■Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
121 
Business 
The  Business  of  Journalism 
It  is  reported  that  Mrs.  Cora  G. 
Lewis,  in  a  recent  address  before  the 
students  in  industrial  journalism,  at  the 
Kansas  Agricultural  College,  made  the 
following  statement: 
A  young  woman  who  takes  euoli  a 
course  as  is  given  by  this  college  can 
readily  go  out  into  Kansas  and  run  a 
successful  newspaper.  She  will  find  it  a 
most  remunerative  field,  as  well  as  one 
ottering  abundant  opportunity  for  com¬ 
munity  service.  There  is  a  loug  list  of 
Kansas  women  who  have  performed 
wonderful  service  to  the  State  as  owners 
of  newspapers  and  as  writers  for  papers, 
A  goodly  number  of  these  have  gone  on 
to  work  in  the  other  fields  of  literature. 
If  Mrs.  Lewis  really  made  this  state¬ 
ment.  she  gave  those  young  women  what 
seems  to  ns  very  po  >r  advice.  It  is  true 
that  We  never  enjoyed  the  privileges  of 
a  college  course  in  journalism,  and  very 
likely  some  30  years  of  practical  work 
in  thi>  profession  would  hardly  he  called 
equal  to  such  instruction.  When  we 
learned  the  business  there  was  a  saying 
prevalent  in  most  newspaper  offices, 
that  no  good  editor  ever  “crawled 
through  the  office  window."  lie  worked 
up  from  printer’s  devil.  Modern  practice 
seems  to  have  abolished  the  last  named 
character,  and  the  window  is  probably 
larger,  with  some  steps  below  it.  hut  Wd 
can  hardly  think  of  any  worse  advice 
than  to  tell  a  student,  fresh  from  a  col¬ 
lege  course,  that  lie  can  make  a  success  of 
running  a  newspaper  without  thorough, 
practical  experience,  which  can  only  be 
learned  in  the  old-fashioned  way.  Some 
of  the  advice  given  the  students  of  agri¬ 
cultural  colleges  will  do  them  for  more 
harm  than  good,  if  they  take  it  seriously. 
Wo  have  heard  of  professors  who  tell 
their  students  never  to  accept  a  position 
as  farm  manager  or  worker  for  less  than 
$75  a  mouth.  A  more  foolish  proposi¬ 
tion  to  put  into  the  heads  of  untrained 
college  youth  would  be  hard  to  imagine. 
The  value  of  the  manager  or  workman 
will  not  come  entirely  frpm  what  he  has 
learned  at  college,  but  rather  from  bis 
ability  to  apply  this  knowledge  in  a 
practical  and  businesslike  way.  We. 
think  we  are  justified  in  saying  that  no 
man  ever  learned  how  to  run  an  ordinary 
farm  with  profit  through  the  instruction 
and  practice  he  received  at  the  college 
abaie.  lie  is  obliged  to  get  out  against 
the  practical  affairs  of  life  and  learn 
how.  The  same  is  true  to  an  even  greater 
extent  in  journalism.  It  looks  easy  to 
any  man  or  woman  who  can  write 
readily,  and  who  has  a  good  command  of 
language,  to  get  before  the  people  and 
obtain  a  following.  Tt  requires  far  more, 
however,  than  fesdinical  education  or 
literary  ability  in  find  out  what  people 
will  stand  for,  » what  they  want,  and 
through  this  knowledge  to  obtain  their 
confidence.  If  those  girls  who  listened 
to  Mrs.  Lewis  will  take  our  advice,  they 
will  give  up  their  dream  of  running  a 
successful  paper  just  as  soon  as  they 
step  out  of  their  class  room.  Otherwise 
we  rim  safely  guarantee  them  that  their 
dream  will  be  rudely  shaken. 
The  Business  of  Cracking  Nuts 
Frequent  mention  is  made  in  The 
R.  N’.-Y.  of  the  growing  use  of  nut 
meats  for  food,  but  there  is  one  point 
that  is  never  touched  upon,  and  that  is 
the  increase  in  price  of  nut  meats  dur¬ 
ing  the  last  few  years.  Twelve  years  ago 
while  living  in  New  York  City  1  used  to 
buy  the  extracted  nut  meats  very  freely 
from  a  well-known  dealer,  paying  32 
cents  a  pound  for  pecans,  20  cents  for 
pine  nuts  and  others  in  proportion.  To¬ 
day  the  same  dealer  (and  all  others) 
charge  about  80  cents  for  pecans  and 
40  to  HO  cents  for  pine  nuts.  The  only 
explanation  (?)  I  can  get  from  this 
dealyr  is  that  everything  has  increased 
much  in  price  during  the  last  ten  years. 
Bur  as  a  mutter  of  fact  I  cou  buy  nuts 
in  the  shell  as  cheap  to-day  as  ever  I 
could.  Only  last  week  I  bought  some 
first-class  walnuts  (English),  although 
not  large,  for  14  cents  a  pound.  Is 
this  a  hold-up  because  of  the  increased 
demand  for  nut  meats,  and  is  there  a 
monopoly  of  the  machinery  which  I 
understand  is  used  in  getting  out  the 
meats?  The  meats  are  so  much  handier 
to  use  that  it  seems  if  they  could  be  put 
on  the  market  at  a  fair  price  it  would 
do  much  to  increase  the  use  of  nuts. 
Maine.  WALTE15  A.  ROHE  JITS. 
As  long  as  people  will  iusist  on  hav¬ 
ing  this  labor  done  for  them,  and  as 
long  ns  the  demand  for  nut  meats  re¬ 
mains  brisk,  and  the  competition  in  pro¬ 
ducing  them  remains  small,  the  price 
will  remain  unreasonably  high.  Moral, 
crack  out  your  own  meats  or  go  into  the 
business  of  cracking  out  meats  for  those 
who  are  too  lazy,  or  too  rich,  to  do  it. 
themselves,  and  take  to  yourself  some  of 
the  profits. 
But  it  will  he  but  a  few  years  before 
that  fine  and  easily  cracked  nut,  the 
new  Southern  pecan,  will  be  produced  so 
abundantly  that  the  price  of  the  meats 
will  fall  and  bring  down  others  with 
them.  Even  this  year  there  has  been  a 
fall  in  price  and  competition  to  reach 
the  New  York  market.  Each  year  will 
A  Woman  “  Business  Man  ” 
see  this  greater.  Yet  no  one  can  tell 
whether  the  demand  is  going  to  grow  as 
fast  as  th>  supply  or  not.  <  >n  that  de¬ 
pends  the  price,  as  with  everything  else. 
Aieu’t  we  paying  the  same  tax  in  many 
other  foods  for  the  sake  of  having  them 
supplied  in  packages,  or  ready  cooked 
in  order  to  save  ourselves  trouble? 
w.  E.  1). 
K.  NT.-Y. — Here  are  prices  obtained 
from  dealers  in  bakers’  and  confectioners* 
supplies,  for  nut  meats  in  live  and  10- 
pound  lots,  within  a  month : 
Pecan  meats,  whole . 52 
Pecan  meats,  broken . 40 
Filberts  . 30 
English  walnuts  . 30 
Ilickorynuts,  broken  . 55 
Black  walnuts,  broken  . 38 
There  surely  is  a  chance  for  some  one 
to  make  some  money  cracking  nuts  for 
sale. 
A  Woman  Salesman 
Here  is  a  young  Wouiau  who  is  her 
own  commission  merchant  in  disposing 
of  an  unusual  farm  crop  in  Chicago. 
The  crop  is  Christmas  greens  for  decorat¬ 
ing  purposes  and  Yule-tide  celebrations. 
She  is  part  owner  of  the  farm  on  which 
the  crops  are  raised,  she  loads  the  stuff 
on  a  sailing  vessel,  ties  up  close  to  the 
South  Water  Street  market,  sells  from 
the  deck  of  tin*  schooner  C.  II.  Hackley, 
and  transacts  her  business  in  a  cozy  of¬ 
fice  in  the  cabin,  where  her  meals  are 
served  her  while  she  works.  In  this 
farming  of  Christmas  greens,  her  mother 
and  a  younger  sister  are  associated  with 
her.  The  name  of  the  young  woman  is 
Miss  Elsie  Sliucneiunnu.  and  she  is  the 
presiding  genius  In  the  selling  end  of 
the  business.  In  something  over  three 
years  she  has  disposed  of  more  than  1,000 
tons  of  this  green  crop  off  the  family 
farm. 
Here  is  a  woman  selling  a  product 
without  having  to  depend  on  the  regular 
practice  of  a  commission  man.  When 
a  commission  man  drives  to  the  dock 
for  a  load  of  greens,  Miss  Elsie  bills  him 
for  the  load,  and  is  not  compelled  to 
await  his  report  as  to  what  he  was  able 
to  get  for  them.  She  sells  direct  to 
church,  Sunday  school  and  other  so¬ 
cieties,  and  she  will  sell  a  tree  or  a 
wreath,  or  a  bunch  of  greens  to  any 
individual  who  may  apply  for  either. 
This  young  Woman,  barely  out  of  her 
teens,  absolutely  has  mastered  the  art  of 
selling,  and  she  is  as  good  collector  as 
she  is  a  seller.  Not  all  farm  crops  may 
be  disposed  of  in  this  way,  but  the  exper¬ 
ience  of  this  member  of  a  feniinine  busi¬ 
ness  trio  ought  to  interest  every  farmer 
who  must  stand  by  or  wait  out  of  sight 
to  hear  what's  coming  to  him  after  the 
shakedown  through  many  bands  from 
producer  to  consumer. 
It  must  not  be  inferred  that  this  J 
wnm.au  seller  lias  no  competition  in  the 
business.  The  cutting,  shipping,  and  dis¬ 
tributing  of  Christmas  trees  has  in¬ 
creased  enormously  in  late  years.  Canada 
sends  trainloads  of  them  across  the 
border.  It  is  a  Common  thing  to  find  a 
string  of  10  loaded  cars  in  [be  Chicago 
yards.  They  are  distributed  to  a  wide 
area  of  the  Middle  West,  in  fact  the ! 
Christmas  tree  and  wreath  are  cutting 
more  and  more  a  figure  in  the  great 
holiday  business  of  our  nation. 
J.  L.  GRAFF. 
Clear  Title  to  Property 
Mr.  A  dies  leaving  his  property — a 
farm  and  stock,  machinery,  etc. — to  his 
wife  during  her  lifetime,  at  her  death 
said  property  to  be  divided  equally  be¬ 
tween  the  children.  Can  the  farm  be 
sold  and  a  clear  title  given  during  the 
lifetime  of  Mrs.  A?  Of  two  lawyers 
consulted,  one  says  “yes,"  the  other  "no.” 
New  York.  .\i  ns.  o.  F.  w. 
We  side  with  the  “yes"  one,  with  this 
provision,  that  Mrs.  A  shall  sign  the  deed  | 
as  well  as  both  the  children.  The  whole  J 
title  is  in  these  three,  and  if  they  all  sign 
the  deed,  who  can  object?  The  children 
cannot  give  a  good  title  alone  during  the 
life  of  Mrs,  A. 
Action  to  Recover  Rent 
A  has  a  farm  to  vent  and  rents  it  to  B  { 
for  cash  rent.  B  aUd  his  wife  give  three  ^ 
notes  to  he  paid  in  installments;  two  of  I 
the  notes  15  lias  paid,  but  the  third  one  | 
lias  not  been  paid.  There  is  no  security  | 
but  B  and  bis  wife,  lie  lias  two  horses, 
five  rows  and  two  heifers;  one  horse  be¬ 
longs  to  bis  son.  The  one  cow  and  two  I 
heifers  left  have  a  mortgage  on  them. 
Most  of  the  house  things  belong  to  their 
da  lighter.  Can  I  sell  the  bay  and  fod¬ 
der  and  four  acres  of  wheat  that  is  to  be 
cut  next  year,  or  keep  them  from  moving 
them  off  the  farm?  There  is  no  lease, 
but  their  time  does  not  expire  till  April, 
Iff  It!.  Or  is  there  any  other  wax  to 
settle  this?  'Will  it  pay  me  to  sue  him 
fur  the  amount  ,,f  the  last  note?  The 
mortgage  was  on  this  property  before  I 
rented  them  my  farm.  mhs,  m.  e.  s. 
( fbio. 
There  arc  so  many  questions  involved 
here  that  if  the  rent  or  note  is  of  con¬ 
siderable  value,  it  will  pay  you  to  take 
the  matter  to  a  good  local  attorney.  All 
the  property  of  the  tenant  seems  to  be 
A  Load  of  Christmas  Greens 
execution-proof.  Under  the  circum¬ 
stances.  the  proper  course  would  seem 
to  be  first  to  dispossess  the  tenant  for 
failure  to  pay  rent,  then  at  the  same 
time  to  begin  nu  action  for  the  rent  al¬ 
ready  due,  and  to  attach  the  crops  iu 
this  action.  This  course  would  necessi¬ 
tate  the  employment  of  an  attorney  any¬ 
way.  If  you  have  taken  the  notes  in 
payment  of  rent  not  yet  due,  this  course 
would  not  be  possible,  and  you  would 
have  to  sue  on  the  note,  and  iu  this  pro¬ 
ceeding  it  may  he  that  there  are  grounds 
for  attaching  his  crops. 
to 
secured  both  in  garden  effects 
and  for  household  cut  flowerswith 
Gladioli,  Cannas,  Dahlia*.  Montbrelias, 
etc., and  at  such  a  small  outlay  oftime 
and  money  I  Just  try  nn  assortment  of 
our  i mpoitcd-lo-ordef  bulbs  ibis  year. 
By  planting  in  proper  combinations  and 
intervals  you  can  have  an  abundance  of 
beautiful  flowers  steadily  from  spring  till  frost,  and  w>h 
practically  no  trouble  at  all. 
Our  Plan  Saves  You  Half 
This  is  our  plan.  You  tell  us  what  bulbs  you  wish.  V/’e 
order  them  for  you  directly  from  the  growers  in  Holland, 
where  the  best  bulbs  conn;  from.  Long  experience  and 
frequent  visits  to  Holland  and  personal  acquaintance  with 
the  growers  enable  us  to  buy  each  kind  from  the  best 
specialist  in  that  varietv,  and  as  your  bulb#  ate  packed  by 
the  grower  and  then  forwarded  to  you  as  soon  as  thev 
reach  this  country,  you  get  much  better  bulbs  and  rit  muen 
less  than  they  would  cost  you  if  passed  through  the  usual 
middlemen.  Thousands  of  customers  buy  their  bulbs 
through  us  every  year  and  they  can  tell  you.  You  need 
not  pay  for  vour  bulhs  until  after  delivery,  nof  take  them 
if  not  satisfactory.  (References  required  from  new  cus¬ 
tomers.  )  But  remember— 
Not  Later  Than  March  1  at 
Our  prices  and  the  quality  of  bulbs  secured  depend  upon 
buying  direct  from  the  growers  for  April  and  May  delivery. 
These  are  just  a  few  of  the  prices  our  plan  secures  you : 
t  Duxea  100 
Gladioli  America,  1st  sited  bulb#  .  $.25  $1.40 
GladioliXXX  Mixture,  finest  oflered  .30  2.00 
Choicest  Named  Dahlias .  ,  .  .  1.00  6  00 
Choicest  Large  Flowered  Cannes  .  .85  5.50 
For  n  rice*  on  other  item s  and  on  smaller  quantities,  send 
today  lor  our  Import  Price  Last.  It  is  Free,  write  for  it  now. 
Seed  *5  Wciuvea  limiled  quantity  of  specially  scjec- 
lJCCUa  ted.  pedigreed  seeds  representing  choice 
varieties  of  everything  grown  in  Mr.  Elliott’ s  private  gar¬ 
den,  that  tliis  year,  for  the  first  time,  are  offered  for  sale, 
and  at  no  advance  in  prices.  These  are  highest  grade  seeds 
produced.  W i  ito  for  list  and  prices  of  flower  and  vegetable 
seeds  at  once. 
Elliott  Nursery  Co  .  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
“Maple"  Evaporators 
Our  “Maple"  Evaporator  is  the 
most  durable  and  most  eco¬ 
nomical  on  the  market  ;  only 
V selected  materials  he.ing'ttsed 
in  its  conscrnetion 
Flea  v.\  east. -Iron  f  ra  me. 
reinforced  sheet  steel 
jacket,  extra  heavy 
specially  rolled  linor 
galvanized  iron  pans. 
Send  for  catalog  and 
price  list 
McLane  &  Schank  Hardware  Co 
LinesviDe,  Pa. 
I  Shucknd  daily  ntt  they  cor 
r  from  the  famnua  Cliattapt-'a 
Bay  with  their  uwtural  si 
water  flavor. 
SINGLE  GALLON  •  •  *  I  .J 
THREE  GALLONS  •  •  3.C 
BRO.,  Dept.  201,  Baltimore.  IM 
Tut  Rural  New-Yorker 
Dear  Sirs;— I  received  tne 
Kitchen  Set  in  perfect  con¬ 
dition.  arid  also  the  Spoons,  and 
I  am  writing  to  led  you  how 
very  pleased  l  am  with  them 
The  Kitchen  set  is  *o  useful 
and  beautiful,  and  t  am  very 
much  pleased  with  your  nice 
premiums,  t  am  looking  fot 
the  dishes  every  day  now  and 
hope  to  have  them  soon. 
Thanking  you  for  your  kind¬ 
ness.  t  remain, 
Rachel  I.  Jenness 
Dover,  N.  H. 
0 
E  are  sending 
out  hundreds 
of  Rewards 
daily  to  our 
friends  who  assist  us 
in  our  subscri  ption 
work.  Send  postal 
card  to  Department  "A/” 
The  RURAL  NEW  YORKER 
333  West  Thirtieth  Street 
NEW  YORK  CITY 
and  get  our  new  12- 
page  Reward  List. 
& 
Dear  Rural  New-Yorker 
This  is  to  thank  you  for  the 
little  Recipe  Cabinet  which 
came  in  time  to  make  a  most 
acceptable  Christmas  present 
to  the  better  half  ur  rtje  firm, 
who  has  warded  one  since  see¬ 
ing  her  teacher’s  at  college. 
Many  thanks.  Yours  truly, 
Frank  b.  Hopkins 
North  Salem,  tnd., 
IhI - - - Is! 
