Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-04-03

The great opera singer Mime. Melbn
has Il thousand acre ranch near the
city of Melbourne. Australia. and ON
cows. On retiring from her active pro
fessiolnI work she intends to enter the
dairy business more extensively.
The foliage plants will grow more
thriftily and have a better color If
they are placed in a window where
they will get some sunshine. On the
other hand the several varieties of
ferns thrive best in north windows OF
other places where they do not get di
rect sunshine
Several of the common wild plants
including Wild lettuce. dandelion, milk
weed and others. have been found by
chemical analysis to contain conSid
cradle amounts of good rubber. How
to extract this element in commercial
amounts and without too great cost is
a problem that has not yet been solved
One writer on agricultural topics OBJ
served short time ago that the man
who loafs In the country store while
his wife Is ut home splitting wood
ought to he fed on cold sauerkraut and
head cheese. 1t will strike good many
that head cheese is too tOothsome Il dish
to feed such Il shirk rs this. and there
will be many who will resent the in.-
piled insinuation touching the sauer.
kraut.
A good deal of argument has been
presented of late against the use of
the steel trap. and this was augmented
the other day in story which comes
from Monrovia Cal A big trap that
was set for bear caught a pet dog
whose mistress escaped it by but few
inches. The combined strength of two
men was required to loosen the jaws
so that the mangled paw could be re-
leased
The other day there closed in Union
township, Hancock county. O., a five
weeks rat hunt. Two hundred and
thirteen men took part in the contest
and produced 1886 rat tails, the win
ners being given dinner by the los
ers. The best killing in this campaign
was made by u small rat terrier that
had 1900 tails to his credit. thirty of
which be routed out of a single shock
Of corn.
Before any of our readers invest any
of their hard earned coin in boom
tracts anywhere in the country on the
strength Of raising hogs on cnssava
root at 81 so per hundredweight or fat
tening steers on casSava and spine
less cactus leaves Mt 81 per hundred
weight they would do well to refer
these figures to the department OF ag-
riculture at Washington for vertical
ton. These claims are so strong as to
arouse suspicion as to their correct
ness.
Green food for the fowls in the win
ter months may be provided by sprOut-
ing grain. The grain should be soak
I'd in water twenty-fOur hours. then
drained 1t should then be kept moist
by sprinkling with warm water night
and morning. When the grain starts
to sprOut it should be spread out to a
depth of two inches. In two weeks
the sod should he three or four inches
thick and the growth Of the green
shoots six or seven inches high 1t is
then ready to feed and should be given
| in moderate quantities.
The folly of burning straw to get rid
| Of 1t Is realized when one knows what
n ton of straw contains. Analysis
shows that ton of wheat straw
contains 900 pounds of nitrogen. 81
| pounds of phoSphoric acid and 24C
| pounds OF potash. while Il ton of Oat
! straw contains about 240 pounds OF
nitrogen. ~ pounds of phosI horic
| acid and $50 pounds of potash The
| burning of straw means the deStruc
ton of most of the first two elements
| named: hut. what is almost MS vital
1t means rohe'lng the soil of the vpse
| table matter humus of which II Il
! so much in y.-..d.