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Pcnta Delgada, With NC-4 in Harbor.
AIRMEN are preparing to make
(lie Azores islands the aerial
junction of the future. They
predict that this garden spot
of the Atlantic, with Us mild climate
nnd other health giving qualities, will
become the stopover for all overseas
travel by airplane and dirigible. They
point out that the exploit of tlie United
States navy in effecting a crossing lias
virtually put the islands on the map,
as far as the general public is con
cerned: that for many years problems
of construction will limit the over
seas route to the Azores, where fuel ;
and other supplies may he replenish
ed, says the New York Tribune.
Rising to a height of more than
7,000 feet—as in the case of Pico—
and at the lowest 850 feet above sea
level, as the island of Curvo, the Is
lands form an oasis In a desert of wa
ter nnd mist and heavy banks of clouds
—clouds that rise off the water in the
morning and blot out everything from
view, narrowing the horizon to a few
feet for the anxious aerial pilot and his
navigator.
Already navigators are at work on
instruments to eliminate these diffi
culties. They count on thy Azores with
all of Its mists and clouds to furnish
them with correct weather reports,
radio stations and rescue ships in cuse
of accident to tin* planes.
Pleasant Place for Stopever.
And a stopover at the Azores will
not be in the nature of a hardship to
overseas passengers. Whnt would a
tourist find, for example, if iiis plane
dropped him at Ponta Pelgndn, the
capital of .St. Michael's? On ap
proaching the islands he would find a
great cloud of dense, gray mist resting
on the horizon. Nearer it becomes a
reddish brown dotted with moldy
green.
Veering to the southeast toward
Ponta Delgada he would see the city
first as a formal white line, or, if the
gaze could pierce the cloud, it would
he a broken line extending back from
the sea wall with a series of white
splotches, small conical hills of bright
green and stiff white houses edged with
black trimmings.
The white lines would become
walls the next Instant, disclosing
orange gardens, and the passenger
would drop into a little harbor clut
tered with tramp sailing ships of a
half-dozen nations. The harbor is a
busy one, far superior In commercial
aspect to the town itself, which has
been maintained in ail its primitive
state by the early Portuguese settlers.
The admixture of Moorish and Flem
ish has not served to quicken the pace
of the community, nor that of any
other In the Island groups, for that
matter.
The clouds are most dense In the
morning. Toward noon the humidity
Is a source of discomfort if one is In
the city, hut not so on the mountain
slopes.
The thermometer has never been
known to go below 48 degrees in .lan
uary, the mid-winter month, and it
never has risen above so. The aver
age is 72 degrees the year round.
Weather Is Always Mild.
Some of the finest homes in the
world have been built there by wealthy
and often titled continentals, prlncl- I
pally Portuguese. In the farming dis-1
tricts (and there are large farms
among the various islands) many of
the natives wear costumes entirely
red—short jackets, vests and knee
breeches, with gaiters buttoned o\er
the feet, which are often hare. W hen
anything at all is worn on the soles
it usually consists of leather san
dals.
These people are of retiring dis
position, rarely visiting the communi
ties for fear that some one will laugh
at them and their dress. In the
towns, however, German, English,
Portuguese and American commercial
visitors have introduced modern modes
of dress and influenced social and busi
ness life. ,
The natives do not overwork,
unless In caring for the many trav
elers who come over the sea ia search
of the health they always find, either
climbing the volcanic slopes or bathing
in the warm baths of Furnas.
As for scenery, where will one find
pine and elm trees growing in the
same neighborhood with oranges, ba
nanas, citrons and pomegranates?
Long known only as the little islands
where there are no snakes, the Azores
are believed to have a destiny as re
plete with adventure as they are full
of volcanic crevices and craters, all ex
tinct, hut alive with possibilities.
VICTIM OF TURKS' RAPACITY
Dead City of Farmagusta, on Island of
Cyprus, a Monument to Their
Savagery and Hate.
Farmagusta, “the place of the god
dess,” is in a desolate corner of the
far-famed Island of Cyprus. One look
at the wrecked city shows plainly that
the goddess has forsaken her altars.
It looks its though a sandstorm had
struck the place and buried its glory
beneath a dune, from which rise the
remains of churches, towers and a
cathedral.
It was not, however, the sands of
the tropics that laid the ancient me
tropolis low. The Turks, wrathful fit
tills city of 300 churches, attacked it in
a siege which might have rivaled the
lengthy Trojan episode had not hun
ger overcome the city’s defenders. The
Ponging of tin' fonquerors completed
the ruin wrought by battering rams,
tire and stones.
Earthquakes followed and settled
tlie shattered stones further into the
sand. Hut through the city’s days of
destruction, even today, the outer walls
and bastions stand firm. The harbor
stronghold of Farmagusta would be a
formidable obstacle to attack even in
this day of 30-mile guns and scientific
artillery tiro.
In one corner of (lie wall stands a
tower said to have been the scene of
Pcsdemona’s death at the hands of
Othello.
Aside from the strong walls there
are few Pits of intact architecture
among the debris. An occasional palm
tree growing up through the ruins adds
to the effect of abandonment. A few
Turks hold the city gaiust time, the
only enemy left to it.
Chihuahua Is Smallest.
The smallest of nil recognized breeds
of dogs is the Chihuahua, which is also
one of the most intelligent of ail the
canine family. This breed is a product
of Mi -;ioo and is named after a north
ern country where there are thousands
of these little dogs running wild and
multiplying each year. It seems a re
markable tiling that in spite of the
fact that they have never had any
dog shows in Mexico, one only has to
visit that country and try to purchase
xi really good, typical little Chihuahua
from a native to realize that the Mexi
cans know the worth .of this dog of his
own country. How these dogs were
bred probably never will lie known.
Some authorities have intimated that
they were bred some generations back
from large squirrels, and this view is
borne out by the fact that at one time
these dogs ran wild in the woods and
that the Chihuahua is nearly as pro
lieient in running up trees as the squir
rel.
Pcrsonl Influence.
To influence others one must have
a hearty fellow feeling for them, be
willing to extend a helping hand us oc
casion demands, to cheer, to comfort,
to console. Which means that imag
ination also counts for nu.ch in the
exercising of personal influence. The
unimaginative can never he genuinely
sympathetic. Sincerity, common sense,
forceful ness, courage, self-confidence,
decision, sympathy, keenness of iniag
(nation—these above aught else are the
qualities that need to be cultivated by
all who would druw on the uid of per
sonal Influence In pressing forward to
the goul of success.
BEST AGE FOR WEANING PIGS
Good Plan to Let Porkern Nurse Until
Twelve or Fourteen Weeks of
Age—Keep Them Growing.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Too many farmers follow the prac
tice of weaning nigs when too young,
many being weaned at six and seven
weeks of age. A good brood sow prop
erly fed hat; a good flow of milk when
the pigs are of this age. There is no
bettor feed for growing pigs than their
mother’s inilk, consequently it should
be used to tlie greatest extent pos
sible. When the pigs tire of suckling
age the sow should lie on full feed.
Unless there is some extraordinary
reason for earlier weaning the pigs
should not be weaned under the age
of ten weeks, and it is better to let
them nurse until they are twelve or
fourteen weeks old.
Often serious results follow weaning
at too early an age. An entire change
of feed following weaning may create
serious trouble. If, however, pigs have
access to corn, shorts, middlings or
tankage, or fish meal in a self-feed r
placed in the open where they can eat
at pleasure without being disturbed by
other hogs, they can be weaned at the
age of twelve or fourteen weeks, with
very little change In their feed, by al
lowing them to continue on tiie self
feeder.
To obtain the best results pigs should
gain continuously until they are ready
lor market. The host results will not
be obtained unless pigs have access all
the time possible to good forage crops,
alfalfa and rial clover preferred. If
these feeds cannot be procured rye.
oats, barley, cowpeas, rape or any
other grain or grasses that will pro
duce good forage in the locality should
be sown. The pigs should lie watched
closely to see that they are on their
feed. If they are not the feed should
Creep and Self-Ferders for Little Pigs
—Youngsters Can Get in Pen Under
the Fence, but Large Hogs Are Kept
Out.
bo changed, replacing corn with bar
ley and using skim milk or buttermilk
if possible. The pigs should be kept
free front lice by the use of crude of
good black oil. They must have access
at all times to good, pure water. Shade
must be provided during the hot sum
mer months. Natural shade is always
best, but where this is not obtainable
temporary shade may be provided by
setting posts and nailing boards on
poles about three and one-half or four
feet from the ground and covering
with straw or grass.
SELECT PIGS FOR BREEDING
Animals Should Not Be Pushed, but
Kept Growing Nicely to Develop
Done and Muscle.
Pigs selected for breeding purposes
I should be. kept growing nicely, but they
' must not be pushed, for the whole ob
| ject of tlie'ir feeding is to make them
| stretch out and develop bone and
muscle in place of fat. They should
be continued on a growing ration. A
little skint milk and shorts make a
good ration. A small amount of
ground oats and cracked corn will help
develop and insure normal growth. lint
corn should be used sparingly as It is
too fattening for pigs. Remember that
these pigs should also have an abun
dance of green feeds.
ALFALFA BEST FORAGE CROP
Greatest Single Crop That Can Be
Grown and Pays Handsomely
—Unexcelled for Hogs.
(Prepared by the United states Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Every fanner, whether or not he
raises hogs, should have some alfalfa
if he can possibly get It. It is tho
greatest single crop that can be grown
and pays handsomely where it Is
grown. As a forage crop for hogs it
is unexcelled.
LIGHT HOGS ARE PREFERRED
Relative Marketability of Various Cuts
Is Deciding Factor in Selling
Animals.
A heavy hog will bring the producer
more money ’linn a 200-pound hog, hut
pound for pound the latter Is worth
nore. The relative marketability of
he various cuts Is the deciding factor.
SUMMER SILAGE IS PROPER INSURANCE
AGAINST LOSSES DURING DRY WEATHER
!
Well-Constructed Silos Being Filled for Winter and Summer.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
The time has nearly arrived for fill
in," silos—lias quite arrived for build
ing additional ones if more space Is
needed.
Materials are high. It may he a ques
tion with the individual farmer wheth
er lie can afford to build a silo this
year.
Realizing that possibility, the Unit
ed States department of agriculture
believes that many men may be in
clined to give too much weight to con
struction cost and not enough to silage
value, and that therefore the ad
vantages of the silo ought at least to
be restated.
Advantages of Silos.
Here are some of the outstanding
points in what the department’s dairy
specialists think of silos:
In general, more cow feed can be
grown on an acre ol' ground in corn
than in any other crop.
When put in a silo it is more easily
harvested and cared for than any oth
er crop.
Silage operations are absolutely in
dependent of weather conditions. Corn
for silage can be harvested in the rain.
The silo makes possible full utiliza
tion of corn ttiat otherwise would be
destroyed or damaged by frost.
Tlie .silo makes it possible to keep
more animals on a given acreage,
which means more manure and con
stantly increased soil fertility.
Harvesting corn as silage clears the
ground early so it can lie prepared for
other crops.
With silage it is not necessary to put
so many acres in hay.
In any other form a considerable por
tion of the feeding value is lost.
Corn cured as fodder loses about 40
per cent of its feeding value.
Corn preserved as silage loses only
about 10 per cent of its feeding value.
About 3i> per cent of corn fodder is
wasted in feeding.
Only about 5 per cent of corn silage
is wasted in feeding.
In other silage crops, weedy growth
that would not be eaten at all as hay is
all eaten as siluge.
Saved in any other form, feeds be
come, in a measure, less palatable and
I less nourishing.
Silage is all succulent, and all pala
1 table.
Si.age Feeding Pays.
Statistics show that the percentage
of profitable herds is almost three
times as high among herds that arc*
fed on silage as among herds that are
uot fed silage.
While there may he some possible
question as to the economy of putting
up silos under extreme high prices,
I (here can he no question about the
| economy of tilling to capacity those
that are already tip.
Every man who has a silo should
aim not only to put up enough silage
to carry his herd through the winter
hut to have some for summer feeding,
ut least in case of emergency.
Even in tin* host of pasture regions,
cows frequently drop ‘JO to«f>0 per cent
in production—even more sometimes—
in midsummer when drought cuts the
pastures short.
When the rains come later, these cat
tle do not return to 100 per cent pro
duction.
If there is some stuff in the silo
when the dry weather comes, the cows
can he kept up in production through
the drought and carried on at maxl
! muni production through the season.
Summer silage is, to the dairy farm
er. insurance against loss from
drought.
If he has not sufficient capacity to
carry over summer silage, more should
he constructed us soon as it Is at all
feasible.
The summer silo, to give the most
service possible, should be of smaller
diameter than tlie winter silo, for in
| order to keep it in perfect condition
silage must be fed to n greater depth
each day in summer than in winter.
As compared with soiling crops, sum
mer silage saves labor at a time when
labor is urgently needed for other
things.
Dairy farmers are realizing more
and more every year that they must
have summer silos.
PAINTING SILOS FOR
FUTURE USEFULNESS
Of Great Importance to Protect
Against Decay.
Good Inside Coating Is Coal-Tar Solu
tion, Thinned With Gasoline
Wooden Staves Usually Begin
to Rot at the Base.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Now that the cost of constructing
silos is high it is more important than
ever to protect against decay those that
are already built.
A good inside coating for silos, spe
cialists of the United States depart
ment of agriculture say, is coal-tar so
lution, thinned if necessary with gas
oline, and applied with a paint brush.
The best plan is to apply it one or two
days before the silo is filled, but it can
lie done successfully during filling, the
men in the silo painting a strip as high
as they can reach, and repeating the
process periodically until the top is
is reached. When put on in this way the
material must be thinned with gasoline
which evaporates almost immediately
• and leaves the coal-tar dry enough not
to Injure the silage.
The same preparation Is good also
for coating the outside wall. Tin* only
objection is that black outside paint,
is not ns pleasing in appearance as
that of n lighter color. The high cost
of linseed oil and prepared paints, how
ever, cause many silo owners to neg
lect painting with those materials, and
a black outer coat Is certainly prefer
able to deterioration for lack of paint.
Wooden-stave silos that have begun
to rot at tlie base—where decay usu
ally begins—cn» ho saved by sawing
off tlie rotten portion. It is necessary,
of course, to block up the silo before
the sawing is done, and then to lower
it gradually. Carefully handled, a silo
can he sawed off and lowered absolute
ly without injury. After this operation
there is likely to he three or four years
of life left in a silo that without it
■would have been worthless.
RABBITS CHEAPEST TO RAISE
Compared With Chickens Points Are
in Favor of Rabbits—Inexpensive
Feed Given.
(Prepared bv the United States Depart”
ment of Agriculture )
Tt costs about 25 cents to raise a
rabbit to tbp age of three months. At
flint time it rntty be marketed at the
rate of 55 to 40 cents n pound and
the pelts tiro worth from 15 to 75
cents, depending on the kind of rab
bit and its size. Oats, cabbage and
water compose the basic diet used by
most of the young growers. Compared
with chicken raising, the points are
in favor of the rabbit, for the hares
are very hardy and require inexpen
sive feed.
Live Stock
Notes
Pips are as clean ns other animals
if conditions are as they should be.
* * #
After weaning the colt will need
some feeds to supply ingredients fur
nished by the mother’s milk.
* * *
If the driver lets the horses’ shoul
ders get sore, even if strong and
sound, the horse is useless.
• * *
Sudan grass Is n good hay for sheep,
approximately equal in value to ordi
nary wild hay or timothy hay.
• * *
Alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover,
; bUiegrass, bronie grass, barley, oats
or rape all make satisfactory hog pas
tures.
* * *
The sow should be given good, milk
producing feeds und she should be fed
all she will eat if her pigs are to
flourish.
• • •
The brood mare previous to foaling
time will require a little extra care
jin her handling; she should not be
1 overworked.
CONSTRUCTION OF GOOD ROAD
Concrete Highway Is Composed of
Mixture of Sand. Stone. Portland
Cement and Water.
The concrete road is composed of
a carefully proportioned mixture - of
clean, hard, well-graded sand, peb
bles or broken stone, Portland cement
and water. This mixture is laid upon
the subgrade to n depth of 7 Inches
or more for the entire width of the
road, and soon hardens into a mass
as hard as rock. The materials are
bonded together by the cement so firm
ly that it is impossible for traffic to
loosen or separate the particles. For
this reason no expensive maintenance
la required.
Tlie foundation or subgrade is com
pacted where the concrete is to be
laid and the roadbed is drained so
that no water will remain under the
slab, writes A. L. Pettibone in Dakota
Farmer. Upon the foundation con
crete is laid in one or two courses.
A one-course concrete road consists of
a relatively rich concrete mixture
throughout. A two-course road con
sists of n somewhat leaner mixture for
a base with a richer top or wearing
course, applied before the concrete in
the base has begun to harden. Fre
quently re-enforcement in the form of
wire fabric or steel rods is embedded
In the concrete. Tills assists to pre
vent cracks In the slab and aids in
keeping cracks which may form from
opening to any appreciable extent.
The high wearing quality of the con
crete road results from using properly
graded, clean, hard sand and pebbles
or crushed rock. These must he com
bined with Portland cement In cnre
fullirmeasured proportions, mixed with
a power-operated batch mixer to pro
duce a stiff plastic consistency, then
placed upon the foundation and struck
off with a template or strike hoard,
so shaped that the surface of the pave
ment will have the desired crown. Af
ter rolling with a light metal roller
to compact the concrete and remove
excess water used In mixing, the con
crete is finished by seesawing a sec
tion of rubber or canvas belting along
An Improved Highway in West.
the pavement, leaving a true, even,
gritty, dense surface. When sufficient
ly hardened to prevent pitting or
marking, the surface Is sprinkled witn
water, then covered with 2 inches or
more of moist sand or earth, which
is kept wet by sprinkling for from ten
days to two weeks to prevent the con
crete from drying out too rapidly. Un
der no circumstances should a con
crete road be put in use until It is 14
days old and in cool weather a longer
time is necessary. This is a brief sum
mary of the essentials of the construc
tion of a concrete road.
GOOD ROADS ARE PROFITABLE
Authorities Should Act to Meet Grow
ing Demands Before Trade
Goes Other Ways.
Good roads are a paying investment.
Local authorities in cities, towns and
counties should act without delay to
meet the growing national and local
demands before trade goes in other
directions. It Is almost impossible to
get hack the lost advantage after oth
er districts have won it.
NOT AFFECTED BY WEATHER
Heat or Cold, Freezing and Thawing
Does Not Injure Concrete Once
It Is Hardened.
Concrete roads are not affected by
heat or cold nor by freezing or thaw
ing when it Is once hardened. Other
materials tracked upon concrete have
no effect upon it. Heat does not soften
the binder permitting it to flow; cold
does not make It brittle, causing it to
chip.
Proper Grade of Road. *
The grade of the road is important,
for on this depends the weight of the
load which can be hauled economi
cally.
Improvement in Texas.
Texas this year will spend a total of
$76,216,000 on Improved highway#, ac
cording to tigures compiled by tbo
state highway department.
Building Roads Is Important.
The building of good roads la of tbo
greatest importance to a community.