1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5i9 
nothing could excel this apparatus. 
There is none of the customary difficulty 
in working over a stove. The material, 
having been once brought to a boil and 
set aside for three or four hours, or all 
night, is thoroughly prepared. I think 
that a wooden box with wall tw T o or three 
inches thick, fitted to a round pail of 
about the same diameter, will serve as 
well as my case made of tin and air-cell 
asbestos. The cover should have an 
under lining of felt to stop the crack. It 
seems to me that such an appliance 
would be useful in almost every house¬ 
hold, and that there is yet a good deal 
of work to be done in developing its 
capacity.” _ 
HOW TO MAKE A FLAG. 
Explicit directions for making a flag 
are given in Harper’s Bazar. It states 
that the ordinary material selected for 
a flag is wool bunting. There is a differ¬ 
ence in the quality, but the heaviest is 
the most durable, particularly if there is 
to be much exposure to the weather. 
Wool bunting is 18 inches wide, and the 
average price is 25 cents per yard. It is 
sometimes to be had cheaper, but quite 
as often dearer in these days, for war 
times have occasioned a lavish display of 
our national emblem, and this has made 
bunting, as well as flags, “go up.” It is 
better to decide the exact dimensions of 
the flag before the materials are pur¬ 
chased, and in this way, avoid too much 
piecing of the stripes of Old Glory, and 
also too much waste in cutting the 
material. As the bunting is so narrow, 
it, of course, cuts some width stripes to 
better advantage than others. It is, 
therefore, well to plan your flag accord¬ 
ing to the width of your bunting, if you 
can do so. A flag of 10 or one of 15 feet 
will cut economically. In the first case, 
three of the stripes can be cut from each 
width of bunting ; in the second, exactly 
two. In the blue, also, this size is con¬ 
venient. 
The standard measurements of an 
American flag, as given by the army and 
navy code, are as follows : “ The depth 
or hoist of the flag must be ten-nine¬ 
teenths of the length. The 13 stripes 
are of equal width, and the union is four- 
tenths of the length of the field in length, 
and seven stripes in width.” In trying 
to calculate on these proportions, the 
fractions and inches grow formidable. 
Certain sizes, however, are easier to make 
than others, partly because there are 
not so many parts of inches to consider, 
and partly because they cut better from 
the bunting. The 10 feet long or 15 feet 
long flags are good sizes for the amateur 
to make, for these reasons. 
Flag 10 feet long: In this size, each 
stripe (seven red and six white) is five 
inches wide. This makes the whole 
width five feet five inches. The union is 
four feet long, and seven stripes or 35 
inches wide. A flag of 15 feet in length 
must have each stripe 7)4 inches wide, 
which makes the whole width eight feet 
134 inch. The union is six feet long by 
seven stripes, or 5234 inches wide. For 
a flag 10 feet long, three yards of blue 
bunting, seven of red, and six of white 
will be ample. One 15 feet long will 
take seven yards of blue, 14 of white, 
and 15 of red bunting. Selvages may be 
left on the outside edges of the flag, but 
on each side of each stripe and on three 
sides of the blue union, seams must be 
allowed of one-half to three-fourths of 
an inch. All seams must be flat fells, 
evenly sewed. Two inches are allowed 
on the outer ends of the stripes for a 
broad, flat hem. Sew all seams with 
silk. It is stronger and wears better. 
The stars are cut from linen or a soft- 
flnislied muslin. Ninety are needed, as 
they are put on both sides of the union 
—45 on each side, and each row sewed 
exactly over that on the opposite side. 
A perfect five-pointed star is necessary. 
Make a pattern first, and cut the muslin 
slightly larger to allow for turning. Sew 
them on by hand, and allow the sewing 
to run aero, s from point to point of 
the star, making it flat in the centre. 
A wide, strong binding of canvas is 
sewed on the inner edge. This has eye¬ 
lets fastened on it to allow the insertion 
of the flag halyard. 
On the Wing. 
OUT OF THE BEATEN TRACK. 
FAKMEB8, FENCES AND FLOWERS. 
[editorial correspondence.] 
A Trolley Freight Route. —The Penn 
Yan trolley system runs down to Branch- 
port, on the shore of Lake Keuka, and 
passes along by many orchards and vine¬ 
yards. When a car-load or more of fruit 
is be shipped by the growers along the 
trolley line, fruit cars are switched from 
the railway to the trolley, sent to the 
desired location, filled with fruit, and 
then sent back to the railway. The 
trolley company has powerful motor cars 
to haul these railway freight cars, they 
being without trolley equipment. This 
system is an economy of labor and trou¬ 
ble, and must be as great a convenience 
to the railway as to the shipper, since it 
does away with the detention of cars 
upon a switch during the process of 
loading. It is not everywhere, however, 
that the trolley and the railway will 
cooperate in aiding their patrons, for 
there is often a very keen rivalry be¬ 
tween them. 
Out-of-date Fences. —Hope Farm is 
removing fences, and the point of view 
which leads to this omission appears to 
be hold by a good many farmers in west¬ 
ern New York. Fences are needed where 
stock is kept, but when the stock dwin¬ 
dles down to the family cow, the neces¬ 
sity for fencing disappears. A few hedges 
of Osage orange were noted in Seneca 
County, and I was informed that, years 
ago, there were a good many of them, 
but they are not being planted now. and 
the old hedges are being removed. The 
reason for this is that such hedges ac¬ 
cumulate snow into immense drifts, 
sometimes causing serious difficulty in 
Winter traffic. Woven wire is free from 
this objection ; consequently, the Osage 
orange hedge is disappearing to make 
way for the strong, light and durable 
wire. 
Tiie Cow Out of Favor —The old- 
fashioned farmer always kept a number 
of cows; even though the apparent 
profit was small, he considered the herd 
a necessity for the production of ma¬ 
nure. This view is now altered by the 
use of chemical fertilizers, and it is odd 
to note the disfavor with which those 
engaged in either mixed or specialized 
farming regard cows. They merely keep 
one or two for the family, as a necessity 
— that is all. When we consider this 
attitude, however, it is fully justified. 
Mixed farming or fruit farming does not 
harmonize with dairy work, as a rule. 
The dairy must be a specialty, to be a 
success. It involves a great deal of hard 
work, and where a few cows are kept as 
an adjunct to mixed farming, a large 
share of the extra work falls upon the 
women. The creameries and milk-ship- 
ping stations have produced a great 
change from former conditions. We 
used to be told that there were plenty 
of farm homes where it was impossible 
for the housewife to get a cupful of 
cream, or even a liberal supply of fresh 
milk for the family table, but I did not 
meet any such penurious providers dur¬ 
ing my wanderings. Quite the contrary; 
after becoming accustomed to the thin 
yellowish-white fluid which the waitress 
in the “ quick lunch ” place planks down 
with a thud by the side of a skimped 
plate of strawberries, it was quite a con¬ 
trast to receive a plate of great fragrant, 
deeply-colored berries, flanked by a 
pitcher of thick, deep yellow Jersey 
cream ! When every ounce of butter fat 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
is needed for the creamery, the housewife 
may be skimped a little, but assuredly 
this doesn’t happen when she controls 
the destiny of the family cow\ 
The Farmer’s Dooryard. —“Just no¬ 
tice any prominent features in the way 
of flower gardens among the farms,” 
suggested The R. N.-Y. when I started 
out. I once knew a utilitarian man who 
thought flower-beds around the house a 
waste of space, and planted his front 
dooryard to cabbage ; but he was a city 
man who had just bought a place in the 
country, and farmers in general do not 
seem to share his views. I saw a good 
many flower gardens that would be a 
credit to a pretentious place, and cannot 
recall any one farm where there was not 
some attempt at ornamental gardening. 
The most conspicuous flower noted, and 
one that appeared in almost every gar¬ 
den, was the old Persian Yellow rose. 
Great bushes of it were covered with 
bloom, and its soft, yet brilliant tint 
lightened up the gardens as no other 
rose would. A good many modern 
planters neglect this fine old rose, be¬ 
cause the season of bloom is not long, 
and the flowers are small ; yet it is not 
only beautiful in itself, but strikingly in 
keeping with a country home. The fact 
that it doesn’t like pruning makes it 
very accommodating to those who can¬ 
not give much care to the flower garden. 
Most of the roses noted were old bushes, 
either of the Persian Yellow, Queen of 
the Prairies, or Seven .Sisters, but several 
gardens showed Crested Moss and White 
Bath in fine condition, and I saw some 
beds of Hybrid Remontants that would 
be a credit to any garden. The rose ap¬ 
pears to be first favorite in the farm 
garden. But, oddly enough, I did not 
see one of the Rugosa roses, or their 
hy brids (Mine. Georges Bruant and Agnes 
Emily Carman) in any of these gardens 
visited, though their hardiness, freedom 
from insect troubles, and adaptability to 
rural surroundings make them especially 
suitable for such planting. Hardy her¬ 
baceous plants, such as Day lilies, Plan¬ 
tain lilies, corn-flowers, peonies, sweet- 
williams, etc., appeared in most of the 
gardens. Suburban gardeners have 
passed through a period of Summer bed¬ 
ding, and are now going back to the 
naturally-arranged herbaceous bolder; 
these old farm gardens, which have 
steadily adhered to hardy plants through 
the years of their disfavor, now find 
themselves in the front rank. 
A Hedge of Roses. —It was not, how¬ 
ever, in a farm garden, but in a nursery, 
that I saw one especially beautiful ex¬ 
ample of the rose. It was a hedge formed 
of Crimson Rambler trained upon wires 
like a grape trellis. The hedge was 
about eight feet high, and formed a thick 
leafy wall, so thickly covered with bud- 
sprays, then just showing color, that, 
when fully open, it would appear a solid 
barrier of glowing crimson. The Yel¬ 
low Rambler (Aglaia), White Rambler 
(Thalia) and Pink Rambler (Euphrosyne) 
were, also, seen blooming freely, and 
make very suitable companions for the 
crimson variety. We do not have a very 
long list of hardy climbing roses, and 
these recent accessions are very welcome. 
I was, also, interested in a group of the 
hybrid sweet briers originated by Lord 
Penzance, which possess fine large flow¬ 
ers, without losing the fragrance of the 
old eglantine. They should become very 
popular, especially in country gardens. 
E. T. R. 
mammoth 
buys this 
Desk, made 
of quarter- 
sawed oak or 
finished in 
mahogany, 
piano- 
polished. It 
measures 53 
n. high, 29 
in. wide,9 in. 
(leveled mir¬ 
ror. Retail 
price $10. 
general catalogue. 
K 
the great household educator is mail- 
lree on request. Our Clothing cata¬ 
logue and Cloth samples is also mail 
ed free. Expressage paid on all Clothing 
Pt 
|3t 
Owing to an overpro 
duotion at our Balti- 
m ire mills, we are of¬ 
fering many specials 
this month. Our Car¬ 
pet catalogue in hand- 
painted colors is yours 
for the asking. This 
month we sew Carpets, 
furnish wadded lining 
free, and pay freight 
on all $9 Carpet pin- 
chases and over. Ad- 
CARI’ETS 
KKItVCUI). 
a dress (exactly as below) 
mjtiHusHines&Sonh 
fH| Dept. 320 BALTUHORE, Dll). 
|ssn 
Wfc oM V fc. T UU *IZ.UUTQ*<'O.UU 
JOOQ. «ar_ a W© tell Hlarh Grade Bicycle* for Le** 
0- Tr—*\ han Any Other Concern in the World. 
1898 Ladles' or Gent’s Models, $18 np. 
k Leftover of 1897 models at less than 
I cost; others at $8, $10, $12 and $16. 
* Write for Free Illustrated Catalogns 
of Blejeles and Btindrlet. Addresa 
Dent. 130 TICTOR MF0. CO., 90 to98 H.rkel St. ,1 hlcwra. 
SPRAYING CROPS : Why, 
When and How to Do It.— By Prof. Clar¬ 
ence M. Weed. Illustrated. 
This little book tells in plain, understandable 
English, just what the ordinary farmer and fruit 
grower most needs to know. It describes all the 
Insecticides and fungicides used In spraying; all 
the principal appliances used ; tells when to 
spray; what precautions to observe ; describes 
the insects and fungi against which it Is neces¬ 
sary to guard; In fact, is a complete, condensed, 
convenient handbook on the whole subject. Price 
in stiff paper covers, is but 25 cents, postpaid. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York, 
FRUIT 
EVAPORATOR “The Granger.” r “Tr‘ ,r 
Strong—Durable. Can be applied to any stove or range. 
Cheapest in the market—SS3, #5 and !#8. 
Send for free circular. 
EASTERN MANUFACTURING CO., 257 S. Fifth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
$50 Sewing Machine for $19.50. 
WITH ONE YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO THE R. N.-Y., *20. 
We should be sorry if any reader of The R. N.-Y. in any part of the country 
should pay $40 or *50, or even *25 or *30 for a sewing machine. We would be sorry 
because we can send him just as good a machine as is made for *19.50. The finish 
and appearance and attachments are in 
every way equal to the best machines 
made. We will send it ON TRIAL, freight 
paid, and you may return it at our ex¬ 
pense, if you are not satisfied ; you shall 
be the judge yourself. We shall sell them 
at this price only to subscribers. We have 
sold thousands of these machines to sub¬ 
scribers, and we have never had one re¬ 
turned. Several families in connection 
with The R. N.-Y. have them ; that is why 
we can praise them so highly. 
For *19.50, we will send the machine to 
any subscriber, freight paid to any address 
east of the Rocky Mountains. For *20, we 
include a year’s subscription. After a fair 
trial, we will return the money and pay 
freight both ways, if you are not satisfied. 
We will send it for a club of 10 subscriptions at *1 each, and *15 extra. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
