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^mgmmmfmmmm J: 3 THE TRAPPER. v> lieu iii« liens loae feathers around the neck anil head it may be due to The Value of Straw for Feed andi Fertilizer. I Up to a few years ago country peo- ple, as a class, thought there was little value in straw. Some of them thought the easiest way to get rid of it was to bum it. Now, however, they know that it is a waste to send their straw Tip lin smoke. No, you would not think of burning' your f!traw now. But you do what is | nearly as bad â€" stack it, then let the' stock run to it and trample it under! foot to rot. You can not afford to j burn your straw or let it san'l idly in the stack; the only wise thing to do is to feed it or spread it. Perhaps you do not realize the value of your sLraw as a fertiii'zer. If you 1 do not, just listen: Every ton of wheat! straw returned to the land increases | its fertility value to the amount ofi $2.60. In other words, you are guar- anteeing yourself about two bushels of grain more an a:ra for your next year's crop than you would have pro- duced otherwi-se. Straw contains large amounts of phosphorus and potash â- which the lan:i needs very badly. The above facts v.'ere pivon by a reliable agricultural eicpert. Our .soil is be-; coming deficient in humus. Humus is the decayed organic matter in the soil. â-  Straw spread on the ground and plow-' ed under forms humus. Perhaps the best way to do this i.a to use the straw as bedding and spread it on the field i with the stable manure. It serves the two purposes this way and is more easily handled than when spread on the field separately. I You have noticed, no doubt, how; rank a crop grows where an old straw stack stoodâ€"usually too rank, in fact. The reason is that there is an excess ! of plant food there. If this straw had been spread over the whole field you can see that :'t would have benefitted . it nronortionately. i Tlie wheat crop is short of what it ' should have been for the amount put out this year, bwause much of it was killed by freezing last winter. Experi- ments have shown that straw spread on the wheat in the fall prevents win- ] ter killing to a great extent. It also conserves moisture in the soil. Other crop? are benefitted by it, for it great- 1 ly improves the texture and fertility of the .soil. Straw has not been valued at, its i true worth as a feed. Oat straw is '. higher in carbohydrates than either ' clover or alfalfa, and is the'r equal in' fat. The palatabi'.lity of straw may be Improved by soaking it in a solution of water and molasses. Straw is not only i cheap but abundai^, and by this raethod it can be made to take the place to a large extent of the more expensive roughage. j Straw i-3 of much more value as a! feed if in good condition. Oat straw ; may be saved in a good, clean, bright condi'tion by putting it into a mow as j threshed or by baling it soon after the thresher has gone. Baling has an | advantage in that the straw can be , stored in less room. If you cannot bale it and have no mow in which to store it, a little more attention to stacking when threshing will pay. It is attending to the little details in farming that brings in the extra money. To Keep Celery iir Winter. Celery may be kept in the cellar for a long period without wilting lif the following method is used: Prepare a number of trays about 18 X 30 inches and thi-ee inches deep. Nail an eighteen-inch upright at each cora- er^nd fasten these together at the top with wooden strips. Fill the trays with well-pulverized eartli from the garden. ^ In digging the Celery leave a gener- ous number of roots on each plant, to- gether with the eai-th that naturally clings to them. Wrap each plant in a sheet of newspaper, leaving about two inches of the stalk exposed. Tie a string aibout the middle to keep the paper from unrolling. year. It may surprise those who have given the matter- little attention. A team weighing 1,300 pounds each wi'll eat from five to six tons of hay ^ year. At the present time good hay is worth in the market around $23 a ton. Say we fee<l five tons; that means $115 for hay. Then, if we feed oats, which is the case with the major- ity of farmers, we will need not less than 300 ibushels for two horses. Oats for seme time have been worth about When plafits have been prepared in 85 cents a bushel, so that the team this manner place ihem in the trays, i '«'0"W eonsume $255 worth of oats a setting them faiirly close together. I yw- This, with the hay, would brin^ Have the roots well covered with '^e cost of maintaining a good farm j earth; firm the esirth about them. I team up to ?370. ' u â-  â-  i- . « , - - --- â€" When a tray has been filled saturate Now, the farm team must be kept the animal kmgdom. He loves to along the banks, almost anywhere in bit of carbolated vaseline over th» the earth fcv pouring water in from; buay to earn ths. Reckoning the travel and see the sights, and ur.les.s shallow water and st/ck bait about spots where feathers are missing, the sides. Keep the paper v^rrappings, value of an hour's team work at his surroundings are congewal he eisht inches above each trap. Since We have about decideti that the ker- dryand do not sprinkle the tops. A | twenty cents, the horses would need wont tolerate them, but packs hi-s mu.'^krats are great lovers of vegc- ; ogene oil treatment for red mites takes little water must then be added every! to ^e employed 1,850 hours in the gr)p, figuratively speaking, and takes table.s and fruits, an apple, a carrot,; too much time, as the application must three or four days. The trays should i '"""rse of the year, r.r six and one- the midnight trail to some other spot. „ beet or an ear of corn will make ex- be repeated so often to insure protec- be kept in a cool part trf-the cellar. I ^i^'th hours a day, for 300 days, in Thus, -f you study the mmk you will cellent bait. ; jjon. If other duties take up the time Celery cared for in this fashion will' o'-der to payback the actual cost of find- him following the banks of Do not meddle with or destroy the poultryman on the farm is in not wilt or grow tough. It will pre-! keeping , streams aud ponds, poking his sharp muskrat hou.se3. \ danger of neglecting the roosts and serve its crispness to the last; if need I J'-st here the question will arise to httle ncse uito a.l sorts of holes, rest- j ^^^„ ^ ^^^ ^ , ^^^^^ ^^^^ the mite^ be it can be bleached in this manner, every tlioughtful man: Do my horsea mg here playing there, and maybe. ^ ^^ â- ^^^^. t^e cracks and The exposed leaves will begin to dry P^Y fe.r way? If not, they must do during the mating season, making OiieouR^ht every ay at ea.t tol ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ up after a couple of months, but the' •â- Â«',; I <^«n "ot afford to keep them quite^ a protracte.^ stay in one hole or hear a little song le da good I oem, : eradicate ' that the muskrat will drown quickly. If not, he is likely to tear h^is foot off , and escape. j If you are hunting in quiet water,! : look for bedfl of water graas or reeds that are near tOie surface. In these t"h; ^"^ of thrdeplumin"g nirteT "suc'h he muskrat usually feeds. Put your birds are not seriously injured except traps in these beds under water. An- ;„ appearance, but the pest should be other way is to find muskrat shdes on controllwi. A one per cent, solution I stream banks and then place your ^t a reliable commercial stock dip I trap, unbaited, at the foot of these j^ ^f.^^ recommended for such cases. ; slides. If you can locate muskrat imn-.crse the birds on a warm still day holes in the bank, place a trap at the and place them in a colony house until j entrance. jj.y to avoid colds. If it can be avoided I Sometimes, though, the novice can- ^e do not like to dip fowls and most • not locate such holes. Then the thing all cases infested with depluming The mmk is one of the gypsies of for you to do is to place your trans ^.ites can be controlled by rubbing a â- ' ' ' ' lost anywhere in st'ck bait about Trapping the Mink. stalks will remain tender until u«ed. I "t'lenvise. Paying Taxes on Slacker Land. When we moved ^o our farm we found a good deal of land in fence corners, doing nothing. We could not get Wi'thin ten feet of some of the old rail fences. Weeds and briers looked upon the conditions as very favoi-able and improve<i them to the utmost. By turning the team and plow lengthwise of the fence we got up nearer the corners, harrowed the re- S/orres another while waiting to get the fam- see a fine picture, and, if it nore .ily ordeal over with. possible, speak a few rea-sonable There are many ways' of trapping words." â€" Hampden, mink, but there is one that has been found popular and successful: In A shield tp keep dirt out of the stream banks that you know to be farm wagon wheel may be made from frequented by mink, dig boles. Start a piece of old auto casing about a right at the v/ater'a edge and dig up- foot long. Put it over the hub of ward into the bank for about two feet, the wheel wth the fabric side toward This should be done early in the fall, the hub. Nail the other end to the axle before the trapping season opens, so with four large-headed roofing naiVs, all of them. The best method is to paint the roosts with lice- paint or some of the commercial stock solutions' which keep the lice away much longer than the application of kerosene oil. The Yeast That Was Too Good Jim was ready to goto Marj- Hill s ^j^^^^ j,;,^ .^^^^^x^ ^-^^^-^ be familiar with and vou will have a shield that will have more alfalfa party long before -.t was time to .start. I ^^^ j^^j^^ ^:^^^ ^.^^ .^^^ ^.^^^j^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ j^jg ^^ ^^y^ ^xft-xiK^ as well as "While you are waij^ng," said his j -jj^j.^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^.^ ^^^ ^.^^^ „„ ^^^ spindle, mother, "suppose you run down to^ ^^^^y ,^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^.^p ^j^^^^ ^^j^^ ^.^^jj. laimed land, and planted it to pota- Mrs. Henry's with this little pitcher (^{^gU rabbit or fowl have proved suc- toes. We cultivated the potatoes the ^ and ask her to send me some of ^^r L,gj.^.^jj way the fence ran and grew a goodi good yeast." Whoever makes one stalk of alfalfa grow where none grew before is doing a real sen-ice for farming. Let us ,U:esrful) in the hole. Amount of paint needed: A gallon of good prepared paint will cover at ' Those who ai"e situated near natural deposits of marl have a good source of lime; there is no question about the many bushels of tubers. I Jim ran off on his errand, but he Still there was land left in the sharp forgot all about the pitcher; so Mrs. corners of the fence that this process i Henry put the yeast into a bottle, would not touch. , Where the fenceavwhich she carefully corked, stood by the side of seeded fields, we When Jim was about halfway home The trap itself should be placed at least 350 square feet, two coats.- First, the entrance of the hole and set in measure the d'stance around the alue of marl where limestone is need- ed. Marl is found usually in muck he saw two older boys playing by the I brook that ran through the meadow. "Wo are ssiiling ships!" called] mowed the corners, drove along by the side of the fenc;, threw the hay over and saved considerable, after we had killed out the weeds and brush. The best thing we did was to de- clare war on the rail fences, take them away and rut in place straight wire fencing. !N'ow we can get up close! wheat," Bennie Logan explained, with most kinds of farming tools. Jim strolled oyer to the, brook. There are still miles and miles ofi "You're mighty 'd^ess'ied-up IcJoik-' this same old rail fence in the country, ing," said Petey. Worse than all are the log and stump ! Jim thrust the bottle of yeast hast- fenees. These rob the owner of many ily into his pockat. "I'm going to my the water with the full length of the house and multiply by the average I •"^^T?'' Dry marl may contain ae chain staked securely to some object, height; theit divide by 350 and the "1"''^ '""^ '^ '^^ ^"^^ ^'''"^^^ °* ^''^^' The trap should then be covered with result will be approximately the num- 1 °'^°"^- mud or dead leaves. j ber of gallons to buy. Of this quantity ! = While all traps should be visited at ; ore-fifth will represent the paint re- i " least once a day to see if a catch has ' quired for trimmings, cornices, etc. j been made, do not under any cir-j For blinds or shutters of average size, Petey Barnes. Come here, Jim and ' .^^gt^^^gg tarry too long at the traps , you w.ill need one gallon of paint to see them go down to the Atlantic Ocean." "They are bound for Europe with or in mink haunts, nor is it w.ise to| each twelve pairs of blinds, two coats, tread mink trails too often, as the animals are very wary of man, and will leave neighborhoods where man is too much in evidence. ' ! Pretty boxes of paper and envelopes used to be frequent gifts for birthday or Christmas time. Many of these have never begji use<l, but are stored Trapping the Plentiful Muskrat. away in the desk or the top shelf The best places to look for the com- somewhere. Get these out now and Invest Your Money In 5»/2% DEBENTURES Interest payable halt yearly. The Great West Permanent Loan Company Toronto Office 20 King St. Wesl - â-  . â€" I a dollar every year. All of these old cousin's party," he said. But two m,m- mon muskrat is in the marshe.s, slug- , y te letters to every fnend you can j fences ought to go. Turned .into wood utes later he was busy rigging up a ' g'sh ponds, tidewater areas and on the j think of. These ajre days when hearts ; and kindling they have a certain value, j bark ship of his own. | banks of streams. If they live in I are in need of a word of cheer, and the land they cover can be made to bring in many a dollar. Let, Fall Plowing Destroys Insects. Fall plowing of timothy or blue- grass sod will generally prevent in- sect attacks, such as white-grubs, wire-worms, sod web-worms, cut- worms, strawberry leaf -roller and bill ggj^'^jg" bugs. Tests carried out by entomolo- gists show that sod fields plowed early in the spring are more seriously dam- aged than where fall plowing is prac- tised. Cutworms which pass the winter as partially grown larvae are generally He was leaning over the edge of the' ponds they usually build houses that! yours he the voice to spe^ak that word. brook, about to launch the Birchbark, ] rise five feet above the water, but if as he had named the vessel, when all they live in stream beds they buiild at once something went bang! right i no houses, but live in holes in the behind him. The noise was so sudden and so loud that t/ie three boys almost fell ovei' into the water. "A gun!" said Petey. It sounded like a cannon!" cried His eyes were as round as saucers. Jim straightened up. "Ho!" he said. "Don't you kiwA' dynamite when you hear it? They are blasting over yonder.'' He thrust his hands deep into his pockets. The right hand came out again as banlcs. These open under water. Trapping muskrat Is an easy occu- pation and a profitable one, since there is a continual demand and good prices for muskrat pelts. Muskrat get bet- ter in quality toward early spring, but good pelts are to be had in the fall and early winter. In trapping muskrat, remember this: Always stake your trap with its full length of chain in deep water so Your stationery cannot be put to bet ter senn'ce. And you will gat back many a letter that you will prize as long as you live. IND0W5&D0ORS CI TTS to Hiit TOOT •^ opeainst. Fitted wiUi slui. Slit ib- ilTCTy suaniiUeed. Write for Price UH ['•). Cut do»-a fu.l btTli. Ijuttro winter coral oit. iTho HAULIDAV COM.'^ANy, Limited IHAMILTOM KACTOBY CISTRIBUTOIIS CANADA '•r .Strangles in stallions, brood maj-es, colts and all ot'nars l3 most dangei-oiis. The irerra causlnB disease must b« lemovud from the Ijridy of the ;inlniul. To Dravent th« 'rouble the sume must he duno. SPOHN'S aiSTEIVlPER COMPOUND Mill do boih^ â€" \'ure the alok and prevent those "exposed" from liiivlnit the dlaease^ tJold hy ycur drtiBgiat ur the iiKLniil'a'.-tur'irs. S.?OEilI' ACBQICAIi CO., BIfrs.. Ooiilien. Xnd., XT. 3. A. starved out by fall plowing as their .^ ^ ^^^ ^^j ^^^^^.^ jj. j,^,^^.^ ^^gg^ food IS turned under. White-grubs are ^^ rfr-pping with something bubbly destroyed more easily by deep, fall ^^^^^1 .^^,hite^ plowing because this insect burrows j,^^ ^^^i-ir boys began to shout with nparly to the plow-depth line during laughter. "Look at his d^-namite!" October, and being turned up at this ^^ ^^-^ .,^,,^t have you got in time cannot dig in again before winter, ^,^^^ pocket, Jim?" sets in- __ » , ' "It's y-y-'yeast," said Jim. "but I Besides depriving many of the per- j.j,,,^ ^^^^^ -^ ^^uld shoot." nioious insects of their food, fall plow-, j^ ^jjj^ though, if it is good veast ing will also break up the egg nests ^^^j j^ ^^^^ -^ ^ ^^,^^j^ pj^^g i^j^g ^ of grasshoppers, web-worms and other ^^,^gj -p^^ ^j,^,„^ ^,,e ^^^^ ^^^^^ insects attacking farm crops. ^^^ ^j,^ „^^^ flyj^g ^^^ of the bottle. Also, fall-plowed soil wiU be m bet-j jj^.^ new ^uit was a sight. Gane Mela Use Can* Slola 100% Pure Sugar C:iiii-' Molasses. (Junrantood the Ideal (feed for Live Stock. Sold every- where. Write for prices .and particulars, giv- ing number of head oX live stock, to Cane Mola Company of Canada, Ltd. Montreal - Qne. .ter condition earlier rjext spring than spring-plowed soil. The Why of Farm Failures. Some people on farms fail because of circumstances which they are powerless to control. But in other ea^s the fault is generally their own, because â€" I 1. The waste in methods of produc- tion and in the things produced wipes out the margin of profit. 2. The unbusinesslike system of borrowing ahead to produce a crop is taking a gamble that may turn out I badly. I 3. Instead of usinig the "cover crop" ' plan to store up nitrogen in the soil, a ' mortgage covers the crop and giives the nitrogen to the other fellow as interest. • 4. The merchant is given a lien for supplies in lieu of being paid cash, ' thus piling up the burden of time prices His mother could not help smiling when he came home and told his story. "Mrs. Henry's good yeast is a lit- tle too good," she said, as she began to clean Jim's suit. Jim had to wear his old clothes to the party, and, although he had a good deal of fun, he kept listening for a bang! that he half expected to hear at any moment. ^ Instmotioiia and Pi-ioe Ust ol FALL BULBS â- â€¢at npon tsqnest GARDENLAWN REG'U. 4 Hospital St. - Montreal . Dtstrlb-Jtors ot~ Burpee's Seeds Dept. W-1. The dairy cow must h.-ive some re serve constitutional force, for she must be able to resist or throw off disease germs which are to prevalent in many of the stables where sunlight and good ventilation are th.'ngs un= heard of. Constitution, in a large mea.=iure, depends upon the room in which the heart and lungs are placed. This part of the co'»v should be roomy, ... Farm machinery is left out in the K'^ing perfect freedom for these 'or- weather to rust and depreciate in gans to perform their functions, a.'? the yjjjyg I milk is made by the blood and the 0. Careless and ignorant methods Wood is puriJled by the amount of are used in marketing crops. i oxyf;en the lungs may pump from the 7. The time spent leafing about a.ir. An abundance of nourishing town o-oght to be spent at home work- 1 digc-sted food is also an important fac- ing the crop.-* or assisting the over- [tor '" b.:ilding up and controlling con- worked -wife stitutional vigor. If the human body 8. Failure "to provide home comforts K^'s weakened, physicians prescribe a breaks down the wife's spin'ts and , diet of easily digested, eaf.iy assimil- perhap.« her health, and makes the' ated food, so it is the business of the home 90 unattractive that the children ' feeder to watch his individuals and I leave long before their majority. Make. l««eP them m a healthful condition, home attractive Tliere is an old saying that "every- thing has its own use once in seven Figuring Costs. In all our farming operations, the , years." A man sold mo a Icail of question of cost must be kopt before: lumber -^hen I was sick. The bill came us a'.l the time; it is not every man, to ll^.l."?. He refused to throw off the who knows or can make even an ap- proximate guess as to what he has laid out in the production of any crop thrteen cents for cash, and when I in- spected the lumber I found in one plank a knot hole big as a pint cup. Of cour-ie, conditions vary in differ-; Six years afterward this very knot ent localities, but here are some flg-! hole came -n the right place for tying urcs that show the average cost of, the boom pole when I built a hayrack, keeping up a team of horses for a â€" C. E. U.