614 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 20, 3022 
|| HOPE FARM NOTES 
Part I. 
[Several rentiers have asked the Hope 
Farm man to print the story of the hoys 
and the dog which was given ns part of 
an address during Farmers’ Week at 
Cornell. This was only a simple form of 
allegory, designed to bring out a sort of 
figurative, expression of the old slogan: 
“lie must do it ourselves!'' The little 
story, snob as it is, follows, and I hope 
our people will gel the idea clearly, and 
realize that I mean no disrespect for edu¬ 
cation, law or religion. It is long enough 
to run as a “continued story.”] 
Whenever I want to be as clear and 
simple as possibb—so as to reach the 
real think works in a man's mind, I go 
back to childhood for some experience 
which may serve as an allegory—a plain, 
homely figure to illustrate our present 
social conditions. The child is the be¬ 
ginning of the man. and the aims and 
ambitions of childhood are usually right 
and just. As we grow older and "put 
awa.v childish things” we are quite likely 
to make junk out of much of the justice. 
I served my apprenticeship on the farm 
at a time when most men surely put the 
dollar above tin man and (lie cent above 
the boy. As our old minister once put 
it, the average man had a very keen scent 
for a cent. That was tit the time when 
the old New England farm system was 
breaking, and manufacturing was becom¬ 
ing the dominant Industry. Most of the 
smart, children who did not move to a 
shop town went West, seeking smoother 
and richer farms. Most of our Yankee 
land bad been exhausted through the 
plan of putting the cent above the boy. 
That meant selling everything we could 
raise, living mostly on the culls, and 
sending the* money out West, to buy a farm 
mortgage or another piece of land, or in 
buying stock in a shoe or cotton factory. 
For example, on an old farm we had a 
few trees of Hold win apples. They were 
never sprayed, yet they gave a few bar¬ 
rels of fruit. 'They were put in a bin 
down cellar. And some time during the 
Winter we went over them. The sound 
apples were put in baskets and peddled 
in the nearby town. The money was 
hidden in the trunk upstairs until $50 
was accumulated, when a share in a 
Western farm mortgage was bought. The 
wormy and “specked" apples were re¬ 
served for our own use! Thus toe were 
brought up to eat the culls, and give 
people in more favored industries not 
only better food, hut the advantage of 
using the capital which our products 
supplied! Then nothing was put back 
on the land to supply what we took 
away. In some cases men who kept only 
one horse would sell the horse manure to 
some more enterprising gardener or fruit 
grower. Consequently most of the land, 
having been cultivated more than “00 
years, was down to its bones iu more 
ways than one. 
* * * * * 
Without any particular aid from sci¬ 
ence. our farmers had stumbled upon tbe 
great truth that their soil needed phos¬ 
phorus and lime. 1 think the fertilizer 
agents of that day were largely respon¬ 
sible for 1 lie spreading of that truth. 
Some of the «lories and theories these 
men expounded were “fearfully and won¬ 
derfully made.” but they got down and into 
the heads of the unimaginative farmers. 
I often think that -onto of our modern 
scientific teachers might take lessons from 
these pioneer fertilizer agents in tin* art of 
selling imagination. Tour modern scien¬ 
tist- seems so afraid that some brother 
expert will upset his discoveries with a 
new experiment that he becomes almost 
as cautious as a matt walking around 
some hidden bear trap. At any rate, the 
fertilizer men began offering a so-called 
“superphosphate of lime" as the most im¬ 
portant fertilizer for our soils. Just as 
the average man never gets very far 
away from the first 25 years of his life, 
so the fertilizer trade has never got fully 
away from that strong word "super¬ 
phosphate.” To this (lay n majority of 
farmers persist in calling all fertilizers 
“phosphates,” whether they contain phos¬ 
phorus or not. But at any rate, all this 
made a great demand for hones. We 
gathered them and sold to the local 
dealer at half a cent a pound. The man¬ 
ufacturer “cut” them with sulphuric 
acid, and we bought them back at $90 
ier ton! Those were the days when 
tones contained gold ! Actually, w<* sold 
bones and accepted 12 cents of the 
manufacturer's dollar. W«* did it with 
our eyes open and our fingers clinched on 
the Cent in cash which we accepted for a 
two-pound hone. You see. the \\ estern 
mortgage company would Hot accept 
bones in payment. Fash was demanded. 
At that time all the country stores bought 
bones just as they did eggs and butter. 
« « * * * 
Four hovs that I knew inti .lately 
formed a partnership to hunt bones. 
Something like 20 years before the uncles 
of these hoys had formed a partnership 
for digging gold in California. As it 
resulted, thev might have made more 
money had they remained at home dig¬ 
ging bones in New England. We all 
have some pet ambition which drives us 
on to voluntary labor: these hoys wanted 
to earn money enough to go to the circus 
with a full and proper accompaniment of 
peanuts and lemonade. That may be as 
honest and laudable an ambition us tbe 
one now urging you on to extra exertion 
of a naturally lazy body! These boys 
hunted for bones everywhere, and with 
some success, being greatly aided by a 
little brown dog belonging to Deacon 
Drake. That dog would lend his part¬ 
ners to a hone even though it were buried 
underground. Mis nose was as keen as 
the stick in the hands of a “water witch." 
One day the hoys heard (Jyp harking 
down in Deacon Drake's pasture. They 
knew the call, and ran to find the dog 
tearing at. the ground under a wild apple 
tree. They dug in and found a bushel 
of hones, which represented the remains 
of dogs and eats and other small animals 
which Deacon Drake and his hired man 
had killed and quietly put <mt of sight. 
The eider made from the wild apples 
growing on that seedling tree always did 
make strong vinegar. The digging re¬ 
vealed the mystery connected with many 
a tragedy over the mysterious disappear¬ 
ance of Dick or Tabby or I’et. The hoys 
scraped tip those hones in great glee and 
carried them to their pile out in the 
woodshed. This gave them nearly enough 
for their purpose. Then they made the 
mistake which many farmers make and 
bragged about their property. One of 
the worst things farmers, ns a class, can 
do is to parade their wealth. Whenever 
they do that every other parasitic class 
in all society will come demanding a 
share. In most eases it is better to carry 
the evidence of your prosperity like a 
concealed weapon. 
* n it * * 
Deacon Drake heard about the dis¬ 
covery of this hoard of hones. He did 
not. talk much—lie acted, tine day, while 
the boys were at School. In* came with the 
hired man and look the bones away in 
his wagon. He took the entire pile for 
good measure even the skull and shank 
bones, which the hoys expected to sell at 
double, price. The deacon owned one of 
the church sheds which he had hoarded 
up like a strong room, lie damped the 
hones into this shed and locked the door. 
Tt. seems that ever since the world began 
the strong and the rich have taken more 
than their share of the bones—some¬ 
times in one way and sometimes in an¬ 
other. In many eases they have at¬ 
tempted to make use of the law and even 
of the church in order to hold their 
booty. You all now begin to see \yby I 
call Ibis simple story an allegory, for 
these little boys and their dog represent 
the plain, common working people, who 
have little capital outside of their labor. 
Deacon Drake, as we shall see. repre¬ 
sents the smaller and yet more powerful 
class which, all down through the ages, 
has lived upon the labor of others. 
These hoys did the usual thing for New 
England at that time. Very likely some 
<>f them were descended from those little 
Boston boys who went as a delegation to 
(General Cage just before tbe Revolution. 
The British soldiers had destroyed their 
coasting, and those hoys went right to 
headquarters to “see about it,” That 
was the New England way at that lime. 
So these hoys went straight to Deacon 
Drake and demanded their hones. And 
the deacon bluffed them just as I have 
seen much larger deacons at tin* State 
Legislature bluff off a delegation of 
farmers. He said he had the law on his 
side. Those hones came off his property, 
therefore they were part of his real es¬ 
tate, and the law said that anything 
firmly attached to his land was his. If 
anyone slide his real estate, he was a 
thief. If they broke into his church shed 
and took the bones, lie would have them 
sent to the reform school, lie was in 
the Legislature and could do it. That 
church shed was a city of refuge for the 
hones. Soim* nf you have no doubt begun 
to smile at this simple and childish story. 
What does it amount to? What is the 
point? Well. I will ask those of you 
who have read history if there have not 
been innumerable times when farmers, 
like this quartette of little boys, have 
been deprived of their hones and their 
fair bonus in just about that way! The 
great struggle nf the farmer for the com¬ 
mon rights of life and of labor, all 
through the ages, has been along the lines 
of this simple story. And the analogy 
follows in the way these hoys tried to 
enforce their rights. 
* * * * * 
First, they went to the school teacher 
for help. lie represented education! 
That was the great, wonderful thing ever 
held up before lsiys to spur them on to 
increased exertion. Some stranger once 
came before the Sunday school ami said 
that cducutloyi should always be written 
with a capital E. It was really the faith 
which could remove mountains. If educa¬ 
tion could remove a mountain, it cer¬ 
tainly ought to he able to remove a pile 
of hones to the rightful owner. Ami the 
teacher! He made a great hit when he 
recited Lincoln’s Reftysburg speech, and 
lie had everyone crying when he thun¬ 
dered against the Turks for their treat¬ 
ment of the Armenians, Naturally the 
boys fell that tlu* mail who stood up for 
the Armenians would surely stand up for 
boys tight in his own town, The boys 
did not realize that these Armenians 
were several thousand miles away, while 
Deacon Drake was school trustee and 
hired the teachers! Education, like most 
other conservative forces, likes to travel 
along a very safe road. So the teacher 
gave these boys a very line lecture on the 
great value of bones as a fertilizer. They 
supplied phosphorus, which the ancients 
called “light bearer.” A Herman named 
Liebig demonstrated the value of hones. 
And then* the teacher quit, lie was no 
light, hearer for any criticism of Demon 
Drake. He advised the hoys to hunt 
more hones—that is, increase production 
—and that tip to within a few years has 
ever been the advice which education has 
banded out to farmers. But these little 
boys could not quite understand what 
the "light bearer” and Liebig had to do 
with their bones. 
Then they went to Squire Brown—the 
justice of the peace. Didn't he send 
Daniel Ames to jail for getting drunk 
and stealing a pig? Here was a tnan 
who peddled justice and represented the 
law'. Rut tile hoys did not. know that 
Deacon Drake had a mortgage on Squire 
Brown's house! The representative of 
the majesty of the law looked wise, ex¬ 
amined his books and then put on his 
spectacles and looked over them -as sol¬ 
emn owls have done ever since spectacles 
were invented. He told the boys that the 
law held that Deacon Drake was "tech¬ 
nically right." and the way he pronounced 
that word “technically'’ gave the boys a 
chill that drove them away from the law. 
Jt. \v. c. 
(To Be Continued) 
A Farm Woman’s Sensible Note 
I thought The R. N.-Y. was wise in 
saying that the column or page on “Nice 
Things About. My Husband” might be 
objected to on the ground that some peo¬ 
ple have no husband. Also I agree with 
the writer who says that the man who 
does so much indoors is apt to neglect 
his own work. I know a farmer who 
helps his wife cook, etc., but be neglects 
the poor animals who are dependent upon 
him for their care. In doing those things 
which he ought not to have done lie leaves 
undone those things which lie Ought, to 
have done. I think the farm woman 
should he helped in every possible way, 
but not by having the farmer leave hia 
work to come in to do hers. That. I 
think, is a short-sighted policy. 1 knew 
a farmer w ho grumbled constantly be¬ 
cause his wife couldn't milk cows and 
help clean out the stables. Although she 
did everything else in her power to make 
up for this lack of qualification of a 
farmer's wife (which In* led her to be¬ 
lieve it was), cooked for hired help, 
washed and crated eggs and many other 
things outside of her housework, yet he 
grumbled. All T would ask of a man ia 
that, he do his own share of the work; 
that is, that he do a man's work and 
keep quiet about it. How can a man 
succeed with his barn work if he is 
always in the kitchen? T like to see a 
husband who is manly enough to appre¬ 
ciate a woman who can do a woman’s 
work without expecting her to do his for 
him. And the wife who has a husband 
who quietly does his own work without 
grumbling ought to he very thankful, 
without expeeliug him to come in and 
do hers. 
I'd like some readers to tell how they 
keep their kitchen Stoves black on top. 
I've come to the conclusion that it is a 
very foolish idea to put stove polish on, 
only to have it burn off after an hour or 
so. and stick to everything in the kitchen, 
including my complexion. Does anyone 
know of anything black which will stick 
to a hot stove? L there an enamel which 
will not burn off? I've inquired at stores 
for this, hut have been unable to get it. 
I like the ideals your paper stunds 
for. I noticed an article on the home 
page not long ago on cartoons, etc., 
usually seen in newspapers. I wanted 
to write immediately to say bow thor¬ 
oughly I agreed with the views set forth. 
Also, do you not think it a pity tha' 
one cannot go to a theatre without ha\ 
ing to hear or witness something sug¬ 
gestive or embarrassing? 1 have won¬ 
dered why it is that persons who are 
dignified in conversation, correspondence, 
etc., will take their -weethearts, sisters, 
wives or mothers to listen to these sug¬ 
gestive things. Tf the stage did not think 
the majority wanted such stuff, would it 
continue to give it? 1 understand great, 
care is exercised in the selecting of plays 
or anything to lie witnessed by the Frcsi- 
dent of our country. Is His Excellency 
supposed to be the only clean-minded per¬ 
son iu the country.' Is our civilization 
only a thin veneer on the surface, and 
do the majority like such rot? 1 seldom 
go to a theatre. Inti whenever I have 
gone T have usually been disappointed or 
disgusted. 1 think photo plays are usu¬ 
ally more nearlx clean than vaudeville. 
I consider some features in the latter 
very corrupting as a rule. I like fun, 
real clean fun, 
I apologize for indicting all this on 
you. but I really felt that I must, and 
to find out if others do not share my 
opinion. I am quite sure I am not tile 
only person who likes clean fun, clean 
recreation. How can anything he re¬ 
creating if it isn't clean? 
MRS. FRANK SniiRER. 
The husband, who had a great habit 
of teasing his wife, was out driving in 
the country with her. when they met a 
farmer driving a span of mules. Just as 
they were about to pass the farmer's rig 
the mules turned their heads toward the 
auto and brayed vociferously. Turning 
to his wife, the husband cuttingly re¬ 
marked, “Relatives of yours. I suppose?” 
“Yes,” said his wife sweetly, "by mar¬ 
riage.”—De Laval Monthly. 
The picture printed above is sent ns by a reader in Pennsylvania with a .statement 
that the girl desires its publication, We do not know just what it represents, but 
here is our guess: It may be the faithful hired man. who is deaf. He was working 
so intently that ho did not know dinner was ready. The girl had to leave her kitchen 
and go out to shout “Dinner!'' in his ear. You see. the man with good ears is always 
watching the clock! The faithful deaf man goes ahead until lie is called. Is not 
this a plausible guess at the picture? 
