Far m Que ries Henry C. Bell. B.S.A.. Dept. of Chemistry. O.A.C. Addresi All Letters to Farm Editor. 73 Adelaide St. West, Toronto. All Answers Will Appear in this Column. If Personal Reply is Desired, Enclose Stamped and .Addressed Envelope. Under pie?.int farming r.onditloas It Ii possible, if not geiieraily probable, liiat iiractlces may be adopted next Atimmer which liav.; large capacity for doil injury. When ijuildlngs are va- cated and stand idle for a period of time, rapid deterioration is bound to take plarf. The ca.^e with soil ia not ^icactly parallel. Nature provides that if a field Is left untilled, grass and weed growth quickly cover its surface, generally preventini; erosion and add- iag to the organic matter of the soil. But tile temptation is, In times when certain hoed crops are most profltable, to grow these crops on larjfer areas of good soil without Riving attention to the maintenance of organic matter or humua. It is from this practice that injury may rrsult to the farm. This is an established fact from long lime ob- servation. OfBanic matter or plant fibre in the soil is absolutely necessary for the retention of sufficient water for Iilant growth. A.s soon as organic matter is removed from the soil, water leaves it rapidly, es^pecially on light sandy or gravelly soiU. Growing of hoed crops give'- best opportunity (or a depletion of organic matter. In an experiment continuing for over Ihirtyy ears, where corn was grown i^ontiuuously. the organic matter in the soil was depleted two-thirds within that period of time. Where hoed crops were alternated witii grain and hay crops, the loss was reduced to a little more than one-quarter. Where hoed â- lop, grain, clover and timothy were iiown in rotation and backed up by a dressing of about si.vteen tons manure per acre once in tlie rotation, or six times in a period of thirty years, there was practically no loss of organic mat- ter. The physical condition of the soil was kept in best form and its water-holiiing capacity wa.s not lower- ed. Kothamsted 'Kxi'erimental Station P<'>inted out some years ago that a soil receiving 14 tons annually for thirty- five years holds thirty-two tons more water per acre in the top nine inches tUau docs the .same soil without man- ure. Organic matter not only retains pre- cipitation for the growing crops, but it is very active in catching and holding plant food or plant nutrients which come into solution. Successive crops take from this store of plantfood in the soil varying quantities of nitro- gen, phosphoric acid and iKJtash, but if the organic matter of the scil is low- ered, not only does tliis loss of plant food on the part of Ui" crops wearing down the soil occur, but nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash and lime go out in soil drainage in increasing amounts. Cornell Agricultural Experi- ment Station and Rothamsted Kxperi- mental Station, both have established this point from, studies of soil in large tanks. On certain of the tanks the surface soil was kept bare o£ crops throughout the growing season. On other similar tanks and with the same soils a rotation of crops was followed. From these tests it is established be- yond a doubt that there is a large loss, especially of nitrogen, potash and lime, from bare soil. This informa- tion points to the beneficial practice of keeping the soil area cropped so as to prevent such loss. Organic matter itself has been proven to have a holding capacity for important uutrienta of growing crops, In its decay in the soil it has the power to incorporate ammonia, pot- ash, phosphoric acid and calcium or lime through the formation of various organic 8Ubstance.s containing these constituents. If the plant fibre or or- ganic matter of the soil is won. out or used up, these substances are lost in drainage waters. In the maintenance of organic mat- ter there is another point that should be kept in mind and that is the injury to succeeding crops that may be done by an inpudicious heavy application of straw ,r very strawy manure. The decay o( straw is dependent very largely on the worij of microrgaiiisms. These organisms in their growth use considerable quantities of nitrogen. It is possible, then, that too heavy an ap- plication of strawy manure iucoriior- ated into a soil, especially in spring, may result in nitrogen starvation of succeeding crops. If this strawy man- ure were applied in the fall and had al! winter to decay, such a wasteful lock- ing up of nitrogen would be avoided. In fact, organic matter applied in this way actually builds up the nitrogen supply within the soil. In the process of decay nitrogen from the air is in- corporated in the soil. Where straw is to be applied to the soil for fall wheat, frequently good results are ob- tained from applying it on clover sod or on stubble where sweet clover has been grown iu the grain. The decay of the legume crop meets the immedi- ate needs of nitrogen of the organisms of decay operating on the strawy man- ure and together they add to the nitro- gen content of the soil. The physical effect of organic mat- ter is considerable. For light gravelly loam or sandy soils organic matter is the one thing that gives them sub- stance or water-holding capacity. On heavy clay soils the incorporation of organic matter greatly assists the cir- culation of air throughout the soil. Plant fibre iu the soil can be built up by manuring, by plowing in crop residues such as stubble, leaves, vines of potatoes and other waste parts of any crop. A crop of clover or other legume not only adds organic matter in the volume of roots it produces and ihe abundant top growth, but it adds nitrogen to a soil by virtue of the bac- teria that grow upon its roots. Non- leguminous crops such as buckwheat, rye, etc., add plant fibre but no more nitrogen than they take out of the soil. Whatever the condition of farming business, attention should be given to keeping the farm machine â€" the soil â€" in best possible condition by the main- tenance of its organic matter. Women's Flight Exploits Alarm French Writres Paris. â€" Amy Johnson MoUison's recent ' record-smushing flights be- tween London and Cape Town have •brought only grudging praise from iVenchmen, who are concerned over the possibility of Freiich women be- coming infected with the virus of Ii.»minine athletic fever. J. H. Rosuey, nieinbor of the Gon- court Academy, feels that such per- formances as those of Mrs. MoUison and .\raelia KarUart I'uiuam would endanger a French woman's femin- lae charm, "Masculinizaiii^u of the woman," he writes in a current periodical, "is against the dictates of nature and of organized society." Henri Falk, noted i'"rench writer, ilk»wise "views with alarm" but Is Inclined to adopt a more humorous ^one in his comment. He is mainly concerned wiht the decreasing pres- ligtt of hu.^bands undur .he "new wo- man" system. He envisages the modern woman remarking: •Loon, 1 love you and will marry! |rou, but you must realize that I am I % passionate parachute jumper. You must let me jump whenever I wan:. Otherwise, nothing doing." The Teacher's Task By Lady Astor i am one of the few people who really like teachers. I look upon rhem as members oT a consecrated profession. If you teachers don't feel that way, don't go into the pro- fession of teachia.; children. We are passing through one of tlie most interesting periods ia the his- tory of the world. People do not real- ize how the world is changing. It is up to the teachers to train mankind, to develop the mind from the com- petitlvo one of today to a contempla- tive one. I have watched communism grow and I don't believe tor one minute that it will last on a materialistic basis. I have studied capitalism and unless the capitalistic system of so- ciety emerges to something better than It is at present it will not con- tinue to exist. It Is necessary to In- troduce spirit, a spiritual something, into our competitive minds in order lt> remain. January 8. Les«on II â€" Jetut Begins His Worl<â€" Mark 1: 12-20. Gilden Text â€" The time ,s fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the g;spel. â€" Mark 1: 15. .ANALYSIS I. •'TE.MPTEU Lll-l': AS WE ARE," Mai'ri 1: V>, 12. U. THE Ci.^TLI W.W .\tr.rk 1- 14, 1 .'i. III. A BIGCEK JOB, Mark 1: 16-ZV. Introduction â€" Mark is the Gospel o[ the Tighty deeds of Je-ua. Us theme t3 rtflected in •Xs vivid flirect, forceful srj'le. "St-iight.'Hv ' 's one of Mark's characteristic words. It nwans immeciat€ly, forthwith, at once, tout de suite. Jesus, in the face of increasing difficult and dangerous situations, overcomes every adversary. I. "TEMPTED UKE .%S WE ARE," Mark 1: VI. 13. After that tremenuous experien:e at Jords.n-sidt;. an intense and over- masterins impulse co.npelled Jesus to seek solitude. That impulse was so strong as to be explained only by thit new, tioniinatinfr divine personality which had now taken possession of liim. t.'ote Mark's vivid way of put- ting it. "immediately the spirit driv- eth hin'," v. 12. Jesus, sure now that he was his Father's chosen One ("^-loved," in 7. U. means "chosen") for the g-reat task, must face the various methods presenting themselves for the accom- plishing of that task. What road must h. mark out for himself? ''The wild- erness" (V. 12) means the desolate and lo.iely country that rises from the deep valley of the Jordan. What happened there Jesus himself must have told. .A.gain. Mark's account is very brief. He evi iently takes for granted that his readers are familiar w! 'i it. He does not mention the fa'i-t, 'i t he seems to assume it in his refer- ^..ce to the ministering angels. For the (ortv davs' fast, compare the experi- ence" of "Moses (Exod. 34: 28) and Elijah 1 Kings 19: 8. The ^'wild beasts'' may well be taken literally. That territory vvas infested with them. Probably also the expression i symbolic .f the "power.- of dark- ness" which cought to persuade Jesus that the world's way of doing things was better. "Gratify your God-given desire to help the poor by feeding them, improving their earthly lot, re- ! eving their crushing load of pov- CLty," Matt. 4: 3. "Take Rome's way uf "nillitarism and conquest. You have the power, if only you will use it. Your people are waiting for z- leader lik. you." Matt. 4: 8. 9. "No? Well, then, God must love you for your brave loyalty. He will surely take care of you. In every place of danger you will walk unscathed. Even a fail from the pin..:.cle of thia temple .vili leave you unhurt . . . and how it wuuLi impress and conn ice the peo- ple!" Matt. 4: G. That whole spiritual struggle Mark passes over with '.lis brief birt gripping sentenc . "he was with the wild beasts." From all these alluring prospects Jesus turned. No easy road co popa- kirity, no shortcut to power, no expec- tations for an easy Toadâ€" but the un- popuhvr. disappointing, dangerous way marked itcelf out for him. The deci- sion was made, with shining face and l-tart aflame with God (v. 13) he re- turneti to try to make that same God known to men. II. TUE COSTLY WAY, Mark 1 : 14, 15. Th.' "costly way" so bravely resolv- ed upon in the wilderneco soon thrust it.-vlf upon our Lord. The first news that grreeted him upon his return was that John was in prison. Any one who knew Herol would know that John's earthly career was about >nd- 0.1. Jesus loved John. It was John's preaching that had called Jesus out fro- 1 Xazarcth. The people would certainly rally around any leader who would undertake to liborate him. Ix)ve, Icyalty, chivalry, patriotism, religion r seemed to call for actio.i. But Mark briefly records, "Jesus came into Galilee proachi.ijr-" It looked as .f he I ad run away. Had Jesus struck a blow for Jor.n he would have been hailed as the long- expectea. nationalistic, mil-tar 3tic Messiah. It would have spelled dis- aster to his real Messiahship. John's ' hysical safety must then be sacrificed for the sake of that spirit aa! kingdom ill which John will strrely have his place. On to Galilee, therefore, Jc«his went. It take* a brave heart and a great love to do the things that appears selfish and cowardly. It was part of the costly way that our Ixjrd had chosen. .\X first Jesus' message was prac- tically identical with that of John, vs. 14, 15. It called for a spiritual preparation for a spiritur' kingdom. To the restive, impetuous Galileans. both the message and its method must have been, disappointing. But Jesu*, tlirilled with the consciousness of his oneness with .lis Father, knew that he represented a kingdom g-rfiater even than Rome. III. A BIGGER JOB, Mark 1: 16-20 An example of that persinai influ- ence soon occ jrred. Walking by the sea, Jesus saw som people fishing. With icrei.t dramatic power Mark t*-' â- ! the story. Did thtit men know Jec... before? We cannot say. Even if they did, he wa.; only an itinerant p-ecchcr, witli o stated ii.come; they were fishermen. Th. tish business was flourishing. Yet .»8:k r. â- cords, "and straightway" they forsook their nets and followed him, vs. 18, 20. Of tl e first pair one at least was n.arritti. It is not uncom.r.on in the East today for a man to leave his wife to Jlow a "holy-ma.i." To leave one's father was another m itter, but Zebedec was evidently well-establish- ed. He could employ hired labor, v. 20. Tki'ik of the compelling power of the personality which took these men from a sure job to undertake what to business common-sense must have ap- peared a great unce.tainty. It was the authority of a Ood-filled life. "The authority of Jesus is not arbi- tr.Ty KiiP. y.-' it is the nusi, imperial the world ha.< ever kn.wn. Like ths authority of the physician in wh )m conflder.ce is felt and whose commands are promptly obeyed because it is be- lieved that he knows best; like the ai :h(>rity of the sea-captj.in in the time of storm, whose commands are implicitly followed because one has confidence that in this course alone is s-afety, such is the authc ty of Je- s:.s." Of the work facing them they knew little â€" except that the knowledge of fishing which they now possessed was to be put to greater use, v. 17. Gifts of personality, knowledge, skill, when consecrated to God's purposes, find greater scope for their use than th-.-.v found ever before. Winter Twilight .\ little while ago and you might see The ebony trees against the saffron sky That shifts through Rame to rose: but now a calm Of solemn blue above, a stilly time. With pines that peer and listen, while the snow Gleams ghostly and the brittle sound of ice Tinkles along the dumbness, strange- ly loud, Since all the air is tranced. Housed in, the folk Cltse-gather at the ingle, and the hour Of Breside choer and homely talk of kio Is welcomed, as the big. vague world beyond Moves nightw^rd, merges into mys tery. â€"From "The Collected Poems of Richard Burton," (New York. Bobbs Merrill.^ Smart School Model By HELEN WILLIAMS. Ill list. ated Dreiamaking Leaaon Fur- nished With E'eri/ I'attem New Oyster Incubators Give Sesd Better Chance Washington. â€" The infant oyster now has a better chance to grow up a useful shellfish, thanks to two new "oyster incubators" developed by the United States Fisheries Biological Station at Beaufort, N.C. The ''incubators'' consist of paper tubes and mats coated with cement and placed on the sea bottom. Thou- sands of the microscopic oyster larvae that otherwise would be lest can at- tach themselves to these man-made L.tvens of refuge and grow into seed oysters, says Dr. H. F. Prytherch of the station, in a report to the Oyster C owers' and Dealers" Association. In order to grow .successfully young oysters need something to which, they can attach themselves. Oyster shells havp been used for this puri)ose, but use of the cement-coated paper de- vices is expected to enable Iar:ge quantities of shells to be marketed for lime and poultry feed in crushed form. New Year So here hath been dawning Another blue day; Think, will thou let it Slip useless away? .. Out of eternity This new day is born; Into eternity At night will return. , . Behold it aforetime No e.ve ever did; So soon It for ever From all eyes is hid. . . â€" Thomas Carlyle. Casey's wife had been presented with twins, and Casey wa* asksd If they didn't make an awful row at tilght, "Well," he said, "not so bad. Yom see, one howls such a lot that you can't hear th» other." 3197 Black rough crepe silk, so extreme- ly popular this season, made this graceful model. Th'.' softly draped scarf collar is white crepe. The sleeves puffed- above the elbow and fitting the arms snugly below, are a weli-liked feature. And note the length-giving line of the gored skirt. It's simplicity itself to fashion it. Style No. 3197 is designe<l for si.-ws 14, 16. 18, 20 years, 36 and 38 inches bust. Size 16 requires 3H j-ards 39-ineh with "^i yard 39-inch contrasting. Another youthful scheme is to carry it out in tomato red rough orepe siik. HOW TO ORDER PATTERNS. Write your name and address i>lain- ly, giving num'oer and size of such patterns as you want. Enclose 15c in stamps or coin (coin preferred: wrap it carefully) for each numbe.-, and address your order to Wilson Pattern Ser\nce, 73 West Adelaide St., Toronto. Historic Paris Buildings Get Vigorous Scrubbing Paris. â€" The French capita', and much of France have been undergoing a vigorous cleaning. Inside and out, many of France's historic buildings and monuments have undergone reno- vation. The Ministry of Public Works esti- mates that these projects in the last six months have provided employment for 15.000 men, w-ho would have other- wise been idle, and that the cost of removing historic grime from ancient buildings is in excess of $400,000. Celebrated structures ia Paris which are exposing new facades to residents include the Opera, Tour St, Jacques, the Pantheon dome, the Caroussel .\.rch. parts of the Louvre and the Palais Ro}"ah While this unprecedented activity is of benefit to thousands of workers, it is to one group of Frenchmen a sad and barbaric business. .â- }. Oysters From Japan On the British Columbia tx>ast there are three species of oysters â€" native, imported Eastern and imported Jap- anese. As a result of investigations carried on by t'le Biological Board of Canada in those waters in the last few years, it has been found that the Japanese shell-fish are th; hardiest of ; 11. While the native and import- ed Eastern products sometimes fail, there seems to be no limit to the quantity and quality of Japanese species, which can be successfully matured on the Pacific Coast. Prehistoric Plant Pollen Stuoied Microscopic Shows Pe.-cent- age nf Different Flora in -Any Given Period Those old timers who l!isi»i thai the climate is changing may be rigW after all, though the change caa scarcely have been enough ia one lit* time to make a measurable diffep ence, writes G. Edward Pendray ia the N.y. Herald-Tribune. In the laal few thousand years climates in va«* ous parts of this continent have cer- tainly undergone important altera tious and the process ia probably â- continuous one. Proof of these climatic changM and some idea of what they moat have meant to earlier people wte Inhabited North .\merica are advano- ed by I'rofessor Paul Bigeiow Sear^ of the University of Oklahoma, la the "American AnthropologisL" la this report on his recent work. Dr. Sears adds another to the various ae curate methods of measuring the tlnu which has elapsed since the last glact ation. The new method is one that not only gives a measur of the yean but also reveals what the climate waa in any given period by revealing tlii nature and abundance of the veget» tion growing at that time. Study Thin Sections of Peat. The metbod is based upon th« slow accumulation of vegetable matter in the form of peat, which coataina layer after layer of fossilized poll^ Since the pollen of every kind of plant is distinctive in shape and other characteristics, it is possible to count the percentage of various plants rep- resented in each stratum by examia- ing the material with a microscope. Professor Sears reports that ha troze pieces of peat from various bogi iu the Middle West and then cut thea vertically into thin sections. After such treatment alternating layers oC cellular and gelatinous materials ata revealed, at least in some peats. Thesa layers are considered by Dr. Sears ta' represent seasonal accumulations, oaa' being laid down in summer and tUa other in winter; each pair thus repr»-' seating one year. The combined thick-' ness of each pair averaged one l'5tli of one inch in the samples examined.' This means that the peat accumulate! at about the rate of three centariei per foot. Dr. Sears reports that this metno* of reading the climatic history of tha past has now been applied to bogs la' Ohio. Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, Arkaa-' sas and Southeastern Canada. Th^ reveal that there have been at least' five major climatic changes on thta continent in the last 10.000 years. It was to be expected, of coursa^ there should have been a gradual ai* elioration of climate from glacial dayil to the presentâ€" a sort of slow warm- ing and drying. Presuming that thla was the case, archaelogosists studyinj the relics of prehistoric men in Amat^ ica have been puzzled by the overlap.' ping cultures discovered ia Tarloua parts of the continent, especially tha Ohio Valley, where there are traces at at least four distinct peoples, eac^ with a different type of culture, and the period of occupation of each s'aarp ly separated in point of time from th* other. The evidence of the pollen and tk^ bog laminae, however, indicates that there has been no such simple ameli oration of climate, but rather a seriea of distinct changes from wet to dr^ and back to wet, and from cold ta' warm. In the first period, around 10,-' 000 to 8,000 years ago, the climati was cold and wet, probably a hol4' over from post-glacial conditions. I| those days the Ohio Valley and moai of Indiana were covered by forest g| spruce, pine and fir. and it there wer^ any primitive Americans living ia tlM region they probably engaged ia hunt ing exclusively. The windows In the House of Lords (London) are never opened. KEEPING HIS SECRET, .\n Irishman on his way to the racet was persuaded by three other occa pants of the railway carriage to join ia a game of solo. For half an hour he lost steadilTi and then, to his astonishment, ha noticed one of the players, a tou^' looking specimen who boasted a shada over oue eye, produce an ace froat nowhere. "Look here." he said, "there's om member of the party cheating. I doBT wish to cause any animosity, so ( won't mention who It Is, but If W does it again, I'll bung his other e? up." MUTT AND JEFFâ€" By BUD FISHER And Then Mutt Crowned Him With the Skillet