WESTERN GANAM’S SPLENDID
CROP YIELD FOR 1800.
AMERICANS PROFITED LARGELY
AND SEND BACK SATISFAC
TORY REPORTS.'
The census branch of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada,
has completed its returns of the show
ing of Western Canada’s grain yield
for 1908, and the reports make very
interesting reading. In the three prov
inces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and
Alberta, which comprise what may be
known as Central Canada, there was a
total wheat yield of about 107,000,000
bushels, worth to the farmer about
$85,000,000; in addition to this the oat,
barley and flax crops were worth an
other $35,000,000. Letters have been
received, from many of the settlers
front the United States. From these,
that of Rev. Oscar L. King has been
selected. He lives in the vicinity of
Edmonton, Alberta, and what he says
will be of interest to those who con
template moving to Central Canada.
Every line of the letter is interesting.
Those who wish for the particulars as
to how to secure homesteads and pre
emptions should write any Canadian
Government agent. Mr. King says;
“Mr. M. V. Mclnnnes, Detroit, Mich
igan: I am well satisfied with Al
berta. This country offers excellent
opportunities for anyone to make a
good home for himself and family
if lie is willing to put up with a few
bard knocks for the first two or three
years. But it is worth a few hard
knocks to get a 160-acre farm of rich,
productive land with no mortgage on
it. This province is well fitted for
grains, stock raising and dairying. We
have found the climate generally
healthful, more healthful than Mich
igan, and although the thermometer
sometimes drops to 40 degrees below
zero in winter, yet we do not seem to
feel that temperature any more than
we did 5 or 10 degrees ’below zero in
Michigan. We like the winters.
"The Government takes great inter
est in the education of the people and
quickly aids the settlers in establish
ing schools where they are called for.
The schools, though graded differently
than those in the States, are efficient
and advancing. Our great drawback
has been the limited and inadequate
railway facilities, but new roads are
being rapidly built and many more
are projected through various parts
of the province. The new policy of
the Alberta government to construct
a great many branch lines throughout
the province will greatly help all parts
of the country. If those new settlers
who have to go back a considerable
distance from existing railroads and
towns to find free homesteads will
but locate along the line of a project
ed railroad they will in two or three
years be near both town and railroad.
When I first came to this country
three and a half years ago the home
stead 1 took was 75 miles from a rail
road town; now’ there is a railroad 25
miles north, another 25 miles south,
and a third is being built through my
neighborhood.
“I think the prairie country or coun
try that is partly prairie offers much
better opportunities than the hilly
portions.”
Up to Him.
“Do you think you can manage with
my salary of $12 a week, darling?’’ he
asked, after she had said yes.
"I'll try, Jack,’ replied she. "Hut
what will you do?’’—Universalist
Leader.
Struck Senseless.
"When she hit him with the golf
ball, did it knock hint senseless?”
"1 guess so. I understand they are
soon to marry.”—Town and Country.
OLDEST MAN IK AMERICA
Escaped Terrors of Many Winters by
Using Pe-ru-na.
Isaac Brock, 120 Years of Age.
Mr.Isaac Brock, of McLennan county,
Tex,, is an ardent friend to J Vruua ana
speaks of it in the following tenustflH
“Dr. Hartman’s remedy, l’eruum i
have found to he the best. if not the only
reliable remedy for I'Ol’HIIS, COL-DS,
CATARRH and diarrhea.
“Peruna has been my stand-b] tot
many years, and I attribute my good
health and my extreme age tn this
remedy. It exactly meets all my r»*
quirements.
“I have come to rely upon It almost
entirely for the many little things for
which 1 need medicine. I betieVf! it to
be especially valuable to old people."
Isaac. Brdck.
Keep It onHind!
Cough* and cold* may seize any
member of the family any lime.
Many a bad cold ha* been averted
and much sickness and suffering
has been saved bythe prompt use
of Piso‘s Cure. There is nothing
‘ land colds,
or lung
relieve,
nful in
15 eta.
fOi,fe
KEsaD'T" TO £/VT£& TUJS/£r~
——-*V^=^£ES3€^g5Si
X ITS effort to stop the appalling
loss of life in the coal mines of
the country, the ITniterl States
government is meeting with
much success. For several
months an experiment station,
under the direction of the tech
nologic branch of the United
States geological survey, has
been in operation at Pittsburg, Pa., with the pur
pose of discovering the causes of mine disasters
and suggesting a remedy.
Along with establishment of this station and
the agitation which preceded the necessary legis
lation, there has been a falling off in the number
of deaths in the coal mines for the year 1908, and
while the official figures have not yet been ob
tained, it is stated that the number of deaths
will be several hundred less than in 1907, which
was an unusual year. In December, 190i, four
ergies to dis
cover some
method by
which this dust can be
jirevented from being a
serious menace to the
miners. Experiments in
wetting it have been go
ing on for some time,
but nothing of a very
definite nature has as
yet been learned, unless
it is the fact that the
coal dust does not ignite
when there is a great
amount of moisture in it.
Every effort is being
made at the station to
come as close to the
conditions in a mine as
of Improper explosives, as well as ilia
improper use of suitable explosives,
results annually in the waste of great
amounts of coal. The use of too hi;h
charges in blasting, or the use of un
necessarily violent explosives, shatters
much good coal, converting fuel into
dust which may itself be explosive
and become productive of much fur
ther damage. Such explosions o'! n
loosen the roof of a coal mine, which
may fall later to be wasted, or produc
tive of fatal accidents.
In addition to the actual experiaunts
in testing explosives, important etp.c'i
ments are being made in rescue .vor.t.
One part of the station has been I d
up as a miniature coal mine. This is a
large glass-encased, air-tight room v. ch
contains difficult passages such as ..re
found in coal mines. There are also
various obstructions similar to what
would be found in a mine after it had
been wrecked by an c-xplosion: also dum
mies weighing 150 to 200 pounds, rep
resenting asphyxiated miners. This room
is filled with deadly gas and a rescue
corps of men who are being trained in
the work enter daily, clad in helmets
which supply them with oxygen while
they work. The men remain in this
chamber for two hours, removing ob
structions, picking up the dummies, plac
ing them on stretchers and carrying
them away. There is also in the room
a machine which records the amount of
work a man may be expected to do while
wearing one of these helmets. One-halt
of the large building in which this rescue
room is located is used as an auditorium
and several hun
dred miners and
csss _ <C>
&Jzcscuz: at wotzk^
explosions took Jhe lives" of ?0O men,
one of them—at the Monongah mine
in West Virginia—being the greatest
mining disaster in the history of this
country. There were 35*1 victims.
During 1008, there were but two acc i
dents in whiHi the1 loss of life was
very heavy; one in January at the
Hanna mine, in Wyoming, with a loss
of TO men: the other, November 2S,
at the Marianna mine- in Pennsylvania,
which resulted in 154 deaths.
Alroiuly at • th'- experiment station
two dfscOreftes have been made
"(Thich will tend to decrease the num
ber of fleams in the' mines. It has
been demonstrated that a number of
anything but safe, in fact the state
ment its made that with the present
Jed "safety" explosives are
SfJ*“7-JZA3. *4 COSII^
7
operators have watched the rescue drill
through the large glass windows which
separate the auditorium from the gas
filled chamber. Although there has
heen but little opportunity so far for
the rescue corps to demonstrate its ef
ficiency at the mines, still it has done
some good work
Once the helmeted men while fight
ing a mine fire succeeded in bringing
an unconscious man to a place of safety,
where he was given oxygen treatment
and recovered his senses in a short
time.
It is not the intention of the TTnited
States government to furnish rescue
corps whenever there is a disaster. The
present corps was organized with the
idea of encouraging the mine owners
explosnes used in mining, the miner takes his
life in his hand every time he touches off a fuse.
It Is the purpose of the government to continue
these experiments until the explosives of the
Rbountry are standardized in such a manner that
the miner will have a definite idea what these ex
plosives will do.
After the government has gone far enough in
Its experiments, a bulletin will be issued recom
mending is permissible explosives such as stand
the test. The facts learned concerning these ex
plosives will be called directly to the attention
of the state mining bureaus as well as the oper
ators.
Perhaps the most important and far-reaching
experiments so far at the station are those in
which it has been definitely shown that coal dust
is an explosive equally as dangerous as the dead
ly fire damp. This has been a mooted question
among mining engineers and miners alike, both
insisting that it is impossible to explode coal dust
unless there is gas present. 1 hat the coal dust
wib explode in the mine where there is no gas
has been repeatedly shown to several hundred
operators and miners at the testing Ration. The
experts at the station are now bending their en
possible. The tests of various dynamites and
powders used in blasting coal are being made in
a mammoth boiler plate cylinder which has pre
viously been idled with gas or coal (list. The cyl
inder is 100 feet long and six feet in diameter.
Safety valves have been placed all along the top
and are left unfastened in such a manner that
whenever there is an explosion the valves fly
open on their hinges. A series of portholes on the
side, covered with one-half inch glass, enables
those conducting the experiments to witness the
results from an observation house 00 feet away.
An explosive mixture of fire damp and air. or coal
dust and air, is pumped into the cylinder and the
explosive which is to be tested is shot into it from
one end of the cylinder, so that the flame goes
right into the lire damp or coal dust. Natural
gas is used at this station for fire damp, because
it. corresponds very closely to this deadly gas.
The cannon in which the explosives are placed
is tired by electricity from the observation house
which is parallel with the cylinder itself.
These investigations are expected to accom
plish a double purpose; not only a reduction in
the number of men killed in the mines, but also
a saving of the waste in mining coal. Thu use
and miners themselves to form such organizations.
Invitations have been issued lo operators through
out the country to send picked men to the experi
ment station, where they may watch the govern
ment rescuers at work and later go through the
same training themselves, in order that they may
gain the necessary confidence in the use of these
helmets. Already a number of the large mining
companies have taken advantage of this invitation
and are organizing rescue corps at their mines,
fully equipped with oxygen helmets.
In 1907 more than 0,1115 men were killed in the
coal mines of the country—a death rate of 4.86
for every 1,000 men employed. This is from three
to four times as many men per thousand as are
killed in any coal-producing country of Europe,
where experimental stations such as the one in
Pittsburg have been in operation for several years.
Full Beards for Farmers.
The protection of farmers and others who are ex
posed to the heat a great deal is a serious and diffi
cult matter. Cancer is on the increase, and farm
ers furnish a large proportion of the cases, many
of them being due to the direct effects of sunlight
on the face and hands. A full beard for the farmer
is most desirable for bis protection.
"THE MARRYING SQUIRE.'
Justice George E. Law Has Broken Ali
Records.
—
George E. Law, Justice of th*» Peace,
13% Franklin St., Brazil, Ind., is
known far and wide
as the “Marrying
Squire," from the
fact that he has mar
ried more couples
than any other offi
cialinIndiana. Judge
Law wrote a letter
in 1906, recommend
imr Doan's K’iHnpv’
Pills, which he said had made a bad
back well, enabled him to sleep bet
ter nights and feel more fit for work.
The treatment also cleared up the
urine. On January 5, 1909, Judge Law
confirmed his previous testimony. “I
have recommended this remedy to
many people since 1 first used it,"
said he.
Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a box.
Poster-MiIburn Co., Buffalo, X. Y.
Kisses and Matrimony.
The first stage of matrimony is
when a woman kisses her husband to
find out if he has been drinking. In
the second stage if she does any kiss
ing it is preliminary to asking him
for money.—New York Telegram.
In a Safe Place.
“We have a man in this prison who
never tried to escape." declared the
head keeper.
“What's he in for?" inquired the
visitor.
"Bigamy," replied the head keeper.
—Bohemian.
The Human Bye.
A marvelouslj constructed instru
ment, delicate in the extreme re
sponding to the jliuitv-s' lutiuence.
What a crime against natn-e to drug
the eyu. Everyday eye troubles are
speedily cured by applying externally
l)i. Mitchell's pure, harmles- soothing
Eye. Salve. 25 cents Ask the druggist.
Sorry He Spoke.
“My dear,” said a thin little man to
his wife, "this paper says that there is
a woman who goes out and chops
wood with her husband."
“Well, what of it ? I think she could
easily do it if he is as thin as you are.
I have often thought of using you to
peel potatoes with.”—Stray Stories.
Teacher of Physiology.
“Now we will dissect this odd little
animal. But first, Jimmy Phalig, will
you tell me what we have here?”
Jimmy—“Faith, and it's called a bat,
sir.” Teacher—"Very well. Now,
how many kinds of bats are there?”
Jimmy—"There are foive. The black
bat, the red bat, the acrobat, the base
ball bat and the brickbat, sir."
Noted Woman Press Agent.
Mrs. Charles Neave is the latest
English woman of birth and education
to go into business. She has become a
press agent, and it is said by her
friends that some of the best singers
at Covent Garden. London, are large
ly indebted to her for their success
this season. Mrs. Neave is the daugh
ter of a man of title and the widow of
an army officer.
Wise Men.
Once 'pon a time a man clumb a
tree ter git rid of a mad bull, a hur
ricane come ’long an' blowed him an’
de tree down; den he crawled inter
e hole in de groun’, ter hide frum da
hurricane, an' please God. here come
a vearthquake an' swallowed 'im—
shoes an' all. 1 tell you. folks, it's
a wise man what know how ter dodge
trouble!—F. L. S., in Atlanta Consti
tution.
Down the Old Road.
The big autumn moon rolled up
above the frosty pines.
“You like to go out . driving?" lie
said after a long silence.
"Yes,” she answered, nestling clos
er to him.
“And you always like io go with a
young man who knows how to handle
the ribbons?”
“Well, er—sometimes I like to go
with a young man who knows how to
drop them."
And after that the old horse jogged
along unguided.
NEW IDEA
Helped Wis. Couple.
j It doesn't pay to stick too closely to
j old notions of things. New ideas often
lead to better health, success and hap
j piness.
A Wis. couple examined an idea new
to them and stepped up several rounds
on the health ladder. The husband
writes:
“Several years ago we suffered from
coffee drinking. were sleepless,
nervous, sallow, weak and irritable.
My wife and I both loved coffee and
thought it was a bracer.” (delusion.)
"Finally, after years of suffering, we
read of Postum and the harmfulness
of coffee, and believing that to grow
we should give some attention to new
ideas, we decided to test Postum.
“When we made it right we liked it
and were relieved of ills caused by
coffee. Our friends noticed the change
—fresher skin, steadier nerves, better
temper, etc.
"These changes were not sudden,
but relief increased as we continued to
drink and enjoy Postum, and we lost
the desire for coffee.
“Many of our friends did not like
Postum at first, because they did not
make it right. Hut when they boiled
Postum according to directions on
pkg., until it was dark and rich, they
liked it better than coffee and were
benefited by the change.” "There’s
a Reason.”
Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich. Read "The Road to Well
i ville” in pkgs.
1 Ever rend tile above letter? A new
one appears from time to time. They
nre genuine, true, aud fall of hiimaq
Interest.