Connecticut western news., 1907-06-27

One now and then hears a fellow say that 1t does not pay to raise straw berries for home use. Neither does 1t pay to get married, raise kids or be civilized and decent, if only the finan- cial aspect is considered.
 There is a time for education and development with the boys and girls lR the home, just as there Is a proper time for the cultivation of the crops in the field. Neglect or postponement In either case entails loss that is sell dom made good.
 A ton of fresh manure contains ten pounds of nitrogen, two pounds of phosphorus and ten pounds of potas- Sium, with total value of S2.34, while a ton of unbieached wood ashes con- tains ten pounds of phosphorus and 100 pounds of potassium, worth $7.20.
 One of the many commendabie ben efactions of Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, is the placing of $4O,00O at lue ulSDOSul 0l lut plant wizard" so that while conduct ing his many experiments, so useful to his fellow men, he may not be vexed by the difficulties of making a living.
 A friend who wished to give his strawberry bed boost ordered some concentrated commercial fertilizer, but applied 1t so thick that it virtually burned up the plants in a short time. With this, as with a number of other commodities that might be mentioned,
 1t is possible to get too much of a good thing.
 It is not reasonable to expect that if the youngsters are allowed to act like
 little heather in the home they will conduct themselves like models of eti- Iuette when they are out In company or when there are guests in the home. The veneer of company manners Is a very thin and f1imsy article which is likely to crack and peel off and reveal the real thing beneath
 One of the most attractive corners in the home flower garden may be made by selecting a shady spot and planting there the roots or seeds of the common wood fowers-the bloodroots, Dutch mans brooches, bluebells, anemones, yiolets, phlox and ferns. Once estab- lished and kept free from weeds, such I bed will furnish recurring pleasure and memento of the wildwood in 3e, 1,o ;ee the flowers in their native haunts
 The usefulness of the ordinary iron rake may be greatly increased by rivet- ing n sharpened strip of scrap iron three fourths of an inch wide to the back of the rake, which makes a very effective broad bladed hoe for lighter work by simple twist of the wrist and turning the rake over. The rake Is one of the best weed killers avail able when they are in their early stages. while if they are a little too large to kill by stirring the soil in the usual manner with the rake the device mentioned will fix lem.
 The diStillers of the country are up against the real thing in a recent de cision by Secretary Wilson of the de- partment of agriculture, who decided that all whisky products must be la- beled by their right names-that if a whisky is pure, it may be labeled as such, but that if it is merely blended with common alcohol or other adulter- ant it must bear label to that effect number of manufacturers have stat ed that this decision, which really does nothing more than enforce common honesty, will drive them out of busi- ness.
 A reader of this department living at New Albany, Pa, writes making in- quiry relative to the opening of the government land near Billings, Mont It is our understanding that a part of this land Is to be opened for home stead settlement and a part auctioned off about July l. For the benefit of our Pennsylvania reader and any others who may in the future desire information relative to the opening of public lands 1t may be we'll to state that full information on these matters may be secured by sending inquiries to the department of the interior, Washington, which has supervision oyer all the public domain.