VOL. LVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, NOV. 15, 1902.
NO. 46
The Useful Germ.
Edltora Indiana Farmer:
The hue and cry about germs lead to
good rt suits in milking people more careful in sanitary num. is. Tin* housekeepers for the home, and they when aroused,
call for guardians of the public health
on matters beyond their control. But
germs are not all bad. It is yet to be
discovered how many oftheinnoccuousones
feed upon the poison germs and render
their action abortive.
How we should miss from our tables
the work of the yeast germ, the butter and
cheese bacteria. With the vinegar ferment we are all familiar, and the good
housekeeper endeavors to keep the tiny
flies away from her cider, which is developing into vinegar.
But it is these very little flies that materially aid and hasten the process. Our
State bacteriologist has lately discovered
that the acetic acid germ is brought to
the cider on the feet of these little flies.
Suspectiug some reasons for their visits,
he caught a newcomer in a small glass.
Knowing their propensity for walking upside down, he placed on it a glass cover,
with some moist gelatine smeared on it.
The fly crossed it in his favorite position,
when under the microscope was revealed
the acetic acid germ on his tiny feet. The
fly frequents decaying fruit, and from that
he had brought his useful little germ.
My friend, the bacteriologist, has been
working on the cheese bacteria, which is
B thing apart from the rennet ferment,
producing coagulation in the milk. His
tests have been on the utilization of butter milk for cheese. There being always
a residue of butter fat in the butter-milk,
it would not he poor, like that made solely from separated milk. By introducing
his bacteria culture, the flavor would be
attained in a mueh shorter time than the
proscribed two months. Butt.".milk will,
in all probability, become a more valuable
article of commerce than when fed to
hogs. L. A. N.
Nashville, Oregon.
Lime and Fertilizers.
Edltora Indiana Fanner:
Now that the work of the year is over
and we have a little time to study over
matters, one "f the things to take up is
the question of how much lime we need
next spring. The need of lime is shown
by cold, wet soils, lumpy land hard to
smooth, and also light, sandy soils which
are too loose. It is strange how one substance can do so many apparently contradictory things, but as a matter of fact
lime can do it, and so far as the farmer
is concerned, that should be sufficient.
Lime shonld be applied at least every
fourth year, at the rate of about -Obushels
per acre, broadcasted in the spring after
the final harrowing; it is best to apply the
lime on the turned down sod for corn,
this when we are doing regular routine
liming. To cure special evils, it can be
used at any time and under any conditions. It need not be worked into the soil,
for it will gc down fast enough without
any outside help. Frequently lime is a
great aid in securing a catch of clover,
but this is not its proper nse. When lime
is used to secure a catch of clover, its
action in liberating potash from the soils
is relied upon, and while this may be effective once or twice, it results in the
impoverishment of the soil. It is a common saying thnt lime enriches the father
at the expense of the son, but this is only
when lime is improperly nsed.
Lime is not plant food in the sense that
nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid are
su.h. It may an.l .Iims increase the immediate availability of plant food in the
soil, but this is always drawing on the
reserve account, so to speak. Its action
in this use is almost wholly the liberation
of potash, and by the way, when lime fails
to give results we have a sure sign of the
need of potash fertilization. All soils too
frequently limed are depleted of available
potash, for not one-tenth of the potash liberated by lime is realized in crops. Lime
is useful to clover in this way because
the clover plants are heavy potash feeders, and when given a liberal supply make
a strong, rank growth, and at the sunn*
time store up large quantities of nitrogen.
taken from the air, and which is available as nitrogen plant food for crops to
follow.
Lime should be nsed for its physical
effect on the soil rather than for its use
in liberating plant food. A much better
plan for clover for example, especially
when it shows signs of clover sickness, is
to broadcast potash in the form of some
of the German potash salts, kainit, double
manure salt, or muriate of potash. We
will then be sure of a crop, while if we
depend upon the action of lime in liberating the insoluble potash of the natural
soil, we may be following in the tracks
of a predecessor, who has worked the
game for all there is in it, and our crop
tails. It now seems settled that lime
is favorable to the growth of scab on
potatoes, and on this account lime shouhl
not be used on land to be planted in this
crop. Also, lime should not be applied
with commercial fertilizers, as it tends
to lessen the availability of the phosphoric
pc-iil in sain.?.
Lime is sometimes recommended for
mixture or composting with farmyard
manure. This is always a mistake, as
ll causes a very considerable loss of the
nitrogen of the manure, which represents
about the whole plant food value of that
material. George   K.   Wilson.
WOMEN'S* MISTAKES.
Two ladies from Massachusetts were in
the Senate gallery when their escort,
who was showing them various objects of
Interest, pointed rat the desks ot Senators
Hoar and Lodge.
"The desks, you see," said the impromptu guide, are next to each other."
"Oh, exclaimed one of the ladies, "I
know now what it means when it is said
senators are paired."
Stories of the sad mistakes which women
make concerning public matters are always current at the Capitol. The otne:-
day an Eastern congressman received a
letter from a lady in his district who asked
lorn to look after her nephew. "He is n
secretary in* the Cabinet or something of
the sort," write the lady, and the congressman finally found him acting as clerk to
a very subordinate official in tbe Treasury
Department. The Capitol guides tell thu
story of the woman who when told tiat
the Vice President presided over the Sen-
:■ to .--aid that she always wanted to Fee
Bryan.
"But Bryan- is not Vice President," explained the guide.
"I thought he was," replied the lady, "bc-
c.use he got almost as many rotes as McKinley."
And there is still another story <f th-<
womsin visitor to the Capitol who asfeed
the name of the secretary of state.
"Mr.  Hay."  was  the reply.
"Mr. Hay?'" queried the woman in surprise. "That can't be because Mr. Hay Is
n member of the Cabinet."—Washington
Post.
Writ ton  for the Indiana Farmer:
A THANKSGIVING  KAY, INDEED.
By   Mack   Ellsworth.
A few years ago while traveling through
one of the western states on business connected with a large lum1.fr firm with
which I was employed, night overtook me
while far from tho town in which I was
Stopping, I wms compelled to seek shelter
for the night at a nearby farm house. It
was a raw day, late in November, a cold,
drizzling rain had set in and I was only
too glad to get a roof over me. After
snpper, to which I did full justice after
my long ride through the cold, we all repaired to the sitting room. The family
consisted of man and wife, a little past
middle age, a son of perhaps 20 and two
younger daughters. After drawing our
chairs up to a bright blazing fire in an
open fire-place, and in answer to a question from me as to bow long they had
lived there, the good wife told me the
following  story:
"In 1S74," said she, "in the spring of
the year we, husband and I, moved here,
or rather a few yards down the river,
trom our old home in Indiana. There
was plenty of game in the woods then nnd
also plenty of Indians, but the latter were
friendly to the whites and we looked for
no trouble from them. But there was
mueh stealing going on just then among
the settlers and it was generally laid to
the Indians, though I think they were
not always guilty knowing the Indian as
I do, ray judgment is that they have had
to bear the blame of much that was committed by less scrupulous white men.
We, with three other families, built us
log houses when we first came and then
began to clear us small patches of ground
to put in corn. Our house at first consisted of a single room, but we managed
that summer after corn was laid by, to
add another. We worked all the time
and had many trials and perplexities. Imt
w.* wen* not altogether unhappy for we
had begun to like the wild, rough life of
the wilderness.
On the day following Thanksgiving, nf
the year in which we moved to our weatern home, a nice little baby boy came to
brighten our lonely hours. Time passed
on with little or no changes ii*. our lives.
. tcept the change made by the presence
of baby in the home. Our second Thanksgiving in the West was approaching,
bringing with it our little Charley's birthday. John and a neighbor, returning
home from coon hunting a few nights before, caught an Indian in our corn crib,
and he showing fight they were compelled
to give him a sound flogging. He went
away muttering that he would be avenged
on the white men. The day before
Thanksgiving came and the threat,
thought little of at the time, was now entirely forgotten. Husband had gone hunting that we might have turkey for dinner
the next day. I was left alone, baby nnd
I, but I thought nothing of this as we had
been alone many times before. It was
a fine November day rather warm for the
time of year. I had let the fire go down
in the fire place and was at work in the
kitchen part of our double log-house, while
little Charley was asleep in his rude crib
in the other. Busy with the preparation
for the next days' meal I had forgotten my
surroundings and my thoughts were far
away among my beloved hills of Spencer
connty in my native state. I was living
ever again my young life and early womanhood, thinking, of father, mother, brother
and sisters, now so far away and in my
loneliness seeming farther; also of John,
our courtship ami marriage, and removal
from all the old farm hel.l dear. It must
have been three o'clock in the aftenoou,
when thus musing. I wsis suddenly awakened from my dream by the scream of our
darling child, and rushing to the door I
saw him being borne away by an Indian.
Hearing me, he turned and with a savage
air said: "White man flog Injun, Injun
throw papoose into river." With that he
made towards the river, about two hundred yards away. I ran after him, with
the anguish of a mother's love tugging at
my heart. I had run but a few steps
when I felt a touch on my arm and heard
a voice say: "Calm yourself, woman, I
will save your child." At these words I
turned and saw before me n tall, brosi.l-
shoul.lered man Of about middle age, with
light hair which fell in wavy masses on
his shoulders. His head was surmounted
by a broad-brim slouch hat, while the
rest of his dress was a mixture 08 the
hunter and the gold miner. With his
words to me he raised his rifle to his shoulder.
The Indian had by this time almost
reached the bluff on the river bank, which
at this place was some hundred feet or
more to the water, with jagged rocks below. The Indian turned and saw the man
In the act of firing upon him. Instantly
he threw the child over his back, holding
on to its hands and leaving little of his
hotly exposed except the top of his head.
As my unknown friend brought his rifle
to his shoulder, Oh! the feelings which
surged through me. Would he be able
to save my child? Could he hit the Indian
without killing my darling? At first the
rifle seemed to tremble in his grasp, but
as my heart stood still, with an unuttered
prayer, the gun became as firm as if
held in a vice. An instant, and the report
rang out on the still air. The Indian dropped the child, gave one leap forward and
upward and went over the cliff, where
he was found a few hours later with a
bullet hole in his head. I ran and picked
baby op; he wag little hurt, except from
the fright: I turned and asked who shouhl
I thank for saving the lifV of my child.
"Men call me "Wild Bill," sai.l he, as
he vanished into the woods and was gone,
an.l I fell fainting into the arms of my
husband, who. at his moment, returned.
The morrow wsis a Thansgiving day, an.l
one long to be remembered by John ami
inc.
•"Is Charley living, did yon say? Yes,
In- is a fireman on the road which runs
through W— where he lives. He is married, and has a little fellow one year old
to-morrow—Thanksgiving day—an.l they
are coming here to spend the day.
Princeton.
The pastor called at a Columbus home
ihe other day, where little Freddie, a
bright youngster, is a great pet. Freddie
had previously heard his mother say that
the pastor was very successful in saving
souls.
During a pause in* the conversation
Freddie, who was sitting on the pastor's
knee, asked:
"Do you  save souls?"
"Yes, Freddie," replied the man of the
doth
"Will yon tell me," went on Freddie,
seriously, "how many souls you got saved
up?"—Ohio State Journal.
The bed of the Black sea and that of
the Caspian have been raised by repeated
earthquakes, and channels which were
formerly navigable are no longer so.