Cfce  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1131 
Frank  of  Peach  Hill 
By  Geo.  B.  Fiske 
(Continued  from  page  1110) 
II is  clothes  were  a  sight,  too,  and 
again  when  he  was  teaching  her  calf  to 
drink  skim-milk,  and  he  never  could 
learn  to  get  along  with  sitting  hens  or 
those  with  chickens,  lie  managed  fairly 
well  with  old  C’ockle-joint,  the  old  horse, 
and  I  kept  them  moving  the  cultivator 
much  of  the  time  when  Harry  was  not 
doing  chores  about  the  cabin  or  helping 
me  get  out  hay  in  the  river  meadows.  At 
first  he  kept  me  running  to  him  every 
little  while  to  lament  over  the  young 
trees  which  he  harked  or  scraped  over, 
or  to  mend  the  harness  or  free  Cookie- 
joint  from  a  mess  of  chains,  straps  and 
bewilderment.  The  old  nag’s  air  of  puz¬ 
zled  patience  at  such  times,  and  Harry’s 
excited  comments,  always  made  me  laugh, 
and  added  a  little  more  spice  to  the  hard 
work  as  I  hoed  around  my  trees,  crops 
and  garden  stuff.  Ilarry  tried  hard 
while  the  novelty  lasted  and  stood  by  his 
bargain  quite  as  well  as  I  expected  all 
through  the  Summer,  dull  as  it  must  have 
been  to  him. 
“Golly !  what  a  dead  old  town !”  he 
exclaimed.  “The  streets  all  dark  at 
night,  nobody  out  after  nine  o’clock.  No 
good  sidewalk,  no  shows  hut  the  cattle 
fair,  no  hand  concerts.  Everything  just 
like  an  old  turtle  on  a  log  in  the  pond 
hole.” 
As  for  me,  I  had  never  had  been  in  the 
city  half  so  thoroughly  roused  and  inter¬ 
ested  and  stimulated  as  by  my  first  year 
in  Mapleton.  There  are  born  city  folks 
and  born  country  folks  no  matter  where 
they  happen  to  be  living. 
CHAPTER  XV. 
A  N  KIG 1 1  ROBOT  CALL. 
One  day  the  Frosts,  that  is  Mrs.  Frost 
and  Hazel,  paid  us  a  neighborly  visit.  I 
suspect  the  various  good-natured  yarns 
about  our  doings  on  the  hill  and  Harry’s 
comical  accounts  of  our  housekeeping  had  | 
aroused  their  curiosity.  But  we  had 
plenty  of  warning  and  picked  up  as  well 
as  we  could,  until,  according  to  camp 
standards,  our  house  was  quite  present¬ 
able,  as  we  thought. 
Nothing  would  answer  but  that  we 
must  start  our  queer  little  round  camp 
stove  and  show  our  guests  a  sample  of 
our  cookery.  So  the  four  of  us  had  a 
jolly  time  dodging  around  that  absurd 
but  very  handy  little  contrivance,  break¬ 
ing  up  twigs,  lighting  the  fire  and  dish¬ 
ing  up  a  camp  meal  of  fried  chicken, 
sliced  potatoes,  tea  and  toasted  bread, 
and  with  some  of  the  nice  canned  pre¬ 
serves  which  Mrs.  Frost  had  brought  us 
for  a  present.  The  more  help  the  less 
speed  in  such  a  case,  but  the  move  fun, 
and  we  all  felt  weeks  better  acquainted 
after  that  hit  of  cooperative  meal-get¬ 
ting  and  the  lively  chat  which  went  with 
it  and  followed  it. 
“I  wish  I  had  some  special  refresh¬ 
ment  to  offer,"  I  remarked,  "but  the  ice 
cream  man  never  comes  this  way.  We 
ought  to  have  some  candy  anyhow.” 
“A  piece  of  candy  in  the  mouth  is 
worth  a  bagful  in  your  mind,”  Harry 
called  out,  as  he  produced  a  nice  lot  of 
the  sweet  stuff  which  that  young  ras¬ 
cal  usually  kept  on  hand. 
“How  quiet  it  is  out  here,”  commented 
Mrs.  Frost,  during  a  moment’s  pause  in 
t he  chatter.  “Ou  our  farm  with  the  cat¬ 
tle  and  teams  and  hired  men  it  is  noisy 
compared  with  this  place.” 
“Nothing  here  but  hens  cackling  day¬ 
times  and  mosquitoes  saw-milling  by 
nighr.”  said  I.  “The  mosquitoes  here  are 
big  ones,  as  persistent  as  a  small  boy 
tagging  after  a  hay  cart  for  a  ride,  and 
with  voices  like  n  middle-aged  school- 
marm  at  eleven  o’clock  Friday  mornings. 
But  the  birds  make  up  for  it  all  when 
they  come  and  build  nests  and  get  ac¬ 
quainted  and  sing  to  us  in  the  early 
morning.” 
“The  country  sounds  all  punk,”  insist¬ 
ed  Ilarry.  “Give  me  a  good  solid  com-, 
bination  roar,  like  carts  on  the  pave-  : 
meat  and  kids  yelling  in  the  streets  and  | 
a  fire  alarm  or  two  every  day  that  will 
keep  a  chap  guessing.  The  birds,  owls 
and  frogs  may  be  all  well  enough,  but 
these  sounds  get  ou  my  nerves  when  1 
hear  them,  and  it  is  still  worse  when  I 
can’t  hear  anything,  and  the  air  is  so 
still  and  heavy  for  miles  around  it 
seems  like  it  would  fall  ou  us  any  min¬ 
ute.” 
“Oh,  you  poor  city  hoy,”  smiled  Ha- 
gel.  “What  would  you  do  if  you  were 
deaf?” 
“I’d  get  married  then,”  rejoined  Har¬ 
ry  promptly. 
“You  horrid  thing !  Women  don’t  talk 
so  much  unless  men  start  them.” 
“But  no  man  can  stop  them,”  re¬ 
joined  Ilarry  the  cynical. 
(To  he  continued) 
“  Dark  ”  and  “  Light  ”  of  the  Moon 
What  is  generally  understood  by  the 
expression  “light  iff'  the  moon”  and  “dark 
of  the  moon?”  That  is,  does  “light” 
mean  from  new  moon  until  full  moon,  and 
"dark”  front  full  moon  until  new  moon, 
or  vice  versa?  j.  M.  li. 
Columbus,  Ind. 
Aceordiug  to  superstition,  enterprises 
which  look  to  growth  and  enlargement 
should  be  begun  when  the  moon  is  under¬ 
going  increase,  that  is  from  the  total 
darkness  of  “new  moon'  to  the  maximum 
illumination  of  "full  inoon,”  or  during 
the  first  two  quarters;  on  the  other  hand, 
if  destruction  is  desired,  as  when  cutting 
noxious  growths,  this  should  be  accom¬ 
plished  during  the  waning  of  the  inoon,  or 
in  the  last  two  quarters  from  full  to  new 
moon.  Just  what  is  “generally  under¬ 
stood”  is  hard  to  say,  for  general  under¬ 
standing  is  apt  to  be  somewhat  vague ; 
but  the  moon  is  dark  only  when  direct- 
Growth  of  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Alsike 
ly  between  the  earth  and  sun,  or  at  the 
time  immediately  preceding  the  now 
moon,  or  first  quarter.  The  dark  of  the 
moon  would  therefore  be  from  the  last 
of  the  fourth  quarter  to  the  beginning  of 
the  first;  while  the  light  of  the  moon 
might  be  any  time  from  the  beginning  of 
the  first  quarter  to  full  moon.  Very 
likely,  any  period  of  the  waning  of  the 
moon  would  be  popularly  called  the  dark 
of  the  moon,  while  the  period  of  its  in¬ 
crease  would  be  termed  its  “light.” 
M.  B.  D. 
Good-sized  Alsike  Clover 
On  page  0S2  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  you  give 
as  an  objection  to  Alsike  that  it  is  too 
small  and  does  not  give  bulk  enough. 
With  me,  that  does  not  hold  true.  Its 
extra  length  more  than  makes  up  for  the 
coarseness  of  the  Red  clover.  I  am 
mailing  you,  under  cover,  a  spire  of  Al¬ 
sike  clover;  also  one  of  Alfalfa.  The 
latter  measures  4  feet  10  inches,  and 
stood  straight  ns  an  arrow.  The  form¬ 
er  measured  5  feet  4  inches.  The  seed 
was  sown  in  1015,  oue-half  Alfalfa,  one- 
third  Red  clover  and  the  remainder  Al¬ 
sike.  Very  little  of  the  Red  is  in  evi¬ 
dence  but  the  Alsike  will  average  4  feet 
tall  and  has  crowded  the  Alfalfa  out  in 
places.  cuas.  E.  wickes. 
Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y. 
R.  N.-Y. — The  plants  came  and  were 
as  described.  It  surely  was  remarkable 
Alsike. 
Uncle  Jethro  sat  fishing  on  the  bank 
of  a  rivulet  wheu  a  stranger  stopped 
beside  him.  “Is  it  possible  that  there  are 
auy  fish  in  such  a  small  stream  as  that?” 
he  asked.  “No,  there  ain't  none!”  Uncle 
Jethro  grunted.  “But  you’ve  fishing!” 
“Yep,”  said  Uncle  Jethro.  “What,  then, 
is  your  object?”  “My  object,”  replied 
Uncle  Jethro,  “is  to  show  my  wife  I 
ain’t  got  no  time  to  sift  the  ashes.” — 
N.  Y.  Times. 
1 0,850  MILES 
WITHOUT  STOPPING  THE  MOTOR 
EIGHT  CYLINDER 
A  registered  STOCK  car  (everything  stock — gear  ratio,  ignition,  tires, 
wheels,  etc.)  made  this  unparalleled  record  in  a  Car  Owners’  Service  Test 
conducted  under  OFFICIAL  A.  A.  A.  sanction  and  supervision. 
Sheepshead  Bay  Speedway  and  Long  Island,  New  York  roads  were  the 
scenes  of  this  sensational  trial  which  began  at  12:14  P.M.  June  15th  and 
finished  at  12:14  P.  M.  June  29th.  Officials  of  the  American  Automobile 
Association  maintained  a  daily  24  hour  vigil  during  the  entire  two  weeks. 
Many  newspaper  and  motor  journal  representatives  and  parts  manufac¬ 
turers  were  in  constant  attendance. 
The  sturdy  KING  ran  day  and  night  through  rain,  fog  and  boiling 
sun  without  requiring  a  single  replacement  or  adjustment. 
10,850  miles  equals  about  two  years’  travel  in  the  hands  of  the  average 
owner,  yet  in  this  entire  mileage  the  car  was  stopped  (with  the  motor  run¬ 
ning)  for  a  total  of  but  15  hours,  25  min.  41  sec.  On  this  basis  the  test 
demonstrated  that  a  KING  EIGHT,  even  with  the  motor  running  contin¬ 
uously  for  two  years,  requires  only  nine  minutes  per  week  of  an  owner’s 
attention  for  all  service — gasoline,  water  and  oil  fillings,  tire  changes, 
battery  care,  etc. 
And  most  astounding  of  all,  the  KING  made  this  10,850  miles  with  a 
total  labor  expense  of  considerably  less  than  ten  dollars. 
During  the  entire  10,850  miles  a  weight  equal  to  five  passengers  was 
carried  and  the  car  maintained  an  average  speed  of  34  miles  per  hour, 
excluding  stops. 
An  examination  made  after  the  test  proved  the  car  to  be  in  perfect  run¬ 
ning  condition  and  ready  for  another  trial  of  the  same  or  greater  length. 
This  gTeat  KING  achievement  tops  off  the  series  of  remarkable  road  tests  recently  conducted  on 
the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  seaboards.  Climbing  tortuous  Mt.  Wilson  in  Southern  California  sealed  in  high 
gear;  traveling  987  miles  in  high  gear  from  Los  Angeles  to  San  Francisco  and  return,  and  driving  544 
miles  in  high  gear  from  Providence  to  Providenee  via  Albany  and  New  York  City,  are  three  remarkable 
accomplishments  of  the  eight  cylinder  KING  all  within  a  fortnight. 
The  accuracy  of  every  statement  in  this  advertisement  can  be  proved  by  impartial,  official  docu¬ 
ments.  These  gruelling  trials  have  raised  still  higher  the  proud  estate  of  KING  ownership,  and  to  prospec¬ 
tive  ear  purchasers  this  pioneer  eight  cylinder  car  now  offers  a  record  which  can  mean  nothing  less  than 
ABSOLUTE  SATISFACTION  IN  PERFORMANCE,  SERVICE  and  OPERATION  ECONOMY. 
7 -passenger,  60  Horse  Power  Touring  Car  $ 1350 
Roadster,  $ 1350 .  Sedan,  $ 1900  Prices  F.  O.  B.  Detroit 
KING  MOTOR  CAR  COMPANY  DETROIT 
