' gen and up to eight, times richer in

' nurc with an

' its myrtle-like leaves are fresh and

5""!

MARCH 4, 1933

11- -..-~-.»:,~." ' ,,_.,

_.__-_-___-

POULTRY MANURE

No farmer, if he’ can afford it, p111 try to get along without coin- merclal fertilizer; experience has chovm that liberality in its em- ployment leads to greatly in- creased production. But for the past two years the income from farm products has been so low, that many farmers are planning to cut down on fertilizer, and to rely more than ever on manure produced on the premises. This. from many points of view, L; s, re- trograde step but (to quote an old saying) it is foo often a case of “needs must when the devil drivai."

Poultry manure is one of the strongest, of the manures produced on the farm‘, and analyses con- ducted by the Division of Chemis- try, Ottawa, show that it is from two to three times richer in nitro-

phosphoric acid than other farm manures. In the list of manures which follows, the percentages of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and po- tash are given in the order stat- ed:

Poultry manure, sverave: —l.30 1.15-0.47.

Horse, plus _0.5a. _

cow. Pills beddiHG: 0.01-0.14 - 0.49.

sheen. plus bedding: 0.00- csa ‘-o.9:s.

Pig, plus bedding: 0A0- 0.(i0 -— 0.45, -

A manure of such a. high quality is well worth taking cars of, but unfortunately the measures often taken defeat their own ends. It is worse than useless to incorporate poultry excreta in the manure pile. since the ‘emisntation inevitably set up drives off the valuable ni- trogen in the form of ammonia. Neither lime nOT- wood ashes should be used as lbsorbenh und- er she roosfs since tho! also liber- ate the nitrogen. No better way, in my knowledge. has been found to retain all the fertilizing elements than to mix the raw poultry ma- equnl bulk of 411' eartluandstorcitinadryplace imtil the time somes to apply it to the land. As the manure has 0. powerful burning effect, one should be cautious in its use.

It may in conclusion be remark- ed that the figures given above are averages: if the fowls are fed hiflll and have milk as drink the per- centsgu will be higher. while scantily fed fowl: or those fed un- mitsble rations will have lower percentages of the three fertilizers.

THE PERIWINKLE

The other day I had a walk mund the garden "to sec whai, I willd see." as the old song says‘. The alternate thaws and frosts llad covered the ground in most llluces with n. sheet of icc.. and I lm very much afraid there will be I lot of vacancies in the border! this spring. One little trailing blunt, the periwlnkle (Vince. 'mi- Nor) docs not socm to mind the Fflitarim of tho weather man, and

bedding; 0.66-0.22

Ereen. They are hard and corlace- ous, like those of tho Mayflower, lllll mi 5° lflfse. and not quite the same shape.

‘This little plant is native to Eu. will! from Denmark southward, and it is thought t0 have been in- troduced into Britain by man; 1t was able thereafter to maintain lt- self and thus 15 c, "demzen", 1t has extended its range about half Wall “D SCOlIB-nd, and consequent- ly it was one of the plants which attracted my attention in the North of England. Usually it was to be found on the borders of woods and 0011698. and on hedgebanks. ‘The floweriess stems are trailing. tough, and root at the joints: they may be one or even two feet long. Next spring these trailing stems thrill" "l! short erect stems which bear the flowers. The flowers are a sort of light blue-purple, and the five corolla. lobes are "out" oblique. As the flowers are produced early in the year they are doubly wel- come. They look like blue prinu-os- cs.

As this British wild plant has been thought worthy of cultivation, a few hints are in order. As ol- ready indicated 1t does best ill shady borders, rock-gardens (we call them rockerles!) and among shrubbery under tress. The s0il should be fairly good, and I notice the plant does well where there i! c. fair share of moisture. Lift, di- vldc and roplant only when abso- lutely necessary, and do this either in May or September. m the ole Country the periwlnkle is some- times grown s; a. pot plant, cape- cially in the varieties hereafter mentioned. ‘rho pots are silspend- ed-ususlly in wire baskets-in cold or cool greenhouses, windows or balconies. The only point to ob‘- servs is to replant annually using a. mixture, of sandy loam and leaf- mould; water freely in summer. and moderately afterwards.

The plant-breeders seem to have taken t. fancy so the Periwinkle, for the following varieties have been evolved: V. minor alba, with white flowers; V. m. argentea. va- rlegcts, green and white foliage; V. m. cures. variegata, green and yellow foliage; and V. m. caerulefl- fl. pl.. with blue flowers.

WATER. DIVINATION

Apropos of last week's note on the subject, J. B. sends ms a. mo!‘ interesting and trenchant letter. entitled:-

"What causes the crotch or limb of a tree to point to a. water course a hundred feet deep in the ground?"

The theory that g man has such power over the limb of a tree in the form of a crotch, that when in his hands this simple new of wood will point to 0. water course from twenty to one hundred feet deep in the ground is rooted so deep in the minds of a 87ml "llmY people in P. 15.. I. that I, for one. think it high time to show the b0- lievers of this 51111910 belief how foolish it sounds to the highly educated and hrond minded pco- ple 0f our Island. After locatini!

the water course. the crotch in

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some mysterious way. is also sup- posed to tell the exact depth the water is from the surface. The crotch or limb must bc cut ircsh and green from an apple, cherry, or birch tree.

I personally know men who say they have seen the bark twisted off the crotch. or limb and the reason given fol‘ this ls that the "magic man" held the crotch too firmly with his hands. and the drawing power of the water was so great (a hundred feet (loop 1n the ground-l that the bark was lwlst- ed off the crotch.

I have on my desk a crotch cf an apple tree; I have tested the muscles of my hands to sec if l could twist the bark oil’ the crotch and I have failed in my at— tempt. We donrt claim the bark cannot be twisted off the limb of an apple tree, but we do claim it is impossible to twist the bark off the crotch or limb of an ripple tree, by the drawing’ power of a waterl course a hundred feet deep in the

ground. What seems so strange to us non-believers is that the magic

man insists on bending the prongs of the crotch: he says the prongs must be bent or the magic crotch will not perform. One prong is bent to the left and one to the right; when the yrrongs, are fully bent the crotch is then twice its, natural width and very often the crotch will break when being bent. The magic man tells us the crotch must be bent, but he can't tell us why. We will have to answer this question for him.

The magic crotch i; much the same when in its natural shape as a capital letter Y: the lower single part is about six inches long, and the two top prongs are seven or eight inches long. Any person can readily see when the crotch is in iis natural shape it 110s. no spring or twisting nature in it. But the two top prongs are bent n-pufl- bwioe their‘ natural width, (one prong to the left and one to the right) and. held in that position by the "magic man's" hands. In so doing 11, gives the prongs of the crotch a twisting and sprlngiike nature. when the magician has s. firm grip on the prongs he bends and twists them to his own idea, and with his th-unlbs on the ends of the two top prongs he is all so! for action. He can manipulate and skuwobble the crotch at will. He can release the’ pressure of his hands on the prongs and at the same time press outward with both thumbs; in so doing it will natural- ly cause the pointer to point to the ground. The whole secret is in the bending of the prongs.

What we want the magic man and all his believers to do is give us a clear-cut and broad-minded intelligent answer to the question, Why does the magic man bend the two top prongs of the crotch to twice its natural width? Don't you think it would be more reasonable to use the crotch just as it is cut from the tree, and not bend it out of its natural shape? We all agree that the bending doesn't challgl? the material of the crotch in ally way, then tell us why you insist on bending the prongs, when it is more reasonable to use tho twig in 1L’. natural form?

Why" doesn't the magician lay the crotch on the palm of his hand in its natural shape? There would then be no resistance to the crotch moving, if there: was sny reason for it t0 move. Can the ma- gic man explain why the magic crotch will not perform in this po- sltionf. But he claims the crotch will perform when he bends the two top prongs of the same crotch and holds them in a vice like grip. And when he walks over a. water course deep in the ground under mud, sand, gravel, brick- clay and rock. the magic crotch will turn in his hands responsive to the great drawing power of the water course a hundred feet be- lowi

This is where the educated and broad minded men and women can

see clear through uch a belief. 1t is not the gimpl twisting of tilt‘ magic man's month that causes

the iroich to turn in his hands but it is the simple twlstlni; of the prongs of the crotch that gives me crotch the springlikc twisting na- ture and with the sssistancsofthe man's thumbs he has full control of the crotch. and can make the pointer of the crotch point in a downward direction at will. Science says the crotch or limb of n tree will not locate a water course in the ground or anywhere else for that matter. Thcrc are no records io show 11s where waicr has been found by thlg pimple means. ‘Pliers are n6 books on the shelves of our library telling u; of this wonderful magic art. We have no history of any kind on this be- m, My advice to people when they want to bore for ‘osm- is: bore in the moat convenient place

THE CHARLOTTETQWNEZQQAQIAQ __v__

crotch or limb on the apple‘ tree. It will do more good where it be- longs than in noseing around try- llli; to find water."

There is no doubt that the» questions will take some answer- ing. Like the writer I have tried the supposed art, but with a hazel twig: I could not locate ivater, even when I carried out the ex- periment over a. well. The results were negative. I; would be enter- taining if some coirespcndent. could give us the opinion of the Encyclopaczlia Britannica on this most debatable question. J‘. B. is willing to demonstrate just why the crotch always points to the ‘ground, and to prove the whole thing is a fukc.

ROMAN BRITAIN A. D. 193-197

(In a previous article it was mentioned that the Romans invad- ed Ireland, and that Juvenal (A. D. 96) spoke oi that Island as the latest acquisition of the Roman arms. The poet. however, was in a boastful mood, for the invasion was of the slightest character and no attempt was made to maintain garrisons. nor have any Roman antiquities of consequence been discovered there. Ireland‘ was ne-

»ver an integral part of the Roman

Empire as Britain was. The wriicv, when very young, (-2111 remember his grandfather mentioning that fact and coupling it with the pro- phecy that in the "last days" m- land would again be separate from the British Elmplre as it had been from the Roman. It was unfortu- nate that the hearcr was too young to be interested, or he might have discovered the origin of the prophecy, which is evidently coming to pass.)

The last, instalment finished with the murder of commodus in A. D- 192. On the death of’ the tyrant. the praeinrlan g1lfllTLi-l.l‘l! royal bodyguards-raised Pertinax. who. it will be recalled, was formerly governor of Britain, to the im- perial throne. Three months after- wards they rebelled, cut off the new Emperor's head; and pro- ccedod to auction off the Empire to the highest bidder. 'l‘he pur- chaser was a. very rich but worth- lcsg merchant called Didius Julia- nus. This disgraceful transaction, which was hotly resented by all the provincial governors, illus- trates the weaker side of the im- perial system. 'Iihe Romans, saga- cious indeed in dealing with sub- jecg races. could never establish a central government of a stable character. among themselves. The history of the later Emperors ls a history of assassinations.

At this point three commanders. in different parts of the Empire, stepped forward to chastise the praetm-ian guards, and to expel the ‘Emperor of their choice: these were, Severus, in Pannonia, Pes- cennius Niger in Syria, and Albi- nus in Britain. Alblnus had had. it must be said, a very narrow ss- cape himself, since Commcdus from motives of jealousy, AWAS about to recall him to Rome to an unknown fate, b11i. was mortified before he could effect this.

Severus was a man of extraor- dinary talonts, merciless, unscrupu- lous, and indefatigable‘. \v'i.h characteristic micvgy he l1ll|l‘("1(‘i'l on Rollie, defeated iho guards, (1r- prlvcd them of their privileges, and put the usurper to death. He him] self assumed the purple robes of royalty. l-lc had gained posses- slon of the Enlrllrv, but there were still two competitors in the field -agalnst whose united force he would perhaps have been unable to struggle.

Severus thereupon noted on ihe Roman maxim, "Divide and coll- qucr." He pacified Alblnus with professions of the warmest friend- ship, greeted him as "Caesar" (a kind of secondary Etmllfvorl and caused money to bc coined in his name and statues to be erected in his honor. Alblflils thus gained over. Sovcrusproceeded f0 the enst to encounter Pcscenniils Niger.

This was in the year 193. Ni- ger war. at length defected in n battle near Antioch. and slain, and after a protracted struggle sever- us rctumeri in triumph i0 Home ill 196, and immediately prepared to deal with his other rival. Alblnus. But this was not an easy task. The Governor of Britain was a man of great military talents; he was al- lied, both by blood and friend- ship, with some of the greatest and oldest fmuillcs iu Ronlr‘: hi‘. was popular both in Britain fillil

(11.1) TIME SPEEDERS

l1. one o1" my former articles muuuou was made of the horse ail-linger 2,24 1-2. This horse was llrcsi in Prince County and was I ,ll'l‘.'1’..1l.‘0l1 of Dean Swift; he has ‘bu-n vrvziuvvi to both “Sir John I llgiu" and "(my Boy" ----b0tl1 sons 0i “(Jill b04111" and I am also in- formed that his dam was sired by "luvllch Lion." He was a handsome ll<\‘.'.~»1‘, chestnut in color and was in illc limo light for :1 number o! .\‘l‘"1l's in i114‘. itiuritimvs, being a strong contender‘ in that notable race at Amherst in 1893, winning lhe second and sixth heats in 2.30 and 2.29 l-2.

1i’; first race on clay was at ‘Cvnibrlu Park, Rustico, on August l9, 1891 for a. twenty five dollar purse which was won by "Cymbria Chief" a, son of, “Island Chief"- bv-i time 2.48 l-‘l.

111". first race 011 ill" mainland was at the Coll sizlkes meeting at

Amherst in September of i891 when he was entered by our good iownsmnn. Mr. Jos. K. Stanley

and uus driven by L. 'I‘. Wiuan who 501110 of our older rltce fans will remember conducted a, racing stable at Charlottetown in the early nineties. Stranger won the three minute class at this meet in straight he,ats—the time being 2.3!), 2.30 3-4, 2.33 l-2, defeating "Zulu Chief", "Dearbom", "Mot- to", "Appelant," "Sir Brenton" and "Bessie Sim."

Later this horsc was sold t0 Halifax parties, being aimed by w. n. Crows and m. .1. Fenton and in his first race at Halifax he was again piloted by Nfr. Winan.

‘fhe following your he had a new

driver in John Shaunahau with varied success. Later, he won B $500.00 purse in a. llree-For-All gt Charlottetown. - ‘ ' Later helwas lotterled and won by ljicharrl Magcnoy who in turn sold him i0 A. H. Learmont, Tru- ro, who was his owner and drive!‘ 1n shat seven heat event at Amherst in 1893. firahger was la- m» owned by 1). MacDougal-l. North Sydney. As Stranger was one 01 the best horses in his time in the Marltimes, he our. Island‘ brand goods on the top of the market. Another item of interest to our old time sports would be tllc bile! history of the horse Baron Wilkes who died at Baron Wilkes Flinn. (named in his honor). moorla- Kansas, on Fohmary 25th, 1913, at the age of 31 years, having been fooled in 1862 in Fayette County. Kentucky, where he was bred by one Byron Hurst. Baron Wilke-i was a. horse whose fame will die only when the Pwlllfi ‘lilll 11° llmg‘ in Gaul. Ho had bCCll mviicd by the Romans to "assume the pur- ple" when Severus was in the east. and it was tho knowicdelfl bl "ll-l that determined the Emperor to destroy him.

Rather than risk an open on- counter with a Ylvfil s0 llflvlllll‘ and so well SilppllPd with troops. Severus 5011x111. in nccnmplbh hl5 pllFpOSfl h,v iveaohory- llr: sPlll- Pi lnltoi‘ cimvhrrl in irrms ol Ill" most affectionate friendship, and instruc-iorl the couriers that if tlwy were admitted 1o n private inter- view wit]. Albiuus, they should 1n- stantly slay him, but if they were not admitted they should bribe his servants to administer poison. which the Elmperor supplied fol‘ the purpose. No sooner 111111 these messongcm arrived in Britain. than the Governor-who well kllew the treacherous character of se- verus-had them arrested, and tortured till (hey made e. full coll- fession. They were immediately executed. Albiuus, Seeing that hi5 only hope lay in speedy action, de- clared ivar and marched into Gaul. lie was accompanied by an army of 150.000 men. if we can believe filo nncvult hlstoliall Xyphllinus. from whom these d0- tails arr‘ viva-an: it is certain that the soldiers vrorc sufficiontlv num- erous and brave to leave the is=uo long in doubt in n contest ngafilst all the forces oi‘ the Empire under the command of the Bnpcrcr him- self. Ths decisive battle which put an end to the ambitious pro- jects of Albinus by death rmd sv- cured the ‘Etm-pire to Severus, was fought at. Lynlw: in Gaul on the

10th of Felarnzuj: A. l7. 107.

on the premises, and luvs the

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(O. I. llldKsnlo)

- Yorke 2.04 1-4, Ferlno 2.05 1-2 and

m‘ kill“ of the trottcr iur he was the grvutcst son of that great la- nuly inuitivl‘ George Wilkes.

lib. 1.11m: as a 511T.‘ oi early and extreme speed won for him the nicknnnie oi the “Futurity Sire" I01‘ lu- wus one of the firs: whose gel. iloiivu curly and with little cduculion being endowed with na- iural speed. During his greatest fame w; a sire he was owned by Coioncl R0- beri. G. Stoner of Mi. Sterling. Kentucky, who sold him i0 Colonel John E. Shnyer when he was six- teen, fcr the large sum of $25,000.- 00. Bcron Wilkes was a son of George Wilkes and his dam was Belle Paichen 2.08 l-4 by Mambrl- no Patchen, second dam Sally Chorlster, a daughter of Mambriflo Choristcr. Baron Wilkes obtained his recorl of 2.18 at Lexington, Kentucky, on Novcnlbci‘ 1st, 11588 as a. six year old. As a sire he was remarkably suc- crssful, his sons and daughters being noted for their lllllllly. 11c ulrui the sire of 119 tvottcrs and 34 paccrs while '13 of his sons sired 564 trctters and 226 pacers and 106 daughters produced 175 trotters and. 48 pacers. Of his sons some of tho most successful as sires were Muko, (tho sire of Mr. J. H. G. ivlurphys Prince Marjorl, who sired such outstanding horses as Brenda.