The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

————————-) Poultry. FAVEROLLES. Although one of the most useful- fowls the Faverolle has lost favour somehow and is not fed nearly so much now as a few years back. When bred along the right 1 nes they make good layers and the egg has a nice tint on it which is liked by the consumer, and they prove a very useful table fowl, either kept pure or used as a cross. Some breeders don't like five toes, though ths should not make much dif- ference, and while it is not usual to sit a hen with five toes, I have known Faverolles hatch off good broods and make excellent mothers. All the need is care and keeping quiet, then the Faverolles can be used very success- fully for hatching, this making them au all- round fowl which can do all that the owner requires of them. Like all other fowls, they need keeping dry, otherwise when the mud and beard is grown very heavy it hangs about the face and when wet is Pable to cause a cold on much the samp lines as in the Houdan. The Faverolle is a hardy fowl which would suit a, smallholder because it meets all his needs and will stand confinement well, though lik- ing a field run for breeding. When kept on the intensive principle thev have done very well, though not broken records, but the eggs are all of a saieah'e size and colour. Then all the cockerel,, can soon be ready for killing, and at s'xteen weeks old they make a very nice chicken. The white skin and legs helps than when put on the bench, and. if properly fatted they carry a good amount of meat on the breast which is very sweet and juicy. There is very little advantage to be gained by cross- ing for table through using an Indian game costume with Faverolle hens, but as the pul- lets will not mak- good d.yers they should all be killed off as soon as ready. But for the man who wants a few laving pullets therf is no object in crossing. because he. can then 'raise as many as possible, keeping the pullets for laying and the. cockerels will sell well for ,table. I,, making up a pen select hens which havp a long breast with fine skin and not too big bone, while t11" cock must also have a long breast, perfectly straight, and free from any crack or twist. I never l'ko a big cock for the breeding pen, for whilP it does not add mtich size in the chickens, the big ccck will. not prove so fertile, as a smaller bird, and every breeder wants a chick from every fgg. A good aetive cock will manage, eight liors very well and nearly every egg fertile. The most gen- eral colour is the salmon, which has been caned the French Dorking because they cer- tainly possess many of the good qualities which are features of the old Dorking. When kept for utility only the colour is not so im- portant. though there is no reason why a good- coloured fowl should not lay as well as a bad one. The cockerel should ha.ve a sound black breast, nice silvery neck, and saddle back with a brown shading on the back and shoulders* The hen must be a wheaten colour, pale on the breast, but run darker on top almost t ke the colour on the cock's back, and yet free from any black in thft neck backle, a failing which is seen in so many of the utility bred pullets. Then there is the white Faveroflea which have all the characteristics of the samon except that they are not bred so much. The colour is pure, while they have all the feat- ures of the breed. A later rival is the blue, and these can be had as good ag any salmon in tbs hens, though not jet in the ccck3.

t Mr. PRIZE GARDEN SEEDS Seeds tnis Seisin 1 won 12 First Prizes, 9 Second H I prizes, and 5 Third Pr.zes. Also won First Prize for H Vegetable Garden, the Council's Challenge — Cup and Purse and a further |/l Challenge Cup for :nost First jgfk 1L 19 Prizes. Your Peerless Onion m.M M a\solo^k *• it*i l'ruses in Wt — m mJtmm I^priz^AROSMKOSI GJBBT GREAT SPECIAL OFFHK CATALOGUE OF PRtZli SEE Da for 1920 is NOW N >jn READY. Send (or YOU R. F REE copy. ||U^ GIBBS' SEEDS hjve all been well harvested and arc looking splendid. Both germination a.id y purity are excellent. THOUSANDS OF Growers IN WALES testify that GIBBS' PRIZE SEEDS arc M the LIERT in the WORLD. 50«000 testimonials. M E.T AIBBSI?.&H.S.. The Prize Seedsman, t EAST T1NCH1.CY. Please post early.

TOBACCO POWDER I (Free of Duty since 1866). For Lice and all Skin troubles in Cattle, Horses Pigs etc., for preventing Fly on Sheep and Warble Fly in Cattle, also for Fleas, etc. on Dogs, Cats, Poultry and their nests. NON-POISONOUS- No risks from CHILL as by Washing. Approved by Board of Agricull In Tins, Is. 6d. and 3s.; also in Bu. Also Corry's Ringworm Lotion, Equisan Mange Specific, Maggot Lotion, Foot Rot Lotion, ett MaBufactured by CORRY and CO., LTD., Shad Thames, London. S.E. <

Cycling Notes. II CYCLING. V Christmas Cycling.—The character of Christ- mas cycling uepenus on the weatucr. If wa have crsp, frosty days, then the bicycle will come out from thousands of homes. There is no better appetiser for the Christmas dinner than a spin on a frosty morning; per- SOHaJ!)', my practice for years has been to spend the day in the open and have dinner about six in the evening. One comes home so gloriously fit that the dinner is memorable, and though the oto,ks at home may chafe, the method has its advantages over that of sleep- ing off the afternoon. The worst time in & Christmas r de is usually tho first ten minutes, Once one has got thoroughly warm, the joy begins..Therefore, there is wisdom in revers- ing the usual rule, and "going all out" to II start with. Cycling with ch.Lcd lia.nds and feet is not joyful, but when the circulation is going one may, literally "not care if it snows." MOTOR CYCLING. The Need for Cleanliness.—To ensure satis- t, factory running every working part of the motor cycie must be kept scrupulously clean. t Especially important is this point so far as the petrol supply and the o 1 feed are coii"- cerned. A minute speck of any foreign mat- } erial in the former is sufficient to choke the ( jet, with the result that tho engine ceases to work. Dirt in the lubricating system may take away considerably from the efficiency of the engine, and at all costs it must be pre- vented from entering Make it a rule to strain all petrol and o"I alike, using wash- leather for the former and gauze for the atter. Wash-leather is little used for this purpose, but it is the best straining material I know. Motor Cycling for Health.—Provided tliab things are taken easily, there is no more healthy recreation than motor cycling. It is a grand way of obtaining abundant fresh air. "nvigorating both mind and body. Particu- larly to those who live in our cities and towns does the pastime make a very strong appeal. It enables them to get away from the narrow streets and bricks and mortar into the open country and into the pure, sweet air of the countryside. Motor cycling is not only a summer pastime; it is equal.y enjoyable during the wintek- mozitli4. 'A hav-o fyad a mosfe delightful tr»|> to-day a'ong the roads that j w«re neither wet nor dusty and with just that touch of frost in the air which is so ex- hilarating. I left home about 8-30 a.m. and got back about four p.m., just. as it was be- ginning to get cold and dark. Every mile of the hundred odd miles I did gave me intense" pleasure. Perscmally, I am very keen or winter riding, providing, of course, the con- ditions are not too bad. fllie man who re- ligiously puts away his machine on the approach of winter is making a huge mistake- MOTORING Electric Heaters for Carburetters.—The time is fast approaching when a large nulu- bcr of motorists will be realizing that t is DO easy matter to start up on the low grade petrol with which we have to put up to-day- It is no light task to swing tho engine and continue to swing it until the petrol has vap- orated sufficiently to give a decent firing mix- ture. The best solution of which I have yet heard s to fix a small electrical heating device to the carburetter, and in this way ensure proper vapourisation. Such an apparatus need not. be expensive. If the car is electrically lighted, the same source of supply of current; can be uti-ised. On the other hand, if Vqertv be no electric light outfit a four-volt accumu- lator will answer the purpose. It is surpris- ing that no one has as yet thought of putting such a dev'ce on the market. It would un- doubtedly have a huge sale. Four Road Wheel Brakes.-In pre-war days many of the cars competing in the Con- tin'ental road races were fitted with brakes operating on all of the four road wheels. This system has been adopted in many foreign touring cars, but, although eminently suitable in the hands of experts for high-speed road work, they possess certain disadvantages in the hands of the average amateur driver. The sudden application of the brakes acting on the front wheels w; 11 generally cause a bad skid which may resuH in a serious accident, This disadvantage can, however, be overcome by judicious handling. A fault which is of more s (r;Oi)s import lies in the fact that breai- ing the front wheels inflicts a very severe strain upon the axle and, unless th s be well braced up there is grave danger of the axl& becoming twisted and the steering pivots set Oftr.

CORRESPONDENCE. MERiONETH^EDUCATION COMMITTEE. Dear S r ,-1 observe, in your report of the' proceedings of the meeting of the Education Committee at Dolgelley, on the 4th Decem- ber, that Mr. R. T. Jones who is, I think, a county councillor, said that he had been told en good authority that it was the policy of the N.U.T. to discourage boys from entering the profession. It ought not to be necessary for ma to write denying that statement, as we are continually making efforts to improve the position of the profession of teaching so as to make it more attractive and thus to obtain a full supply of teachers to the schools. Mr Jones has been misinformed, and I should be glad to know what his "good authority" for the statement is. It is no part of the policy ot the Union—and it has never been a part ot the policy of the Union—to discourage beys I from enter'ng the profession. If Er Jones's ) meaning is merely that schoolmasters, still bad!(y paid themselves and hitherto badly pen- sioned, could not find it in tl.eir hearts to article their own sons to the profession or recommend other parents to do so, that has beon, no doubt, pretty frequently the case. But that is the attitude of individual teachers, and cannot bo characterised as action by the Union.-Youi-s fa thfully J. H. Yoxall, Secretary. THE LIGHTING OF ABERYSTWYTH. Sir,-I should be glad if you would allow me space in your columns to thank our Town Council for the beautiful a'ec-ric lamps which they are installing in most parts of our town, which I trust will continue. By the way, they should not. forget some of the other streets. Why not have a lamp lit at the Cambrian- stijeet icntranco from Terraco-road; two in Smith field- ioad; and one at the Drill Hall entrance in case of accident? IIow are the firemen to seo the Fire Station when the streets arc dark? A lamp there would show the Fre Station. By the way, why not light up the convenience in Smithfield-road, the same as the one at the Town Hall?—Yours, etc.. Ratepayer. December 18th, 1919. 1 TOWYN ASSEMBLY ROOMS. I Sir,—I have read the correspondence of H.R. in the above; but never in my life have I read a more flimsy letter. I He makes a false step at the start wihen he states that the, Council will not, tpke the trouble to ascertain the true fearing of the town respecting the purchase of the Assembly Rooms. That is an absolute untruth. The Counc1 wero well aware of the feeling of the public on this matter before thev started, and as they are the leading part of the community they are the mten to lead the public in such matter of importance. Isn't that the case w th all bier movements in town? But some people, if they don't get their own way, will shout for the people's decision when the people arc not in a position to grasp the question. But in this case the matter of purchasing the Assemb'y Rooms had been well ventilated by the public for months, and everything went on smoothly and orderly until the end. It there was any objection to this from the public surely they ought to call a public meeting; but there was no, objection whatever from the public, or they would appear in that capacity at the enquiry. To say the Towyn. tes were not keen on this matter is absurd. I maintain that the public should be the owners of 'all public rooms of this kind: and with all sin- cerity I say that not only this roomi would ■never como a. burden oil the rates, but- it would provr, to the town to be of a financial success, as it has been in years past. The Inspects had net the authority to express his opinon: and his opinion did not matter. It was the uuMIc body in wlicm tin- pubVc were repre- sented that had to make out a. case. and they submitted a good case, and the majority of those present were in favour of the purchase: but the minority won the case. How would it be if the whole town would be fav- ourabe at the enquiry? Jt's on'y a farei to talk about the pub-ïc and the majority when the majorHv are ignored in a most disrespectful manner "as in this matter find other matters. In reference to what Mr. Richard Jones had said that he invited the Council to resign en masse, "H.R." said that that would not in- volve anything very calamitous. So far as that did only involve persons it did not matter much; but so far as that the resignat'on of the Council would mean in principle it would mean a disaster. If ths Council did resign, life would 'not be arrestyed, but tiflj would be deserted. How long is Towyn going to be at logger- heads with every movement in town? With all the chapels and Church praying and preaching is this tIll" result? What if ths princi.tle, prevailed dtiriri, wnr time amongst our boys? Every man would agrcfe. as to what the* resvlfc world be. In every- day lifo everyone outrht to -null together. or. Towynites let us stand by the Council and let etc., RTI

HOW To p E B L p 1 AND TO KEEP FIT TAKE QWILYM EVANd" Q U I N INE B IT T B R S. It in 6cientifically ptepaied by Qualified 'Vt'iSr'* GM" E"'0r" lnd Natural When'vo 4°f Jfar" hfW acfced lik« a charm, vvnen you feel run down. When there is a lack of cheerfulness When there is a want of go. Wne«taerLila °f#Dd heIpl<MS E? be almo^f unbearable. There never was a time when it was more necessary to be well and keep well. Do not resort to alcoholic stimulants and their depressing after-effects. The strength of all Sptrits is reduced, and the price far and away beyond the reach of most people. Take QWILYM gVANS' QUININB JJITTERS. It will take away the craving for aloohol. It will sarve you pounds in doctors' bills. notice the effect upon your health. How much better you will feel in the morning and in the evening, when the day's work is done. You will then enjoy your food and your labour will be a pleasure. Sleeplessness. It wiil purify the blood and stimulate the cir- culation. It w81' assist and promote digestion and Im- prove the appetite. It braces the nerves and fortifies the muscles. It rouses the sluggish liver and thus enlivens the spirits. It removes all impurities and obstructions from the human body and gives tone to the whole By stem. There is no Better Tonic that you can take in spring and summer. Remevnber there is only one genuine GWILYK VANS' QUININE gITTERS. REMEMBER, Gwilym Evans' Quinine Bitters is the Original and only Genuine. Remember also there is no other preparation of Quinine just as good. REFUSE ALL SUBSTITUTES and insist upon having the Original and only Genuine. It is sold by all Chemists and Stores, in bottles at 3s and 5a. (a great saving by taking the larger size), or will be sent, carriage paid, on receipt of Postal Order by the sole It is Nature's Cure for Anaemia, Neuralgia, anli THE GWILYM EVANS' QUININE B Proprietors:— LLANlLiY, SOUTH WALES.

Farmer's Column. AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR NOVEMBER. Throughout most of the country the Novem- ber weather was ve.y favourable to autumn cult'-va.i-on. and sowing, the exc ption being "he north eastern counties where frost and snow, followed by rain, ser10u ,ly;nterfered with work. In Wales and a lew other local- tias th're wee stoppages of icnger or shorter duration. Except in tue nor> Ti-east therefore, where tiie positon is no. far from n rma, autumn work Is considerably more advances th n i. us. a. a.t time of year. Speaking g n al y, t.he coid weather has caused ^erminat on of the winter corn lo be slow, but :t "s a satfefacco y plant, more espcc* c,l]y where sc-wn ear y. It is e" ¡mated that about three-fourths of /h i area mtended whe-it have ooen awd that the area a.ready at tualTy eeled s about the same as n 1st December y ar when the season more backward. Of other wint T corn, b> ■ it* the same a: ca as last year has now been ic-wn. Potatoes have nearly all been ifbi under cry favourable cc.nditions; ave in the ex- treme south western counties, where disease is reported 10 be rather prevalent, the crop is sound and unusually free from d-seas. The tuber:, are, however smart. The total pro- duction in England and Wales, from an area of 475,000 a.:res, amounts to 2,732,000 tons, be-in", at the rate of 5.7 tons per acre, or thr e-fifths of a ron below the average. Mangolds havo now been clamped ncn,rly everywhere, though some fields here and there are reported not to have been pulled; there is not much mention of damage by frost. Turnips and swedes are beimg rased wher ever it is not intended to fe oJ them on the ground. Roots generally are sound and in very good condition; but the yield has been sma>l.° Mangolds have yielded 16 tons to th-4 acre, nearly 3i tons below the average, said the teal production, 6,320,000 tons, is nearly 2 miilica tons below last year. The total production, of turnips and swedes is estimated to be 11,190,000 tons at the rate of 11.4 1<ma to the acre, some. 800,000 tons below year. As thrv yield of hay was also very 15gh\ about 5,200,000 tons, there is a shortage of all tho tbreo principal kinds of winter feeding stuffs and: farm<«rs will hiuve to exercise the greatest. cara to make them last through the wMfltcr Compared with the past ten years, th«re is a shortage in Eng:and and Wales of nearly 2 million tons of mangolds, over 2 nation tens of turnips &nd swedes, and nearly 21 million tons of hay. Barley is also 300,000 quarters less than usuaJ, bUll. owing to the 'oere-ased acrctigo thoro are fully 800,000 more quarters of oats. Live stock, owing to the very cold weather and generally bare condition of the pastures, have only done moderately well during the month. They beon brought in from the fields usual, and farmers have been obliged to break into the scanty supply of winter <> food before the normal time. Ordinary farm labour has everywhere sufficient, and in some cases plentiful; skilled | labour is ttill scarce, although complaints on this ground arc begiunng to be less numercua. THE IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LAND. In a note publshed last week was stated that arc about seventeen rnilion acres of grass land in. England and Wales, and that very much of this vast area is in need of close attention. Grass lamd, as every farmer knows, is of several types. Permanent gracs includes fields that have been down for over twenty years, and much of the best permanent grass of the country has been established for weul over a century. It varies in quality from the famous fattening pasture's of Northampton- shire and adjacent counties, capable of fat- tening a beast per acre without concentrated food, down to the rush and sedge pastures or mountain and hill grazing country. The her. b&g J of all permanent pasture cons s's almost entirely of Indlgenou, species. They take time to ertabKsh themselves and a.re he'ped by adequate manures and judlaious stock.-ng. Tile best of grasses usually present are pednnial- rye-gra s, mcrdow fescue, rough-stalked mea- dow gr¡¡¡.s and meadow fox-ia.I. On second class land we find crcsled tail and sweet vernal gras3. cass stalked meadow grass and various fine-loafed fescues; .pereurvial- rye-grass do s not make up more tharn fifteen or twenty per cent of the herbage and other valuable gras es arc found only in small quantities. The poorest class of grass devoted chiciiy to carrying cattle* and sheep contans a large admixture, of bent, sheep's fesaui and heath gra'-s. White clover is an iIn. portant element in all the best perman<vit grass 2illd in dealing with poor so;1s an effort should be made to render them more fertile ard therefore better suited to the vi^uable grasses which will make a natural appearance in due course. On Vhe poorest of soils the introduction of wild white clover seed gener- ally effects remarkable improvement.. It is usually only possible to improve any particular class of grazing land by putfng .t into the class immediately above Thus mountain and lull grazing country may be improved so that white clover, crcstei dog's tal, red fes- cue and rough-sts iked m;,w.ow grass, will flourish, and the pasture will carry an in- creased and more varied head of stock. ftrass row carrying store cattle and can be improved to maintain forward animals and become of more vahle to 1,t}¡o dairy farmer. Good second class gra«»r, may be convert*! to carry Ia:rger and better herds of daIfY cattle or liven fatten boasts. The adoption of the graduated method of grass land improvement would add so much to flhe valuable herbage of the country that thousands of of poor and moderate grass could be brought, under an arable rotation without appreciably affect- ing the grazier. HOW TO REDEEM TITHE. People who have lately acquired agricultural ear'ates and farmers who have recently come into possession of their farms will doubt'a~a bes a little puzzled, possibly even displeased to find a half yearly or yearly summons to pay tithe and there is no re £ i <>n to doubt that many owners of land would prefer if it Were possible to 1"dlhemseltes of tin liabiU'y. Thinks to the Ti'the Act of 1918 this is easily done, and at a reasonable cost; indeed during the part twelve moiiths applications for r demption of tithe ren.1 cha-rgo amounting to nearly seventeen thousand pounds, and to capital values of about £300;000 have reached tha Board. Although the ttthe included in these applications must be regarded as consi. derable, being for nearly eleven limes as much as in the applications received between the 1st December 1912, a-nd 30th November 1913, the Tithe Bill of 1918 ha* not completely fulfilled the hopes of some of its supporters. Undoubtedly applications would havo been larger but for the widespread belief that redemption proceed<ngs involved landowners in a considerable amount of t'ouh e. In point of faint nothing more » required in the great majority of cases 'han that the applicant should write to the Board of Agriculture, giving particulars of the fc'tfoe rent charge he wishes I redeem, together with the names and addresses of the owner a.1\d collector of the charge. All other work farSI upon officers of the Board. It is of interest to note that at thu momenb, where bthe rent charge is payable to the I incumbent nl right of his benefice, he cost of redemption works out ait about seventeen years' purchase of the present annual value. Where tithe rent charge is otherwise he'd, the consideration is about fifteen and a half years purchase. Those people who eanKOt supply correct particulars of the tithe rent oharga fihouJd send to the Board a plan of their property preferably on a 12 500 scale ordnance sheet with the boundaries of the land to be redeemed oWr'y and accurately s tt out with a coloured edging. If any fur. ther particulars are dtwired, they can be ob- tained together with the necessary forms of application free of all charge, on application- to thci Board. The Hon. E. C. Drury, the farmer who has been eected prime minister of Ontario, has stated that three-fourths of the farm houses Ontario have a telephone, and he knows one district where the local system gives day and night service for £2 a year. Mr. Drury was one of the first directors of the Farmers' Co-oporative Society and the first president of the United Farmers of Ontario. This Union has 6,000 farmer shareholders and sella about two and ,a half million pounds worth of farm produce for its member# annually and buys supplies worth nearly » million annually. Mr. Drury recently sold a cart load of lambs off his own farm through the Farmers' Co-operative Soiiety and obtained the highest price at West Toronto market-a fact which, he said, made him feel prouder than being Prime Minister of Ontario.

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HINTS FOR ALLOTMENT HOLDERS. A CHRISTMAS TASK. By SPADE-WORKER. A profitable task for the allotment holder at Christmas time is to consider the plan of cropping for the next season, and to make a list of the varieties of vegetables he in- tends to grow. The best results cannot be obtained by those who purchase their sup- plies in a haphazard fashion. It always pays to obtain seeds from a first-class firm of seedsmen, for one can then rely upon getting a good strain. "Strain" counts for a good deal in vegetable eeeds; it is possible to have good and bad strains of the best- known varieties, for the latter deteriorate if the work of selection is not carefully per- formed season after season. That is why it pays to buy the best seeds. NEXT YEAR'S POTATOES. I notice that firms who deal in seed pota- toes are now paying increased attention to those varieties which are resistent to wart disease or black scab. That seems to me to be a very wise move, for this incurable disease has now spread throughout so many areas that one cannot be sure that one's own neighbourhood will be free another season, and it is as well to be on the safe «ide antT"lo plant immune varieties. Some of the latter are just as good as the best of the susceptible varieties, and one may as well grow them in preference to the latter. Among first early varieties there are such sterling potatoes as Resistant Snowdrop, Edaell Blue (for those who like a coloured potato), Witch Hill Early, and Arran Rose, a new variety that is we'll epoken of. That old favourite, Sharpe's Express, is unfortu- nately not immune to wart disease, but of course those whose allotments are not in a scheduled area may plant it if they wish to do so. There are some splendid immune potatoes among the second earlies. euch for example as Great Scot, The Ally, Burnhouse Beauty, and the new Arran Comrade. That great favourite British Queen is, alas! not among the immune potatoes, but it is such an excellent variety that those who are not restricted in their choice will no doubt wish to include it. Kerr's Pink. Tinwald Per- fection, Abundaflce, and Langworthy are some of the best main crop immune varie- ties. The popular coloured potato, King Edward, is not immune, neither ií" Arran Chief, another well-known and widely-grown variety. I would strongly urge upon all allotment holders to order their seed potatoes without delay, and as soon as they are received they should be set up in shallow boxes to sprout. That is one of the chief aids to success. With reference to other varieties of vege- tables, &uch for example as peas, beans, tomatoes, sprouts, etc., I should be glad to hear from readers who have discovered any particularly good varieties. PRIZEWINNING HINTS. A prize of "The Garden: How to Make it Pav is won by Mr. W. Chew, for this ex- cellent hint: Try the following plan for obtaining early lettuce, and preparing the ground for celery at the same time. Growing Lettuce and Celery. Early in Fcoi-uarv wn a trench lift, wide and lit. 6in. deøp, banki,ng up the earth on each side. Fork tho bottom, it.ii;cc er with a 6in. layer of manure and decayed leaves, placing 3in. of soil on them. Sow some "All the Year Round lettuce seed in a frame or box covered with glass, and they will he ready to transplant in the trench early in March. When planting, arrange in two rows, 1ft. apart (as shown by circles in sketch). When the celery plants are bought they can be placed in positions A, B, C, D, E. etc. The lettuce will be ready for use when the celery is planted, or very soon after. THE VALUE OF ASHES. Thero is a little manurial value in coal Ashes if the report of an American investi- gator is to believed, but in any case, whether that is true or not, I am sure that the judicious use of fine coal ashes ia of value on heavy land. Any part of the allotment which is vacant and thrown up roughly for the winter, will derive consider- able benefit if fine ashas are iscatwed on from time to time. I would not use them on light land, but they certainlv do help in making clayey ground workable and in draining it. It is not generally known how useful ashes are for keeping away slugs from special plants or seedlingw. Place i, ring of this material round the plants, and slugs will rarely pass it. PRUNING RASPBERRIES. Unless raspberry canes aTe properly pruned they form a thicket in the course of a. few years, and the fruit is inferior in quality and less in quantity than from a properly tended plantation. It is a good plan at this season to look over the pants, and to cut out all canes or ;-tenis except those of the past summer's growth; these must not be interfered with, because they will bear next year's crop. But it some- times happens that even these new canes are too numerous, and it is bad policy to allow them to become crowded. Not more than hqdf a dozen or so should be left at each clump. Unless the plants are securely sup- ported it is advisable to shorten the øaneJ; by ten inches or so. PRIZE COMPETITION FOR ALLOT- MENT HOLDERS. Every week two prizes are offered for the best allotment hint or recipe. The prizes consist of useful gardening books. All en- tries for this competition must be addressed "Spadeworker," care of Editor of this paper. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. L. L.—If the grass has died, soot will do n" good. You must fork up the bare patches, add fresh soil, and sow grass seed 11 in spring. Cecilia.—Strawberries arc best planted in August or September. They may be planted in March for fruiting the following year. Cherry trees as a rule require little pruning; it is carried out similarly to the pruning of plum trees. E. S. K.—You cannot grow King Edward 11 potato in your district. Try Kerr's Pink. I "Spadeworker" is open to give practical advice, free of charge, to readers of this paper. Replies will be sent by poet if a stamped addressed envelope is enclosed. Address your inquiries to "Spadeworker" care of Editor.

LLANARTH. THE SOCIETY FOR MUTUAL IMPROVE- MENT.—Under the patronage of the Society a lecture was delivered by the Rev. W. Wil- liams, Now Qutgr, on his experience as one of the officials of the Y.M.C.A. in Palestine. A vote of thanks was proposed by Misg Long- croft, Llanina, and seconded by Mr. Bevan. Would it not be of considerable advantage if the Committee secured a lecturer to explan measures brought before Parliament, the party who introduced and support-ed them, and their special object, e.g., the Disabling Bill and what its opponents eall the Gambling Bill, and especially the Dumping Bill. What was their primary object and what in them that created such uncompromising opposition. That would enlighten voters on the doings of Par- liament. He would from their knowledge know who to vote fbr. It would spare the un- fair private canvasse»r. Each voter would know for whom to vote, and why, it would be of great advantage to have more to Totem.

De-Control and' 'Cheaper Food." MR. McCURDY ON A DELUSION. At the Ministry of Food at the present t'ima. said Mr. C. A. McCurdy, M.P., 1n a. speech a.t Reading on November 25th, the possibility of an oar'y r moval of control on mea-i. supplier, both home-grown and imported, is bang carefully considered. S:) far as such suppliee for the net fow months are concerned, therl will be no shortage of meat in this country; but the interest of agr.uu vire at home and of th. oensumer are not limited to what may ■ apyen 'the next six months. The pJpulM bel'ief Vsa.: the removal of war restrictions a.nd controls of every kind w .th regard to the supply and distribution of food would lead to any substantial reduction cf pric. i" a pure denus-'on. None would be more pleased than Food Ocmtrolier to remoVe evc-fy restrri- tion and control that exists if it could h i dome with saf city; but it is useles' to rgnore the i'act that in the case of many essentia-l foodstuffs, as in the case of mo t of the commrdifc'es of winch the world stands in n <ed, there is an actual shortage which must become sharpiy accentuated if the European demand become* eif tcUve before the shortage of pro- d\;crion is made good. The normal factors wh'ch enable the laws of supply and demand to regulate prices and bring aboiit a parity of prices in all countries is t mporal"ly susp: inclel. Transport, exchange and credit have been dislocated by tlhe war; unti) thete three factors aro restored to some- thing lik« normal worlt;ng t is easy to have apparent surpluses in Line plaoe, such as the resemt temporary glut of in the London Docks, w: £ h a complete scarcity in another, such as tho starvation conditions which prevail in Austria at present tnue. In 1920 one of two things must ha.ppeil1- either Europe will to a large extent remain without creche faciViies and other means for restoring European industry, in which case the trade conditions of the world wiil suffer- in a corresponding degrec:,or these facilities will be rwhored, in which casi the effective world demand for foodstuffs and for raw materials will be correspondingly increased. The rise in world pr-, consequent upon th i fall of production and inflation of credit, has temporar-iy swept away all economic land- marks. It fs a. situation very favourable for ilhe profiteer. Ap"i?i> from the Profi eeting Act, the Ministry of Food An this country still finds 't neces ary to maintain and to enforce con- trol of p ices by continuous prosecutions. In four weeks recen"y 871 prosecutions for profi- teering in food supplies were instituted by th« Ministry of Fod, 816 conviction." were ob'ia ned and the total ftrjes amounted to over £4,000. These figur is indicate that would not yet be safe toca/'y to remove res trictions upon profiteerano- in controlled articles of focd.

FLOUR MILLING FOR EXPORT. WHAT CAN BE DONE IN DEVELOPING NEW MARKETS. By the EDITOR of The Miller." Tho gospel of increased production, which has been preached not only by the Prime Minister but by all loading politi- cians, arouses the attention of flll mem- bers of the community who are engaged in the production of articles of commerce, and therefore some consideration as to its applicability to the flour milling industry of the United Kingdom should be of inte- rest at the present moment. The national I income as expressed in money has nearly doubled, but its intrinsic value cannot be doubled until not only this country, but the world as a whole, produces twice ros riuch in commodities as in pre-war times. Recognition of these facts when consi- dering the possibility of the increased pro- duction of flour may give rise to doubts as to its applicability to the flour milling irdustry, ts the consumption of flour under normal conditions may be taken as a, more or less fixed quantity, a gradual increased consumption being noted upon the increase of population which takes place annually. The question, therefore, of increasing the world's production of t11Ï,; commodity does not arise to the same extent. But there is another aspect of the question which should be investigated, that involving the manufacture of the supplies which ere required to meet the demands of the populations who use wheaten flour as a principal article of diet. The problem of increased produc- tion. from mills in Great Britain can only he iwcomplislied Niicces-sfully tvlieu fresh markets have been opened op and the needs of other nations supplied. OUR PRE-WAR EXPORTS. The serious attention which the Govern- ment has directed to the question of in- creasing the exportable surplus of manu- factured goods should be sufficient induce- ment for the millers of the United King- dom to consider fully the possibilities of securing a market overseas for the product of their mills. Our pre-war exports of flour were chiefly confined to the Scandi- navian countries, Denmark, the Channel Islands, Russia and Malta, the demand being principally confined to flour of low grade. Practically no demand existed for flour of high grade quality manufac- tured in Great Britain, this trade resting solely in the hands of our American com- petitors owing to the suitability of their product to meet the requirements of the countries concerned, the low grade flour supplied by British millers being accepted on account of the attraction of the low prices quoted. Owing to the changed con- ditions in tha milling industry of this country wrought by the exigencies of the war situation, and the limitation of the transportation of the, goods from various centres, imposed by the anticipated in- crease in railway freights, the future pros- perity of the industry will rest very largely in the exportable surplus which can be disposed of. Judging from the adapta- bility of the millers of the United King- dom, there are no serious obstacles to prevent them from making a determined bid for the whole of the flour import trade of the countries mentioned; but rather are there circumstances in their favour which would considerably help in the accomplishment of that object. The chief attraction which the American product has, and which enables it to find such a ready market in preference to Eng- lish milled flour, is its strength and water absorbing properties, so that these factors liaye to be taken into consideration when efforts are being made to secure a footing in foreign markets. QUICK SERVICE. The Scandinavian countries, which are in such close proximity to England, open a very wide field for British activities, as the one outstanding feature of such a connection would be the quick service which millets of the United Kingdom oould offer, a factor of great importance in days of keen competition. This in; it- self is certainly a great asset, as cargoes from America afe often weeks in transit during which time supplies may have be- come exhausted. At certain periods of the year, market fluctuations make it ad- visable to confine purchases to bare riCeds, no excessive stocks being carried, and, take full advantage of such, supplies,must bo within an easy distance in orddr to prevent a. shortage from interfering with deliveries to customers. In the past very little attention has been given to the ques- tion of exporting the higher grades of flour, as all efforts were concentrated upon the introduction into the provincial towns and rural districts of tho country, the special brands manufactured to the de-' triment not only of the inland miller, but the trade as a whole, as the out-throat competition which was then prevalent proved. In view, therefore, of the urgent de- mand for increased exports, a new per- spective must enter into the business aims of the export millers of this country, with the object of contributing their fair share towards the future welfare of the nation. The present capacity of the mills of the United Kingdom is far in excess of the requirements of the population of these Islands, so that but very little additional expenditure in the manufacturing costs would be necessary to meet the demands of overseas markets. It is to be hoped, therefore, that no time will be allowed to elapse before efforts are made to secure a footing in the European flour markets, as the present control of wheat and flour prices will, in all probability, be removed early in the New Year, when American supplies wil11 be readily forthcoming.

Old Time Sport. FOX HUNTING IN WALES 50 YEARS AGO. Sept snber 18th, Abermaide, Col. Pryse's Foxhounds.—Rose at quarter to six a.m., End mounted my grey mare, and took 13 couple of hounds and three terriers, to Abcr ma de, the seat of Lewib Pugh Pugh, Esq., for cub- hunting. There was large breakfast provided for the sportsmen, and stftcr waiting and re- fnfching for a short time, I smarted to drsrw to Tanrallt Covers (neare t to Castle H11) and found a brace of foxes (an old fox and a cub), but unfortunately the cub was headed back ink) cover, and the pack broke away the dtd fox, whiefi they ran aV a tremendous pace down wind and to ground in a dr'ain alt but Villain and old Lav- ish socn got in at him and bustled him out. Tha pack was soon laid on again, and streamed away at, an awful paces, close to hiip bruh, through flhe Oak Cover, down Ithe road atl Abermade and took him along the road nearly to AbeiToIwyn village, then he turned to tho loft, and crossed the' young larch ding) a, rjnd ov. :r the lawns in from of Aberllol- wyn House, across the Uanrhysi'yd road, and up the hill for sea rocks, whiich he ran along for half a mile, till he gained the da-ngerous place ac Tanjbwlch, whore we stopped the hounds, or they would have an broken theiir necks. So I made Lewis (Whip) keep the hounds with him, while I and Vz.ug'han Davies took the terriers, taking tha precaiV'ifcxn to have a rope to them. We triad to find fba fox in the rooks, and failed to do so, although we sa.w his tracks whore he had gone down. Thero were some earths close by, but in too dangerous a plaoa to get so wo were obliged to leave him. The terriers did not seem to like tho rocks at all, and I can well imagine theix fnk, for it is an awful place, only to look down, much less j" to go into, even with a. rope round you. Many a fox and many a poor hound has lo-t. his life in the same place. So, finding we could do nc«.hi:ng with him, wet returned to tha hounds, and I got my orders from the Master, (Col. Fryse) to have some drink at Vsmghan Daviess, and then to go back to Abermadn, to try and find the cub we left there in the morning. First we had some lunch a.t Alx-r- made, whioh was a grand spread, and ijiere wo e luckily several to sit down to e.at it, and then I started to draw the Tanrallt Covers again in hopes of finding cub, but Shere was no such luck for us. I drew every covar in the place and vicinity till paso tihroe, but all were blank, so gave it up, and re- turned to Kennel, after having about the busiest and fastesi 40 minutes I (wer saw or rodo to in that country, and we certainly would have killed him had it not been for those cursed sea rocks. Amongst those out were I.liWis Pugjj Pugh, Griffith Evans, Bon- sall of FronfraJuh, Morr is Davies, of Ffor- rbydygaled, a frictnd a5 Lowa Pugh's, Mo Namara, etc. On foot were Mrs Holford, who in her days of Miss Pryse, was not to be .beaten over the Welsh hills and fences, she rode like, a 'un, and was ç'ond of it and everything connected with hounds and hunting. Miss Annie Davies, another of the ght sort, used to be a clink'|r over a country on her pigeon-toed bay maro, ill she came to grief, and broke her arm. Also Mils Park was out, I had Lewis and Llewelyn as whips, and Ool. Pryse was out and enjoyed tle run immensely, althcugfi ha wa.s on foot part. of the time. Tho grey mare got the better of me in -the mornmg; it wa" raining, and tlhe stupid fools of grooms had put, soft soap on tho rein- and I coulcJ not her jll) least as she pulled very hard, and the rans kept. sapping through my fin- gers, It was impossible for me, in this pre- dicament, to attend to th hounds, ro the Colonel got off and gave me h s horse, and took my grey mare, which lie led 1 ill he got down on the road, and than he mounted her, and rode to us at Tanybwtch. It was a beia»st!y day, and rained • nce^san'ly,, but. the seenc was uncommonly good, and hounds worked well and strong. The Colonel's bay cob carneld me well, and fenced well. Vaugha« Daviles's terrier "Charlie'' was, aoon out when he hnard 'the hounds, and stuck to mo alii day' and went back to Kennel h the hounds, where hei used t obe in his has been with him ior year3. I dined and stepf;- at Wynnstay, and hunted next morning. Octobar 16th, Devil's Gallery, Sir Watkin Wlianas Wynn'.s! Foxhounds.—I drove with Sir Watkin in his brougham to the meet. Ho mounted me on his big Chesnut horse "Sam- son" the buck-jumper and kicker of renown. I rode the same horse on October 19th, 1874, he has never got- me off yat, and carries me i no fence, is too big for him, but he is very slow and rough wilh a light weight. He is well up to 19 stones, and tlie j biggest hor .e and greyest wa ght-carricr in Sir Watkin's stabbie, and very handscmo, but fu'l of dirty tricks, if you don't, watch him. 1 The following is an account of our day's sport, written out by Sir Watkin's second horseman, Jonathan Phillips, a.nd sent to me by A.bbees (Miss Wi'.lLams Wynn, Sir Watkin's eldest daughter.) Tha hounds first drew Atton Wood, and a leash of foxes, kl led one, then went on to Bryn Wood, found a fox and went away for Gredington, turned to the right through Lomax's Wood, on through he Sior lane, for Alan Sad'er's, making a ring to the right, leaving Light- wood Hall on the left for Peniey, turn ng sharp to the right through the Sior lane into Lome's, lost.—S.^nd. Jonathan Phlips. I got back to Wynnstay to lunch, and left with Lady Wynn and Abbees by the 3-50 tran from Ruabon for Bedelwyddan. the seat, of Sir Hugh Williams, Bart., where I dined and slept the night (ill (le Judge's room), Sir Hugh, Lady Williams, 4 sons and 2 daughters at home. Bodeiwyddan is a splvindid old Castle, standing in a Deer park. October 18th, Kinmel (the seat of Mr. ughm), the Baira-«aws-a-Cwrw Foxhounds.— I ha.d le.ft Bodawyddan on the Sunday, and Grenville Wiilliams drove me over to his house at Pengwern, and on the; Monday we got up early, and looked through his stock ■before breakfast. After we rode to meet the, B.C.C.H., e.it Kinmel, wliirh was abou!' 3 to 4' !m"ll«5 off. He mounted me or, his 4 year old roan oob, no name, which carried me splendidly, but was quite beat at last for want of condition. He had never been hunted before in his life, and it was marvellous how he carried mi, but he managed at last to give me a cropper by a birCh catching his tegs, but noiMrer were hurt, and fell soft into a ditch. He was a very handsome, thick-set strong pony, with good action, and pulled like tho devil. We had a deal of galloping and knocking about The following is a copy of an account of the un, sent me by William Grenvillo Williams of Pengwern, on February lOch, 1875. Found at Parc-y-mersen, left Fridd-folt, oa left, to the end of P'as-ucha, through the Beguinan to the Warren, <through Parc-y- meisen, into Kinmel Park, past the Hone's Oven, at the top of the Perk, leaving the Ogo on the right, down to Tanygroes, where crossed the r'(VKr Elwy near the iiop of I Moel-y-Goeg, down the other nnd round I iÓ the right, crossed the river before Pant M/ire&tb, and so on for Llanfair Ta.'ha iron, where we lost him after a run of two hours and forty minu'tes. The hounds were hunted by CoL Edhnund Wynne, assisted by Conwy Rowicy, both joint masters, with Henry Welh (K\H.) acting as Whip. Tuere was a good deal of bellowing and hallco ng, and jfl was a wonder the hounds hunted ai, a> I, but there were seldom more than two coup'e or so (together in the- morning. In the r«l terncon a good many of the field left, and they managed to get th jn together, and had a slow hinting run, which suited my mount, exactly, bur. I was cbiiged to stop 2i:tcr a while., my pony was dead beat, so Wj.'cams and I trotted en to Bodeiwyddan, get our lunch and gruel, led our ponies. Wil- liams was ruding his other pony, which was ve y quiet and c ever, anl up :to gteevA weight.. After feeding we trotted on to Pcrigworn, and went over the farm, djtfd at 6, and he then cent me to Rhyd station, 10 Cavch tho 9.55 tram. Amongst those out hunting were two Hughes of Kinm t!, Miss Chambers, Mis Maiaiwaring, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Bell, of Mis Maiaiwaring, Mr. Hugbes, Mr. Bell, of Betrothan; Mr Owen Williams, Ca.pt. Ocnwy, Col. Wynne, joint masters; Lord Parker, stoti- P'ng with Capti. Conwy; Capt. W. G. Wil- liams of Pftogwern, and rnyseV j| Ned A'abyna, late huntsman to <he Gc^R-ddan A'abyna, late huntsman to iheG rddian Hounls, hunted these liounch after he Gogorddan, but he did nol. like 'them, alIIt.11 left, and want to hunt the VaJe of Gwili j LI. IV. L'oyd, in Cardigaaishire.

Tlie annual meeting of the pension fund in connection with Messrs. Cadbury's Works at Bornvilie was held on the 15th '.nst., at which the annual report and balance sheet were adopted and n^sprond. accumlated funds t-t the end of the jctic amount to £ 369.651. a.J against 2307,575 at the end of the previous year. The total received in interest and div- idends on invested funds during the year amounts to 911,937, and the total amount paid in pensions to £ 2,814. As the fund is com- paratively young (it was started 'n 1906), The number of pensioners is on'y 27 in the general fund and 18 in the war relief section. During the year the sum £ 58,305 has beerj invested. Of this amount £27,800 was invested in British Government securities. Owing to the exceed- ingly heavy demand in respect to payment of income tax on pensions funds such as this, re- presentations have recently been made to the, Board of Inland Revenue and to the Royail Commission on Income Tax asking for more favourable terms. The membership of the fund at the end of the jrear was 3,C65, as against 3,008 at the end of the previous year. The fund is divided into four sections, viz., general fund, towards which the members itr, I firm subscribe equal amounts; war relief fund, towards which the firm 'has subscribed the sum of £ 10,000; supplementary pensions fund, towards which the firm has gWcn a further £ 10,000; and the pensioners' widows' fund, to- wards which the firm has up to date paid ever the sum of 225,000.

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