1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
203 
TALKS WITH A LAWYER. 
Obstruction of Drain. 
A reader asks the following question : The 
diagram shows intersecting roads in Sullivan 
Co., N. Y. The section of the road from B 
to A has been raised about five feet. At the 
time This was done a stone drain was built 
underneath the road at C to permit the water 
which collected in field No. 1 to run away. 
There is no regular running stream in the 
vicinity. The arrows show the direction in 
which storm water flows, making a pond at 
field No. 1 after heavy rains or melting snow. 
As the drain across the road is filled up, so 
that there is no passage, field No. 1, which 
is valuable land, is spoiled for agricultural 
purposes, as the water stands there several 
months in the year. A farmer living at No. 
3 owns fields No. 1 and and No. 2, and wishes 
to do away with the nuisance by opening the 
drain across the road. The overseer of high¬ 
ways refuses to assist in this, claiming that 
as the farmer owns fields No. 1 and No. 2, 
he must personally do all the work needed to 
open the drain, and be responsible to the 
public for the time that the road is broken 
up on this account. At the time that the 
road was raised the need of the drain was 
evidently recognized. What can the farmer 
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do in order to get this water-course open, 
thus saving his land and abating the nui¬ 
sance of the standing water? 
We understand from the question that 
prior to the raising of the road shown on 
the diagram, the surface water passed 
freely from field No. 1 to field No. 2. The 
overseer of highways had no right to ob¬ 
struct the natural flow of this surface 
water in such a way as to cause it to flood 
field No. 1, and spoil it for agricultural 
purposes. It was the duty of the authori¬ 
ties to provide and maintain an outlet for 
such surface water to enable it to pass 
away as before the improvement was 
made. For their failure to keep the drain 
open they are responsible to the owner of 
field No. 1 for such damages as he has 
sustained by reason of the overflow of his 
property and of course it is the duty of the 
overseer to open the drain and see that it 
is kept open so far as necessary. The 
farmer may if he chooses bring an action 
to recover against the authorities the dam¬ 
ages .sustained by him, and if, after notifi¬ 
cation, they fail to cause the drain to be 
opened he may do it himself, and recover 
the expenses of so doing with the damages 
sustained from their refusal. The fact that 
the same person owns fields No. 1 and No. 
2 is wholly immaterial. 
What About Mushrooms ? 
Subscriber (No Address .)—Is there any 
money made in raising mushrooms? IIow 
large a bed is required to pick 20 pounds? 
IIow often do they require picking? Where 
is the best spawn to be bought? Would it 
pay to contract them, and at what price? 
Where is the best market for them? I have 
never raised any, but would like to try a bed 
if I could make it pay. 
Ans. —Mushrooms have been anything 
but profitable to the small grower for 
some time past. Fair mushrooms sold as 
low as 10 to 20 cents a pound this Win¬ 
ter, and it is not likely they can profit¬ 
ably be grown for a less price than 40 
cents a pound if charges for material and 
labor are to be deducted. Mushrooms 
should be picked daily when the beds are 
producing. They are perishable, and 
should be sent to market at once. Mush¬ 
rooms are so very uncertain in yield that 
it is not possible to name the size of a 
bed that would yield 20 pounds at a pick¬ 
ing. A yield of one or two pounds to the 
square yard of bed for the season should 
be satisfactory. Some beds yield more 
and thousands less. Good spawn can be 
had from any reliable seedsman. English 
brick spawn is generally regarded as saf¬ 
est to use, though the French flake spawn 
often produces the best mushrooms. First- 
class mushrooms can be marketed in any 
large city. We do not advise you to en¬ 
ter into any contract for growing this un¬ 
certain crop until you have first experi¬ 
mented with it in a small wav. 
Harvester Talks to Farmers—No. I. 
A Series of Personal Talks to the Grain and Grass Growing Farmers of America. 
HEN you come to harvest You can’t fool the farmer more than 
your grain or grass you one season. 
want to have at hand, So then, when you see such harvest- 
ready for use, a harvest- ing machines as the Champion, the Deer- 
ing machine upon which ing, the McCormick, the Milwaukee 
you can put every pos- and the Plano, growing in popu- 
sible dependence. larity every year and gaining a strong- 
Naturally, with a crop before you er, firmer hold on the respect of the 
that won’t wait for cutting, you want farmers who buy them and use them, 
to feel perfectly safe about your harvest- you are pretty safe in making up your 
ing machines. mind that there is good, honest value 
You don’t want an experiment nor a in these machines—a value and a merit 
‘‘may-be-soyou can’t afford to run a not found in machines which have failed 
risk. to win the confidence of any consider- 
We have purchased this space from able number of farmers. 
the publisher of this paper, for the pur- - 
pose of letting in a little light on the But mind you> it is not an easy mat . 
harvesting machine question. ter ^ u ji d a fi rs t c i ass machine every 
In a series of talks we intend to show time> 
any more than it is an easy matter 
you how you can get a harvesting ma- g et thirty bushels per acre of wheat 
chine which you can know will bring ever y season, or to breed a 2:10 trotter 
you through the harvest in good shape, or a champion bull every time, 
without loss of time, without delays, and The manufacturer has his troubles— 
without trials of temper. just as annoying as those of the farmer. 
\\ e want to point out, from the farm- And the securing of first class ma- 
ers view, the advantages of certain ma- t er i a ] s is one of his first and most griev- 
chines, telling in every case the why ous difficulties. 
and giving the reasons behind every The i um ber market, the iron market, 
statement we make. the steel market, fluctuate; he cannot 
I his is an advertisement, but every £> e sure w hat the materials will cost him 
word in it is true— and we prove it. a few mon ths hence. 
It means more to your pocket-book Quality varies. Very frequently a 
than it does to ours. shipment of coal or steel or lumber or 
- paint or canvas does not come up to 
Since the invention of the modern specifications, 
grain harvester and self-binder, more Sometimes the thing most needed for 
than a hundred different machines of making a perfect product seems almost 
various styles and types have been put unprocurable. 
on the market. This uncertainty of securing the right 
The vast majority of them were of- materials, at the right time, at the right 
fered for sale but a very short time. price, naturally led to an inevitable re- 
Whyf suit: 
What is it that determines the sue- The manufacturers of the principal 
cess or failure of a farm machine or harvesting machines—those which had 
implement? made for themselves a place on the mar- 
Simply the will of the farmer. ket—said: 
He is the judge and the jury in the “Here, we can’t stand this; we must 
case. His decision is final. have better materials than we are get- 
Take your own case as an example, ting; we must have them when we want 
You want any labor saving machinery them, and we must have them at a fair 
for use on your farm that is good. price. If there’s no other way to do it, 
You don’t want the poor kind at any we’ll mine our own ore, roll our own 
price. steel, saw our own lumber, make our own 
The farmers of this country have al- paint, mine our own coal and make 
ways been on the lookout for anything our own coke, as well as build our own 
and everything that holds the promise machines. If one of us cannot operate 
of better results. an iron mine and a steel mill, maybe 
If a good thing is presented to them, two of us^ together can—certainly five 
they buy it and pay for it and make a of us can.” 
success of it. So five it was. 
So if an agricultural implement of The manufacturers of five of the 
any kind fails to make a success, there best self binders decided that by ca- 
is only one reason for that failure, and operation they would produce for use 
that is that it has not the merit that thei F severa .factories materials for 
commends it to the good judgment and harvesting machine building, such as 
sound sense of the practical farmers who they could not possibly procure in any 
are asked to use it. other way—materials which would be 
On the other hand, if a machine sue- under their personal inspection from 
ceeds in winning popular favor, not only start to finish, and which they could be 
for one year, but throughout a series of sure were right in every particular, 
years, you can depend upon it, that there They have done that, 
is a merit behind it. They have done it exactly on the same 
principle as several farmers club 
together to import a good stallion or to 
own a good boar, or a score of farmers 
co-operate in building a creamery, or 
five hundred or more farmers form their 
own fire insurance company. 
This co-operation has resulted in pro¬ 
ducing materials which enable the man¬ 
ufacture of a line of harvesting ma¬ 
chines which have never been equalled 
for durability and long life, for reliabil¬ 
ity and certainty of results and for all 
round satisfaction in the hands of the 
farmer. 
Such harvesting machines as are pro¬ 
duced today in the va ious plants of 
the International Harvester Company 
could not, by any possibility, be pro¬ 
duced under any other condition—ex¬ 
cepting at an immense advance in cost 
to the farmer. 
We want to tell more about the fa¬ 
cilities of the International Harvester 
Company in later articles in this series- 
more about its immense lumber camps in 
Arkansas and Missouri; about its coal 
mines in Kentucky; its iron mines in 
Wisconsin and Minnesota—its steel 
mills in Illinois; we want to tell about 
the other improvements it has effected 
and economies it has made, both in man¬ 
ufacturing and in distribution—but in 
the present article we want only to leave 
these two thoughts with you: 
1. The International Harvester Com¬ 
pany is made up of the manufacturers 
of only those machines which the 
farmers of the country had endorsed as 
being most worthy of confidence. The 
Champion, the Deering, the McCormick, 
the Milwaukee and the Plano have 
proved their worth and gained the en¬ 
thusiastic approval of users in all parts 
of the country. 
2. The International Harvester Com¬ 
pany, by co-operation of its five plants, 
has facilities for manufacturing, from 
the mine and forest to the farm, pos¬ 
sessed by no other manufacturer of ag¬ 
ricultural implements, enabling it to 
know that every machine in any one of 
its plants has in it only the best pro¬ 
curable materials. 
We want you to think of these two 
things. 
The harvesting machines endorsed by 
the most farmers. 
The harvesting machines with the best 
materials in them. 
That means something to you. 
Look for our next talk, and, in the 
meantime, you will doubtless find agen¬ 
cies in your own locality for these har¬ 
vesting machines. Each dealer under¬ 
stands thoroughly the one line he sells, 
and carries a complete stock of repair 
parts. He’ll be pleased to show you his 
particular line and to provide you with 
catalogue and full information. 
In the International Harvesting Machines, 
Champion, Deering, McCormick, Milwaukee, Plano, 
You Arc Offered The Q uall, y which comes from the world’s greatest facilities in manufacturing. 
The Economy which comes from stable, uniform cost of materials. 
The Safety which comes from a well established, permanent institution. 
The Convenience which comes from separate agencies everywhere and repairs always on 
hand. 
You cannot afford to overlook these advantages. They are not offered you in other lines of harvesting machines. 
Remember. The International lines are represented by dillerent dealers. See them tor catalogues. 
Binders, Reapers, Headers, Header-Binders, Corn Binders. Corn Shockers, Corn Pickers, Huskers and Shredders, Mowers, Tedders, Hay Rakes. Sweeo 
Rakes, Hay Stackers. Hay Balers, Knife Grinders, Gasoline Engines. Weber Wagons, Binder I wine. 
Don’t 
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Vehicle 
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you get our 
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lowest ever made. Don’t buy a vehicle of any kind until you get our 1905 catalogue MADlflN CMITII OA I'UIPACO II I 
and see our astonishingly low prices and the most liberal terms ever made. TO/tlT W 111 OIT1I I al UU« IliiiUitUUi Ikka 
