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Addrt communication* to Agronomist. 73 Adelaido 8t Welt. Toronti A Source of Farm Power. j these ends will be made lower than Two fields were selected by the formerly; that the roots of the tree college official* for the demonstration feeding from these areas will be giv of the value of explosives in farming. The first piece tried was a young ap- ple orchard of about two acres. The de*per soil from which to feed and soil that Is made more rapidly * nd more perfectly available; that less ?" "*1^*I1U Vi tl.^'UL l/WVF OtlTTO. A IIV - t ,. ground was very socgy, particularly water wlW ** Carne< ? to , In a depressed area near the mkid'le of , drain and consequently wasted, the field, toward which the moisture that those tree* feeding >n this sur- from the higher ends of the piece silow- rounding depressed area will not oe ly gravitated. The surf ace was dotted drowned from too ^- here and there with various sizes of boulders and gnarled tree stumps. Selecting two rows of trees running other words, the idea is that thisj orchard soil needs aerating for thej more esuitable distribution of wateri ready and general i and orthe *JL t_ *L a * i 'm roc uiv IIIIMB ivauy through the fieM at nearly a central j availabilit of lal>t food . point, charges of dynamite were placed TM :J.II.. nfu midway between the two rows, each Incidentally, in a side by-play, make it pay to grow roots. But silage le an admriable substitute, perhaps a more valuable food, In fact, the silo Is one of the prin- cipal answers to the chemists' de- mands for vitamines to perfect the ra- ti.n. Something to prevent the loss I of flesh and the lack of growth, all our' fnimers have for many years looked \ fcr. It may be that it is only now the answer to this desire is reaching the] feeders of live stock, who seek to ful- fil! this new demand for vitamines. Vitamines and Spring Food. Heretofore, science has been con- sidering these food elements as ap- plied to human feeds. It is about time we found out juet what vi-tamines' mean to the animal world, though we know enough about them already toj assure us that no ration is perfect without them properly balanced. All animals, man as well as the lower animals, need a definite quantity of vitamines to maintain health.) Young animals require much greater. several rock,' and stumps about the . , A _ m-vfj ai rucKfl miu mtuanpm mwn*m charge about twenty feet from the, orchai . d wero ma<k . ready f or easy re- next one. Each stick was exploded , mova] Some of the blasts were made, >efre another was placed. Varying; wjth Qn , one OJ . two sticks; anothe r: trengths were used; in some cases a, neede<i im one . half ^, nd 8ticks laid! full charge of one-half pound, and m. on two diffeTent flat faces of the rock| Tr7 n I half , haree W f S U , 9 ^ a^ Plastered down with mud thrown 1 Th* fuW charges, sunk to a depth of iQn and U(?d down with a shove l. about six feet, resulted in an excaya- !Thi3 mpth(xl of blastinK is S0 mcwhat t,on some four feet deep by twelve. fea , effective per unit of ^wer than feet m dimeter. The ground was drillirlif into the rock hut frequently, to an area considerably saves much y and , nl>cr as well as greater. In the half charges, the re- bejn gafer suH was p-op. rtionately less efficient. The n^'d^ operations were tram- ic*e c,-: -.res had been made, fcrred to the other field, consisting of mg lengthw.se the field for some about two-thirds of an acre of corn! distance both ways from the centre of ] an d. Charges were laid and exploded! Depressed area, operations were one a t a time at distances of twenty! MB begun on a line at right angles fw , t oach way . The soil here was hard; * first rows worked. Charges subsoil and sandy surface, and the' link two feet apart, beginning excavation* following the explosions north boundary of the field and brought considerable of the yellow .ing crosavays in a line through hard-pan to the surface, also loosening uddJe of this low area, to a point the surface soil fcr a considerable dis- beyond the first rows of excavations, tance back from the edges of the hole.' iM^L rfr * S Were wired nndl whenl One-half of this piece was not trent- Ul laid, were connected with a battery 1 ed. The plan is to drag over and sow exploded simultaneously, j each section to alfalfa seed nnd caro-i The result was a well-defined ditch | fully follow the results of growth in; four feet in width and the same in [ the two plots for a long enough period j depth. Some of the dirt, of course, fe!l ! to determine the actual and compara- back from tfie sides, partly filling th live yields. opening but the whole was so kx>.<t In the case of reclaiming wet fields! and separated from the water as to be' or of irrigating dry fields, explosives easily removed. This provided a logl- provide a quick, efficient and cheap j cal and natural drainage ditch for the' method of opening drains and in pre-j orchard; the surplus water from the! paring the waterways for the irrigat- higher parts was to be carried in tiles! ing system. AH this besides the very to this open ditch and from there run considerable value of clearing virgin vitamines do ma- ture animals. On this basis, let us! consider the question from the .farm- er's standpoint. He has to maintain in a healthy condition all his stock, both young and old, and in all prob- ability vitamines play an unexpected large part in this. All the young animals draw their vitamines and their requirement is heavy from their mothers in the first instance. The food supply of the suckling mother has thus to be rich in vitamines as well as in other nutri- ment. The milk supply of the mother is also affected by the vitamines sup- plied. In some cases where the vita- mine supply is low, the milk supply will decrease so as to maintain its | vitamine content. In such cases the young animal will starve, and perhaps, die, or will, if it survives, be stunted,! while the health of the mother suffers. ' In other instances the milk supply ' will remain unchanged, but the vita- The habit of egg-eating ia easy to prevent but difficult to cure when it becomes widespread in a flock. It can be prevented by feeding a balanced ra- tion so that the hens will not strongly crave for egg-making material. Then build the nests so the hens will enter from the back. The eggs can be re- moved by lowering a hinged door in front. In these partially darkened nests tho hens do not see the eggs eas- ily and are less tempted to scratch In the nesting litter, a habit which often breaks eggs. If eggs are accidentally broken by the hens they are not so apt to be eaten in a darkened nest. Sometimes one or two hens may start eating eggs and teach other members of the flock. Hens that aro observed breaking eggs should be iso- lated or marketed. The fact that hens eat an egg ravenously when it is drop- ped and broken near them does not mark them as egg eaters that will break eggs for themselves. Various ill-tasting combinations placed in eggs have been used to assist in breaking the habit. However, no- thing is of much value but properly constructed nests and frequent gather- ing of the eggs. Overcrowding on nests sometimes causes broken eggs. It pays to have a nest for every four hens. e Hints on Handling Fruits and Vegetables. The Dominion Horticulturist advo- cates the use of baskets for the Jocal of apples. He points out of THE SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON AUGUST 13 Esther Saves Her People, Esther 4 : 10 to 5:3. Golden Text The righteous cried, and the Lord heard, and deliver- ed them out of their troubles. Ps. 34:17 (Rev. Ver.) Lesson Foreword In preparation j ponse. She resolved with calm dete-r- for the lesson, the whole Book ofjmination and with her eyes opened Esther should be read. One scholar j clearly upon the grave dangers, to epitomizes it thus: Esther is the story! enter, unsummoned, the inner cham- of a beautiful Jewess of Susa whom,ber of the king. She requested that Xerxes (Ahaserus) raises from his! all the Jews in Susa should lend her concubines to be his queen, and who; their spiritual support. They were to juses her influence over him to save: fast for three days; this general her people from a general massacre which the grand vizier (Haman) has ' prepared for them by way of aveng- abasement would be accompanied, no doubt, with prayers for the success of her mission. rels or boxes, but that in baskets could probably be readily disposed of. Cer- tainly retailers and consumers like to see what they are getting. Even if cannot do this, owing to not to mnrkc't but shipping their ing an affront from one of the race. II. Esther Finds Favor, 5: 1-3. I The story of Esther has ever been] V. 1. Esther put on. etc. The queen ; popular with the Jews for it magnifies j arrayed herself in her finest garments al pride of their race. It also explains | inner court of the king's house. In '1884-C Dieulafoy excavated the ruins of the palace of Artaxerxes in gusa. He describes the palace as standing in the midst of a garden or "paradise." surrounded with a fortified wall. In one section of the royal residence waa the harem, or "house of the women"; ...-... B -, m another section was the throne- slaughter of the Jews. (See ch. 3: j room, surrounded with an open space 1-15.) The Jews are filled with con- that may have been used as a garden, sternation and Mordecai sits by the I V. 2. The king held out . . the gol- palace gate clothed in s.ackcloth and j den sceptrp. The golden sceptre ap- ashes. When Esther sends out other pears in the monuments as "a long clothes to him, he refuses to put them j tapering rod with a headlike orna- on but urges Esther to go to the king ment at one end and a loop at the and beg that the decree be reversed, other." Josephus says: "The king sat Ch. 4: 1-9. | with a golden sceptre in his hand; nnd V. 10. Hatach; one of the eunuchsj when he wished to save any one who of Ahaserus' court and probably ai carne , uncalled, he held it out to him; attendant upon Esther, the and , he that touched it was the origin of the feast of Purim, bas- ing it on a signal national triumph. | (See ch. 9 and especially vs. 26, 31, 32.) I. An Urgent Request, 4: 10-17. Haman, piqued at Mordecai's lack 'of civility to him persuades the king issue a decree permitting the _-_ Q**"- He mu.t have been a trust- !.. v - 3 - Even to the half of the man to carry such confidential ". S*' Mark fl: 23. This has between Esther and Mor-'J"" described as "the exaggeration jborn of Oriental politeness. It was th d'e ot meant to De taken too literally. in which case its growth is affected, and a rickety animal will at best survive the ordeal. Usually the young animal dies, however. An animal suckling young should food adjusted so that a outside the field. fields of stumps and rocks. Altogether, It is expected, however, that by there seems to be great possibilities loosening the subsoil at the higher endi in the use of dynamite for various op-' the orchard that the water-level at'erations in the development of land. The Missing Link in Feeding How This Link Was Discovered and What It Means to Farmers BY EARLE Not long ago investigation showed that some fakers were actually selling farmers ground cocoanut shells u a pedal cattle food. A good many of the fattening and conditioning pre- parations were not very much better, it was found. Rut the shell of the cocoauut is practically hard wood, and H doe seem abominable to give poor, ailing, breeding or growing brutes ground hardwood, ae a medicinal food. And it was certainly hard upon thc feeder to swindle him into paying his hard cash for such trash. But, come to think of it, there is a place in our feeding bins for the shells of nuts- some nuta at any rate. The litt!e oblong nuts on the wheat plant, for the wheat itself has a shell of its own, composed of what is much like wood. Everyone knows how valuable a stock feed this shell, husk, or bran is used in reason. For many years back to times immemorial, bran has been used as a feed. But never so intelligently as since the latter half of the past century. It was a lot of pigeons experimented upon by some scientists interested in feeding problems that made known to us the real value of bran and some other cattle feeds. The birds were fed with the polished rice, which is often 1 sold in the stores and often tempts the' good housewife by its handsome ap-: pearance. It is a fine old proverb which warns that "handsome is that handsome does," and so is that other which warns against judging by the outward uppea ranee. In a few days the pigeons fell sick. They developed the disease known commonly as beri-bcri in men. Since in the case of human bring, this ter- ribly fatul disease is caused by an un- balanced food ration, the scientists set about restoring the balance in the pigeons' food by feeding them with rice-bran. It is unlikely-looking stuff to us* as food, but this rice-bran turn- ed the trick. The doves got well speed- ily and that set men to work to try to find out JIM' what food substance it is In bran which gave it such value. That wns how it occurred that what are called by the rather clumsy name of "vitamines" came to be discovered. There was soint-thing lacking in tho polished rice ration, as sailors found long ago liu-re was something lacking In a preserved food ration. Green vege- tables, and lime juice completed that latter ration it was discovered, and prevented s-vrvy. But jrrccn vegetables and fruit juices could r.ot prevent beri-berl from set- ting in. Kor could the bran or a joust which waa found to have similar effect- thai i-ured beri-beri, prevent curvy. I Different Ui.ngs \vero lacking in the fowl rut:ur.i li will he noticed. So far and the needs of its young, may be insured. The old custom, of giving a breeding cow as much green fodder as possible, is one we now know to be wonderfully correct. It is interesting! to see how, with the progress of science, many old customs based pri- marily on observation and experience: and handed down by tradition, have been found to be correct. Constant quibbling paralyzes action. Not how well we have guessed, but how well we have done, should be our standard. W. GAGE. we have discovered three of these, the lack of which upsets the health of ani- mals or man. For lack of better names they are usually known as vitamines A, B and C. Vitamine A concerns growth. With- out it growth is slow, the bone poor and resistance low. Vitamine B is an anti-nouritir,a sort of nerve s-ustainer. Without it beri- beri and similar diseases r,f the nerve government, lack of virility, may be expected. Vitamine C. is an anti-scorbutic. Without it scurvy and such troublea may occur. Vitamineg Essential to Life. Evidently tlieae vitamines are, and always have been necessary to animal 1 life. Wild things get them naturally.! It is because our animals are no longer wild, and no longer live nnd feed in' their natural countries and manner,' that we have to look after them arti- ficially. All animals whether meat- eaters or vegetable feeders, get their vitamines from plant life. It is true that meat, animal fats and milk contains vita- mines, but they all come from vege- table life. All food of animals must contain carbohydrates (sugar, starch or cellu-' lose-fats), proteins albuminoids, and certain salts. We have known that all our lives. To be perfect they must contain vitamines as well. Naturally we look for these first in vegetables. There is a lot to be found out yet I about these principles. The farmer is, in fact, never going to be done with learning. And it looks as though the chemist is going to be his best teacher for a good many years to como. It| might be a good thing to insist upon I hnving chemistry taught in nil tho' schools, instead of "dead languages", (which nre seldom used by farmers).' In the future, the country which hasj thc most competent, best trained j fanners is going to take the lead when' the war-tested world settles back into, its old, or should v/c rather say, set-i ties well into its new stride. And thui best trained farmers will he those who,| among other necessary things, kflOW their chemistry best. We have already found out that' certain vegetation is richer in vita-! mines than others. Cabbages or the cruciferal as their family is nailed are very rich in vitamine C, for ax- ample. Young plants are much richer j in vitamines than others. Dead-rips vl.'it.ti contain practically none ac all. Is that a fact worth remembering at haying time? Therein is a most important argu- ment for tho silo. With labor at Persians that no one could approach a central packing house. By using! the king without being summoned, baskets much bruising of apples would ; * ot ?J[ en * he 1 ueen d a PP ear be T h nvoi.lftl , fore the kln(? excent bv summons. It . .. TT . . , . , , i was now thirty days since Ahaauerus In "Seasonable Hints for July, the; had sent for Effther . !t wou ld, there- Horticulturist emphasizes the import-, fore, be dangerous for Esther to ven- ance of picking, handling and pack-, ture, unbidden, into the king's pri- ing apple with the greatest care to.vate chambers. prevent Injury. Of course the samej V. 13. Think not that thou shall care is advisable for aJl fruit, but in escape. Esther was, of course, a Jew- the case of apples intended for expor-'ess, a relative of the hated Mordecai; tation it is more than ever so. Thor- ;b r ut 11 V S was not known at the court, ough racking of the barrels to settle 1 Y , et wh e and }' it were finally known, obviate the ed t 8 wou 'd perish in the general mas- , . " sacre of her people. So it was just the pressing to which ag dangerous for her to remain away bruising is often due. Another thing as to go in to the king is that the picking should not be donej v 14 En | irB ement and deliverance by rote, that is at the same time every to the Jews from another place. The year, but should be governed by the Book of Esther nowhere mentions the weather, fruit ripening quicker in name of God; this is an instance of some seasons than in others. Fruit! how the mention of it is avoided. "An- should also be deposited in a cool place 'other place" clearly refers to God. If immediately after picking. Dealing with vegetables, it is ad- Esther will not plead before the king for her people, then God himself, re- The farmer who relieves his hands by getting his head a little closer to his task is the hope of Canadian agri- culture. You will be more sure of hitting the i t t,, 11. imembering his ancient promise to vised that potatoes be left in the Israel win deliver them B ut thou and ground until there is danger of in- thy father's house, etc. If Esther re- jury by frost; that onions be thorough- j fuses to intercede on behalf of the ly cured before storing; that when 'Jews, she will be visited with a spe- cabbages are left in the ground and cial judgment which will involve all show signs of splitting, the plants be| of ncr family. Eventually the other Jews may escape the decreed mas- **** "0 - Application. The Sin of Silence. It is sadly true; it is as prophetic and faithful a word to us in our circumstances and time as to queen Esther. "If thou altogether boldest thy peace at this time," some one else will speak the brave, timely word, which brings de- liverance, and thy abject coward spirit will shrink, and wither and "perish." Of course, there are times when sil- ence is golden it may bo kindly, and the result of self-restraint and calm strength. And every man knows in his heart whether duty command* ! silence or speech. Consider the importance of the pre- sent, of to-day, in the matter of per sonal relation to God. The Scriptures certainly stress this. "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts . . Exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of 'you be hardened through the deceit- fulness of sin," Heb. 3: 7, 13. "He saith, I have heard thee in a time ac- cepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of swlvation," 2 Cor. 6: 2. There are considerations that may upon the target rather than upon the manner in which you are holding the gun. and. when dug, be crisp by storing in a cool place and - keeping the roots moist; that the stor- Birds Who Build in Trees By Ida Belmer Camp No bird enjoys greater popularity or receives heartier welcome in the spring than thc Canadian Robin. His iniquity is tasting strawberries, cherries and other garden fruits that he does not! eat. I suspect he is much like our- 1 s ,.U>s if we had a whole world of! fruit to select from, we should surely; take the most delectable. So far as I am concerned, the robins are so wel-j come, I let them take what they wnnt; first and I take what is left. If we would plant mulberries, choke and wild cherries in our waste places or among our cultivated fruits, the birds would be liable to let our cherries alone, as the more acid a fruit con-, tains the better tho Wing People like it. The robins are masons, building the nest of clay, straw and strings, so plastered and interwoven and so softly lined that it is a luxurious cradle in- deed in which to raise the uncouth looking little nestlings. The parent birds place this nest so nicely in the crotch of a limb or limbs that nothing but continued rain can harm it. To protect them, we can make what is known as a robin rest, nailing it high in thc tree to a good stout limb. This gives them an added feeling of se- curity. Then listen to their merry cheer-up! cheer-up! Thnt will more than pay you for all the fruit they ] consume in several years. The robin redbreast is on* of our ( largest song birds and the ruby-! throat humming bird is our very: smallest, and dainty as the flowers! from which it feeds. moss-woven nest as though they could really do him harm. The nest is built on the bough of a tree, a most beauti- ful creation of plant fibre and cobwebs, adorned with lichens. It resembles a little tuft of moss upon the bough. The mother lays two tiny white eggs in June. The inside of the nest is about the size of a large-sized thimble. If we give the birds a chance to get away from the heat and inclement weather, they will take it and profit by it, rearing more and stronger hatch- es, which is exactly what we wish, as the gain is all ours. The more pro- tection we give the birds the more they protect our crops, whether they be fruit, grain, vegetables or lawn. If there are any of my readers who have not read the Song of the Cardinal by Gene Stratton-Porter, they have a treat in store. It gives one an entirely new view of bird life. Birds have the same attributes as human beings. They love, they hate, they have their jealousies, they are fostering parents or careless ones. No one knows this better than I, who have spent all my life of sixty years in their study and care. There are very few people who do not wish to have bird* close by and they want as many different varieties as they can attract tho*e that nest on twigs and branches and those that mother their young among the pro- tective leaves of shrubs and hedges. We want even the ground -nesting type and we should provide proper nesting material and nesting sites for their Remember that Mordecai is urging Esther to 'appear before the king for Israel's sake. He has urged other pleas, but now he plaeds on very high and unselfish grounds. V. 16. A very deep chord among Esther's heart-strings has been touch- ed and now vibrates with noble res- if ever this matter is decided it will b on some "to-day"; it is wise then that it be this day; all experience shows that the early teens is a more hopeful time for religious choice than a later time; it is God's will, it is duty, that it be now, if the decision has not been made before. red and orangc-i . -- ...... _, nearly always be found near thej haunts of the jewel weed, bush honey- 1 suckle and trumpet vine. This little gem on wings is the only one of its kind found this side of the Rockies. They always find their meat and honey together as the insects that are at- tracted to the flowers where the hum- ming birds gather honey are the in- gects they love to eat. The temper of humming birds is all out of proportion present prices, an<l Adam's ever-pres- to their size, as they will dash at an! cut r.irsu cf woeils, it is not .>asy to intruder who darea to come near their' ful and where there is water both for bathing and drinking. Do not paint bird houses or rests; they like the weathered wood best. You will find woven into all wild bird nes-ts long stranded, short stranded, i coarse and soft materials. Watch the Oriole build. Examine old nests. Give the builders flax for the long stranded | work, cut up horsehair for the short stranded, moss for the coarse, floss or| cotton wadding for the soft these! four things are practical for every | variety of twig, shrub or ground neat, age of beets, carrots, parsnips, and turnips be in as cool a place as pos- sible but free from freezing, whereas squash requires moderate warmth. Vegetable seed should be dried and kept dry. Improvement in Rural Life. An article appears in the July- August number of The Agricultural Gazette of Canada on "Rural Life and Activities for Women" in which the writer, the Director of the Home- Makers' Department in the University of Saskatchewan, lays down thirteen activities whereby women woukl bene- fit both themselves and many others | in rural communities. These all in- volve co-operation of women with wo- men. They are ( 1 ) To procure proper | and sanitary school equipment; (2) , To establish a hot and wholesome' noon school lunch, to which might be' added "with milk"; (3) To have medi-j cal inspection of schools; (4) Toestab-] lish rest rooms for the community; (6) i To undertake the establishment of community halls; (6) To start or pro- 1 cure libraries for public use; (7) To. procure nursing help for the district; > (8) To establish and help to maintain! cottage hospitals; (9) To hold fairs of (10) To have child with instruction; (ll)j 53 fortunate; (12) Toi co-operate and assist beneficial organ- izations in their work, and (13) To' an improved and healthier com- 1 r spirit. The writer would plain- ly of THE CHILDREN'S HOUR If You Are Well-Bred. You will be kind. You will not use slang. You will try to malte others happy. You will never indulge in il'1-natnred gossip. You will never forget the respect due to age. You will not swagger or boast of your achievements. You will think of others before you think of yourself. You will not measure your civility n your re- gard for the rights of others. You will not forget engagements, promises, or obligations of any kind. You will never make fun of the pe- culiarities of others. You will never in any circumstances cause pin to another, if you can ha'.p You will not think good intentions compensate for rude or gruff manners. You will be as agreeable to your social inferiors as to your equals and superiors. You will not gulp your soup so audibly that you can be heard across the room, nor sop up the sauce in your plate with bits of bread. You will not have two sets of man- ners; one for company, and one for You will never remind a cripple of tion of community bird clubs as i source of happiness and the develop- 1 ment of the best qualities of humanity, j also as one form of antidote to what; the writer aptly terms "commercial- j ized forms of amusement," which are! becoming more and more common all Home and localized ; of a sensitive soul. You will not attract attention by either your loud talk or laughter, or show your egotism by trying to mono- f evfe rural Fence row crops can be easily mar- keted on the sheep's back. One way to make farmii^y a better business is to eliminate waste labor, equipment and capital. In the long run the chief aim of human laws is to protect the rights of the minority. We should complain less of, and re- spe. t more, our daily task, sine* it i our greatest schoolmaster.