JULY 15, 1915 



603 



whose loose habit-s and fondness for " chicken " have 

 been proverbial. 



There is still another aspect to the mat- 

 ter. If the one who is guilty of this act 

 could be kindly taken in hand he might 

 repent and never be guilty of the same act 

 again. Remember the beautiful promise, 

 " He which convertetli the sinner from the 

 error of his way shall save a soul from 

 death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 



Later. — After the above was in type 

 Wesley sent me the following: 



I've moved all the chickens over to Mr. Rood's. 

 There are 35 old laying hens and 35 young chick- 

 ens I took to Mr. Rood's, and those are what are 

 left. There were 7 ducks left also. Mr. Rood says 

 if they had been left there every one of thorn 

 would have been taken. Chickens are being 

 stolen all over the whole neighborhood. 



Manatee, Fla., June 29. Wesley Welch. 



From the above it appears that be- 

 tween forty and fifty of my chickens were 

 stolen, mostly old hens. Well, if such 

 tilings must go on, it is no more than fair 

 that I should have my share of it. I can- 

 not now recall that during the past sixty 

 years during which I have had more or 

 less to do with chickens I have ever had 

 any stolen before, although I have had 

 frequent reports from othei*s who have lost 

 in that way. Not only for the good of 

 the hard-working people who are deprived 



of their honest earnings, but that this sort 

 of pilfering may be checked at the outset, 

 will it not be well for poultrymen to com- 

 bine and form an organization such as 

 we used to have years ago when horse 

 thieves were so common? If it is ti'ue, as 

 Wesley stales, that the whole neighborhood 

 is suffering from the loss of chickens, it 

 behooves us to combine, and in that way 

 I feel sure we can ferret out tlie guilty 

 ones. I will gladly do my part, both in 

 time and money. 



My good friend W. P. Root just informs 

 me that over sixty j^ears ago the farmers 

 of this county, and Wayne on the south, 

 formed what is still known as the "Union 

 Perseverance Company for the Detection 

 and Apprehension of Horse Thieves;" 

 and so effectual was this company that 

 they claim no thief ever yet escaped their 

 clutches. Aided now by the telephone, 

 horse-stealing is a thing of the past in 

 this section. 



Perhaps, dear friends, there is a provi- 

 dence in the loss of my forty or fifty 

 chickens. It reminds us to wake up and 

 look after transgressors. 



Would it not be in line for the Sunday- 

 schools, the Endeavor societies, and the 

 Y. M. C. A. to take hold of this sort of 

 •missionary work ? 



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HIGM=PME§§UME GAMBENIN 



CORX-PLANTING^ ETC. 



We are raising some pretty good corn 

 here on our own premises; but scarcely a 

 season passes but that I learn some lessons 

 and see where I have blundered. To illus- 

 trate: 



' Our ground was nicely fitted. Our seed 

 corn was so carefully saved and tested that 

 I threw out only three ears from 100; and 

 as our two old hand corn-planters did not 

 work just to suit me, I bought a brand-new 

 one, and our three acres of corn was to be 

 planted witli this one planter; but when the 

 man got about half Un-ough the field Mr. 

 Calvert, noticing a storm coming up, bor- 

 rowed two more planters of a neighbor, and 

 set two extra men planting. As a result, 

 the corn was all in nicely just before the big 

 drops of rain came, and we were congrat- 

 ulating ourselv&s that we had managed so 

 nicely. Well, when the corn began to come 

 up we were worried sometimes by finding 

 six or seven stalks in hills planted with the 

 borrowed corn-planters; and, in fact, all 

 through the field there are more or less hills 

 having five or six stalks. I believe it is 



pretty well decided that, even if it is a big 

 job, it pays to go through a cornfield and 

 pull out all over four stalks in a hill. I 

 think some claim there should not be more 

 than three stalks. 



Now, I liave a confession to make on my 

 part. I know there are sieves in the market 

 to sci'een out all the small grains; but with 

 our small field of corn 1 decided it would 

 not pay. But what do you think it cost to 

 go over that field and thin it down to three 

 or four stalks in a hill ? Well, it cost enough 

 to buy two more brand-new planters, and 

 perhaps a sieve to sort the grains as well. 



There is another thing that can be done 

 and should be done. After each ear of 

 your seed corn has been tested for germin- 

 al ion, pick out all the ears having the larg- 

 est kernels, and put them by themselves. 

 Pick out those having the smallest grains in 

 the same way, and make two if not three 

 grades. When you begin planting, adjust 

 your planter to drop three or four grains of 

 the large size. When the large size is gone, 

 adjust the planter for tlie medium size, and, 

 lastly, the small grains or give them to the 



