergency4 ,a boy that sets a trap takes a certain responsibility4 ,if he fails to visit his traps he breaks a rule of the game4 ,a live animal in a cage trap begins to suffer very soon for water and for food4 ,an animal in a steel trap1 if not dead1 will often pull or even gnaw off his injured leg1 and escape4 ,his tragic story may often be read in his footprints in the snow4 ,if trapping for skins you must take them off while fresh1 as they taint very quickly and may be ruined by delay4 ,,trapping ,,mink ,the boy that catches a mink is a pretty lucky boy in these days when those wily little robbers have grown so scarce4 ,the price of mink fur made into muffs and collars is so high as to make a mink skin worth trying for4 ,i can imagine the surprise and well-earned triumph of my young trapping friend when1 after trying for a year or two to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his thoroughbred chickens1 he finally succeeded in capturing a fine mink4 ,a friend of his to whom he had taught all he could of the art of trapping caught another4 ,and this happened within the city limits of the nation's capital6 ,who says now that the mink has disappeared8 ,the mink is a flesh-eater1 and lives on what he can catch1 varying his bill of fare with frogs1 snakes1 birds1 mice1 muskrats1 and fish4 ,it is always open season for trout in the mink's code of laws and though he is not a water animal his home is more than likely to be near a trout stream1 on the bank1 in a well-concealed place4 ,it is not fair to trap mink in the breeding season1 which is ,april or ,may4 ,the young are at the mercy of all sorts of flesh-eaters1 including their own fathers1 who are a most undiscriminating sort4 ,there ought to be some form of guarantee to a mink mother that while she is foraging for food for her young she will not be enticed into a trap4 ,later1 when she goes a-hunting on her own account and the chances are even1 she is legitimate prey for the trapper4 ,steel traps are best1 say the experts1 and they should be cunningly concealed4 ,gouge out a sort of hole in the bank1 conceal the trap at the front1 and put the bait farther in so that the trap must be passed to reach the bait4 ,muskrat flesh1 fish1 or other meat is the bait used4 ,a common practice is to scorch the bait1 to make the odour more pervasive and attractive4 ,the price of fresh mink skins varies according to size and condition from two dollars and a half to four dollars4 ,,trapping ,,skunks ,the last thing you would expect of a skunk is that he should be popular among the girls4 ,but under the seductive title of ,alaska sable1 the fur of the plain ,jersey or ,york ,state skunk is worn with satisfaction by ladies of good sense and good taste4 ,a skunk's pelt is worth two dollars and a half or more and although he is of undoubted value to the farmer as a destroyer of insect pests1 ,i shall not undertake his defence4 ,a cloud of witnesses would rise up to recount their losses from the marauding skunk4 ,his fondness for poultry would be mere circumstantial evidence that he is an enemy of the wild birds as well1 but we have direct evidence enough to convict and condemn him4 ,because of his unusual weapon1 used only when hard-pressed in an unequal battle1 a good deal of special precaution has to be taken when trapping ,mephitis for his fur4 ,the least taint of the unmistakable odour ruins the skin1 as no cleansing compound has been invented strong enough to remove it or drown it4 ,it is said on good authority that the skunk seldom besprinkles itself when discharging its rear battery4 ,skunks are not very clever nor very swift4 ,they go about at night for the most part1 or early evening4 ,the young are born1 six to nine in a litter1 in ,april or ,may4 ,the nests are hidden in holes in hollow trees1 among rocks1 or in the ground4 ,the young ones frequently follow the old ones all summer or even longer1 little realizing that this is a dangerous habit4 ,by tracking them from the scene of their nocturnal visit to or from the stream they run to daily for water1 one may find the hiding place4 ,a clever trapper succeeds in capturing a whole family ofttimes by simply making the path the skunks follow more distinct1 treading down the grass1 and even setting up sticks to guide them along toward the place they wish to go4 ,traps with bits of meat for bait are set at intervals along the path4 ,a snare and spring pole are said to insure no bad consequences4 ,one author advises the hunter that striking a sudden blow near the tail paralyzes the ejecting muscles4 ,no doubt6 ,but in the meantime what is the skunk doing8 ,illustration3 ,deadfall trap ,the white stripe on the skunk's back1 while a valuable warning to all of what is approaching1 is a disadvantage from the trapper's viewpoint4 ,this stripe varies in length and some varieties are without it entirely4 ,there is a story of the days when the ,indians in western ,new ,york used to bring in many skunk skins to the local fur-buyer4 ,one red man1 a notorious cheat1 came in one day with a single skin to sell4 ,long stripe or short stripe1 said the buyer1 whose prices varied with the length of the white stripe on the skunk's back4 ,ver' short stripe4 ,how much pay8 said the ,indian4 ,let's see the skin1 said the buyer4 ,the ,indian showed the skin1 which was that of a young animal1 and very small1 the stripe extending the entire length of the skin4 ,you said short stripe1 said the indignant buyer1 pointing the finger of scorn at the runty little skin4 ,short skunk1 short stripe1 said the ,indian with a shrug4 ,what you pay8 ,i cut out an item from the daily paper last week which had this headline3 ,skunks sent him to college4 ,can you draw your own inferences8 ,the fur of skunks is very valuable now and in many fashionable ,paris shops it is advertised with large placards printed distinctly for their ,english-speaking customers1 ,veritable ,skong4 ,,trapping ,,woodchucks ,judging by the tales they tell1 ,new ,england boys of the passing generation spent most of their time trying to outwit the woodchucks which infested their farms4 ,if all their tales were true1 the barn doors of their respective states must have needed stretching to hold all the skins of all those woodchucks1 and no boy could possibly have been long without that valuable possession1 a whiplash made of woodchuck hide4 ,this little cousin of the squirrels is neither very fleet nor very cunning4 ,he has1 though1 very quick ears and quicker eyes1 and knows that his hole is the safest place for him when boys are around4 ,the only excuse for hunting woodchucks is that they sometimes get so numerous as to do real damage in the garden1 either by their holes and the mounds of earth they throw out1 or by eating more vegetables than can reasonably be spared4 ,a better game than hunting them would be to discover how they build their underground galleries4 ,are these mere holes deep enough to crawl into for safety8 ,is there more than one tunnel8 ,has the owner an exit as well as an entrance to his home8 ,has he a nest1 and where and what is it8 ,does he hoard for winter1 or hibernate8 ,,trapping ,,moles ,it is hard to get a new point of view4 ,having been brought up in the belief that the mole is a nuisance1 pure and simple1 ,i find myself unable on short notice to believe that this little blind miner is actually useful4 ,if only he would confine his sphere of usefulness to some other neighbourhood than our lawn6 ,we all think that his underground passages disfigure the lawn4 ,but does the grass die where the tunnels run8 ,i think not4 ,you see patches of dead grass on many lawns1 but do you find moles at work in these same lawns8 ,in fact1 the brown1 dead patches of grass are probably killed by the white grub1 arch enemy of grass roots4 ,the mole is arch enemy to the white grub and others of his ilk4 ,according to people who know about moles1 we ought to decorate them with medals instead of trapping them and decorating the barn door with their tiny skins4 ,the first mole ,i ever saw was one brought in by our old cat4 ,she laid it down with a sort of shamefaced air as much as to say1 ,things have come to a pretty pass when a self-respecting cat is obliged to bring in the likes of that4 ,it fair turns my stomach6 ,it was not an attractive object1 but we children turned it over and over with a stick4 ,what an odd shape1 so unlike the animals familiar to us4 ,its nose like a gimlet1 its fore feet like little shovels2 no wonder it could tunnel4 ,no eyes1 no ears2 but what use has a mole for either8 ,do you know what ,oliver ,herford said of the mole8 ,see1 children1 the misguided mole1 ,he lives down in a deep1 dark hole2 ,sweetness and light and good fresh air ,are things for which he does not care4 ,but say not that he has no soul1 ,lest haply we misjudge the mole4 ,no one can say that the mole has not a redeeming feature4 ,surely there is no creature clad in a coat of more surpassing softness and fineness than the mole4 ,are the exquisite moleskin garments sometimes seen in furriers' windows really made of tiny skins of this despised little quadruped8 ,it is not likely that any of us will ever catch many moles4 ,if they are troublesome in your lawn1 you and the neighbour boys can do some trapping with mole traps4 ,they are of a kind specially fitted to outwit the mole in his tunnel1 and directions accompany each trap4 ,every boy knows what knuckle down means and how sore your knuckles get in marble time4 ,there is usually one boy in the crowd who is lucky enough to have a knuckle dabster1 made of moleskin4 ,there1 use that4 ,soft as velvet1 eh8 ,nope1 don't want to sell it4 ,caught a mole last summer1 tanned the skin myself and my mother made this for me1 like the one in ',the ,boy's ,own ,book4' ,wouldn't take a dollar for it4 ,,trapping ,,muskrats ,the first fur collar ,i ever had was sold to me as electric seal4 ,there was no deception practised on me1 for ,i knew that the fur was neither electric nor seal4 ,but ,i didn't know then that it was muskrat fur4 ,they call it ,hudson seal nowadays1 ,i believe4 ,these small relatives of the beaver have so few natural enemies1 and are so prolific that they are in no danger of disappearing from our ponds and sluggish streams4 ,the beaver1 on the other hand1 is supposed to be protected by law4 ,until it is against the law to sell and to wear beaver skins1 trappers will evade the law and escape the fines4 ,muskrat fur is not so fine nor thick as that of the beaver and not nearly so expensive4 ,a fresh skin is worth twenty-five to forty cents4 ,they are more in demand now than ever1 owing to the fashionable demand for furs and the scarcity of other fur-bearing animals4 ,there are many ways of trapping them4 ,as they are aquatic and active in the winter they are often taken through the ice4 ,muskrat trappers are always good skaters4 ,a hard blow on the ice will stun the rat1 which is pulled out through a hole4 ,they are sometimes speared through holes in the ice4 ,a boy might develop enough patience and perseverance1 as well as skill and alertness1 in a job like this to make it pay better in some other field than the sale of the skins4 ,muskrats are often caught in traps1 too4 ,to be successful at this it is necessary to learn a great deal about the little fellow's habits of life1 his house1 his food and his ways of escaping enemies4 ,it is well to know his enemies1 too4 ,these are the fox1 the mink1 and the otter4 ,you would be a lucky boy1 indeed1 if instead of common little musquash you bagged an otter whose pelt is worth fifteen or twenty dollars4 ,my father has an otter skin cap about which he and my uncle tell a truly exciting story4 ,they caught an otter1 but that was sixty odd years ago4 ,muskrats are the greatest nuisance in ornamental grounds where there are large water features4 ,they have an unfortunate fondness for lily bulbs4 ,the boy who can outwit them will win favour with the gardener and the garden's owner1 with the muskrat skins thrown in4 ,,trapping ,,gophers ,our old dog ,nimp was convinced that the way to get a gopher was to dig him out4 ,doctor ,hornaday tells an amusing story about his having that same conviction when a boy4 ,many a night ,nimp would come home from the pasture1 panting1 his coat all rough with the reddish soil that we knew had come out of a gopher hole4 ,weary1 yes1 but discouraged1 never4 ,the old dog would go back to his job morning after morning4 ,sometimes we would try to help by carrying buckets full of water and drowning him out4 ,never did ,nimp scent a gopher near the cattle well but once1 and then the boys drowned him out with a vengeance4 ,the hunted little creature leaped out of a hole so unexpectedly near where the boys sat that one turned a complete somersault and landed in the last pailful of water4 ,nimp was quicker than his masters and soon laid the bedraggled little miner at our feet4 ,we felt pretty small4 ,very little can be said in defence of the gopher4 ,he is an undeniable nuisance and helps to bring the farmer's crop down to a lower figure than it ought to be4 ,traps and poisoned vegetables are swifter methods of dealing with the case than digging1 for the gopher is himself past master in the art of digging4 ,,trapping ,,the ,,weasel ,one of the natural enemies of the pocket gopher is the weasel4 ,if only we could set the weasel on the gopher and then had something like a mongoose to keep down the weasels6 ,i never yet heard a good word for the weasel4 ,he seems to be the embodiment of all that is mean and sly and hateful4 ,it is undeniable that he does not obey the laws of the woods1 that he kills for the mere joy of killing1 and that is a high crime4 ,men with weasel-like ways get to have the same blood-thirsty look4 ,the weasel is a savage1 hunting every wild creature in the woods1 rabbits1 mice1 chipmunks1 moles1 rats1 grouse1 chickens1 and ducks1 and even insects4 ,he robs the nests of birds1 eats eggs and young1 and even the old birds are not safe from him4 ,i just read in a book that weasels are so small that their fur has little value1 but the time will come when it will be eagerly sought and used4 ,well1 that time has come1 but1 who ever went to a shop and asked for a weasel tippet8 ,but ask for ermine and they will show any quantity of it4 ,the price6 ,well1 wouldn't the weasel be surprised to find himself so popular4 ,it all comes about because of that interesting habit of his1 changing colour in the winter4 ,the weasel is a sort of peculiar shade of brown as you can testify if you have caught one2 the ermine is pure white all but the tippest tip of the tail which is dead black2 yet they are one and the same4 ,weasel in summer and ermine in winter4 ,the weasel1 the mink1 and the marten are all enemies of the native wild game1 and efforts to exterminate them are always applauded by sportsmen4 ,much is yet to be learned of their habits4 ,trappers have succeeded in keeping the mink and marten in check1 but the weasel goes his murderous way1 feared and hated by everybody4 ,,trapping ,,rats ,there is no pest around the farm yard or barn yard anywhere so hard to cope with when once they get a foothold1 as rats4 ,finding them numerous in the barn once1 we put chicken feed in the uncemented cellar of the house4 ,before the end of the first winter of that arrangement we were praying for a visit from the ,pied ,piper4 ,the rats took possession4 ,they broke dishes1 seemingly for the fun of it2 they gnawed the softened woodwork around the kitchen sink and held high carnival at midnight throughout the spaces between the walls2 they all but bit the babies in their cradles and defied all our efforts to outwit them4 ,traps1 cats1 poison1 we tried everything1 but they outstayed us4 ,if ever we get into a like case again ,i shall be tempted to try ferrets or cyanide4 ,some people are successful trappers of rats1 and these suggestions come from them4 ,set a trap in a pan of meal or bran1 cover with same and put it in a runway4 ,make the runway easy to pass through by placing boards or boxes along near the walls4 ,cover a trap with thin brown paper or cloth and set it in the runway4 ,smoke the trap over the fire and heat it hot 7not hot enough to draw the temper of the steel71 after each setting4 ,change the place of the trap very often4 ,wear gloves to keep the odour of your hands from the trap4 ,the rat is the very wisest of all his family1 his behaviour seems to be the result of impish intelligence rather than mere instinct for self-preservation4 ,no true sportsman will allow his antipathy to rats or weasels to lead him to commit acts of cruelty4 ,fighting them with their own methods makes you into a human rat or weasel4 ,,trapping ,,rabbits ,there are times when rabbits get too numerous1 and times when they are needed to eat1 and times when you want to try your hand at taming a wild one4 ,under these circumstances it is legitimate sport to hunt or trap them4 ,if damage is being done to crops in the spring we shall be forced to wage war against them in self-defence during their breeding season4 ,otherwise no sportsman would do it4 ,if there is so little legitimate rabbit food in winter that they are driven to destroy fruit trees to get a little bark1 then the inference is that there are too many rabbits4 ,study the rabbit's ways of living1 and learn his weak points4 ,find out if he has a tendon of ,achilles or vulnerable spot4 ,look one over4 ,what are his conspicuous characteristics8 ,is it not evident that his life is one long series of narrow escapes8 ,he has few1 if any1 wits2 how low his forehead4 ,timid eyes4 ,but ears6 ,can he not hear you coming a mile off8 ,and ,,legs6 ,did you ever see a greater development in that direction8 ,yes1 in a grasshopper1 but nowhere else4 ,the rabbit is a perfect mammalian grasshopper4 ,when you stop to think of it you will see a certain pathetic side to its life4 ,the rabbit has its wild enemies1 ever watchful1 ever close on its trail4 ,the hawk1 the mink1 the weasel1 the fox1 the lynx1 and others are rabbit hunters4 ,besides his quick hearing1 and his swiftness1 ,br'er ,rabbit has a wonderful power of becoming invisible4 ,his nondescript colour1 combined with his ability to freeze1 serve him as well as a cloak of darkness4 ,the cotton-tail rabbit is commonest in the ,middle and ,southern states1 while his bigger cousin1 the varying hare1 overlaps the rabbit's territory in the colder parts1 and takes his place in the most ,northern states4 ,the varying hare is called also the snow-shoe rabbit and the white hare1 but in summer he is dull russet brown4 ,you may have heard of the wonderful change of colour of this and other animals4 ,interesting stories are told of the sudden blanching of the fur1 of its turning white1 in a single night1 like the locks of the prisoner of ,chillon4 ,not a word of truth in that story4 ,why do people1 whose only fitness for telling stories lies in their having an imagination1 make up such yarns about real things8 ,they could invent an animal and then tell as many wonderful tales as they liked and nobody would be deceived4 ,the truth about animals is wonderful enough4 ,if writers would only take pains to find out the truth instead of repeating fancies6 ,suppose the early ancestor of the white hare had a grayish-brownish coat1 just the thing to protect him from his enemies in a world all full of grayish-brownish things4 ,but one day there came a snow storm1 and all the gray-brown things were covered with whiteness1 except the poor hare4 ,suddenly he became the most noticeable object in the woods4 ,then all his neighbours saw him and wanted him1 and mostly they got him4 ,it was about then that the hare began to be the varying hare4 ,a law of nature came to his rescue4 ,some hares there were which were not so dark coloured as others4 ,they may have been longer winded and swifter footed1 too1 but anyhow they escaped and lived to bring families into the world4 ,as like breeds like1 these young hares took after their parents1 and because they were lighter coloured in the winter they in turn escaped and carried this peculiarity into the next generation4 ,it took endless years1 and innumerable generations of hares1 varying this way and that to fulfill this natural law1 and fix the habit4 ,but now that it is fixed we may well view it with wonder1 and call it an example of the law of the survival of the fittest4 ,how is the change brought about8 ,just as the chickens and the birds moult1 and the horse sheds1 so do the rabbits4 ,their summer coats are thinner and brown4 ,one by one the brown hairs fall out in the fall till finally the new coat is there1 which is white4 ,it is not like the human hair changing from brown to white4 ,in the fall and then again in the spring there is a time when the varying hare is a variegated hare1 his coat being mottled with white and brown4 ,rabbits are hunted with dogs and their trails in the new snow are easily followed by the hunter alone4 ,they are caught in traps and snares of various kinds4 ,in one of his lessons in woodcraft1 ,mr4 ,seton describes a rabbit snare as follows3 ,string1 a shoe-lace1 a buckskin thong1 or even a strip of clothing may be used as a snare4 ,there are many ways of making a rabbit snare1 but the simplest is the best4 ,the essentials are1 first1 the snare--an ordinary running noose2 second1 a twitch-up--that is a branch bent down or a pole set in the crotch of a sapling4 ,the snare is fast to the end of the pole1 and spread open in a well worn runway4 ,the loop is about four inches across and placed four inches from the ground4 ,the pole twitch-up is held down by placing the cross-piece of the snare under some projecting snag4 ,the rabbit bounding along1 puts his head in the noose1 the slight jerk frees the cross-piece from its holder1 and in a moment the rabbit is dangling in air4 ,rabbit fur is not very durable but is much used for the manufacture of less expensive fur garments4 ,under the name of ,french seal it finds a ready market and is really soft and pretty4 ,,traps ,,that ,,boys ,,can ,,make ,there are a number of traps and snares that boys can make4 ,descriptions of these are to be found in books on amateur carpentry1 manual training1 and books for boys of various kinds4 ,the illustrations in this chapter are intended to give a few suggestions4 ,,money ,,and ,,recreation ,,in ,,trapping ,i shall not attempt to go at this subject from a professional side1 as ,i think no boys care to trap for a living4 ,whatever may be said about the boy having a gun in a thickly settled suburb1 nothing can be offered against his trapping if he goes at it in an amateur way and with no intent to exterminate the animals 7which only a shrewd trapper could do74 ,i will presume the boy to be attending a neighbouring school either on the edge of a city or in a town4 ,under these circumstances he must attend to his traps early in the morning or after school4 ,at first there may be no more than enough money in it to cover the cost of traps1 but nevertheless the recreation which it offers will appeal to the average boy4 ,as his knowledge of animals becomes greater with time1 he will get more and more pocket money4 ,when he starts in1 the other boys may laugh at him and say that there is nothing to trap4 ,in most cases they would make a big mistake1 because there often are1 on the edge of a city1 more fur-bearing animals than in the surrounding country4 ,this for the reason that the professional trapper is not present and most of the city boys do not know how to trap4 ,there are1 say1 muskrats and an occasional mink along the rivers and streams4 ,the swamps usually abound in muskrats4 ,in the woods and fields are squirrels1 rabbits1 raccoons1 opossums1 and 7in the ,north7 woodchucks4 ,it is legitimate to catch the water animals in ordinary steel traps because1 if set right1 the captive is instantly drowned4 ,for dry land the steel jaw-trap is not suitable1 because it will rarely kill the animal1 but cause him much suffering as it usually breaks his leg4 ,often in such case the trapper will only find a foot in his trap1 the animal having gnawed or twisted his body free4 ,nevertheless any trap is humane which kills the animal instantly4 ,there are many new traps on the market which will do this1 but on account of their being patented and high-priced they are not extensively used4 ,the traps which are most commonly used for this purpose are the deadfalls and snares4 ,the muskrat lives wherever there is a body of water4 ,he feeds chiefly on vegetable matter which he obtains in the swamps or digs on the banks1 although he frequently visits a cornfield or vegetable garden4 ,only in cases of extreme hunger1 as happens when they are frozen in1 have they been known to eat their own kin4 ,in swamps they have houses made of rushes and twigs1 standing in a rounded shape about two feet above the water4 ,to trap in the swamps one must have high rubber boots and if the water is deep a small boat is necessary4 ,a home-made flat-bottomed canoe1 made of canvas1 will be found to answer the purpose admirably4 ,where it is shallow enough to use the boots1 a long1 heavy staff should be carried1 as the mud is very often treacherous and interwoven with muskrat runways4 ,i might as well say in the beginning that the intending trapper should take a friend into his confidence and the two set out to trap together1 for in this way they can help each other out of difficulties4 7,my friend had to do some pretty stiff pulling once to get me out of a mud hole into which ,i had recklessly plunged1 having only in my mind to get to my traps quickly47 ,along the rivers the muskrats live in holes in the banks4 ,in trapping in such places one may walk along the bank or use a boat1 setting the traps in the entrances of houses or in the runs4 ,before the trapping season begins it is very wise to go over the territory and locate the different houses1 runways1 and feeding places4 ,this will save time when trapping begins1 which should not be before ,december1 because up to this time the pelts are not in their prime4 ,the trapping season lasts for about three months or until the ice breaks up in the spring4 ,if the water is not yet iced over1 the muskrats can be caught with the steel jaw-traps4 ,they should be set in the runs or at the entrances of houses so that they are just under the surface of the water4 ,the chain should be staked in the water as far out as possible4 ,the muskrat will in every instance try to swim out into deep water and the weight of the trap on his foot will pull him down and drown him4 ,traps may be baited with apples1 carrots1 turnips1 and nearly any vegetable or fruit4 ,the bait should be stuck on a slanting stick so that it will hang about a foot above the pan of the trap4 ,illustration3 ,stop thief trap ,when the water is frozen over1 other methods must be followed4 ,many trappers cut the houses open and set the traps on the inside1 but those who wish to keep the muskrats in the vicinity will not do this1 because it destroys their homes and causes them to seek new shelter4 ,for my own use ,i have stop thief traps which kill instantly and are not very expensive4 ,a hole is cut in the ice and the trap set before the house entrance or in a swimway4 ,in going through1 the muskrat puts his foot on lever a1 which releases b1 and this in turn lets down lever c1 which strikes him over the neck or back1 breaking it instantly4 ,as shown1 the trap is fastened with staples to a wooden prong1 one end of which is stuck in the mud at the bottom and the other fits just under the ice4 ,mink are rarely caught1 because they are very crafty and keen to the scent of a human being4 ,once in a while they are caught in a trap set in the water or in the entrance to a muskrat house4 ,this is accounted for by the fact that the mink preys largely upon these weaker animals in the winter when food is scarce4 ,sometimes they can be lured with a muskrat carcass or a dead bird4 ,if the trap is not set under water there is little probability of getting the mink4 ,the trapping of mink should be encouraged1 because they kill not only muskrats1 but chickens and other domestic fowl as well4 ,one must use his own judgment and set his trap in a place frequented by the mink4 ,prime mink skins usually bring three or four dollars from any local fur dealer4 ,on the other hand muskrats are more plentiful and bring only about thirty cents4 ,thus it is that some boys prefer to keep the muskrat skins and tan them at home4 ,from these skins they make comfortable caps and gloves4 ,illustration3 ,stretchers for skins4 ,the narrow one for mink1 the other for muskrat ,to skin the muskrat and mink1 commence on the hind legs4 ,the skin is slit down one leg and up the other4 ,with muskrats the tail is cut away from the rest of the skin4 ,the mink's tail adds greatly to the value of the skin1 so the bone is carefully extracted with a pair of pincers and the tail left on the skin4 ,the skin is then gradually peeled down over the body and head4 ,it is then stretched with the fur side inward on a board as shown in the figure on this page4 ,after this it is hung in a dry1 airy place to dry1 away from the sun4 ,for home tanning a fresh pelt needs only salt1 but the following solution gives somewhat better results and makes the skin more pliable3 ,salt1 two pounds4 ,sulphuric acid 7com47 two ounces4 ,rain water1 one gallon4 ,the pelt should remain immersed in the solution for about two days4 ,when taken out it must be first nearly dried and then the flesh side scraped and rubbed until soft with some dull steel instrument1 such as an old blunt chisel4 ,care should be taken not to break the skin as it is very fragile in some places1 especially on the belly4 ,illustration3 ,snare with carrot bait ,the land animals can be caught in snares or deadfalls4 ,very likely most boys know of these1 but ,i have illustrated them here in the forms which ,i think have served me best4 ,usually only the smaller animals are caught in the snare1 such as rabbits and squirrels4 ,to bait for either of these corn or apple is commonly used1 although onion makes a good scent bait to draw rabbits from afar4 ,besides these named nearly any green vegetable or fruit will answer very well4 ,these animals being maybe the least wary of them all are therefore very easy to catch4 ,for an opossum green corn and a little raw meat is all that is necessary1 while for a raccoon a crawfish may be added4 ,this latter is considered the best1 and hardly ever fails to lure the raccoon4 ,the skins of the raccoon and opossum bring about a dollar and a half1 and half a dollar1 respectively4 ,illustration3 ,deadfall ,rabbits and squirrels are caught as game1 while raccoons together with opossum are considered eatable by most trappers4 ,the up-to-date people who order marsh rabbits at the most fashionable restaurants are eating no other than muskrat4 ,these they eat with a great relish under the new name4 ,i will add that it makes a great difference in eating a muskrat whether you let your imagination get the best of you4 ,many times ,i have eaten muskrat with quite as much comfort as though ,i were eating rabbit4 ,naturally the meat has a very strong taste which must be removed before cooking1 by soaking over night in salt water4 ,young fat woodchucks are also frequently eaten4 ,it is hard to set down on paper just how and where to set the traps and it can only be learned from another trapper or by experience4 ,the most important thing is to observe closely and learn the habits of the animals4 ,,stanley ,,coville ,,curing ,,and ,,tanning ,,skins ,the boy trapper must know how to take the skins from the animals he traps1 and how to treat them to preserve their beauty and value4 ,the skin should be taken off before it becomes tainted1 and with greatest care not to injure it4 ,some skins are exceedingly tender4 ,be careful to remove bits of fat or flesh2 left to dry on the skin1 these detract from its value4 ,no artificial dressing is needed to cure or dry a skin4 ,the fresh skin should be tacked to a smooth board or drawn over a stretcher1 fur side in1 so that the air can get at it freely4 ,it should not be put in the sun1 or rain1 or artificial heat4 ,when thoroughly dry1 the skin is ready for market or it may be tanned at home4 ,a boy fortunate enough to obtain a valuable pelt like that of marten1 mink1 or otter1 will certainly want to try his hand at tanning4 ,you want first to be sure to use a mixture which will not injure the fur but will fix it more firmly in its place4 ,never put any dressing on the fur itself4 ,you also want the skin to be soft and pliable so that it can be made up into some form of garment4 ,the following directions are adapted from ,the ,tricks of ,trapping by ,w4 ,hamilton ,gibson1 a reliable source of all trapping lore for ,american boys3 ,after every particle of loose flesh and fat is removed from the skin1 it should be soaked for a couple of hours in warm water4 ,while waiting1 prepare this mixture3 ,take equal parts of saltpetre1 borax1 and sulphate of soda4 ,mix with enough water to make a thin batter4 ,paint the wet skin over thickly on the flesh side4 ,fold the skin flesh side in and lay in an airy place1 for twenty-four hours4 ,on the following day prepare a second mixture consisting of two parts sal-soda1 three parts borax1 four parts castile soap4 ,melt these together over a slow fire4 ,apply this mixture in the same manner as the first1 twenty-four hours later4 ,fold skin as before and leave another twenty-four hours4 ,make a third mixture of equal parts of common salt and alum1 dissolved in warm water and thickened with coarse flour to the consistency of thin paste4 ,allow this to dry on1 then stretch the skin lightly and scrape off the hardened paste with the bowl of a spoon4 ,sometimes a second or even a third treatment with the last mixture is required to make the skin absolutely pliable1 after which it should be finished with sand-paper and pumice stone4 ,a skin thus dressed should be soft as velvet4 ,the alum and salt set the hair securely4 ,,appendix ,,free ,,printed ,,matter4 ,,how ,,to ,,get ,,it ,there are three principal sources of free printed matter on outdoor work subjects4 ,these are 7#a7 the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture4 7#b7 ,state ,agricultural ,experiment ,stations4 7#c7 ,commercial houses who sell supplies for outdoor occupations4 7#a7 ,the ,farmers' ,bulletins are the ones which will be most useful to outdoor workers4 ,they are written in plain language and treat every subject in a practical way4 ,to get them1 you should address a postal card thus3 ,secretary of ,agriculture1 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,on the other side of the card write as follows3 ,please send me the list of publications for free distribution sent out by your department1 and oblige1 ,sign your name and address distinctly4 ,in a few days you will get a printed circular giving the numbers and titles of all the ,farmers' ,bulletins and other free literature they have4 ,choose the ones you want and address another postal card to the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 ,ask for the bulletins wanted by number and title both1 to avoid mistakes4 ,some of the bulletins of the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture are not for free distribution4 ,they are too valuable4 ,a charge is made to cover cost of printing4 ,to get any bulletin mentioned in this list with its price1 address a letter to ,superintendent of ,documents1 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 and enclose the amount in money order or coin4 ,do not send stamps4 7#b7 ,to get the bulletins of your own ,state ,experiment ,station you have only to address another postal card2 this time to the ,director of ,state ,experiment ,station1 with the name of the post-office and state4 ,if not sure of the title and number of the bulletin you want1 tell the director what phase of the subject you are interested in4 ,for instance1 one experiment station issues several poultry bulletins4 ,do you want the one on ,house ,construction or the one on ,feeding ,pullets8 ,the more definite you are in your requests the more likely you are to get exactly what you need most4 ,to get the bulletins of another station than your own is not quite so simple4 ,they have no fund for distributing bulletins in other states4 ,but ,i have never failed to get them by asking for just the thing ,i need4 ,it is well to offer to pay for these2 the price is always small4 ,some of them are republished by the ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture and appear in their free list as ,experiment ,station ,work1 ,i1 ,,ii1 ,,iii1 etc4 7#c7 ,the booklets and catalogues sent out free by seedsmen and other commercial houses are mines of information1 condensed and well arranged4 ,you may be sure that the advice they give is good1 too1 as it is to their interest to have their patrons succeed4 ,you can tell the difference very quickly between the hot air of advertising matter and the practical advice to beginners given in catalogues4 ,i most earnestly advise every one of you who is engaged in a money making enterprise to subscribe for some good periodical4 ,there are good magazines devoted to many of the occupations1 and some of the general magazines have special departments which are full of up-to-date suggestions which have not yet been put into books4 ,the latest and best word on your subject is none too good and may make a difference of dollars in or out of pocket4 ,if you devise any new apparatus or discover any time or money saving methods1 don't keep these things to yourself4 ,help the world along by writing to some magazine about it4 ,they are on the lookout for valuable novelties4 ,the stories told by boys and girls in this volume have almost all appeared in a magazine first4 ,,the ,,outdoor ,,worker',s ,,library ,the following is a list of useful books1 magazines1 and bulletins on all sorts of outdoor occupations1 written by experts4 ,they are here arranged by subjects under eleven of the chapters of this book4 ,n4 ,b4 ,some of these books are expensive4 ,get them from your library if you can4 ,the librarian will usually order a good book which is in demand4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,united ,states ,department of ,agriculture3 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #ccb4 ,nuts and ,their ,uses as ,food4 ,no4 #ahh4 ,weeds ,used in ,medicine4 ,no4 #beb4 ,maple ,sugar and ,sirup4 ,plant ,industry ,bulletin ,no4 #ajg4 ,root ,drugs4 ,price #ae;c4 ,vermont ,agricultural ,experiment ,station ,bulletin ,no4 #aje4 ,maple ,sap ,flow4 ,vermont ,experiment ,station ,bulletin ,no4 #bf4 ,maple ,sugar4 ,practical ,forestry4 ,gifford4 ,d4 ,appleton ,co4 ,mushrooms1 ,edible and ,otherwise4 ,hard4 ,mushroom ,publishing ,co41 ,columbus1 ,o4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #bb4 ,the ,feeding of ,farm ,animals4 ,no4 #bje4 ,pig ,management4 ,no4 #di4 ,sheep ,feeding4 ,no4 #acg4 ,the ,angora ,goat4 ,no4 #fd4 ,ducks and ,geese4 ,no4 #bcd4 ,guinea ,fowl4 ,no4 #ceg4 ,methods of ,poultry ,management at the ,maine ,experiment ,station4 ,no4 #agg4 ,squab ,raising4 ,price #e;c4 ,no4 #cij4 ,pheasant ,rearing in the ,united ,states4 ,bureau of ,animal ,industry ,bulletin ,no4 #fh4 ,milch ,goats4 ,price #ac;c4 ,cornell ,university ,rural ,school ,leaflet4 ,vol4 #d4 ,no4 #a4 ,horses4 ,ithaca1 ,n4 ,y4 ,poultry ,bulletins ,nos4 #bdj1 #bhb1 #bgd1 #bdi4 ,cornell ,university4 ,the ,poultry ,book4 ,doubleday1 ,page ,co4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,poultry ,book4 ,doubleday1 ,page ,co4 ,our ,home ,pets4 ,o4 ,t4 ,miller4 ,harper ,bros4 ,the ,self-,supporting ,home4 ,st4 ,maur4 ,the ,macmillan ,co4 ,goldfish ,culture4 ,mulertt4 ,h4 ,mulertt1 publisher1 #bhi ,fennimore ,st41 ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,illinois ,agricultural ,college ,extension ,course4 ,dairy ,lessons for ,use in ,public ,schools4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #dac4 ,care of ,milk in the ,home4 ,no4 #aif4 ,usefulness of the ,american ,toad4 ,no4 #cbh4 ,silver ,fox ,farming4 ,no4 #ccj4 ,deer ,farming in the ,united ,states4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,american ,boys' ,handy ,book4 ,beard4 ,harper ,bros4 ,bound ,volumes of ,country ,life in ,america4 ,articles on ,swimming ,pools1 ,springs1 etc4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #ach4 ,irrigation in ,field and ,garden4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #cig4 ,bees4 ,a ,b ,c of ,bee ,culture4 ,root4 ,a4 ,i4 ,root ,co41 ,medina1 ,o4 ,how to ,keep ,bees4 ,comstock4 ,doubleday1 ,page ,co4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #afe4 ,silk-worm ,culture4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,botany4 ,bailey4 ,the ,macmillan ,co4 ,the ,sea ,beach at ,ebb-tide4 ,arnold4 ,the ,century ,co4 ,cornell ,nature ,study ,leaflets4 ,how to ,make a ,collection of ,insects4 ,comstock4 ,j4 ,b4 ,lyon1 ,albany1 ,n4 ,y4 ,united ,states ,national ,museum ,bulletin #ci4 ,collecting ,fossils1 ,plants1 ,insects1 ,shells1 ,arrowheads1 etc4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #dae4 ,seed ,corn4 ,no4 #age4 ,unfermented ,grape ,juice4 ,new ,york ,experiment ,station at ,geneva4 ,bulletin ,no4 #beh4 7,popular edition47 ,making ,cider ,vinegar at ,home4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,farmers' ,bulletin ,no4 #ahe4 ,beautifying the ,home ,grounds4 ,no4 #acd4 ,tree ,planting on ,rural ,school ,grounds4 ,no4 #aee4 ,how ,insects ,affect ,health in ,rural ,districts4 ,no4 #che4 ,boys' and ,girls' ,agricultural ,clubs4 ,no4 #cfh4 ,the ,eradication of ,bind ,weed or ,wild ,morning ,glory4 ,no4 #cfi4 ,how to ,destroy ,rats4 ,no4 #chc4 ,how to ,destroy ,english ,sparrows4 ,no4 #cif4 ,the ,muskrat4 ,no4 #ii4 ,insect ,enemies of ,shade ,trees4 ,no4 #bh4 ,weeds3 ,how to ,kill ,them4 ,no4 #ed4 ,common ,birds in ,their ,relation to ,agriculture4 ,price #f;c4 ,biological ,bulletin ,no4 #bd4 ,grouse and ,wild ,turkeys in the ,united ,states4 ,price #aj;c4 ,bureau of ,entomology ,bulletin ,no4 #be4 ,mosquitoes4 ,price #aj;c4 ,bureau of ,entomology ,circular ,no4 #aa4 ,house ,flies4 #aiji ,year ,book of ,department of ,agriculture4 ,plants ,useful to ,attract ,birds and ,protect ,fruit ,trees4 ,new ,jersey ,experiment ,station ,bulletin ,no4 #baf4 ,the ,house ,mosquito4 ,circulars issued by ,the ,audubon ,society4 ,new ,york4 ,how to ,attract the ,birds4 ,blanchan4 ,doubleday1 ,page ,co4 ,camp ,life in the ,woods and the ,tricks of ,trapping4 ,gibson4 ,harper ,bros4 ,trappers' ,guide4 ,newhouse4 7,try to get this book from a library47 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,spelling appears to be evolving between ,,us_/,,uk e4g4 both color and colour are seen4 ,some page numbers in contents list are incorrect1 these have been left as given4 ,,ch ,,ii is p4 #h4 7,,toc has #i7 ,,ch ,,ii is #ajj 7#aja7 ,,ch ,,viii is #ccg 7#cch7 ,,ch ,,ix is #cdi 7#cej7 ,,ch ,x is #djd 7#dje7 ,,ch ,,xi is #ddi 7#dej7 ,appendix is #eac 7#ead7 ,book list is #eaf 7#eah7 ,corrected obvious typos and inconsistencies1 otherwise spelling has been left as printed3 p4 #adi gasoline - gasolene4 skim milk - skim-milk4 p4 #afc ,wynadottes - ,wyandottes4 p4 #aha precentage - percentage4 p4 #bbh vak - yak4 p4 #bdg belive - believe4 p4 #cda at - as4 p4 #dhe noctural - nocturnal4