I (TWO) For those making a Will


The exceptional- facilities of the Midland Bank Executor and Trustee^ Company, an '/affiliation of the Midland Bank, should strongly appeal to all who have not yet made a will or desire to revise existing plans for the ^subsequent care of their cslates, however small. The Company acts in the following or jimilar capacities : J executor pr trustee under a w ill; trustce^uridcr a marriage or otticr*‘scttiemcrit ( ^[trustee for any club^,society, hospital.or religious, charitable or other institution ; manager of aricstate; ^trustee" for’ debentures or debenture .stock. The use of" its. I services ensures 7 tfic * following advantages:


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The staff are pledged to secrecy. Il"


Solicitors, accountants, stockbrokers and estate agents named by testators or. settlors arc employed whenever possible.


Jces may be obtained free on personal or written appli­ cation to any o f the'2130 branches o f the Midland Bank or the 12 separate branches o f the


A 28-page book fully describing the services and' quoting EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE MIDLAND BANK COMPANY LIMITED 5 HEAD OFFICE : POULTRY, LONDON, E.c'2. ADVERTISER AND TIMES, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1935.


OUR SHORT STORY, r S


r‘xs- q


T R A V E L L E R ’S JO Y . HY STELLA M. DURING.


•a ilia


roadside eyed her useless bicycle and sighed. -It looked almost as disconsolate as she did, with its wheels uppermost and its saddle on the ground, one tyre off and a medley of miscellaneous tools scattered all round it. Slio stretched out a pair of pretty feet


441 haven’t a notion where*] ami” The girl .sitting oil a pile of stones by the


y, yp. :y


in stout and sensible bicycling shoes, and regarded them pensively for a moment. Then she pulled her blue velvet cap lirmly down upon her rulFIcd brown head and stood up.


sho told herself witli a little laugh. “ No one conies along this road in a month of Sundays, so its no use waiting any longer for help.


' “ There’s nothing for it, I ’ve got to walk,”


she spoke. Really it had been very stupid to come out with nothing in her pockets after sucli a very early and insufficient, breakfast! Hut she had not contemplated losing her way among Buckinghamshire hills and being miles and miles from home at mid-day. Of course the puncture-was responsible, the puncture which without a pail of water she could not find, and without a helper she certainly could not mend. And if she really had to walk homo what about the bicycle?


walk, am] if only 1 wasn’t so hungry.” She glanced half ruefully about her as


If only I knew which way to


44 I’ll leave it behind the hedge and Tony must cither come with the car or scud a man with a cart to fetch it.


44 J shall have to leave it,” she decided.


problem. Jt was high and thick, one of those luxuriant and lovelj* hedges only found in England, white in the springtime with may, crimson now with haws. Cascades of blackberries, quickly ripening under the sun­ shine of early October, swept from top to bottom. Clusters of hazel nuts peeped among their yellowing leaves. Here ami there honeysuckle still showed its starry crown; the soft foam of the traveller’s joy fell in showy sprays yards long. The girl began to pick with dainty discriminating lingers.


right here. No one comes near From week-end to week-end.” But how to get through the hedge was the


It’ll be all


poised herself, adding sprays of hawthorn, all gemmed with ruhv berries, to the fluffy trails of clematis that lay along her arms. And as she stood there an astonishiug aroma diffused itself upon the still, warm air, dominating the rich smell of the rotting leaves in the hedge-bottom, sweeter at the moment even than the honeysuckle in her hand, the smell of toasting bacon. It drew her, hv the sheer force of her own hunger, down the pile of stones nud along the rutty, sun-filled lane to a bend some hundred feet away. And there behind the bend was a little


empty stomach she need not go empty- handed. On the very top of the pile of stones she


If she had to go home with an Beware the raw,


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_T , , . 1 YOUR SAFE AND CERTAIN CURE IS


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THE Not a single drug but the prescription of an eminent


'Harley Street Physician, and cannot affect the heart; '.ft-’, ftjorw.v feov ki:


is U


softly to himself, hut to her he said simply 44 Well?”


big, broad-shouldered man in a blue jersey like a fisherman’s, a man of about thirtv- five, with keen grey eyes set under straight black brows and a wcll-cut, humorous mouth, lie stared at the girl standing in the middle of the grassy patch with her sheaf of autumn treasures on her arm and her astonished eves widely regarding him. 44 The very spirit of the day,” he said


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THE w m w


came out this morning quite early, before seven, and I ’ve got into a part of tho country that L don’t know at all. Could you direct me hack again ?” 44 Friar’s Gate in Abbotstorkc?” he


I


returned. 44 That’s a long way from here. How did you get here?”


in his eyes had brightened into what was dangerously near laughter, and laughter would have been fntalto further'confidences. His tone when ho spoke was graver than ever.


nothing for me to do but walk and ] don’t think J can unless----- Js your wife here?” The stranger looked away for the gleam


ture. m .v1720


commodity. Did vou want to speak to her? Why?”


I t would have been.so much easier if he had line! a wife. But easy or difficult it had to he done.


The girl looked down in embarrassment. ' ’


FANCY GOODS suitable for all occasions


' ' , 1 i * ' “ Gastle Street s Market Place.


tragedy——44your bacon hunting!11 ~7t was, indubitably. The man hurried


hungry.” she said. 44 I was going to ask if I might buy—oh!”—on a quick note of


4 4I haven’t had any lunch and I ’m very


with mo?” ho asked gravely, my domestic arrangements ”


said. He turned still holding the suspended ham. 44 Will you do me the honour of lunching 1 You see


-the rasher


round tho caravan and the girl hurried after him. He plunged a fork into the sizzling' rasher, succulent and thick. The girl regarded it with anxious eyes. I t ’s only a little. At one corner,” she


Unfortunately I don’t possess such a '


44 I came on my bicycle. It lias a punc­ I ’ve left it up the lane, There*


hut his face remained almost preternaturally grave. 44 Your way from where?” ho enquired. 44 From Friar's Gate, where I live.


was ' only one word hut it was enough. Carelessly as he was dressed, roughly though he was lodged, the man was a gentle­ man. She came a step or two forward. 44 I ’ve lost my way,” she told him. A little gleam sprang into.the man’s eves


The girl gave a little gasp of relief. It


flashing all-comprehending glances of which feminine eyes aioup arc capable, hut it was not tho caravan that interested her for the moment. She could hoar the crackle of a fire and tho sizzle of rashers in a pan. She sensed coffee, good coffee, and bread hot from the bakehouse. I t would have been too much for any really hungry girl. This one took a step or two forward, drawn irresistibly. 44 Hello,” she said clearly, “ Hel-lo!” A man came from behind the caravan, a


engine, not a horse, and across the front of the bonnet was the legend 4‘ Daimler.” Tho windows were fitted with spotless curtains and brass curtain rails, all winking in the sun, and through its open door the girl caught a glimpse of well-bound hooks mi a shelf, and a sleeping berth covered with a tjiiek and handsome eiderdown. All this she took in with one of those


either.


grassy hay, with a tiny wood, sheltered in a * fold of tlie hilts behind it. A rill of water, ice Cold and crystal clear, spouted from a wooden trough in the bankside ami rippled away down the ditch, ami on the middle of the grassy patch stood a green- painted caravan It was not quite a common caravan, Its means of locomotion was ail


ill urn ::m :;a


swung out on the fork .and indicated ail unturned) box covered with newspaper. 44 You could sit on the step and J’vc got a spare knife anti fork somewhere.”


l,a.v— She put her hand into her pocket ami drew it out again—empty. “ J haven’t any money,” she said blankly—and this time the man laughed.


lie said, “ unless, of course, vou insist. * In that case you can pay mo afterwards!” For never never had he seen a girl like this girl before. Bather than lose sight of her lie would even submit to being paid for


“ .1 don’t take money for my hospitality,”


oil,1’ said tlie girl with a little gasp of pleasure. <• I should he glad. J can


•until we know we can’t he sure whether Friar’s Gate belongs to me or to my cousin Tony. Aunt Emily is afraid he has left it to mo, because he was very J'ond of me when ] was little, and lie couldn’t hoar Tony. So she wants me to marry Tony before wo get tho^ news. And I’m not eighteen yet, 1 don’t want to marry anybody. But it’s very uncomlortahlc. I’m not allowed any money, I can’t even post a letter without asking her hu1 a stamp, and then she wants to know who it’s to. 1 had to borrow—even that sixpenco —lrom ono oi tho maids. And 1 never go out, hut she sends Tony with mo—and she’s at me morning, noon and night----- ”


of her impulsive and inexcusable confidences she had never imagined this.


Aunt Emily,” said the stranger softly. Joyce gasped. Among an possible remits


under her breath. “ Aunt Emily has a horror oi people like you. The servants would he rude to you!”—with distress ‘•Besides, why?” she broke off, sudden wonder in her eyes. “ Did you know Pereivnl?” she asked. “ Have vou heard anything about him?” 44 I knew him well. J was the host friend


“ They wouldn’t let you ill,” she said,


ham was cooked to a turn, the coffee tho best she ever tasted, and the conversation after her own heart. The tWo had a thousand interests in common for all tho wonders of the countryside wore their chief delight and concern. Never had she met a man like this man before. H e know where the lapwing nested on the upland aiul the bandicoot in the mere. JJo could tell her where the autumn crocus, “ naked ladies ” the country people call it, was even now making a purple haze in the meadows, and the boei-.*tenk fungus, most uyattrac- tive ot edibles, grew upon the trees.


Ins bacon. 44 And now—if you null go and sit down ?” That was a most satisfying meal. The


that was their name. As far as his was con­ cerned, she had no curiosity. As far as hers was concerned, he knew it already. The mention ot Frier’s Gate had boon enough. This must ho.little .Joyce, Baby ,loy who had been a chubby infant of four when he left heme, under a cloud, thirteen vears ago. Then? was another kid, lie told 'himself, a hoy of Aunt Emily’s, delicate, whining, ami very insufficiently smacked. What had got him. he Wondered, though he was careful not to ask.


lint one thing neither told the other, aud


you ami your bicycle in my caravan, and run you hack to Friar’s Gate.


rose.. “ And now,” he said, “ 1 propose to put


hen the meal was over ho


eyes were dubious, almost afraid. . “ I should get into the most awful trouble if I wont home like that,” she said. 44 You would have to put mo down before we got w to the village and let me walk part of tho


Emily always was a eat. “ And when and how shall 1 see vou


ay.” lie nodded. He could quite understand.


a word about that! 1—1 don’t like keeping things to myself—but with a sigh—44 [ have to. And now—how shall I pay you that sixpence? Where can \ find vou? Who are you?”


ho had no intention of answering. Also a sudden warmth crept about his heart horn of a sudden hope. Was-it—only the six­


The stranger smiled. That was a question


told her. “ I ’m known simply as tlio traveller. I shall stay around here, oh, for quite a while, now, and if you ask any of the villagers where to find me and my cara­


pence?—or was she, also, just a little anxious to see him again? 4* i. haven’t a name—for the present,” ho


van, they’ll any of them bo able to tell you.” The girl looked up at him, and her smiling


and the brown-eyed girl in the blue velvet cap never came again. The traveller’s mouth set grimly ns he waited. “ I shall have to go up.” he told himself.


come again—with the sixpence.” Hut the days passed and the days passed,


came, hurrying through the little copse on the edge of which his caravan was halted. With her checks carmine, and her eyes alight, she offered him—sixpence. •


sixpence on his broad, brown palm, as ho spoke. 44 Ami why are you not allowed out alone? Aren’t thev good to vou—at Friar’s Gate?”


“ and I was so afraid you would he gone away. You see I can never get out alone, there is always someone with mo. And it makes it so very difficult—well, to pay six ponces 1 owe—if I don’t want to say any­ thing about them.” 4“ 01il” The traveller gently weighed the


“ 1 couldn’t come before,” sho told him,


had to offer, the lower step of his caravan and spoke with a touch of authority. 44 Sit down,” he said, 44 and tell me all


44 I’vo been considering it—all this last fort­ night. 1 must tell somebody—and 1 can’t go to the Vicar, or anyone like that, because they think so much of Aunt Emily, I'm afraid they wouldn’t believe mo, they’d think 1 was just a naughty girl making up tales against her best friends. But you—nro different. You look ’’—with a touch of in­ dignation—“ like a travelling tinker—hut you’re not, you’re a gentleman; and ns I ’m sure I can trust you 1*really think I’ll tell yon.”


curious determination, tlie girl sat down. “ 1—I 'rehlly think T will,” she returned.


his powerful hands clasped about his blue lean knees.


He seated himself on the grass beside her, '


well, already, tho talo of the much older cousin, one Pereivnl, to whom Friar’s Gate, and all its revenues belonged,, and who.had left home under some unexplained cloud thirteen years ago. ’ But it was only the bogining of the tale he knew. The end, he discovered, was acutely new.


got news from Australia that Rorcivnl had died there. Aunt Emily has sent a lawyer out to see if he left a will. Because you sco


44 Go on.” lie said simply. And then ho heard it, the talc he knew so.


i


about it.” Very slowly, half reluctantly, yet with a


at last. The traveller indicated the one sent ho


little. 44 I t ’s—it’s very uncomfortable,” she said


The girl hesitated, and her colour faded a


“ 1 must know what is happening.” And then, one misty October morning, she


eyes said more than she knew. 44 I ’ll find you,” she told him softly. “ I ’ll


me if you like, a silver sixpence, and I’il bore a holo through it and wear it for the vest of my life^ in memory of—the most astonishing and delightful day in it. But— it isn’t only that. J want to hear how you get on, whether you got into trouble for— unconventional behaviour.” “ Oh,” with a little start, “ 1 shan’t say


again ?” ho asked. For that was the ’im­ perative necessity, to see her again. The girl Hushed to her hair. 44 You mean—because I haven’t paid you?’’ “ I don’t ,” with emphasis. “ You can pay


than fourteen miles from here, and vou cannot possibly walk it. Why? What6” For the girl’s face had lengthened. Jler


It is more “ 1 think I shall have to go up and see ■JL■


■i■ ■■ ■i■


■■■■ ■■


■■ ■■ ■■ ■■


Food and Flowers mm ■■ sa ­ MIXED MEMOS.


coat of lead paint in order to protect it from winter’s wet. The roof of the summer­ house might be cr“osoted in order to pre­ serve the wood. Keep the greenhouse-door and tho frame-light hinges greased, and they do not rust. Fill the oiling hob’s of the mower a few times, ami grease the


REMEMBER.—Give the garden *eat a


lie ever had—and the worst, I think. 1 could tell Aunt Emily one or two tilings about him she would be rather astonished to hear. J think I’ll come up aud see her— this afternoon. Oh, no,” with rather a grim


laugh, 44 not looking like this. I’ve got quite a docent suit—in there.” The girl rose, a hundred thousand amaz­


a whisper. p “ Not- a word,” said the? stranger em­


ing possibilities rising through her mind. 44 Am I to say anything?” she asked, in


fI lie sunlight streamed across the tea table standing in the open windows of the draw­ ing-room at Friar’s Gate. All the big blue and white vases in the corners were filled with hunches of ruhv berries aud long snowy foamy sprays of traveller’s joy. Joyce won. a knot of it tucked into the belt of her blue silk frock, ami touched it occasional! with trembling fingers.


hatically. It was a lovely afternoon for late October.


trol.


tiling,” said Aunt Emily, for Joyce’s appe­ tite was a matter of most tender concern. Joyce shook her head, she dare not speak for her voice she knew was not under con­


“ Joyce, my dear, you are not eating any.


stranger unannounced, was walking towards the open window, a stranger in a Bond-strcc suit of grey, who carried a pair of lemon kid gloves and a silver-topped stick in one hand and raised a winking silk hat with tlie other.


-sh ine looking at the two ladies with a smile Auiie Emily rose.


lie stood bareheaded in tho sun


die.” Joyce held out two appealing hands. 44 Oh, take mo with you,” she begged. He drew her hands to his shoulders and


hair is grizzled at the temples and getting thin on top.”


stand it any longer. I t ’s killing me. I shall have to get her out, the old caravan and paint her up and set her going and take to the road again.


briar’s Gate. Aunt Emily still ruled there Jt would be impossible, Percival told her, fur him and Joyce to live there without her. But she ruled with a lighter hand and Joyce had all the liberty she wanted and more pocket-money than she could spend. And Tony, convinced of the unlike­ lihood of his ever beiug able to arrange for himself a comfortable future by marrving his cousin, took himself off to London "and began seriously to study for the bar. So that for Joyce the next three years were happy ones. Then came trouble. Percival stopped her one joyous spring morning and his face was clouded and his mouth grim. “ 1 can’t stand it,” he told her. “ J can’,


lessly down again. ^ After which things were different at


“ Percival!” she gasped, and sat help I shall have to—or I’ll


studied her face witli haggard eyes. “ I’m battered and old,” lie said. 44 My


44 Oh, does that matter?” whispered Joyce. “^There’s only one wav you can come with me,” he went on steadily, “ and that’s as—


my wife. Do you mean that? Will you conic—that way, Joyce?” She hid her face on hi* arm, and ho


shone wet. “ Traveller’s Jnv!” she said. (the End.)


gathered her close. “ Joy,” he wlii*ptrod brokenly. “ Joy! She looked up laughing though her eyes


Gate with such quiet assurance this very afternoon ? And then came a step, the step she wa waiting for, on the terrace outside.


Who was he? This man who looked like a tramp and yet was coming up to Friar’s


1.


permanent labels before the paper ones have rotted. Some growers supply stamped, zinc labels with their roses. These labels are worth their price—a penny each. Wood labels may he used. Paint the wood with white paint, write the names of the flowers in ink, varnish the labels with pale varnish, and tlie writing is clear and weather-proof. FLOWER SUPPORTS. — Split bamboo


knives, .so that the machine is not rustv in the spring. LAIJKLS.—Plants should be marked with


llow plot. Blocks of cement and other etceteras have been removed. Yet. after a. pot of tea, he feels as fit as a fiddle. And he lias the satisfaction that he ha* taken tho first stop in providing vegetables tor the family.


WINTER MUSHROOMS.


ing for planting a mushroom bed for produc­ ing some mushrooms early in the year. The shed on the allotment, made draught-proof, may he tin* mushroom house. No atuiu- '•pltcric heating is necessary, though some gardeners^ forward the crop with an oil *tove. ^ Form the bed against the wall. A corner is the better position, because tho heap of manure will only have to be sup­ ported with planks on two side*. Tho hoards of the wall and of the floor may ho coated with cement-wash for tho preserva­ tion of the wood.


The present may he the time iur prepar­


canes will support small plants. The ribs of old umbrellas should he saved for sup­ ports. Metal meat skewer* make neat .supports for small plants, and the rings prevent the ties slipping. Two sound lengths of old stakes can he put into splints in order to make one long stake. SAVE THE RAIN.—The next summer


may he dry. Prepare against a dry sum­ mer by digging an opening in the garden, by lining the opening with slates, and by making the opening water-tight with a thick coating of a mixture of cement and coarse sand. The slates must lie wet while apply­ ing the cement mixture. THE INDOOR, HYACINTHS. — The


the bulbs moisture enough to start their roots. Rain-water is nature’s drink, and the water from the rain-water butt is better for the plants than the water from the cistern. No harm will come from wetting the bulbs when adding water to the glasses, if the bulbs will have dried before the evening. SLUGS.—Slugs find places of refuge


privet, a variegated laurel or holly, the silver-leaved euonymus, etc., will turn green with too liberal treatment. The shrubs will become re-variegated by withholding the dressing of manure for two winters.


ijito the ground in order to root them. Keep the stems upright with stakes. Single canes will grow into huge hushes.


Loganberries and the other brambles may ho planted'as far apart as ten feet. The autumn following the planting one. fix the tips of *ome of the new stems six inches


BRAMBLE BERRIES. — Dewberries,


comes from growing throe-feet-higli varieties on trenches that have a well-nourished sub­ soil. The manure, fresh and holding all it* iiourMimcnt, can he mixed into the second spit at this time of the year. Dwarf peas certainly require less soil support, hut they have not the room up their font-high stems for numerous pods; while staking giant varieties is expensive.


PROFITABLE PEAS.—'Flic most profit


of crops that are not grown for their edible roots have to pass around half-bricks, and have to try to fight their way through clods of clay. Bricks and stones warm a soil by draining it, and they also hold the warmth of the sun.


TUBERS.—It matters not that the roots ARE DOGS PSYCHIC ?


are olton confused with one another. Dogs are frequently credited with possessing what is known as second sight. They are sup­ posed to have the power of seeing the in­ visible and foretelling events that are about to happen. A belief that is entertained by ninny relates to the possibility of dogs mid other animals having a future life. We may agree with one without assenting to the other. Because wo think they have a hereafter it docs not follow that in this life they can rend the riddle of the spirit world any more than man can with his superior mind.


AN IM A LS AND THE HER EAFTER. ’1 wo questions, which are really different,


that seem so puzzling at first are capable of a rational explanation on careful con­ sideration. ^ We have to remember that £ome of their senses are much more acute than our own. not having been vitiated by disease or such habits as smoking. Their noses apprise them of a great deal that passes unnoticed by us. Their hearing is better than ours, ami they can sec in tho dark. Mere, then, are satisfactory reasons for '> their curious behaviour .sometimes, a behaviour so puzzling that, if we had a mind to it, we might he convinced that they were* psychic. One night when 7 was out with my dog lie showed signs of alarm oil reaching a certain spot, running hack and declining to go any farther. After muck encouragement- T-. persuaded him to return and show me what was the matter. Very carefully, step by step, he led me to the hedgerow, where T discovered a hedgehog, a creature that liq had never encountered before.


44 Six months ago,” the girl told him, 44 we*


spiritualistic seance that is interesting. Tho medium asked one of the audience 44 If sho remembered Mrs. Mason?” ’ .At first the name conveyed nothing to her. Tho clairvoyant, after giving a further explana­ tion, remarked: 44 Yes, you remember Mrs. Mason, the old lady, who lind a clog called Bennie, of which slid was very fond, and •which was knocked down by a tram and killed.” The lady then recalled Mrs. Mason, who sent her several messages, ono


A lady sends me an account of a Many of the actions performed hv dogs


for the spring can he provided if tho soil around the prickly-seeded and around the hoot spinach is forked up once a month. Variety can he given to the menus, how­ ever, with second-class sprouts—the growths Irom whore the Brussels sprouts have been cut, with cabbage greens—the shoots from the stumps of" the cut cabbages, and with turnip -‘-tops—the leaves from the turnips that ’have* refused to bulb.


sticks while they are young, for then they have less fibre. THE SEASON OF SCARCITY.—Greens


THE ALLOTMENT. OX THE LAND.


ensure good health. One not only “ earns a night’s repose.” hut does much'to make sure of it. No finer tonic for unsteadied nerves is there than digging. The writer lias come in from digging a portion of a


of their being?” These significant re­ marks almost suggest that, ho was accepting Darwin’s theory of evolution long before- tlio great scientist lived.: Archbishop Henson wrote about the deatli of a favourito. marc: “ No one would persuade mo that slio comes to an end here.” These are but two among many divines who liko to think


that they will meet their dumb friends again m another life.


the All Gracious Creator, to rniso them, higher: in the scale of beings? Wlmt ’if it should please Him, when He makes us equal to angels, to make them wlmt wo are now —creatures capable of G o d c a p a b le ' of' knowing and loving and enjoying the Author


survive in another state. ' He wrote: What if it should please the All Wise


say definitely, though many believe firmlv “ijjJ they have. John Wesley, who died in 1<91j would not deny that niiimnls might


of which was that she found Bennie on the other side and his legs were all right. I liis naturally brings us to the question* Have dogs a future life?” No one can


town should tend to good relations between town and country. Exercise in the open-air does much to


industry, agriculture, is experiencing diffi­ culties, the extension of the allotment move­ ment among urban dwellers can do much to establish a bond of sympathy between them and their fellows who live "wholly by the land. A closer acquaintance with the soil gained hv the part-timo occupation of cultivating a kitchen garden in or near a


object of national importance—the produc­ tion of food. At a time when our oldest


People who cultivate allotments have one


to grow, because the plant is of vegetable habit. Plant this perennial this year, if it is to ho cropped next spring. Use the


RHUBARB.—Rhubarb is the easiest fruit


season—between the bulbs of spring and the plants of summer—can he relieved with perennials, such as doronieums. The variety, Harper Crowe, crops more than once a year. Bed out the plants this year in order to have some blooms oarlv. VARIEGATED HEDGES.—Tho' golden


beneath decaying leafage. Scrape off this upper crust of animal and vegetable matter, and bury it under a spade’s depth of soil. Insects and leaves will become manure, and the future plants will feed on the slugs. A ROBUST MARGUERITE.—'The dull


water in the glasses- should not reach within half an inch of the ’bulbs, because it might1 rot them. Evaporation will give


corner of the shed, equally good re*u!ts will he obtained hv cultivation in a packing- case. While the depth of manure for the lied on the floor should he two fe-t win n the bed lias boon trodden, an eight**.'n-inrhi s depth serves with the latter culture, be­ came more warmth is retained hv the sides of a sound box than by a fed of manure supported with hoard*. .Some holes for drainage Omuld he bored along the bottom edge of the box, two inches from the floor.


instead of the mushroom bed being in a


come from a stable where the horses are bedded on straw. On arrival, the lumpv portion* Humid he broken up. and the longest straw should he dragged out aud should he put aside for u*»> as the cover of tlie bed. When the temperature of tiio manure falls to around So <h*gs. Fahr., with the hull) of the mercury six inches deep. U tilt* time to make the manure info a h< l ami. to plant the inu*hro«»m *puwn. Maiiur** can he cooled by turning the heap in*MA nut at daily interval*.


The manure should lie fredi. and it should


two indies across, aud plant the pieces inches apart. Ur*-** the pieces into tho manure, ,*o that their top* are level with the surface of the manure. Next, shov 1 on three inches ot powdery mould. Then, over the bod, spread a layer of *traw. or spread a layer of a sub-timt*'. >vnh a* hay or bracken (wild lorn).


Cut the spawn bricks into piece*, about,


regulates the warmth of the bed ; tie* tem­ perature of the time inches of mould mu-t. ho regulated. The bed gradually In** s warmth for a time, hut, when it- fall* t > below fiO degrees, add more straw. Tu* icalling most favourable to cropping is between do and 70. During the less edd weather, while plenty of straw is on the bed, the thermometer may rise above 75. where­ upon the thickness of the cover should be temporarily reduced.


The thickness of the straw covering


the bottom of tlie mushroom to be u*od will be several infant mu*l»room>. Do not rut. off the head, because the remaining fungdd stem as it decays will spoil the infants, but gently twist the mushroom out of the soil, ami the infants grow. When the i»u*h- rooms have finished cropping, the bed may he spawned again, if it ha* not lost too much heat. ' Turn the bed of manure up­ side down, and. if it is 70 degrees hot. that warmth is *ufiieient.


When the bed is ready for pulling, arom.d — THE FLOWER GARDEN. . RENOVATING THE LAWN.


many people, who do uot spare th»‘msclv*s nil their flower beds, neglect the grass plot. J he most likely trouble* are unevenno**, weeds, moss and broken edges. The wav to make the lawn smooth is to pack tie? sunken spots. The turf is peeled off, *"d is put down and, before the grass is re. turned, the patches arc firmed with the Hat of the spade. Tho roller ought to be pulled. If the roller wore pushed, the feet would In* pressed into the ground.


The lawn cakes or mars tho garden, but


soil. Weeds will soon make their appear­ ance in poor ground aud, if thev do not receive attention, they wil] crowd out tho grass plants. Where the weeds have not established themselves, try to get rid of them by enriching the ground. The bc*t way of feeding heavy soil is with powdered lime and, a few weeks afterwards, with nitrate of soda. Lime i* not a food, hut increases the porosity of the ground. Lime aerates the ground, and air liberates plant food locked up in it. Nitrate of soda by itself gives better results on Tight ground, because it- is not desirable to mahe dry ground drier. ^ The quantities per squarn yard may he four ounces of the lime and one ounce of the fertiliser.


The chief cause of woods' is poverty of


the moss would be wetness; therefore, sticky ground rhould he lightened by a dressing of lime—half a pound per square yard. Tho way to make sure that a lawn benefits from all the lime ami fertiliser is to perforate the surface with the garden fork and is to give thc sprinklings when tiie rain will soon he washing it into the tiny borings.


it turns brown; and, where moss persists, it chokes the grasses. Bogin the cure by brushing off the intruder.


and where it is not desired to widen the path, the neat verge can be restored if a narrow width of turf is moved forward. The space behind should be filled with tho broken pieces of turf and with mould. Tho spade will* cut a straight edge—with two stakes and a tight line of string.


Where an edge of the lawn has broken,


Waggers’ Club, 53. Mark-lane, London K.C.3. The Club will be pleased to answe any enquiries submitted by Tail-Wngge


Not©.—This chat is issued by The Tai


owners in connexion with canine hygien and welfare.


Moss is unsightly in dry weather, because 'Flic cause of


■I■■■


—gRATTS-RHPIT-lla-58-MAHK-lJUII.-lQCKK-m


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