1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
467 
PUBUC UTILITIES IN FRANCE. 
Telegraph, Telephone and Rural Delivery. 
I am living in a country viiiage of about 800 in¬ 
habitants, 250 miies distant from Paris, five miies 
from the nearest station, and weii situated in the 
midst of a progressive agricuiturai country, so that 
i can give you a good idea of our rurai conditions re¬ 
specting post, teiegraph and teiephone commodities. 
In France, aii services of post, teiegraph and teiephone 
are pubiic services in the hands of the government. 
The maii is deiivered every day in the smaiiest vii¬ 
iage, and even in the remotest single farm all over 
the territory. Here, quite a small village, we have 
two deliveries every day, at 8 A. M. and 8 P. M., and 
in small towns of 5,000 inhabitants there are often 
three deliveries, as in the largest towns. Telegraph 
offices are very numerous, and are operated in almost 
every postoffice. In fact, it is not possible to drive 
10 or 12 miles in the country without finding a tele¬ 
graph office. They are open from 7 to 12 A. M., and 
from 2 to 7 P. M. The rate for telegrams is one cent 
per word, with a minimum perception of 10 cents for 
delivery all over France and Algeria. Postage for let¬ 
ters is three cents for France and Algeria, five cents 
for other countries. We also use postal cards on a 
large scale; they cost two cents whether for France 
or for foreign countries. Young folks are flooding 
the postoffices with illustrated post cards for making 
collections, same as they used to do with stamps some 
time ago. The telephone up to the present day is only 
used in towns where business is more active than in 
rural villages. Farmers are very conservative, and 
they feel no want of rapid communication between 
themselves. They are living so close together that 
they have opportunities to meet each other very often, 
either in the villages or in the nearest 
towns on market days, so that there is 
no rural telephone in France to speak 
of, except on the great agricultural 
plains of the north, where they grow 
beets in large quantities for the manu¬ 
facture of sugar. The beet growing 
farms are connected by telephone with 
the manufactories, but it is rather an 
industrial business than an agricul¬ 
tural one. 
We have in France the best roads that 
you can imagine, and for that reason 
automobiles become every day more 
common. The motors employed are 
mostly gasoline, also a few steam en¬ 
gines. Electric motors may be found in 
some cities, where carriages make a 
local service, and where they can find 
the electric power to load the accumu¬ 
lators. But we never see electric auto¬ 
mobiles in the country for want of elec¬ 
trical plants to supply power. Many 
towns are now replacing the old-fash¬ 
ioned gas lighting with electric lighting, 
and are building plants where electric 
automobiles will find their power, and 
will for that reason become more nu¬ 
merous every year, especially if the manufacturers 
can find out new power and light accumulators, I be¬ 
lieve that electric automobiles will be the carriages 
of the near future. Electricity is not employed in 
agriculture except for lighting purposes on large 
farms, cheese and butter factories, sugar-beet manu¬ 
factures and flour mills. Electric appliances are quite 
unknown to the average farmer. In the southeast of 
France there are many electric plants on the banks of 
the rivers coming down the mountains and they dis¬ 
tribute electricity by means of electric wires to the 
neighboring towns where it is used fpr industrial pur¬ 
poses. RAPHAJCn BARBE. 
Le Vivier-sur-Mer, France. 
AUTOMOBILES FOR FARM USE. 
Do you know of any cases where an automobile has 
been used for farm purposes? Is a vehicle of this sort 
useful for carrying cream to the creamery, for hauling 
light produce to market, or for other road work which 
would naturally occur in farming? Most people seem to 
believe that automobiles are for the benefit of town and 
city dwellers entirely, and that they are thus far a very 
little service to farmers. 
Running Errands in Kansas. 
I have used my machine a little over a year; have 
used it every day—rain, mud and snow. I have had 
very little trouble with it up to date. I use an Olds- 
mobile; it is a light runabout and has traveled over 
8,000 miles. 1 use my machine for real estate and in¬ 
surance business. As for carrying cream to a cream- 
pry I cannot see why it would not work satisfactorily. 
We have 29 machines here. Two are used by farmers 
to haul garden truck to the city; they are perfectly 
satisfied with them, and use them every morning. One 
of them lives out seven miles and the other six miles. 
1 have been able to go through any mud or sand 
found in this county. The machines are no good in 
fording a stream, as the water gets into the engine 
at 2% feet, and stops the machine, but outside of that 
the machine will do more work than four horses. I 
can take a customer out 15 miles, show him the land 
and be back at my office* in less than two hours. It is 
a great saver of time, and I keep it in front of my 
office when not in use; no trouble with flies, I do not 
have to look for a hitching post, and have no work 
at home except to oil and fill the machine, which 
takes about 15 minutes a day. The expense is less 
than one-third of the cost of my two horses that 1 
formerly kept to do the work. 1 have had no horses 
now for nine months, and would not go back to them 
for anything. g. k. spencer. 
Kansas. 
Useful in Michigan. 
They can be used to practical and good advantage 
for hauling fair loads in the season when roads are 
good, or reasonably good, but will not haul loads on 
deep muddy roads, so they are not satisfactory for all 
the year round. They are good for eight to nine 
months in the year. Most people want an all-year 
’round vehicle for business. c. n. babcock. 
Michigan. 
Does Light Farm Work. 
I should judge, with the experience I have had, that 
a good automobile is more valuable to a farmer than 
a townsman, as a farmer has more uses for a portable 
engine or power to shell corn, grind feed, saw wood, 
pump water, or haul light articles to market, etc. To 
do the above block up the hind axle and run a belt 
over the one wheel of the automobile and around the 
wheel on sheller, grinder, saw, pump or any other 
machine that the engine is capable of running, and 
see how the farmer can save money and be in style 
with any city man. I have traveled over 1,500 miles, 
and it has cost me about a cent a mile in repairs and 
oils. GEO. P. SCHMIDT. 
Kansas. 
Very Useful in California. 
Regarding automobiles for farm use will say that 
from my experience with them I believe there is one 
make on the market that could be used very success¬ 
fully for light work, such as you mention, as carry¬ 
ing cream to the creamery. Though the company I 
am connected with own thousands of acres of land 
and have many cattle, we do not run a dairy, and have 
never had occasion to try the auto for cream hauling. 
However, I use it entirely in place of horses for all 
runabout purposes, only when the roads are impas¬ 
sable on account of mud, a condition our roads are in 
in these parts at times because of no work being done 
on them. It is, as you state, the general belief of 
most country dwellers that automobiles are for the 
benefit of town and city people. The principal reason 
of this is that country folks are, as a rule, slow to 
adopt new ideas. They have time enough yet, how¬ 
ever, to take up the new mode of locomotion unless 
they are very careful what they buy, for out of the 
dozens of different makes now on the market there 
are not over six that I honestly believe can be called 
in anyway reliable. I now own a machine of both 
systems, hydrocarbon and steam, and 1 prefer the 
steam rig. We own over 100 horses, and I prefer my 
White ste.am carriage to any team we have. I find it 
just as reliable when the roads are in any shape at all, 
and I can get far more mileage at less expense than 
with a team. j. c. Cunningham. 
California. 
LESSONS FROM THE DROUGHT. 
Written Before the Rain. 
MEADOW CONDITIONS.—The condition of the 
meadows that are chiefly last year’s seeding is certain¬ 
ly very satisfactory. The clover stands from 10 to 20 
inches and is quite thick (June 6). Of course in a 
favorable year even in our northern latitude this 
growth would not be attractive. While there was no 
dew, nor had there been for two weeks, this grass was 
thick enough and the soil contained moisture enough 
to cause wet feet in walking through. These lands pro¬ 
duced from 60 to 70 bushels of oats last year, and the 
clover catch was good. They were in fine tilth; in 
fact I would not sow a pound of clover seed upon any 
soil not in every way suitable to sow and grow onions. 
These fields were all top-dressed during the Fall and 
Winter with stable manure containing a liberal 
amount of straw, and now the grass has the benefit 
of soluble plant food, made so by the snows and rains 
of Winter, and also the advantage of a splendid 
mulch, which does good in a dry time and no harm in 
a wet season. With all such experience at hand, dairy 
farmers are now and have been hauling manure upon 
fields so dry that seeds cannot germinate because it 
would waste if applied direct from the stable in the 
Winter season. When will this most valuable lesson 
be learned in our dairy sections? In a recent 30-mile 
ride I did not see an acre of what my judgment would 
call a good promising hay crop. 
ERRORS OF PRACTICE.—There seems to be a gen¬ 
eral belief that hay growing is altogether the work of 
natural forces and climatic conditions. In part it is, 
but maybe it is a crop after all that is capable of as 
much study and profitable application as any one 
grown upon a dairy farm. We make a deep study of 
the crops upon plowed land, and let our 
meadows take care of themselves. High 
cost of labor means expensive cultiva¬ 
tion. I have my mind turned towards 
more careful hay growing, and recent 
experiences indicate that the work will 
pay better. 
LESSONS IN CLOVER.—Perhaps 
more gratifying is the splendid stand of 
young clover of this Spring’s sowing, 
upon rather light soils that would not 
ordinarily be expected to germinate 
small seeds without rain. Several les¬ 
sons are seen in this interview with the 
young clover. The humus content has 
been steadily increased, chiefly by the 
decaying roots of the crop grown. The 
land was Fall-plowed, certainly an ad¬ 
vantage in a dry season, and worked this 
Spring as soon as dry enough; oats sown 
only a fraction over two bushels to 
the acre, always with a drill; the 
ground was not rolled after sowing. 
Rolling in our section is strictly or¬ 
thodox, and not to do so is an 
indication of slackness. Rolling to 
break up lumps is necessary, or the 
use of a planker, but to roll finely 
pulverized soil after sowing, unless harrowed imme¬ 
diately in dry weather, is a mistake. There is nearby 
a splendid contrast; similar soil but firmly rolled at 
once after sowing. There seems to be no difference in 
the appearance of the grain, but the clover hardly 
shows. The dust mulch was destroyed by the roller. 
I am thinking now of rolling to break the light crust 
formed. If there was no clover I would use the weed- 
er. I also noticed that corn was coming on more 
quickly upon Winter-manured land. The top-di'essing 
held the moisture and the corn feels the effect. 
EFFEC'P OF NITRATE.—I might add that nitrate 
of soda shows plainly this dry weather. It has been 
too dry to get benefit from cotton seed applied with 
the seed. I am seriously considering the application 
of nitrate to the grain fields should we have a shower, 
something I have never done. If we have a few show¬ 
ers the crop will not require the nitrate, but would 
it pay with a minimum rainfall, using say 150 to 200 
pounds to the acre, sown broadcast? One could hot 
use less. The grain now just about covers the ground. 
If any reader has had such experience I should like to 
hear of it. h. e. cook. 
R. N.-Y.—Hundreds of acres of natural meadow land 
are standing advertisements of lack of care on the part 
of Uieir owners, and these are not always found in the 
holdings of shiftless farmers. It Is often a hard prob¬ 
lem to know just what treatment to give these par¬ 
tially run-out lands. They may be cold and sour, 
needing lime, or perhaps some special element of 
plant food Is lacking. It pays to do a little careful 
experimenting before plowing up a piece of natural 
grass land or “old meadow,” unsuitable for cultiva¬ 
tion, or laying out much money for fertilizer until 
one learns by trial what is likely to give fair results. 
MONTCALM GRANGE HALL, ENFIELD CENTER, N. H. Fig. 173. 
