Warren sheaf., 1903-12-03
.HARp ,rH1NGs 10 K1LI..

s1AeA> 0xNUS xAxA3Ist.s,-
SOM, OF the common things. and not
ah Of ::aem pests and nutsances either.
are remarkably tenacious Of life.
Among the, good things, we. mention
blue grass. the most insistent and ON
nipresent as well as one Of the very
best Of all our grasses. 1t wages q nev-
er ending war on all other grasses and
on most of our weeds. 1t comes no one
knows just how and pre-empts every
little spot in the forest where bit of
sunlight penerates. It nantes every
roadside and makes velvety every foot
path. 1t will cover the hummocky bog
when drained, and builds little noun
tains Of turf and creeps up every craggy
hillside wherever can be found foot
hold for any green thing. The more it is
pastured and fed of the thicker it be-
comes and the faster it will grow 1t is
first on deck in the spring and last to
give up to the frosts il the fall. When
it seems dead by drought It is only
resting and asleep, waiting for the first
fall shower to begin business again. 1t
keeps green and toothsone under win
ter SHOWS. If it is turned over ty the
plow it seems to enjoy it and begins
to grow tother side up with greater
luxuriance than ever. 1t is one of the
persistent good things-insect. drought,
flood, blight and frost proof. On the
other hand. we have some pests which
exhibit the same characteristics. There
Is the English sparrow, the common
victim of cats, owls. traps, poison.
guns, hailstorms-a tiny mite of vital
ity, with body no bigger than the
end Of ones thumb, always living in
the very midst of his enemies. but
shrewd enough and prolific enough so
that his numbers constantly increase
the mercury at 40 below zero as 100
above, forager and scavenger of the
first order, always saucily defying man
and trap and gun and Indifferent to
bounties placed on his head. OF the
same habits are mice, rats and crows
in animal and bird life. and in the
vegetable kingdom certain types Of
weeds-purslane, pigeon grass, cookie
bur, morning glory, ragweed, quack
grass, thistle-a bold. lawless, indom-
table band Of farm pests and soil rob-
bers which, coupled with equally tena-
cious forms Of insect life. keep the
farmer on the warpath all the time.
READING MATTER ON THE FARM.
This is the season of the year when
the selection of supply of reading mat
ter for the farm home comes up for
consideration, and there is no one thing
to which it will pay as we'll to give
little careful attention. There may now
be obtained such a profusioD of good
that every home in the country should
be we'll supplied. Let us suppose that
there are the father, mother and four
children in the farm home. What
would be good selection? If located
on rural mail route, there should be
a daily paper, preferably a state paper:
then two good agricultural papers:
then the best of the local or home pa
pers, one of the good dollar maya
zines, a paper for the children and a
woman's magazine or paper for the
wife and daughters. The cost Of such
a selection of matter would be about
$3.50. Where one has neighbors who
will do likewise system Of exchange
will add to the list. No money which
will be spent on the farm will bring in
such large and such good returns as
the money so spent. We always feel
sOrry to find q farm home where the
reading matter is confined to an al
manac, a catalogue and one or two of
these trash agricultural or story pa
pers, and there are all too many such
country homes.