1009 
i 
In  Clover  Time 
Across  the  hills  of  Spring  we  drove 
And  down  the  lanes  between. 
Before  the  breath  of  Summertime 
Had  dusted  up  the  green. 
And,  oh  the  sudden,  dizzy  souse 
Of  worlds  blown  nil  abloom. 
With  every  breeze  eoqnettishly 
Flirting  some  perfume ! 
The  delicate  wild  roses  blew 
Faint  sweets  from  every  spray 
Where  old  rail  fences  ran  zigzag 
In  their  bewildering  way. 
And.  oh  the  honeysuckle  scent 
Afloat  from  first  to  last, 
So  winey  and  intoxicant 
It  swayed  us  as  we  passed  ! 
But  best  of  all.  aye.  best  of  all. 
Was  clover  by  it.be  road — 
And  in  the  field — fllnl  up  the  hills — 
For  everywhere  it  showed; 
And  everywhere  ils  breath  was  sweet, 
And  everywhere  a  bee 
Was  swaying,  raptured,  at  its  tip 
And  humming  merrily  ! 
Grace  Allen  in  Gleanings. 
* 
We  hear  of  a  man  who  bought,  wire 
cloth  for  screens  at  the  barn  and  for 
wrapping  the  young  trees,  yet  would  not 
put  them  on  the  house  windows!  Flies 
must  be  kept  from  the  cattle,  and  mice 
must  not  eat  the  young  trees,  lint  the 
women  can  keep  busy,  as  the  flies  will 
not  light  on  moving  bodies.  What  can  ha 
done  with  such  a  man? 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
Mrs.  Amy  D.  Win* skip,  85  years  old, 
is  attending  the  Summer  school  at  the 
Wisconsin  Un i ve r si t y . 
Iler  university  career  began  several 
years  ago  when  she  visited  a  class  in 
Ohio  State  University.  As  soon  as  she 
learned  that  she  could  attend  the  uni¬ 
versity  even  at  her  age.  she  enrolled  and 
attended  classes  regularly  for  two  years. 
In  registering  she  was  asked  about  her 
preparatory  work  and  replied  that  she 
graduated  “from  a  log  school  house  in 
Northern  Illinois  in  1817.*' 
Mrs.  Winship  knew  Abraham  Lincoln 
personally,  and  attended  his  great  de¬ 
bates  with  Douglas.  She  says  she  wants 
to  attend  college  until  she  is  00.  Yet 
there  are  graduates  who  at  21  ‘“know  it 
all.” 
$ 
Those  two  articles  on,  farm  babies  by 
Mrs.  Gilbert  have  appealed  to  many 
farm  women.  Here  is  one  comment: 
I  read  last  night  Mrs.  Gilbert’s  article 
on  “The  Small  Child  on  The  Farm.” 
Her  appeal  for  naturalness  in  children  is 
needed.  Many  an  outing  liave^  I  had 
spoiled  because  of  some  mother’s  insisting 
upon  discipling  her  child  in  public.  Do 
such  mothers  never  think  how  they  should 
feel  if.  in  public,  some  older,  perhaps 
wiser,  person,  forever  nagged  and  chided? 
This  same  correspondent  tells  this  in¬ 
cident  : 
I  saw  some  mothers  at  the  seashore 
drag  children  aged  two,  three  and  five 
years  to  the  motion  picture  shows  to  stay 
until  midnight.  The  next  day  on  the 
porch  I  overheard  one  mother  say:  “No, 
I  didn’t  get  up  to  get  him  n  drink.  He 
spoils  all  the  trips  I  take  by  his  restless¬ 
ness  at.  nights.  Do  you  know  what  I 
did?  I  wrapped  the  counterpane  over 
my  head  and  crept  np  to  him,  pretending 
I  was  a  ghost,  and  I  know  he  hushed.” 
What  can  he  said  to  such  mothers  in 
order  to  make  them  understand?  They 
would  probably  resent,  personal  talk.  If 
they  could  he  induced  to  read  such  arti¬ 
cles  as  those  by  Mrs.  Gilbert  at  home,  on 
a  quiet  afternoon,  they  might  realize 
something  of  the  great  responsibility  they 
have  assumed  with  their  little  ones* 
* 
I  was  talking  to  a  friend  today,  who 
was  about  to  return  a  letter  that  I 
loaned  him,  but  before  he  found  it  I  no¬ 
ticed  that  In*  held  in  his  hand  a  letter 
that  I  sometimes  get,  myself.  Printed 
in  hold  type  on  the  left-hand  corner  were 
the  words  The  Bubal  New-Yorker.  I 
asked  him  if  lie  was  a  subscriber.  With 
a  happy  expression  on  his  face,  laughing¬ 
ly  he  replied,  "Oh,  it  is  the  only  paper 
that  I  can  swear  by,”  so  I  had  to  tell 
him  that  I  was  a  subscriber  also. 
w.  It.  L. 
So  many  people  report  just  such  an 
experience  that  we  think  a  subscription 
to  The  R.  N.-Yr,  family  is  like  a  mem¬ 
bership  in  some  great  fraternity.  We 
have  one  friend  who  travels  considerably. 
He  has  made  quite  a  study  of  this  matter 
and  tells  us  lie  has  never  yet  been  on  a 
railroad  train,  a  passenger  steamer  or 
in  any  large  railroad  station  without 
finding  one  or  more  renders  of  The  R. 
N.-Y.  What  was  more  all  were  glad  to 
XShe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
see  him.  and  there  was  always  common 
ground  for  acquaintance  when  it  was 
known  that  The  R.  N.-Y.  was  the  tie 
that  held  them  together.  Wo  do  not 
know  of  any  other  paper  which  has  such 
a  hold  upon  its  readers,  and  we  wish 
it  could  he  employed  to  the  best  advan¬ 
tage  of  our  people. 
* 
A  “teaciieraoe”  is  the  latest  thing  in 
education.  The  Colorado  College  prints 
this  note  explaining  what  such  a  thing  is: 
The  Goodrich  School  employs  four  teach¬ 
ers  and  provides  a  home  for  one  teacher 
and  his  wife,  in  a  teaelierage  made  by  re¬ 
modeling  an  old  one-room  building.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  present  school  year, 
the  three  Women  teachers  were  unable  to 
secure  suitable  hoarding  places  anywhere 
in  the  district,  and  the  question  of  their 
resignation  was  being  seriously  consul 
ered.  when  the  school  board  came  to  the 
rescue,  rented  a  vacant  house  near  the 
school^  ordered  furniture  from  Denver 
and  in  this  way  provided  a  dwelling  for 
all  their  teachers.  The  three  teachers 
employed  a  housekeeper  and  the  situation 
is  satisfactorily  handled. 
Well,  why  not  a  teaelierage  as  well  as  a 
parsonage?  Anything  which  gives  the 
school  greater  dignity  and  importance  is 
good. 
Among  the  many  rather  strange  ques¬ 
tions  which  we  are  requested  to  answer 
is  the  following : 
Can  I  be  compelled  to  contribute  to¬ 
ward  the  support  of  the  children  of  a 
relative  by  marriage,  who  are  orphans, 
especially  as  L  have  a  family  to  support 
and  a  small  salary  on  which  to  do  it? 
F. 
Unless  you  have  agreed  in  writing  or 
otherwise  to  provide  for  these  orphans 
you  cannot  be  compelled  to  do  so.  That 
is  the  legal  side  of  it.  The  moral  aspect 
of  such  a  case  is  very  different.  We 
know  nothing  about  this  particular  mat¬ 
ter,  and  never  undertake  to  advise  our 
readers  in  any  question  regarding  their 
duty.  We  never  yet  saw  a  person  who 
shirked  a  moral  responsibility  who  pros¬ 
pered  in  the  long  run.  We  never  saw 
one  who  accepted  such  responsibility 
hopefully  and  without  complaint  who  was 
not  better  off  for  doing  so. 
Summer  Camps 
An  enterprising  woman  who  lives  on  a 
farm  in  a  Western  State  makes  money  by 
running  a  Summer  camp  limited  to  busi¬ 
ness  girls.  She  began  the  first  year  with 
two  tents,  accommodating  two  persons  in 
each,  set  up  in  the  picturesque  woods,  a 
short  distance  from  the  farmhouse.  She 
now  has  eight  tents,  and  can  take  10  girls 
at  a  time,  and  also  has  a  few  cot  beds 
which  can  he  placed  in  the  farmhouse  for 
guests  over  Sunday  or  for  use  in  emer¬ 
gencies. 
She  made  acquaintances  through  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association 
and  city  churches,  and  the  first  year  in¬ 
vited  several  girl  friends  as  guests.  Soon 
the  hoarding  camp  became  well  known  for 
its  good  cooking  and  good  times.  The 
camp  idea  is  carried  out  iu  all  the  ar¬ 
rangements.  Meals  arc  served  on  the 
farmhouse  porch  or  under  the  trees,  ex¬ 
cept  in  stormy  weather.  Rough  tables  are 
covered  with  white  oilcloth,  and  steel 
knives  and  forks  and  paper  napkins  are 
used.  Pretty,  though  cheap,  chiuaware, 
and  flowers  and  ferns  in  vases  make  the 
tables  look  very  attractive.  Abundance 
of  chicken,  freslf  eggs,  fruits  and  vege¬ 
tables,  with  hot  biscuit  and  homemade 
jelly  form  the  hill  of  fare.  Fancy  des¬ 
serts  and  fashionable  serving  are  not  at¬ 
tempted.  The  farmhouse  parlor  with  its 
piano,  the  hall  and  big  porch  are  given  up 
to  the  camp  girls.  Lawn  tennis  and  cro¬ 
quet,  and  long  tramps  through  the  hills 
give  the  girls  plenty  of  outdoor  life.  The 
price  charged  for  table  board  and  tent  is 
one  dollar  a  day.  , 
Of  course,  people  will  not  pay  the 
prices  for  camp  accommodations  that  they 
expect  to  give  for  boarding  iu  a  hotel  or 
cottage  with  modern  conveniences.  Also, 
plenty  of  amusement  must  be  provided  by 
the  farm  people.  Fishing  trips,  hay  rides 
and  picnics  without  extra  expense  to  the 
campers,  and  evening  gayeties,  such  as 
charades,  chorus  singing,  candy  pulls, 
etc.,  should  be  arranged.  A  writing  table 
should  be  supplied  with  pen,  ink,  paper, 
etc*.,  and  books,  magazines,  and  cheap 
games,  such  as  checkers,  authors,  etc.,  be 
ready  for  use  on  rainy  days. 
N.  F.  MILBUKN. 
* 
Working  for  an  Education 
I  was  interested  in  what  the  Hope 
Farm  mail  had  to  say  some  months  ago 
regarding  hoys  getting  a  college  educa¬ 
tion  to-day.  We  went  through  college  in 
pioneer  days  under  quite  different  condi¬ 
tions  from  those  now  prevailing  but  I  am 
sure  the  Hope  Farm  mail  does  not  real¬ 
ize  what  an  army  of  young  men  are  now 
working  to  get.  an  education  and  making 
all  sorts  of  sacrifices  to  get  it.  I  have 
been  connected  with  three  State  universi¬ 
ties  now  2!)  consecutive  years  and  now 
in  one  of  the  largest  iu  America.  While 
it  is  true  we  have  too  much  of  the  social 
life  and  side  attractions,  only  a  small 
per  cent,  of  the  students  play  much  part 
in  these  functions.  We  have  just  given 
degrees  to  almost  1.000  students,  yet  at 
the  final  social  function  of  the  course,  the 
Senior  formal  and  dance,  only  a  Small 
per  cent,  of  the  class  was  present.  The 
boys  who  earn  their  way  through,  of 
whom  there  are  many,  have  no  money  to 
spend,  or  time  to  devote  to  the  more  su¬ 
perficial  social  side.  I  feel  sure  that 
there  never  was  a  finer  set  of  young  men 
se 'king  an  education  in  our  agricultural 
colleges  than  is  the  case  to-day.  I  worked 
my  way  through  college,  and  know  the 
cost  of  an  education.  C.  S.  plumb. 
R.  N.-Y'. — The  Hope  Farm  man  says 
his  remarks  were  not  intended  for  the 
hoys  or  girls  so  much  as  for  the  parents. 
Naturally  his  own  children  do  not  fully 
agree  with  him.  What  he  objects  to  is 
not  so  much  the  quality  of  the  education 
as  the  false  idea  that  children  should  he 
sent  to  college  just  because  others  go  or 
because  it  is  fashionable  to  send  them. 
Not  one  of  the  earnest  young  people  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  Prof.  Plumb  were  sent  to 
college.  They  want  there,  and  that  is  a 
very  different  thing.  Get  the  true  differ¬ 
ence  between  sent  and  went,  and  you  will 
have  the  whole  story  of  the  value  of  an 
education. 
* 
Farmer’s  Wife’s  Vacations 
Fall  sppms  the  most  appropriate  time 
for  the  fanner’s  wife’s  vacation.  A 
change  of  some  kind  she  should  have.  It 
will  brace  her  nerves  and  strengthen  her 
mentally  and  physically  to  endure  the 
grinding  monotony  of  the  long  Winter 
days. 
Sometimes  I  plan  to  spend  one  day  in 
the  week  away  from  home  in  some  en¬ 
joyable  manner;  a  trip  to ‘  a  nearby  city, 
not  attended  by  children  or  men  folk, 
however*  Dn  this  day  I  defer  to  no  one’s 
demands,  do  anything  convenient,  for  a 
change,  that  can  he  done,  in  one  day,  thus 
extending  the  vacation  over  five  or  six 
weeks.  Take  the  horse  and  buggy  and 
drive  to  see  a  friend  10  or  15  miles  away; 
if  you  own  a  car  your  radius  is  extend¬ 
ed  ;  if  on  a  trolley  line,  get  on  and  ride. 
You  can  go  a  long  distance,  get  your 
dinner  and  perhaps  return  another  way. 
There  is  a  place  of  interest  near  my 
home  which  I  have  long  wished  to  visit, 
the  Mammoth  Cave  in  Kentucky.  Per¬ 
haps  I  may  go  there  this  Fall.  For  the 
journey  I  shall  take  a  steamboat  trip  on 
the  Ohio  and  its  tributary.  Green  River, 
to  the  cave.  This  takes  one  day  each 
way.  and  one  or  two  days  may  be  spent 
in  exploring  the  several  routes  through 
the  cave.  Bloomer  suits  for  the  walking 
trip  and  careful  guides  are  furnished  by 
the  management.  The  temperature  iu 
the  cave  remains  constantly  at  50  degrees 
F.  Winter  and  Summer. 
MRS.  ETHEL  WILEY  STALLINGS. 
Indiana. 
* 
A  Community  Laundry 
For  years  The  R.  N.  Y'.  has  suggested 
community  laundries — where  the  soiled 
clothes  can  be  taken  to  some  central 
point,  washed  and  distributed  so  as  to 
save  the  heavy  labor  of  the  farmer’s  wife. 
The  creamery  or  cheese  factory  is  a  good 
place  for  such  a  laundry.  It  should,  of 
course,  be  in  a  separate  building,  but  by 
being  close  to  headquarters  for  dairymen, 
use  can  lie  made  of  the  steam  and  power 
already  at  hand.  Cvr  picture  is  taken 
from  Bulletin  208  of  me  Wisconsin  Uni¬ 
versity,  and  shows  a  corner  of  such  a 
comm  unity  laundry.  Last  year  Dr.  W. 
A.  Henry,  former  Dean  of  the  Agricul¬ 
tural  College  of  Wisconsin,  offered  a 
prize  of  $300  to  co-operative  creameries 
which  would  organize  these  laundries. 
There  are  two  of  them  in  operation  now 
in  Wisconsin,  and  apparently  giving  the 
greatest  satisfaction.  In  former  years, 
when  we  tried  to  develop  interest  iu  this 
matter,  we  were  met  with  the  proposi¬ 
tion  from  the  men  folks  that  there  was 
no  money  in  such  a  laundry.  They  had 
been  willing  to  go  into  a  co-operative 
creamery  because  they  could  see  that  that 
meant  money  for  them,  as  the  handling 
of  the  milk  in  large  quantities  gave  op¬ 
portunity  for  economical  service.  The 
women,  however,  could  do  the  wash  at 
home,  and  the  argument  was  that  if  they 
put  up  the  money  for  a  laundry  equip¬ 
ment,  the  women  would  be  relieved  of 
this  work,  lint  there  would  be  no  cash 
income  from  the  investment.  That  was 
the  argument  put  up  in  former  years 
agaiust  the  co-operative  laundry.  Times 
have  changed  in  many  respects  since 
then,  and  we  would  really  like  to  know  if 
the  nn'ii  folks  in  the  dairy  districts  will 
still  put  up  that  same  argument,  and 
what  do  the  women  folks  have  to  say 
about  it.  Their  words  seem  to  be  carry¬ 
ing  more  weight  now  than  they  did  in  for¬ 
mer  years.  What  do  they  think  about  it? 
A  Co-operative  Laundry  at  a  Creamery 
