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labor supply will permit. of this department 1s to place at the ser ) of our farm readers the advice of an acknowledged J rity on all subjects pertaining fo soils and crops : Address all questions to Professor Henry G. Bell, in fi of The Wilsan Publishing Company, Lim Toronto, answers will ap ich they are ed. 'When writin , As space Is limited it is advisa in this column in the order in kindly mention this where Tmmediate ly is necessary that a stamped and addressed envelope with the question, when the answer will fled direct. \Side-Feeding Garden Crops. Lord Rhondda, said recently, "Un- less the people of Canada and United tes spéed up their food supplies, je Allied peoples may find it very dif- ficult to carry this war on to that con- ; clusion which will mean a permanent You may not feel that this has a : g on your particular garden or farm products, but it is the good work ' that you and your neighbor, and your _ meighbor's neighbor do that is going to make it possible for Canada to pro- duce the largest crops in her history in 1918. You have used good seed, and given your crops a good start 'and you are planning to cultivate them _ thoroughly and as frequently as your There is yet one other thing you can do to in- crease the yield, and that is to apply fertilizers along the row just before you cultivate the corn, potatoes and other hoed crops. Fertilizers are concentrated soluble plantfood. A side application, worked into the ground during the growing season, is Just like a pail of fresh milk given to @ growing calf, It is the food that makes the crop and animal growth. The application of fertilizers before cultivation is not so tedious and difficult an operation as might be imagined. A simple ap- paratus can be rigged up as follows: -- Take an ordinary tin funnel which is 6 or 8 inches across the top and fit it] into a piece of rubber hose or a small rain pipe, about 3 or 4 feet long. When a bag of fertilizer is swung over the back cut a hale in the corner of it and hold the funnel under the hole. As you walk along the row you can guide the loose end of the hose or pipe so that a stream of fertilizer runs along the row, not too mear the growing crop. Do this before you cultivate and 'the cultivation will work the plant- food into the soil. There are. cultiva- tors built with fertilizer dropping at- tachments, which merely consist of a fertilizer hopper and a tube reaching down in front.of the shoes. These drop the fertilizer just before the cul- tivator works the soil. The 'added plantfood gives the crop & vigorous start and materially helps in early maturing of the crop. Ihave before me statements of large com- mercial growers of tomatoes and other garden crops that get good results from side-dressing of crops. It is a logical practice and one which this year above all times, should render . good service and increase and improve food productions both in the garden and on the large farm. ~ : \ How and When to Cultivate, " Home gardeners and farmers with crops of potatoes, mangels and corn are anxious to do the right thing at this time in order to produce largest crops. Many a corn crop has been cut ghort from 5 to 20% by bad culti- vation. The purpose of cultivation is primarily to break up the continuous connection of soil crumbs from the surface down to what is generally known as the water table, which is the place where the soil remains damp. This may, or may not be near the surface. When the soil particles are thoroughly connected up, water rises in the soil by clinging from one por- tion of soil to another until it rises to the surface where it is evaporated. When you cultivate the spa be- tween the rows of corn, potatoes and other crops you simply break up the , appl; oT - top connections of the soil and prevent the escape of moisture. Now, 'the rapidly growing crops quickly send their tiny roots out across the spaces between the rows, and the smallest rootlets frequently come within an inch of the surface of the soil, hence a deep cultivation, while it may kill the weeds, prunes off large quantities of these feeding roots, and virtually works to the starving of the plant. Cultivate shallower and shal- lower as the season goes on, and keep a little further away each time from the growing crop. It is unnecessary to quote figures and experiments to prove this statement, suffice it to say, there is an abundance of proof on file to show that too close and too deep cultivation, while it makes a crop look good, actually cuts down the yields much * more n the average man suspects. course weeds must be kept down, but they can be cut off at the surface without digging down into the soil and upsetting the feeding conditions of the crop. Keep your hoe sharp and practice surface hoe- ing, in order to kill weeds. While the crops are young and be- fore the branches cause enough shade to prevent the exposure of the ground between the rows, there is a great deal of evaporation going on. After a sharp, heavy rainstorm, the soil is fre- quently packed together so that the soil-crumb connections spoken of above, are connected up. If you do not cultivate your crops for quite a time after the rain has fallen the pro- bability is that not only will the mois- ture which fell in the rainstorm be evaporated, but there will be an ac- tual loss of the moisture you had in the soil before the storm, because the connections with the soil store of mois- ture have been reunited by 'the rain packing the soil. Just as soon as the ground is dry enough then, after a summer rain, the surface should be stirred in order to retain the soil mois- ture. Bp G Rovlir!? It is economy to feed young and growing poultry of every kind all they need of the best feeds. Full use should be made of waste products from the kitchen, the table and the foods on the farm range for such material is excellent food for all kinds of poultry and will help to cut} down the expense of feeding. There is a good chance to make money on the laying stock from now until they begin to shed their feathers because it costs Tess to feed them now and they produce eggs in liberal num- bers. Those that molt late will usu- ally lay at least a dollar's worth of eggs during the summer and will then sell in the market for as much as could be obtained for them now. A good food for newly-hatched ducklings and goslings is stale (but not moldy or musty) bread moistened with milk and with a little fine grit and a little finely granulated charcoal mixed in. This can be fed five times a day, as much as the little ones will eat up promptly at each meal. After a few days this ration can gradually be changed to one made of one part corn meal and two parts wheat bran, mixed with milk or water and contain- ing a little grit and charcoal. Feed this once a day: Little chicks and little turkeys usu- ally do well if started on johnnycake, baked hard, crumbled and fed dry. Many breeders, however, start them on dry grain chick feed and they do well on that if they have plenty of chance to exercise after the first day or two and are not allowed to get chill- ed or overheated. Head lice which bore through the skulls of chicks and poults and gra- dually cause paralysis and finally death are the cause of many losses and all chicks and poults should be care- examined by turning the down on. their heads. If the head lice are some good head-lice oint- though the head-lice ointment is better Po because. it is made for the purpose. ihe Seine that 'cannot be obtained |t] «| readily, a little sweet oil or vaseline | Was a JEL Lesson I. Beginning The Christian Life--John 1. 35-51; Acts 16. : 13-34. Golden text, Rev. 22.17 . Verse 18. On the sabbath day we went forth without the side--This verse lands in the midst of a narrative concerning the experience $f Paul in the city of ilippt in Euro, in which . gOS] reached. Following the vision e had in on and then goes up of Philippi, Maced He ins several in the sity, right to whose privileges he could claim as a Roman citizen. On the Sabbath day, that is, the Jewish Jews congregate, which was by the riverside. 'Where we supposed there was a place of prayer--In most cities we find the Jews worshiping in a syn- ragogue, but in this city they seem to have been too poor to build themselves a house of worship. They had only a "praying lace,' or "proseucha," by river gide, where prayer was wont to be made. We sat down, and spake unto the women--This was apparently not a synagogue service. It was noc unusual for the teacher to teach in sit- ting posture. 14. A certain woman named Lydia a geller of plirple--That is, a seller of fabrics and clothes dyed purple. One that worshipped God--She was a pro- selyte and, so, disposed to interest in religious life. Heard us--More proper- ly, was listening to us. Whose heart the Lord opened--She was in the attitude te by a river: in po Sabbath, he goes out to where the! of open mind to receive the truth, a sincere, unprejudiced and +i inquirer for the way of life. She wel- comed through the message of Paul and with willing submission rendered the moral; self-conscious compliance by which she arrived at faith. 16. When she wag baptized, and her hold--She dedicates her entire hands of Paul the rite of baptism, as the rite initiating her into the Christian church This is one of the cases of "household baptism" men- tioned in the New Testament. (For others see Acts 18. 8 and 1 Cor. 1. 16.) It is assumed that the term "household" must have included all her children and, in all probability, in- fants. & 16-24. The incidents recorded in this section occurred on another day in Philippi. It appears that a slave girl! who was a ventriloquist, in the service of her masters and bringing in consid- erable revenue through her "soothsay- ing," followed Paul, crying out through the demon Supposed to pos- sess her and acknowledging Paul and his companion as "servants of the Most High God." Paul rebukes the "demon," the girl is res , the spell of the demon is broken, and the Soothsaying business is Broken up. The men o owned the girl seize Paul and his companion and drag them be- fore the magistrates. The crowd is inflamed against them, their clothes are torn from them, they are publicly ristian' the presentation of Christi family to the Lord, accepting at the' whipped with rods and placed in prison with their feet rie into hr I 25. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto, od, and the prisoners were listening --They were probably unable to slee because of the pain of their wounds from the awful Scourging and the dis- comfort of their position, but with joyful spirit, unmoved by the savage, treatment, they fill the prison with, their jubilant hymns of praise--a mar-| velous thing to the hed prisoners, upon whose ears fell the notes of ristian joy. 26. Suddenly there was a great earthquake--This evidently reads as a| miraculous event, indicated by all the details--the opening of all the doors! and the shaking off of all the bonds! of the prisoners. 27. The jailor . . was about to; kill himself---The jailor was respon-| sible with his life for the safety of the prisoners and preferred death by his own hand to exposure, disgrace, and a dishonorable death. 28. Do Siyasit no harm: for we are all here--Why did not the prisoners make a dash for safety when an tunity was afforded them? The uake had thrown them into a panic. e jailor came to the outer door, called for lights, and, with the pre- sence of mind of a Roman, summoned the guard, and the opportunity was it. 29. Fell down before Paul and Silas --He now saw in Paul and Silas no longer. 8. They Mere unlike any other prisoners. ey had been shamefully treated, but were evident- ly, to him, rites of the gods. 80. Sirs, what must I do to be say- ed ?--His appeal from the earthquake wrath of th oppor- L ie nature of the 1 and the way of sal- vation m. : 83. 'He and all The jailor brought fo was not to be saved "from the]! or e e Si on account. of is 1 of Paul and ant fo he an instrument to carry oN ( his, immediately--|' rth fraits moet 'with | chine is level, and its foundation. ; When calves' horns are just begin- ning to appear, take a stick of caustic potash, moisten it and rub it on the caustic dry after each application. ul cro Sich This will nt the' f di Europe, Be Bist touches at Neapalls veloping. i vith bony ot e shore (the modern Kavala) | touch any spot but the horns, nor- get to the Roman col ogg og ony. on the hands of the one applying it. days| For bloat in cattle give one or two ounces of turpentine well shaken into 'two quarts of milk; or one and one- third ounces of formalin in a quart of water; or one pound of baking soda and three heaping tablespoonfuls of ginger in two quarts of water. These must be given as a drench, and it is well to place a block in the animal's mouth so the gas can escape readily. .Dairymen rejoice when at last comes the green grass season of the year, when heavy hand-feeding may be discontinued and the happy cows luxuriate upon pasture. They notice now that the milk has increased ma- terially in amount, lost much of its winter bl and d a yel- lower; richer tint. They smile with satisfaction on account of these things and because they know that grass is cheap, and so they figure that, for | once, the cows now are more than'pay- ing for their feed. But there is another side to this pleasant picture, and one that seems to be little understood. It is the fact that green grass often acts more as a stimulant than an actual feed. That, we think, invariably is its tend- ency during the first weeks of pastur- ing when grass is lush and laxative. It very freely relaxes the bowels and incidentally a -sudd 1 and utilization of a hoard of nu ent , matter which the éow has stored: in her tissues during winter, = She sim- ply unlocks her reserve supplies of nutrients"8nd energy and draws lay- ishly upon them until such time as grass matures, loses its active laxa- tive properties, and serves as ade- quate sustenance for all of the needs of the body. If ample suppliesof riper grass, forage, and grains or meals are not then available, the cow inevitably faces a starvation period after the feast of good things she has for a brief time enjoyed when green grass set it free. She now must have extra feed or her milk secretion will dry up and her body emaciate. Heat, flies, and drying up of grass unite in this supplementary feeding isjjSHRDLU dédbilitating process, and generous sup- plementary feeding is necessary. --p en * The Hay Crop. A hay-tedder will in short order save the interest on the money invest- ed. As a rule, farmers have been in the habit of thinking of this as a dispensable tool On the contrary it ig almost indispensable. ; Curing timothy: Cut timothy just as the bloom is falling. If the crop is not too heavy and rank, cut as soon as the dew is off, let it cure a few hours, rake into windrows, and haul to the barn the same day. If crop is rank, cut it in the afternoon: it will wilt some during the night and dew will not hurt it. Next day's sun will dry it in a few hours, when it can be raked into windrows. : - Curing clover: Cut clover hay when about half the blossoms are brown and as soon as the dew is off in the morn- ing. At noon shake out the bunches, rake into windrows before evening dew gets on it,'and let it lie until next day. Next day shake out the hay as soon as the dew is off. You ought to be ready to haul, on a hot day, by eleven o'clock; or certainly after dinner. It spoils clover hay to get too dry. It should never be put into the barn when wet with rain or dew, but a little sap won't hurt it. y 3 i Value of a Summer Silo. = Most persons are fully aware of the merits of a silo for winter use, but "| tor, "and there wag no train near en- he a ached to pace did Bo the history of Confederation is Dr. July First:--The best literature on v Colquhoun's "The Fathers of Confed-|® eration." For biographical sketches of many of the "Fathers", read "The Makers of Canada." Every boy and girl should read "The Jubilee of Con- year by the Education Department of Ontario, a pamphlet of 56 pages. cker:--Small sandwiches are eaten just as bread is, breaking off a morsel at a time. A large one, such as is often served in restaura should be broken; or, if m by a knife and fork, should be cut In morsels as needed and conveyed to the mouth by means of the fork. The different parts of a "club" or similar sandwich should be separated, the toast broken as when eating bread and the remainder of the sandwich eaten as meat and salad are. At a picnic or other informal gathering, sandwiches are taken up in the fingers and, if large should be broken in two. Glad to know that you approve of the order covering picnics, afternoon teas and all such functio A great deal of food is usually wasted at the ordinary gardén party, lawn social, etc. Institute Member:--The voluntary rationing scheme, li y speaking, is "up to" the various vinces. - The | Produce." Food Board has given the provincial committees carte blanche to draw up a schedule suitable to climate condi- tions and ¢rop variation. man should show keen interest in this Every wo-; federation," which was issued last the various making, the cooking of fish, the cook ing of fruit and vegetables and can ning and preserving. You had-het- ter secure the whole geries as they. will be of inestimable value in solving some of your problems. Exhibitor: --Every ~ country fair should feature food-substitutes and economical devices this year. The big exhibitions at Toronto, London and Ottawa are having special food conser- vation sections, because the watch- word this year is to be "Bave and Regina has decided to cut out its customary needlework exhibit in favor of a food show. It was argued that needlework was non-essential in war-time while food was of para- mount importanee. ee The Doctor's Little Passenger. Far up a rocky canon, fo a brown log cabin, Ruth goes every summer with her 'mother and her grandmother. Her father, a physician in the city, drives up for week<ends. Then Ruth the noisy stream, and watches her father, happy with "waders" and fish- ing rod. There are always delicious brown trout and flaky biscuits for supper on Saturdays. Ruth has a very odd birthday. Her father says she should properly have been named Canade, Dominion or Julia--for she was born on the First of July. Last year she was so excited that she thought she could not wait to see what her birthday surprise would be. Grandmother and mother had laughed and hinted about it, and Ruth was with curiosity and {impatience other day, I shall go whizzing round like a pin wheel!" "There comes an automobile now!" called her mother, who was up on a stepladder, putting some little flags round the rustic porch. "Oh, maybe it's father!" And Ruth scurried down the rocky path and across the tiny bridge to the canon road. * ~ It was not her father that time; so Ruth began sailing pine-cone boats while she waited and listened. Toot-toot-ti-toot! That was fath- er"s signal, and there he was, coming round the shoulder of a cliff, And in the tonneau of the big car was the smallest, funniest brown pony that Ruth or anyone else ever saw. Well, Ruth was as excited and full of thrills and gurgled and Simples after that as every First of July child Gg ch of a climb £ "It was too mu a or little Tom Thumb," explained the doc- hops about the great rocks that rim| until at last she said, "If 1 wait an- ough--no airship, so. I just decided to carry him as a passenger, He is no! larger than a St: Bernard dog anyway, and there was plenty of room for everyone. The little rascal enjoyed every minute of his ride, too." Ruth was patting and stroking the gentle creature, who stood quietly, as if he had understood that he was, among home folks now. A "So we'll all have a splendid Dom- inion Day," declared the doctor. "Ruth may ride; I'll fish, and mother and granny will fix us a picnic up on the hill." "That will be Ruth's mother. ¢ girl, who had climbed upon the pony's back, she said, "What shall you name him, dear?" Ruth thought for a second; then with a rippling laugh she cried, "Why,' Skyrocket, of course!" And-away she: flew on Skyrocket to the: stable up among the quaking aspens. Ba Throughont the country there is an excellent lamb crop this spring. These lambs, whether for market or breed- ing purposes, should all be docked. Docking is simply a means of improv- ing sanitation among sheep and should be done. _It is not a painful or injuri- ous operation to a lamb if done at the right time and in the r way. lamb should be docked by the time he is two weeks old. The best possible instrument for this purpose is a large pair of sharp pincers which should be glorious!" agreed heated and the tail cut off while th 4 pincers are hot, leaving a stub more than an inch long. The nse 'the hot pincers at the same time is cleanly and checks bleeding more quickly than it can be checked by docking in any other manner. Where such a pair of pincers are not avail- able the tails had far better be cut off with a knife when the lambs are one week or ten days old rather than to leave them on. Docked lambs sell for at least an average of one-half cent per pound more than lambs with long tails when marketed. The Southern Canada Power Co., Limited . Ne St. Francis River capable 4 stook own- Then to the little 7» 4 %