748 
May  13,  1916. 
HOPE  FARM  NOTES 
Tart  II. 
Dinner. — The  rain  was  still  falling:, 
but.  things  were  a  little  brighter  in  the 
ea.st,  and  there  is  always  hope  for  a  bet- 
ter  afternoon.  There  were  14  of  ns  at  din¬ 
ner.  and  from  roast  pork  to  baked  apples 
all  went  so  well  that  there  was  very  little 
left.  I  had  a  letter  from  a  man  opee 
who  said  he  had  figured  it  out  that,  we 
lived  pretty  much  On  beans.  We  do  con¬ 
sume  our  share,  and  perhaps  more,  of  the 
national  dish,  but  potatoes  are  very  pop¬ 
ular  at  Hope  Farm.  The  children  are 
very  fond  of  them,  and  we  eat  them  freely 
in  a  great  variety  of  forms.  Of  course,  I 
know  wliat  some  of  the  experts  say  about 
mo  a  toes  and  their  lack  of  muscle- making 
food,  but  I  do  not  believe  quite  all  these 
“experts"  say  until  we  test  it  by  experi¬ 
ence.  Baked  eggs  make  another  popular 
dish  with  us  the  eggs  broken  into  a  deep 
dish  and  baked.  About  two  dozen  eggs 
are  required  in  our  family  for  this  dish. 
We  finished  our  dinner  without,  mishap 
ami  with  much  satisfaction.  Then  came 
a  careful  study  of  the  sky.  None  of  us 
cared  to  go  hack  to  that  wood  pile,  and 
we  were  willing  to  take  a  chance  on  the 
weather.  So  after  a  little  time  spent  in 
talking  about  it  we  started  off.  It  was 
too  wet  for  the  little  girls,  but  the  boys 
and  the  Italian  came  along — Cherry-top 
acting  as  commissary  with  what  was  left 
of  our  "supplies.” 
Observations. — Of  course,  we  had  to 
look  things  over  as  we  went  along.  The 
spring  field  is  very  wet.  The  Italian  ex¬ 
plained  with  many  shrugs  and  gestures 
how  he  could  drain  it  dry.  and  I  think 
we  would  hotter  let  him  do  it.  This  wet 
weather  is  certainly  line  for  the  strawber¬ 
ries  and  clover.  That  old  sod  in  the  or¬ 
chard  of  Greening  apples  has  been  plowed 
and  we  are  ready  for  peas  and  oats.  No 
potatoes  planted  yet  and  there  probably 
will  not  be  for  two  weeks  to  come.  The 
oil  has  been  sprayed  on  the  apple  trees. 
They  stand  there  brown  and  shiny — like 
a  man  with  a  raincoat  on.  You  can  tell 
wlo  re  the  lime-sulphur  went,  too.  though 
not.  so  easily.  The  Italian  finds  where 
we  transplanted  some  Alfalfa  mats  on 
the  hill  between  the  roots.  Most,  of  them 
are  alive,  starting  up  with  a  big,  broad 
top.  lr  is  good  practice  as  we  go  to  see 
if  we  can  make  sure  of  the  fruit  buds  on 
the  ripple  trees.  As  usual  the  peach  trees 
on  the  hill-top  are  well  covered  with  live 
buds,  while  in  the  valley  most  buds  are 
dead. 
Shaping  Trees. — Our  job  is  to  trim 
and  shape  up  some  neglected  young  apple 
trees.  They  should  have  been  cut  before, 
but  for  two  years  now  they  have  been 
neglected.  I  began  on  the  first  row  and 
cm lle<]  all  hands  around  the  tree.  It  has 
grown  up  straight  into  the  air  with  three 
sprouts  from  the  root.  On  our  way  up 
we  looked  carefully  over  several  big  trees 
Which  are  shaped  about  as  they  should  he. 
You  must  have  your  ideal  in  mind  if  you 
expoet  to  come  close  to  it.  I  have  xt  en  a 
sculptor  at  work  curving  a  human  face 
out  of  a  big  block  of  stoue  at  the  front  of 
a  building.  At  his  side  there  will  be  a 
picture  or  a  small  cast  of  what  he  is 
trying  to  carve  on  the  stone.  You  will 
see  him  glancing  at  his  model  just  before 
each  important  blow  so  that  the  steel  im¬ 
plement  may  have  prophetic  eyes.  It  is 
the  same  with  a  young  and  badly  shaped 
tree.  Before  we  cut  off  a  limb  or  twig 
we  must  know  where  we  want  the  new 
one  to  grew  and  how  we  want  the  top  to 
shape  out  and  over. 
Conferences.- — So  I  called  all  bauds 
around  the  tree  and  we  studied  it  over. 
The  Italian  put  his  wise  head  on  one 
side,  shut  one  eye  and  gave  his  opinion, 
while  the  boys  tried  to  consider  wliat 
would  happen  if  certain  limbs  were  per¬ 
mitted  to  grow.  It  was  remarkable  bow 
after  cutting  a  few  trees  we  caiue  to  an 
agreement.  There  were  two  varieties — 
Wealthy  and  McIntosh.  Oue  could  easily 
see  that  their  habit  of  growth  was  differ¬ 
ent.  and  who  does  not  know  that  you 
cannot  cut  all  habits  by  the  same  pat¬ 
tern"'  Here  was  Wealthy  growing  up 
straight  and  tall  with  long,  slender  limbs 
with  few  inside  branches,  while  McIntosh 
grew  like  a  thick  bush  full  of  wood  and 
with  limbs  reaching  out  inside  hi  grapple 
and  tight  with  each  other,  or  debate  like 
an  army  of  .Scotchmen. 
That  (‘barter  Again. — Wo  saw  all  of 
this  as  we  celebrated  tbe  birthday  with 
knife  and  shears  on  the  wet  and  lonely 
hill.  It  was  not  long  before  the  IIopo 
Farm  man  could  leave  tbe  cutting  to  the 
boys  and  the  Italian  with  an  occasional 
final  decision  about  a  limb.  Very  likely 
you  will  begin  to  think  that  this  mail 
likes  better  to  tell  about  it  than  to  do  the 
work,  but  is  not  one  entitled  to  the  priv¬ 
ilege  of  playing  thinker  on  his  birthday? 
I  could  not  get  away  from  that  old  con¬ 
nection  between  the  boy  and  bis  "stent” 
and  the  Great  Charter  of  England,  or  the 
thought  that  the  time  has  now  come 
when  the  farmers  and  producers  of  this 
land  must  obtain  in  much  the  same  way 
another  statement  of  their  rights.  That 
was  a  noble  document. 
“TTc  also  hare  granted  to  all  the  free- 
men  of  this  of  our  kingdom ,  for  us  and 
for  our  heirs  forever,  all  the  unwritten 
liberties ,  to  be  had  and  holden  by  them 
and  their  heirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs  for¬ 
ever. 
“11  e  will  not  make  any  justice ,  con¬ 
stable.  sheriffs  or  bailiffs,  unless  they  are 
Z56e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
such  ns  know  the  law  of  the  realm  and 
mean  daily  to  observe  it.” 
As  I  see  my  boys  clipping  those  young 
trees  which  have  been  permitted  to  grow 
out  of  shape  I  think  of  the  practices  in 
law  and  politics  and  trade  which  must  be 
cut  out  by  some  strong  band  if  these  boys 
are  to  find  a  fair  and  fruitful  tree  of  life 
when  they  come  to  be  as  old  as  1  am.  Ho 
we  kept,  ujf  our  thinking  and  cutting  atul 
planning  until  tbe  dull  wet  day  grew 
darker.  There  was  a  flash  of  something 
like  the  sun — then  more  clouds  and  the 
night  settled  down  upon  us. 
Good  Ntigjit. — The  boys  are  tired,  but 
they  tell  me  they  had  a  fine  day.  The 
little  girls  long  since  started  on  the  load 
to  dreams.  The  women  folk  arc  prepar¬ 
ing  for  Easter — though  there  will  be  few 
new  lints.  I  fear,  and  here  am  1  before 
my  fire  reading  over  my  thumb-worn  copy 
of  King  John.  What  a  weak  fraud  he 
was!  Yet  his  very  weakness  and  coward¬ 
ice  enabled  the  English  people  to  obtain 
their  charter.  His  ancestors  were  great 
men  who  ruled  with  an  iron  hand,  and  it 
is  a  strange  thing  that  this  poor  apology 
of  a  king,  by  his  very  weakness,  enabled 
tbe  English  people  to  begin  to  develop 
their  real  history.  I  have  been  reading 
over  the  great  Magna  Cliarta  which  they 
squeezed  out  of  King  John,  I  can  readily 
see  how  some  of  these  great  things  have 
been  enlarged  and  developed — some  of 
them  giving  us  greater  visible  rights  and 
others  developing  invisible  wrongs.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  time  has  about 
come  when  conditions  for  obtaining  a 
fairer  deal  are  ripe.  Like  the  farmer 
lacking  the  support  of  mother  and  the 
hired  man.  and  like  the  friendless  King 
•lohn,  I  think  the  politicians  now  realize 
that  they  have  only  a  hollow  shell  of 
bluff  hack  of  them.  Events  are  happen¬ 
ing  every  day  to  show  that  the  people 
are  tired  of  the  old  broken-down  issues-- 
eager  for  something  vital  and  true. 
But  my  fire  is  going  down  and  I  will 
not  use  up  any  more  logs  to-night.  We 
have  had  n  good  celebration.  I  have  en¬ 
joyed  my  thinking  of  these  things  more 
than  I  ever  did  the  candy  of  50  years 
ago!  I  think  the  children  are  a  little 
happier  and  closer  as  a  result  of  the  day. 
After  all  this  is  a  wise  and  good  okl 
world.  And  here  is  Shakespeare  in  this 
very  King  John.  The  type  is  small  and 
1  must  use  my  glasses  to  read  it. 
"He  is  the  half  part  of  a  blessed  man 
Left  to  be  finished  by  such  as  she. 
And  sbe  a  fair  divided  excellence 
Whose  fullness  of  perfection  lies  in  him." 
But  if  I  do  not  stop  you  will  quote 
farther : 
"Zounds.  I  was  never  so  bethumped  with 
words 
Since  I  first  called  my  brother’s  father 
dad  !” 
H.  W.  C. 
J 
EXTINGUISHERS 
Pyrene  Saved  My  Car  and  My  Prize  Bull  Calf 
Bill  took  the  cross-roads  turn  on  two  wheels — we  skidded 
—  and  the  car  reeled  over  into  the  ditch. 
“She’s  burning!"  yelled  Bill  as  we  jumped. 
Trapped  in  his  crate  under  the  blazing  car  was  a  prize 
Jersey  bull  calf  I'd  just  bought  at  the  Fair. 
We  worked  frantically  to  rescue  the  animal,  but  couldn’t 
budge  the  car. 
Just  then  Rush  McKay  shot  along  in  bis  roadster,  threw  on 
bis  brakes,  grabbed  some  kind  of  a  pump  from  his  car,  and 
in  three  squirts  put  out  the  fire. 
“Judas  Priest!”  gasped  Bill,  hardly  able  to  believe  his 
eyes,  “what  do  you  call  that  contraption  ?  ” 
"Pyrene,"  smiled  Rush.  “It's  theoftly  kind  of  extinguisher 
for  gasoline  fires,  and  will  put  out  any  small  fire  in  m  jiffy." 
The  same  day  I  bought  a  Pyrene  for  my  car,  one  for  the 
house,  and  another  for  the  bam.  They’re  $7.50  each  with 
automobile  bracket;  and  a  Pyrene  saves  15  per  cent  annually 
on  auto  insurance. 
Inspected,  approved,  and  labeled  by 
tbe  Underwriters’  Laboratories,  Inc. 
Send  for  the  book  of  "Fire  Fotos." 
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Makers  of  Complete  Fire  Protection  Equipment 
The  Biggest  Farm  Question 
In  the  Lompoc  Valley,  where  Burpee 
has  one  of  his  seed  farms,  I  saw  100,000 
sacks  of  good  large  onions  dumped  over 
the  river  bank  several  years  ago  when 
on  a  visit  to  that  part  of  tbe  State, 
because  the  growers  could  not  get  enough 
out  of  them  to  pay  the  freight  and 
commission,  and  at  the  same  time,  the 
wholesome  vegetable  was  retailing  in  this 
market  at  two  cents  a  pound  and  we 
thought  that  we  were  getting  them  cheap. 
Down  iu  the  Coachella  Valley  155 
miles  southeast  of  here,  and  1.35  feet  be¬ 
low  sea  level,  onions  mature  two  months 
earlier  than  here,  and  there  I  saw,  two 
years  ago.  carloads  of  them  stacked  up 
in  warehouses  because  the  growers  could 
not  sell  them,  and  at  the  same  time  we 
were  paying  five  and  six  cents  a  pound 
for  them. 
Good  manges  may  he  had  iu  this  mar¬ 
ket  at  tiiis  time  for  five  cents  a  dozen. 
True,  they  have  some  blemishes  on  the 
skin,  but  so  far  as  quality  is  concerned 
are  just  as  good  as  those  packed  and 
sent  East  because  they  are  perfect  iu 
form  and  appearance.  ‘  If  you  keep  up 
the  racket  on  the  35-eent  dollar,  event¬ 
ually  the  idea  will  filter  into  rim  heads 
of  growers  and  political  economists  that 
there  is  something  radically  wrong  iu 
our  system  of  distribution  of  the  pro¬ 
ducts  of  the  farm  and  the  garden,  and 
out  of  it  all  will  come  a  more  righteous 
method  of  filling  the  stomachs  of  the 
consumer,  and  the  pocket  books  of  the 
producer.  p.  D.  BARNHART. 
California. 
II.  N.-Y. — Take  Northeastern  Maine, 
Key  West,  the  lowest  points  of  Texas 
and  California  and  the  most  northern 
part  in  Alaska.  Run  a  line  all  around 
through  them  and  then  go  over  tin*  space 
inside  this  line  with  a  magnet,  a  micro¬ 
scope  and  a  fine-tooth  comb  and  you  can 
find  no  more  vital  and  important  question 
than  the  35-eent  dollar. 
Hen  Manure  for  Potatoes 
How  would  it  work  to  put  hen  manure 
in  potato  hills  the  same  as  for  corn? 
Homer,  N.  Y.  w.  j. 
Scattering  the  hen  manure  on  top  of 
the  potato  hills,  and  hoeing  or  cultivating 
it  in.  works  well.  We  have  had  good  re¬ 
sults  from  this  practice,  and  we  have  good 
reports  from  others  who  have  tried  it. 
You  will  get  better  results,  however,  if 
you  will  add  a  quantity  of  add  phosphate 
to  the  hen  manure,  and  work  them  both 
into  the  ground. 
f  Trade  in  your  old  pump 
WeTl  make  you  an  allowance  lor  your  hand  pump.  Write 
us  what  your  present  equipment  is.  ami  we  will  tell  you  l\ow 
easily  and  economically  it  tan  be  thanked  into  a  Leader 
power  system. 
(Mention  this  i>a per  vj hen 
Branch  Offices: 
103  Park  Avenue,  /  .  //,  _ 
Siaa  st.  'ptqdgLjlXcny 
Chicago 
Have  running  water 
without  pumping  slavery 
Running  water  isn’t  so  much  of  a  pleasure  after  all,  if  it  means 
half  an  hour  or  more  drudging  every  day  at  the  hand  pump. 
If  you’ve  got  a  hand  pump  water  system,  find  out  at  what  small  expense  you 
can  make  it  a  REAL  system,  with  ALL  the  water  you  want  to  use,  and 
without  hand  pumping,  with  a  Leader  Electric  or  Gasoline  Power  Pumper. 
i %€idefc 
Power  Pumpers 
(Electric  and  Gasoline) 
Leader  Power  Pumpers  are  all 
ready  to  hook  up  to  any  tank. 
The  connections  are  the  same, 
your  old  fittings  will  probably 
answer,  and  it  takes  only  a 
couple  of  hours. 
Don’t  experiment  with  themake- 
sliiftof  hitching  an  engine  to  your 
hand  pump  with  the  aid  of  a  jack. 
You  lose  power,  and  in  a  short 
time  it  will  rattle  itself  to  pieces. 
Architects,  engineers  and  con. 
tractors  say  that  Leader  Power 
Pumpers  are  superior  to  anything 
else  ou  the  market.  They  have 
stood  the  test  of  time  on  the 
farm.  Their  use  means  constant 
service,  and  small  upkeep,  with¬ 
out  trouble. 
If  you  pump  and  carry 
water  write 
For  full  information  about  Leader 
Power  Pumpers.  Investigate  be¬ 
fore  you  buy.  It  certainly  won't 
pay  you  to  yoke  yourself  to  years 
of  hand  pumping,  when  you  can 
pump  61)0  gallons  an  hour  with  a 
Leader  Pumper  for  less  than  5  cts. 
you  write) 
Dept,  502 
Decatur,  UL 
and 
Owego,  New  York 
