— } —— . V ■ . - 
heard one day that the old sheep’s neck had 
been broken in a fight .—Eben E. Rexford, 
in Youth's Companion. 
The Honest Truth. 
“George, dear, where have you been 
since school was dismissed ?” 
“Hain’t been nowhere, ma.” 
“Did you come straight home from 
school, George ?” 
“Yes, ma’am.” 
“But school is dismissed at 3 o’clock and 
it is now half-past six. How does that 
come ?” 
“Got kep’ in.” 
“For what?” 
“Missed m’ jography less’n.” 
’ “But your teacher was here only an hour 
ago and said you had not been at school 
all day.” 
“Got kep’ in yestiddy, then.” f 
“George, why were you not at school 
to-day ?” 
“Forgot. Thought all the time it wa 
Saturday.” 
“Don’t stand on the side of your foot in 
that manner. Come here to me. George, 
you have been swimming.” 
“No, me.” 
“Yes you have. George. Haven’t you.” 
“Noap.” 
“Tell your mother. George.” 
“No.” 
“Then what makes your hair so wet, 
my son?” 
“Sweat. Run so fast cornin’ from 
school.” 
“But you shirt is wrong side out.” 
“Put it on that way when I got up this 
mornin’, for luck. Always win when you 
play for keeps if your shirt’s on hind-side 
out.” 
“And you haven’t the right sleeve of 
your shirt on your arm at all, George, and 
there is a hard knot tied in it. How did 
that come there ?” 
“Bill Fairfax tied it in when I w r asn’t 
lookin’.” 
But what were you doing with your 
shirt off?” 
“Didn’t have it off. He jes took’n tied 
that knot in there when it was on me.” 
■ ■" • — ■ ■■■■ .. -j. s r 
“George.” 
“That’s honest truth, he did.” 
About that time his father came along^ 
with a skate strap, and we draw a veil over 
the dreadful scene. 
Onion and Cabbage Growing. 
Thinking that our readers will be inter¬ 
ested and perhaps instructed by the follow¬ 
ing description of a visit by the Editor of 
the American Rural Home to the farm of 
one of the best Cabbage and Onion grow¬ 
ers in New York state we transfer it to our 
columns: 
The garden farm of Mr. Robert Birch is 
very pleasantly located on an elevation 
commanding a fine view of Fairport ard of 
a beautiful, varied landscape stretching off 
westward to the city of Rochester. The 
soil ranges from a sandy-loam which under 
unwise culture would become light and un¬ 
productive, down to a strong loam. The- 
onion plantation contains acres, on a 
portion of which he has grown onions for 
four successive years. On the remainder 
this is the first year with onions, cabbage 
having been grown on the ground for a. 
number of years. The reader, unfamiliar 
with onion growing, will be surprised to 
be informed that the old onion ground, 
promises a yield of from 50 to 100 per cent, 
greater, per acre, than the new, yet such is 
the fact. Onions are not improved by rota¬ 
tion of crops. These onions are just in the 
full vigor of growth, and it is too early to 
predict the yield as the bulbs are apparent¬ 
ly not more than half grown. The variety 
is Danvers Yellow. On the old onion part 
the onions stand pretty thick and even in 
♦ 
the rows, which are pretty clean of weeds. 
On the new part there are quite a good^ 
many vacancies in the rows, caused, as 
Mr. Birch believes, by Wire-worms, and 
there is quite a growth of Purslane between 
the rows. Mr. B. explained that the pres¬ 
sure of other work, and the numerous wet 
days when killing weeds is impossible pre¬ 
vented his cleaning those rows properly. 
When the Rural Editor looked around 
upon the “other work” he felt the force- 
of the apology. His onions, last year, av¬ 
eraged 400 bushels per acre. If nothing. 
