1562 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Boston  Produce  Markets 
1'IIEISTMAS  GREENS  IN  MODERATE  SUPPLY. 
Unless,  as  sometimes  happens,  there  is 
a  flood  of  late  shipments  just  before  the 
holiday,  the  supply  of  Christmas  greenery 
is  moderate  and  no  more  than  the  mar¬ 
ket  can  readily  handle.  While  the  open 
weather  has  been  favorable  for  gathering 
the  material,  a  scarcity  of  labor  seems  to 
have  reduced  shpiments.  Said  Gleason  & 
Co.:  “Arrivals  have  been  rather  lighter 
than  eve  expected.  Demand  is  good.  We 
quote,  laurel  $2.50  to  $0.50  per  doz,  for 
wreaths  and  7  to  Sc  per  yard  for  ropes, 
evergreen  and  prince’s  pine,  $2  to  $2.25 
per  dozen  for  wreaths,  and  to  to  6c  per 
yard  for  ropes :  holly,  $1 .50  to  $1.75 
dozen  for  wreaths  and  $3  to  $4  per  case 
for  trimmings.  Rustic  wreaths  of  cones, 
etc.,  are  $4.50  to  $5  per  dozen.  Spruce 
trees  are.  65  to  75c  per  buneh.  Demand 
of  late  years  is  chiefly  for  the  small 
sizes.  The  number  in  a  hunc-h  varies 
from  one  to  six,  but  most  commonly  is 
four  to  live  of  uniform  style  and  growth, 
clean  and  carefully  trimmed.  There  is  a 
little  native  mistletoe  on  the  market 
from  the  South,  but  the  foreign  supply 
seems  to  be  cut  off  altogether.  Last  year 
it  came  the  day  before  Christmas  and 
might  as  well  have  come  the  day  after. 
Half  of  it  had  to  be  dumped,  but  if  it  had 
arrived  48  hours  earlier  it  would  have 
brought  $10  a  case.  This  year  the  ocean 
freight  service  is  still  move  irregular,  and 
shippers  seem  to  have  given  up  trying  to 
import,  any  Christmas  stuff.” 
POULTRY  DOING  FAIRLY  WELL. 
Those  who  handle  Western  poultry 
complain  of  heavy  receipts  and  slow  de¬ 
mand.  A  considerable  amount  has  been 
going  into  cold  storage.  IRit  good  East- 
eru  poultry  seems  to  be  selling  well,  and 
the  live  poultry  end  has  cleared  out  most 
of  the  time  at  firm  prices.  Part  of  the 
trouble  with  Western  receipts  just  now  is 
lack  of  quality ;  some  of  them  went 
through  warm  weather  during  shipment 
and  many  appear  to  have  suffered  from 
the  high  price  of  grain.  Said  S.  L.  Burr 
&  Co.:  "Turkeys  are  doing  better  and 
receipts  are  moderate,  but  arrivals  of 
fowls  and  chickens  are  large.  There  is  a 
good  demand  for  good  stock.  We  do  not 
look  for  a  repetition  of  the  Thanksgiving 
slump.  The  Christmas  market  is  a  dif¬ 
ferent  proposition.  Stuff  that  does  not 
sell  will  not  be  forced  on  tbe  market,  but 
will  go  iuto  storage.  Indications  are  that 
supplies  of  turkeys,  ducks  and  geese  wilt 
mostly  be  wanted  if  good.  We  expect  the 
market  to  hold  up  to  Christmas  about  as 
follows:  Northern  turkeys,  33  to  37c, 
big  chickens,  26  to  28c ;  small  to  medium 
chickens,  22  to  25c:  big  fowls,  22  to  25c; 
small  fowls,  16  to  21c;  ducks,  22  to  25c; 
geese,  18  to  20c.  Western  poultry  runs 
about  two  cents  below  these  figures.  Live 
poultry  is  mostly  18c  for  fowls  and 
chickens,  but  Leghorns  are  hard  to  sell  at 
that  figure,  while  choice,  heavy  stock 
brings  J9e.  Some  small  shippers  seem  to 
be  clearing  out  the  whole  feathered  stock 
of  the  farm.  Oue  crate  contained  ducks, 
chickens,  guineas  and  an  old  rooster. 
They  were  all  over  the  store  before  the 
dealer  got  them  sorted.  “Anyhow.”  he 
said,  "I  would  rather  they  came  that  way 
than  to  come  dressed  and  all  nailed  up  in 
one  box,  with  no  list  or  marks  on  it.” 
PORK  AND  VEAL  SHIPMENTS  LIGHT. 
The  supply  of  country  dressed  hogs  ap¬ 
pears  light,  and  receipts  are  promptly  dis¬ 
posed  of  at  a  range  of  12  to  13%e.  The 
veal  market  is  Arm  at  17c  for  the  best 
with  active  demand.  Regular  beef  grades 
are  dull,  but  heavy,  fat  beef  of  Christ¬ 
mas  grade  a  tracts  attention  and  brings 
the  top  of  the  market  at  around  15e. 
Supply  of  lambs  and  mutton  about  equals 
demand  at  10  to  12c.  Eastern  lambs  sell 
fairly  at  12  to  13c. 
VEGETABLE  TRADE  DULL  BUT  STEADY. 
Dealers  complain  of  slow  trade  and  ab¬ 
sence  of  Christmas  snap  to  the  buying. 
“We  are  getting  pitched  into  from  both 
sides,”  said  a  North  Market  street  dis¬ 
tributor,  “retailers  and  consumers  are 
buying  less  and  blame  us  for  the  prices. 
Things  are.  awfully  high;  1*0  pounds  of 
cabbage  in  a  barrel  and  $3.50  to  pay.  It’s 
too  much,  but  what  do  you  suppose  we 
made  out  of  that  cabbage?  We  bought  a 
carload,  put  it  up  in  barrels  and  made 
just.  $4.50  on  tbe  whole  lot ;  an  invest¬ 
ment  of  $1,000  and  the  labor.  Did  the 
producer  get  the  rest?  No;  expenses 
came  out  of  it.  and  we  bought  of  a  dealer 
in  the  growing  section.  Of  course  he  had 
to  get  his  profit,  hut  why  did  the  pro¬ 
ducer  sell  to  him  instead  of  shipping  to 
the  distributors?  The  growers  and  con¬ 
sumers  keep  saying  the  middlemen  get  it 
all,  and  then  they  both  use  a  lot  of  mid¬ 
dlemen  they  don’t  need.”  Beets  are 
higher  at  $2  per  box ;  carrots  lower,  at 
$1  to  $1.50;  parsnips,  $1  to  $1.25:  tur¬ 
nips,  $1 ;  lettuce,  75c  to  $1 :  radishes,  $2 ; 
cucumbers,  choice,  $7;  cauliflower.  50  to 
75c  per  box ;  cabbage,  $3.50  per  bbl.  •.  red 
cabbage.  $1.50  to  $2.50 ;  squash,  $3  to 
$3.50  bbl.  Celery  is  $2  dozen  for  best ; 
leeks,  40e  dozen  ;  onions  hold  about  steady 
at  $4.25  per  hag  of  100  lbs.  Potatoes  are 
dragging  without  much  change  at  about 
$3.20  per  2-bushel  bag.  Demand  is  very 
quiet,  buyers  waiting  in  hope  of  lower 
prices, 
ATPLES  SELLING  BETTER. 
Demand  for  apples,  at  least  for  the 
choicer  grades,  seems  more  active  and 
dealers  are  complaining  less  of  difficul¬ 
ty  in  keeping  stocks  cleared  up.  The 
general  range  is  still  around  $3  for  No. 
1,  around  $2  for  No.  2  aud  ungraded, 
and  50c  to  $1  for  apples  in  market  box- 
es._  The  strength  of  the  market  is  shown 
chiefly  in  sales  of  fancy  lots  at  $4  or 
better.  All  the  above  are  Baldwins,  but 
other  Winter  kinds  sell  about  the  same. 
Fancy  McIntosh,  of  course,  as  usual,  top 
the  market  at.  $5  or  even  better.  Cran¬ 
berries  are  slow  of  sale,  with  a  general 
Tange  unchanged  at  $6  to  $8. 
CONFIDENCE  IN  BUTTER  OUTLOOK. 
The  erratic  course  of  some  other  mar¬ 
kets  has  been  reflected  only  moderately 
here,  with  less  of  the  ups  and  downs. 
Dealers  are  taking  things  calmly  and 
holding  stock  rather  confidently  at  this 
level.  Supplies  of  best  fresh  grade  are 
obtained  with  some  difficulty  at  38c,  al¬ 
though  that  is  generally  quoted  as  top. 
Firsts  are  37c  and  storage  36  to  37c. 
Said  I.  8.  Ballou  &  Co. :  “Butter  is  en¬ 
joying  a  good,  strong,  healthy  market. 
There  is  a  total  shortage  in  the  country 
as  compared  with  last  year  of  nine  to 
thirteen  million  pounds  according  to  the 
range  of  official  reports  of  stock  in  ware¬ 
houses.  The  export  demand  underlies 
the  situation.  Peace  or  not,  Europe  will 
want  our  surplus  food  products  urgently 
for  a  considerable  time.” 
EGG  RECEIPTS  CONTINUE  LIGHT. 
The  egg  market  has  remained  rather 
easy  with  prices  below  top,  but  receipts 
have  not  been  heavy  enough  to  cause 
real  weakness.  Total  arrivals  are  far  be¬ 
low  those  of  corresponding  weeks  and 
months  last  year.  Hennery  eggs  are 
quoted  at  55c,  Eastern  around  50c  and 
Western  prime  firsts  47  to  48e.  Cold 
storage  eggs  are  off  about  3c  from  top 
of  the  season,  now  selling  around  34c. 
Said  T.  II.  Wheeler  «fc  Co.:  “Supplies 
continue  light.  Brices  ought  to  go  low¬ 
er  about  this  time,  but  the  liens  seem  not 
to  have  heard  of  it.  They  are  not  laying 
many,  or  else  so  many  have  been  killed 
on  account  of  the  cost  of  grain, 
is  some  increase  of  pullet  eggs.” 
HAY  AND  FEEDS. 
Hay  continues  dull  with  no 
trade.  “The  embargo  is  giving 
trouble  now,”  said  a  denier, 
shippers  seem  to  be  getting 
There 
special 
us  less 
"and  hay 
their  share 
of  cars.  Buyers  seem  to  be  waiting  for 
lower  prices.  No.  1  and  fancy  clover 
hay  is  $15  to  $18  and  rye  straw  $13. 
Much  of  the  Eastern  hay  shows  poor 
color.  Clear,  bright  Timothy  is  worth 
$21.50.” 
Cornmeal  has  been  lower  since  the 
late  break  in  the  Western  grain  mar¬ 
kets  and  sells  around  $2.05  per  bag. 
Bran  is  down  to  $32 :  cottonseed  holds 
at  $45 ;  and  linseed  is  higher  at  $50. 
Gluten  feed  is  $42  and  hominy  $44. 
G.  B.  F. 
EVENTS  OF  THE  WEEK 
DOMESTIC.- — Dec.  7  a  temperature 
of  50  degrees  below  zero  was  reported  on 
the  United  States  Railway  in  Alaska. 
It  was  33  below  at  Anchorage.  Alaska. 
Approximately  half  a  million  foreign¬ 
ers  took  stops  to  become  naturalized 
American  citizens  during  the  year  ended 
in  June,  according  to  the  annual  report 
of  the  bureau  of  naturalization.  De¬ 
clarations  of  intention  were  filed  by  207,- 
035,  petitions  for  naturalization  by  108,- 
000,  and  courts  issued  certificates  to  93,- 
911.  It  is  estimated  that  150.000  wom¬ 
en  were  represented. 
•T.  II.  Gunter,  a  striking  motorman, 
was  convicted  by  a  jury  at  Atlanta,  Ga., 
Dee.  7,  of  dynamiting  a  street  car  No¬ 
vember  7.  Several  passengers  received 
painful  injuries.  Twenty-seven  street 
Cars  have  been  dynamited  since  the  mn- 
tormen  and  conductors’  strike  began  last 
Septem  her. 
An  automobile  in  which  were  six  car¬ 
penters  was  struck  by  a  northbound 
train  of  tbe  Central  Vermont  Railroad  at 
a  grade  crossing  at  Stafford  Springs, 
Conn.,  Dec.  7,  and  only  one  of  them  es¬ 
caped  alive. 
Merchant  ships  built  in  tbe  United 
States  in  the  first  eleven  months  of  this 
year  more  than  doubled  in  tonnage  the 
whole  of  last  year’s  output.  The  bureau 
of  navigation  announced,  Dee.  8,  that  1,- 
115  vessels  had  been  turned  out,  with  a 
gross  tonnage  of  521.711.  All  but  49 
were  for  the  American  flag.  There  now 
are  building  and  under  contract  vessels 
with  aggregate  tonnage  of  1.200,000,  the 
largest  total  ever  reported  in  the  coun¬ 
try's  history. 
A  Syrian  rug  pcdler  who  for  a  week 
has  been  living  in  a  crowded  tenement 
house  section  in  Newark,  N.  J„  and  selling 
rugs  from  house  to  house,  was  found.  Dec. 
10,  to  have  a  fully  developed  case  of 
leprosy.  lie  was  taken  to  the  isolation 
ward  of  the  Newark  city  hospital,  to  he 
held  there  until  the  authorities  can  make 
up  their  minds  what  to  do  with  him. 
An  organized  effort  directed  by  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  to  induce 
Congress  to  grant  wage  and  salary  in¬ 
creases  to  all  employees  of>  the  United 
States  Government  from  President  down 
to  the  humblest  laborer  was  planned  at 
a  meeting  at  Washington.  Dec.  10,  pre¬ 
sided  over  by  Samuel  Gompers.  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  federation.  Resolutions  were 
adopted  at  the  meeting,  attended  by  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  all  organizations  of  Fed¬ 
eral  employees  affiliated  with  the  feder¬ 
ation,  setting  forth  that  Government  sal¬ 
aries  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  cost 
of  necessities  of  life  and  directing  that 
Congress  be  earnestly  petitioned  to  grant 
increases  ranging  from  10  to  33  1-3  per 
cent,  to  Government  employees,  whether 
in  or  out  of  the  civil  service. 
Fire  in  Sparks  Street,  in  the  centre  of 
the  downtown  business  district  of  Otta¬ 
wa,  Canada,  Dec.  9,  entailed  a  loss  of 
about  $100,000.  The  heaviest  loser  is 
the  Wool  worth  15  cent,  store,  whose 
stock,  valued  at  $30,000,  was  consumed. 
The  United  Slates  army  transport 
Sumner,  bound  to  New  York  from  the 
Canal  Zone  with  United  States  soldiers, 
civilian  passengers,  mails  and  supplies, 
ran  ashore  in  a  dense  fog,  Dec.  'I2,  near 
N.  J.  All  the  passengers, 
over  200,  were  taken  off  in 
Rarnegat, 
numbering 
safety. 
As  an 
ownership 
experiment  m  Government 
Representative  Lewis.  Mary¬ 
land  introduced  in  the  House.  Dec.  12, 
a  bill  providing  for  the  taking  over  by 
the  Government,  of  the  telephone  system 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  At  the 
same  time  he  made  a  statement  contend¬ 
ing  that  tile  best  way  of  determining 
whether  the  Government  could  operate 
the  telephone  systems  to  an  advantage 
was  by  trying  it.  Mr.  Lewis  also  pro¬ 
poses  in  his  bill  to  adjust  rates  to  en¬ 
able  subscribers  in  the  District  of  Colum¬ 
bia  to  use  the  telephone  to  meet  cost,  of 
living  problems.  This  he  proposes  to  do 
by  reducing  rates  to  enable  the  consum¬ 
ers  of  the  city  to  communicate-  cheaply 
with  fanners  near  Washington  and  to 
order  supplies  to  be  sent  by  parcel  post. 
A  Christmas  Present  That  Will  Not  Wear  Out 
THE  object  in  giving  a  Christmas  present  is  to  keep  friend¬ 
ship  and  good  will  alive.  Many  of  us  have  fallen  into 
the  habit  of  giving  a  remembrance  at  Christmas  which  is  to  last 
for  the  entire  year.  Why  not,  in  the  place  of  this  single  gift, 
do  something  that  will  again  and  again  through  the  year  come 
into  your  friend’s  life  bringing  pleasant  memories  and  renewal 
of  friendship?  If  your  friend  lives  in  the  country,  or  is  in  any 
way  interested  in  the  soil,  there  could  be  nothing  better  for  such 
a  gift  than  The  R.  N.-Y.  It  would  come  to  him  52  times  dur¬ 
ing  the  year,  always  with  something  new  and  interesting,  and 
always  turn  his  thought  to  you  whenever  the  paper  enters  his 
home.  A  gift  of  this  sort  can  never  be  forgotten,  and  will  al¬ 
ways  seem  fresh  and  true  all  through  the  year.  Perhaps  you 
have  not  thought  of  it  in  just  that  way  before,  but  upon  a  little 
reflection  you  will  agree  with  us  that  such  a  gift  will  make  its 
appeal  over  and  over  through  the  year.  Why  not  try  it  this  year 
and  prove  it?  A  year’s  subscription  to  your  relative  or  friend 
will  not  cost  much,  but  it  will  give  a  world  of  pleasure  and  satis¬ 
faction.  Try  it.  Send  to  THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER,  333 
West  30th  Street,  New  York. 
December  23,  191G. 
FARM  AND  GARDEN.— Among  the 
speakers  on  the  program  for  the  fiftieth 
annual  meeting  of  the  Ohio  State  Hor¬ 
ticultural  Society,  to  be  held  .Tan.  30-31, 
in  connection  with  Farmers’  Week  at  the 
(  bio  State  University  are  Dr.  S.  W. 
Fletcher  of  Pennsylvania  State  College, 
and  Senator  II.  M.  Dunlap  of  Savoy, 
Ill. 
Cattle  raisers,  economists  of  the  col¬ 
leges  and  the  Government,  plain  farmers, 
marketing  experts,  to  the  number  of  800, 
who  have  been  holding  the  fourth  Na¬ 
tional  Conference  on  Marketing  and 
Farm  Credits  at  Chicago  completed  their 
labors,  J>cc.  8.  A  Government  investiga¬ 
tion  of  tbe  live  stock  aud  pucking  indus¬ 
tries  by  the  Federal  Trade  Commission 
was  asked.  Congress  is  asked  to  have 
the  Federal  Trade  Commission  investi¬ 
gate  the  marketing  of  live  stock,  and  to 
study  whether  Government  or  coopera¬ 
tively  owned  packing  plants  Would  stim¬ 
ulate  live  stock  production.  The  De¬ 
partment  of  Agriculture  is  asked  to  ex¬ 
tend  its  work  of  establishing  market 
grades  so  as  to  cover  all  farm  products, 
including  meat  animals,  and  to  enforce 
the  observance  of  these  gradings  at  all 
principal  markets.  A  paragraph  was  de¬ 
voted  to  the  emphatic  assertion  that  the 
farmers  protest  against  any  embargo  or 
export  duty  on  foodstuffs.  A  protest  was 
also  entered  against,  the  Shields  and 
.Myers  water  power  bills  as  neglecting  to 
protect  the  public  interest  by  failing  to 
fix  compensations  and  fixiug  a  definite 
time  for  each  water  power  lease  to  re¬ 
vert  to  the  people. 
Robert  Ilickie,  a  16-year-old  boy, 
raised  vegetables  worth  $56  on  a  plot  of 
ground  20  by  100  feet,  assigned  him  last 
Spring  by  the  Montclair  Community 
Gardens  Committee  at  Montclair.  N.  J. 
His  was  the  most  productive  and  attrac¬ 
tive  of  the  56  gardens  cultivated  during 
the  past  season.  Two  tracts  of  land  were 
at  the  disposal  of  the  community  gardens 
committee  and  by  cultivating  the  vacant 
lots  tbe  gardeners  made  productive  115,- 
850  square  feet  of  land  that  otherwise 
would  have  yielded  nothing.  The  gar¬ 
dens  furnished  vegetables  to  287  persons 
during  the  growing  season,  besides 
quantities  of  celery,  carrots  and  cabbage 
for  Winter  consumption. 
The  Massachusetts  Fruit  Growers’  As¬ 
sociation.  Inc.,  will  hold  its  annual  Con¬ 
vention  Jan.  11  and  12  in  the  Municipal 
Building,  Springfield,  Mass. ;  F.  Howard 
Brown,  secretary. 
Box  apples  will  be  a  leading  feature  at 
the  annual  fruit  show  of  the  New  York 
State  Fruitgrowers’  Association  at  Expo¬ 
sition  Park,  Rochester,  on  January  3,  4 
and  5,  1017.  A  grand  sweepstake  prize  of 
$50  will  be  given  for  the  best,  three  barrels 
of  apples,  and  competition  is  open  to  the 
world.  Exhibits  will  be  entered  in  this 
contest  from  Canada.  Vermont,  Michigan, 
New  Jersey  and  other  States.  Among  the 
new  additions  to  the  prize  list  is  a  class 
for  “flats,”  including  prizes  of  $10  for  first, 
$5  for  second,  and  $3  for  third  on  exhibits 
for  three  “flats,”  each  containing  a  differ¬ 
ent  variety.  Demands  for  space  by  man¬ 
ufacturers  and  dealers  indicate  that  the 
vast  area  of  Building  4  will  be  crowded 
with  farm  and  orchard  machinery,  equip¬ 
ment  and  supplies.  Extensive  exhibits  of 
fruits  will  be  sent  by  tbe  State  Experi¬ 
ment  Station  at  Geneva,  aud  Cornell  Agri¬ 
cultural  College  will  be  represented  by  ;\n 
educational  booth  which  will  be  of  special 
value  to  practical  orchardists  and  small 
fruit  growers.  Instructors  from  the  col¬ 
lege  will  he  present  to  answer  Inquiries 
and  discuss  new  phases  of  the  war  on  in¬ 
sect  pests  aud  fungus  diseases,  which  are 
a  menace  to  successful  fruit  culture. 
ITay  is  plentiful  and  cheap,  selling  for 
about  $10  aud  $10.50  a  ton,  but  those 
who  have  it  to  sell  are  holding  it  for  a 
higher  price.  Many  farmers  are  selling 
off  their  stock  and  horses,  as  all  other 
feeds  are  high,  and  almost  impossible  to 
get.  They  have  only  silage  enough  to 
last  until  the  middle  of  the  Winter.  The 
local  buyers  are  only  offering  4c  for  the 
best  butcher  cows.  Milch  cows,  regis¬ 
tered  Holsteins  and  good  grades  are  only 
bringing  $75  to  $150  at  auctions.  Hol¬ 
stein  cattle  in  Southern  Michigan  have 
had  their  day.  The.  demand  is  for  higher 
testing  milk.  The  Detroit  Creamery  is 
paying  $2.20  per  cwt.  for  milk  at  their 
station  here.  They  are  paying  us  $2.20 
for  a  10-gal.  can,  milk  that  tests  4.9  on 
an  average  the  year  around.  The  Fox 
River  Butter  Co.  is  offering  45c  for  but- 
terfat,  while  butter  retails  at  50c.  Chick¬ 
ens  bring  14  and  16c  per  lb.;  eggs  40c. 
Potatoes  are  a  luxury  eaten  once  a  week 
on  Sundays,  retailing  at  $2.25  per  bu. 
Apples  brought  in  from  the  northern 
part  of  the  State  are  selling  for  $1  to 
$1.50  per  bu.  for  the  best  quality.  Young 
sound  heavy  horses  bring  from  $60  to 
$100  at  auction.  Hogs  are  plentiful  and 
cheap,  but  no  corn  to  keep  them  on.  A 
few  farmers  are  using  the  raw  garbage 
as  it.  comes  from  Detroit,  but  it  is  most¬ 
ly  as  au  experiment.  Wheat  bran  is 
$33;  middlings  $34;  cracked  corn  $47; 
cornmeal  $45;  corn  and  oat  chop  $42; 
cottonseed  meal  off  the  car  was  $40.  but 
they  cannot  get  any  more  to  sell  at  that 
price.  This  was  contracted  for  very 
early.  By  the  latest  quotations  it  would 
have  to  sell  off  the  car  for  $45. 
Belleville,  Mich.  .T.  f.  R. 
Hay  $14  to  $18  per  ton;  potatoes 
$1.25  to  $1.50  per  bu. ;  rutabagas  50c 
per  hu- ;  onions  $1.25 ;  eggs  50c ;  butter 
35  to  40c  per  lb.  Apples  $1.30  to  $2  per 
bbl. ;  cabbage  6c  per  head.  Wages 
$1.75  per  day,  teams  $4.50.  B.  w.  K. 
Kimble,  Pa. 
