4888 
44® 
THE RURAL. HEW-YORKER. 
Cttttr. 
“Every Man is presumed to know the Law. 
Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises from Ig¬ 
norance of Law .” 
WEED-CUTTING IN OHIO. 
L. T., Newark , Ohio. —What is the law in 
the regard to cutting weeds in this State? 
Ans. The statute requires the owners of 
land adjacent to any line fence, when the land, 
is improved on both sides of the same, to keep 
all brush, briars, thistles, or other noxious 
weeds cut in the fence corners or along the 
line of such fence. Each land-owner takes 
care of his own side of the fence. If the own¬ 
er or tenant occupying any land, neglects or 
refuses to cut such bush, briars, thistles, or 
other noxious weeds, the owner or occupant 
of land abutting on such line fence, aggrieved 
thereby, may, after giving such person notice 
of his intentions, for not less than 30 days, 
notify the trustees of the township in which 
such land is situated, who shall, if there is 
just cause of complaint, cause the same to be 
cut in such a manner as they may consider 
best, either by letting the work to the lowest 
bidder, or by private contract, and the cost 
thereof will be certified to the county treasur¬ 
er and collected with the taxes on the land on 
which such work was done. 
ASSIGNMENT OP INSURANCE POLICY. 
L. II., New York. —I hold a ten-years’ en 
dowment policy on my life, on which I have 
already paid considerably more than half the 
amount of premiums. The policy in case of 
my death before the end of the ten years, was 
made payable to a certain person, who paid 
part of the premium; but if I survived the 
full amount was to be paid to me. Can I 
legally assign it to another person, that per¬ 
son hereafter to pay the premiums and to hold 
the policy until maturity, when a settlement 
is to be made between us? Would possession 
of the policy and deed of assignment for value 
received entitle the holder to collect the in¬ 
surance when due? 
Ans. —If the policy is made payable to the 
assured or his heirs, he may assign it without 
consent, but an assignment in order to be 
valid must have the consent of all who are 
named in the policy or are necessarily bene¬ 
ficiaries. Of course, the assignment must be 
made in agreement with the terms of the 
policy itself, and if the policy provides that an 
assignment without the assent of the insurers 
is void, their assent becomes necessary; or if 
the possible beneficiaries are given any con¬ 
tingent interest in an endowment policy, no 
assignment can be made which will deprive 
them of it without their consent. 
S. L. L., Woodlawn, Ohio. —Is it permissible 
for me to lead the water for some land of 
mine bordering on the highway into the 
ditches by the side of the road? If so, can I 
deepen the ditches, or get the road supervisor 
to do so, for greater facility in draining my 
land? 
Ans. —Ditches made by road supervisors 
in public highways are .made for the purpose 
of draining the highways and not private 
lands, and the owners of adjoining farms have 
no right to drain their land into such ditches, 
and consequently have no right to clean them 
out, or to require the supervisors to clean them 
out except for road purposes. 
S. T. M., Dayton , Ohio. —1. If I keep a pub¬ 
lic watering place by the roadside, can I claim 
any rebate in my road taxes? 2. A neighbor 
killed a dog of mine which was running at 
large on the road; had he any right to do so? 
Ans. —1. No. There is no law in Ohio 
making any rebate in taxes because a man 
keeps a public watering place. 2. In Ohio 
anybody can legally kill a dog running at 
large away from the premises of the owner 
or the person who harbors it; but going on the 
road outside such premises cannot be consider¬ 
ed running at large. 
A correspondent writes from Alexandria, 
Hanson, Co., Dakota: Last week seven cut¬ 
throats did our county out of $1,000 or more. 
They got $132 out of our town (Hanson!. They 
represented themselves as agents for school 
supplies, and got the indorsement of the Coun¬ 
ty School Commissioner. From him they 
went to one of the proper school officers (a 
Director), got his signature indorsing or re¬ 
commending these as good, and a signature in 
which he assumed to be a reference. From 
him they went to Director No. 2, who also 
gave three signatures: No. 3, No. 4. These 
signatures finally appeared before the Clerk 
of the School Board and Treasurer, and turn¬ 
ed out to be: 1. An order for four sets of 
charts, one for each school; 2. an order for 
four times $33, or rather four orders for $33— 
$132; 3. an order to the Clerk to countersign 
the above orders. And though it is legal for 
these officers to do business only when met 
for school business, these orders were paid, 
and we got a chart, perhaps really worth $5 
for our $33. Give the scamps Hail Columbia, 
and reiterate, with emphasis, your exhorta¬ 
tion to farmers to sign nothing where there 
is any danger: I would say, not even a sub¬ 
scription for the support of the minister. 
Concerns Censured. —Under this caption 
the Eye-Opener will from time to time give 
the names of concerns he has seen censured in 
other papers ; but which have not been in¬ 
vestigated from the Rural office. A Chi¬ 
cago paper cautions its readers against invest¬ 
ing in the Excelsior Safety Burner for sale by 
H. A. Ellis & Co., of that thriving village. 
Neither the Monarch Washing Machine, of 
Chicago ; nor the DixoD Self-Operating Ma¬ 
chine of New York, finds favor in the opinion 
of other papers. The Agents’ Supply Com¬ 
pany, Rochester, N. Y., will bear watching 
according to the Farm, Field and Stockman. 
.J. E. Hill & Co., who advertise pretty 
extensively from Chicago, cannot be found 
there. There are several parties who adver¬ 
tise from this city, too ; but after much 
trouble we have been unable to locate them. 
They have either a letter box in a segar or 
liquor store, or a desk in some dingy office ; 
but they are never at home. They do all the 
swindling through the mails and the newsaper 
advertising columns.The Monarch 
Laundry Works is not considered reliable 
by several Chicago papers. 
To Several Inquirers.— Gay Brothers, of 
this city, are quite financially responsible, 
having a considerable amount of capital in 
their business; but of late we have heard of 
several rather serious objections to the way in 
which that business is conducted. The con¬ 
cern came into conflict with Mayor Hewitt 
some months ago, and our doughty Mayor 
used the harshest sort of language in stigmat¬ 
izing the business methods of the firm. 
The National Remedy Company, of this City, 
will probably forward the nostrums ordered, 
but we do not think they will prove nearly as 
efficacious as claimed; while better goods can 
be obtained for less than half the price at the 
nearest drug-store. 
tDomW* * Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
E dison, the electrician, is the happy parent 
of a baby daughter. His young wife 
is well known in Chautauquan circles as the 
daughter of Lewis Miller, president of that 
organization. 
* * * 
A good many women will find it hard to 
forgive the fathers of the Methodist Church 
for their action in excluding women delegates 
from the conference. However, they have 
done something to their honor and advantage 
in organizing an order of Deaconesses or Prot¬ 
estant sisters of charity. Women have al¬ 
ways been among the most earnest workers 
of the Methodist Church, and it is but just 
that their labors should be fully recognized. 
We believe that the Moravians have an or¬ 
der of sisters, while the Anglican or Episco¬ 
palian Church takes the lead, among Protes¬ 
tants,having in the United States 16 sisterhoods 
and one order of Deaconesses. The oldest of 
these is the Sisterhood of St. Mary, founded in 
1865, which has four schools and eight charities 
under its charge. The Sisterhood of St. Mary 
and All Saints, in Baltimore, is composed of 
colored women, who labor among their own 
people. 
* * * 
What a lot of good advice the farmer’s 
daughter is now receiving. We all can stand 
a little preaching now and then, and there is 
something for every one in those talks to the 
farmer’s daughter. After all, the inclinations 
of the daughter depend entirely on the mother. 
Home influence is the strongest influence, and 
a girl’s estimate of domestic work must de¬ 
pend on her mother. 
* * * 
We don’t really think that there are so many 
false ideas of gentility as there used to be. 
Nowadays a girl does not think it unladylike 
to be stout, and rosy, and muscular; she is 
ready to live out-of-doors and share with her 
brother in his pastimes. With this revival of 
muscle we ought to have a revival of house¬ 
wifery. We are glad to think that the pro¬ 
portion of girls who do take an interest in 
housekeeping is greater than that of those who 
do^not,'and L we Know very few [farmers’ 
daughters who are not proud—with reason— 
of their domestic skill. So we expect that the 
Rural’s pointed talk will encourage the in¬ 
dustrious ones, while making the idlers more 
careful. 
A WOMAN’S CHOICE. 
AUNT ANCIENT. 
I t is rumored that the female fashionables 
of Gotham are discontented. To use their 
own vernacular, social entertainments in the 
metropolis are frequented by “silly” young 
men and “impossible old ones,” and shunned 
by the bright and desirable men. Hence the 
wail of woe. One newspaper writer gives 
what he evidently deems a lucid explanation 
of this unenviable situation. He avers that 
women, as a rule, are artful designers, and as 
they become more clever the men grow cor¬ 
respondingly wary. The latter are afraid of 
‘ ‘entanglements.” They think women are con¬ 
tinually devising subtle and deep-laid schemes 
by means of which innocent men are drawn 
into undesirable matrimonial ventures. It is 
altogether probable that the men who huddle 
together in club rooms and bachelor apart¬ 
ments think they are adopting the only effi¬ 
cient means of escaping wily woman’s toils, 
but no one except a man would be guilty of 
the assertion that they are actually reduced to 
such a necessity. It is a delusion of the mas¬ 
culine brain, conjured up by egotistical ima¬ 
ginings. The majority of men are entirely 
capable of protecting selfish interests from the 
incursions of aggressive foes. 
It is true, however, that in social gather¬ 
ings the world over, city and country alike, 
the female portion of the company is in many 
instances intellectually superior to the male 
element. 
A reason is at hand. The dullest intellect 
recognizes the advantages of association with 
greater minds. Men like and expect to be 
entertained and they have the privilege of 
forcing themselves into society in a manner 
disallowed women by the customs of respect¬ 
able people. As a result, cultivated women 
are “wearied” by the attentions of silly young 
men and sentimental old ones, and misguided 
girls are tempted to form intellectual misal¬ 
liances that end in misery and misfortune. 
In spite of all that has been said and written 
about the enlarged sphere of women, her 
means of self-support and her increased ad¬ 
vantages, there are enough people, especially 
in country districts, who believe a woman’s 
whole duty lies within the precincts of home 
and that her sphere is circumscribed by the 
limitations of a domestic life. There are im¬ 
planted in every woman’s heart a love of home 
and a desire for family ties; yet every woman 
should, and every intelligent woman does pre¬ 
fer a moderately happy single life to a miser¬ 
able existence with an undesirable husband. 
The application of my text may seem suitable 
to the conditions of city rather than country 
life, but personal observations have convinced 
me that more persons are unequally yoked 
through the medium of country singing and 
spelling schools, apple bees, etc., than are un¬ 
happily mated by the machinations of money- 
loving, fashion adoring city match-makers. 
The degree of thought advancement between 
the cultured city mamma and her daughter 
is much smaller than that existing between 
the hard-working farmer’s wife and her child. 
The former have been trained in the same 
ways and have had equal advantages and in 
consequence the city girl, unlike her country 
cousin, is forced neither by parental influence 
nor unfavorable surroundings to choose an 
uncongenial mate. 
Most mothers that have lived exclusively 
in country communities are inured to toil; 
they have little time for careful reading and 
earnest study, and but a limited knowledge of 
the world and the opportunities afforded there¬ 
in for independent living and intellectual de¬ 
velopment and in this condition of mind each 
one plans for her more privileged daughter 
a future which in every particular is an ex¬ 
act counterpart of her own past. Meanwhile 
the daughter, under the mother’s guidance, is 
preparing for what proves to be, in many 
cases, a troubled and discontented life. At 
an early age, generally between 14 and 16, 
she dons long skirts, dresses her hair like 
mamma’s, gives up her childish pleasures, and 
goes into society. What are the results? 
She is enamored with the first “snip” who 
makes his appearance and manifests his de¬ 
votedness, and the end is almost invariably 
the same—a deplorable marriage. And not 
to marry would be contrary to her precon¬ 
ceived notions, early training and the pater¬ 
nal prerogative. If she happens to have 
more regard for physical needs than for men¬ 
tal and spiritual qualifications she will in all 
probability be as happy with a young “snip” 
or a breathing manikin as it is possible for 
such a person to be under any circumstances. 
If, on the other hand, she is naturally refined 
and'ambitious, if she sees through a glass, al¬ 
though but darkly, the social and intellectual 
pleasures of the outside world and then 
awakens to find herself bound irrevocably 
to a coarse-grained, plodding or frivolous 
man, what unhappiness is hers? This is' the 
history of at least one third of the marriages 
perpetrated in our country homes. The vic¬ 
tim in every instance is a girl that has liter¬ 
ally been sent out husband-hunting before 
her intellect and emotions were fully devel¬ 
oped or she had the intelligence to discrimi¬ 
nate between the weak, selfish men and the 
strong and noble ones. The result is unfor¬ 
tunate to herself, to her husband and to the 
male sex in general. 
As long as women are educated in the belief 
that wedlock is a region of ecstatic bliss and 
the only means of securing the world’s favor 
and respect, the vanity of men is in a degree 
admissible. Women themselves are largely 
responsible for the undue confidence of men. 
Many girls sanction their vices and impress 
upon themselves the idea that woman must 
have masculine attention, no matter whether 
it comes from a hair-brained fop, an addle- 
pated “clod” or a sensible man and a true gen¬ 
tleman. If cultivated women permit men of in¬ 
ferior mental caliber to become their constant 
associates, they ought not to complain should 
they be ignored by men who are congenial 
and possessed of desirable qualifications. 
We have had a revolution in woman's work 
and wages and now let us have one in matri¬ 
monial and social affairs. All women con- 
not be as select, but it is surely unnecessary 
for them to make such great sacrifices for the 
sake of a little social 4clat. Would it not be 
better for them to associate more exclusively 
with their own sex until men of like culture 
and similar attainments seek their society, 
rather than fritter time away vainly attempt¬ 
ing to enjoy themselves with youths and dul¬ 
lards? If every young girl was taught some 
means of self-support, was impressed with the 
true end of life and had a desire to shun the 
attentions of every intemperate and dissolute 
man, there would be fewer distasteful mar¬ 
riages, more happy lives and more noble 
living. 
SEEN HERE AMD THERE. 
SELMA CLARE. 
When a young man is in love he doesn’t 
very often stop to analyze the object of his 
affections. He doesu’t consider the matter of 
choosing a wife half as carefully and conscien¬ 
tiously as he would that of choosing a horse, 
although he must expect to travel in harness 
with the former for the remainder of their 
joint lives, while if his horse proves fractious 
or unsound he can sell it. It is a very safe 
thing for a youth to do some of his courting 
amid the family of his lady love. Her stand¬ 
ing in their affections is a pretty sure criterion 
of her worthiness of affection. If she is gentle 
and reverential to her father, kind and sisterly 
to the little ones, and, above all, if she is a girl 
who helps her mother, he is safe in going 
ahead. But if her father appears afraid of 
her fine, ladylike airs; if the little ones shun 
her, and if she wears afternoon dress while 
her weary mother is still drudging round in 
calico, let him beware. 
Somebody in the New Orleans Picayune has 
depicted the right kind of a girl to marry: 
“There is a girl, and I love to think of her 
and talk of her, who comes in late when they 
have company, who wears a pretty little air 
of mingled responsibility and anxiety with 
her youth, whom the others seem to depend 
on and look to for many comforts. She is the 
girl who helps her mother. In her own home 
she is a blessed little saint and comforter. She 
takes unfinished tasks from the tired, stiff fin¬ 
gers that falter at their work; her strong, 
young figure is a staff upon which the gray¬ 
haired, white-faced mother leans and is rested. 
She helps mother with the spring sewing, with 
the week’s mending, with a cheerful conver¬ 
sation and congenial companionship that some 
girls do not think worth while wasting on only 
mother. And when there comes a day that 
she must bend, as girls must often bend, over 
the old, worn-out body of mother lying un¬ 
heeded in her coffin, rough hands folded, 
something very sweet will be mingled with 
her loss, and the girl who helped her mother 
will find a benediction of peace upon her head 
and in her heart. ” 
The question propounded by Miss Frances 
Willard to the ladies of the White Cross So¬ 
ciety: “Is it good manners for our white 
ribboners to greet one another with a holy 
kiss when they meet in depots, cars, streets, 
conventions and public places,” has excited 
considerable comment. One writer advises 
that the ‘holy kiss’ be kept for holy places to 
which the places enumerated do not belong, 
but I should like to except even the holy 
places, since the spectacle of a num 
ber of ladies exchanging kisses at the 
church portal seems . scarcely appropriate. 
