THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ldo*. 
24 r 
Hope Farm Notes 
Do Strawberries Peddle Disease?— I 
doubt if I can do bfetter than print this 
excellent letter and call for expert comment: 
“I submit this problem to you for solution. 
If you are not ‘authority’ upon it, you have 
a reserve force at your back, upon whom 
you can call. I have been told, several times, 
of persons whom the local M. I), would not 
allow to eat strawberries, claiming that 
‘strawberries contain an acid productive of 
rheumatism'; this skeptic has remarked, as 
he absorbed a chunk of strawberry shortcake, 
‘Well, if strawberries cause rheumatism, this 
child should be full of it, for he has devoured 
bushels of them, and never had a touch or 
rheumatism.’ But last Fall he ‘got it in the 
neck,’ left shoulder and muscles of the chest, 
‘Muscular rheumatism,’ says the doctor. 
Naturally, my folks say, it’s the strawberries. 
But why didn't it ‘get busy' in strawberry 
time then, instead of creeping tardily upon 
me months afterward? ‘On, it’s cumulative 
in its effects !’ Now I most awfully hate to 
believe my intimate friend, the strawberry, 
guilty of such treachery. It galls me to 
think of classing this beautiful and luscious 
fruit with poison ivy, dogwood, flies and 
mosquitoes, and other peddlers of disease. 
And. if next Summer I am to be up against 
a choice betwixt strawberry shortcake or 
rheumatism, then the lines are fallen to me 
in bard places. Verily this is a worse ‘fruit 
problem' than the one that bothered our 
ancient ancestors. Further, is the acid in 
the strawberry radically different from the 
acid contained in other berries, fruits, and 
rhubarb? Does canning, cooking, etc., de¬ 
stroy the malign influence of this terrible 
acid? The writer has always believed strongly 
in the healthfulness of a fruit diet. With 
good bread and butter and some kind of fruit 
sauce he would suffer little inconvenience if 
deprived of other food. When 12 years old, 
seven long weeks of beautiful Fall weather 
were spent in bed, with a slow fever. As 
soon as convalescence began, the Doctor said : 
‘Now give him plenty of fresh, ripe fruit, 
and remove the skins.’ It was remarkable 
how much fruit that invalid devoured, (‘Apple 
Consumers’ League,’ he was it), and the 
rapid way in which he traveled back the 
road to health. And for 38 years the bed 
has not claimed me for a single day. That 
original man, and temperance lecturer. Dr. 
Jewett, told of a visitor that he had, a man 
who had absorbed barrels of liquor. Taking 
him out into his “Garden of Eden.” the 
Doctor offered him some beautiful fruit, but 
the man refused it, saying, ‘Don't you think 
such tilings rather cold for the * stomach, 
Doctor?” Said Dr. Jewett: ‘Poor man, he 
bad burned out his stomach with tiery 
liquor till he thought these good gifts of 
God, were too cold for the stomach.’ Then 
be gave one of his characteristics chuckles, 
and said, ‘You and I don't think a ripe juicy 
pear, or a luscious peach too cold for our 
stomachs, do we?’ 'Hie quaint, good Doctor 
impressed many a truth upon my youthful 
mind that was not wasted seed. 
Massachusetts. ciias. a. banister. 
Just before I got this letter I was reading 
Dr. Black’s “Forty Years In the Medical 
Profession.” lie says among other things: 
“Linnaeus, who suffered from gout most of 
the time, said he was only well in strawberry 
time, when he ate largely of them. Like the 
lemon their acidity may be only apparent, 
not real, and they may render the blood 
alkaline—.not acid. Their juice is probably 
germicidal, like that of many other fruits. 
It is not impossible they may have an effect 
of producing lilppuric acid and benzoic acid— 
thus rendering the uric acid soluble.” lie 
also says that the mineral matters in rhu¬ 
barb, spinach, tomatoes, etc., prevent gouty 
deposits in the system. I firmly believe that 
strawberries prevent disease rather than 
peddle it. It is true that some people cannot 
eat strawberries without breaking out in a 
rash or skin disease.' There is usually some 
indigestion at the same time. This trouble 
is evidently due to some peculiarity of the 
individual, or else the berries meet some 
substance in the system which causes ptom¬ 
aine poisoning. But I am getting out where 
the water is deep. Some one will ask me 
what a ptomaine is next ! I have known 
people who cannot drink milk without sick¬ 
ness. As well argue from this that milk is 
unhealthy ! Strawberries for me—whenever 
1 can get them ! 
A Civil Tongue. —Here is another good 
one for the Hope Farm people to think over: 
“I get mall over a rural route. On ask¬ 
ing for my mail this afternoon at postoffice 
this is what I got. from the postmaster: 
'Well l‘ll tell you one thing, we’re not going 
to look that through two or three times a 
day for you,’ delivered in a tone of irritation 
and peevishness impossible to convey to 
paper. After that a self-respecting 'man 
couldn’t inquire again without authority from 
higher up, for which I have written. Query : 
Could a man command his income in a com¬ 
petitive, private enterprise without the abil¬ 
ity to put out the mall when it was wanted 
in a town of 3,000 inhabitants with 
half a dozen assistants scouring the country 
and one at his elbow? Not once a 
week on an average, and to-day for the first 
time twice, would I care to get my mail at 
the office. Christian charity would perhaps 
dictate that I look at the matter from his 
point of view. If I hadn’t stepped into the 
office for my mail when I was there it would 
have been left half a mile from my house 
to-morrow along about dusk, he could have 
continued his chat and his salary would fall 
due and be paid regularly. What is the 
opinion of R. N.-Y. readers? What is the 
usage in other postoffices? w. w. g. 
Brandon, Vt. 
When I was out west I saw a thing which 
Impressed me. A big farmer came to the 
postoffice window and asked a respectful ques- 
tion. The postmaster, a little sniff of a man— 
mi per cent collar and necktie—stood smok¬ 
ing a cigar and made no effort to explain, 
l he big farmer uoared at him. 
“For two cents I’d come in there and 
boot you good.” 
1 lie little man thought he was safe behind 
ms fence-so he pointed his thumb at 
a two cent stamp, lie was too near. Quick 
a flash the farmer reached in and caught 
that little man by his big nose and pulled 
his face through the window. 
“Now answer my question and give me the 
stamp! 
little man gave the desired informa¬ 
tion literally “through his nose,” and you 
never in your life saw official manners Im¬ 
proved as they were in his case. The town 
applauded the farmer for weeks! Whenever 
I see one of these surly drones I want some¬ 
body to pull his face through the window 
or boot him up and down the street. 1 am 
in favor of civil service. 
Is Salt a Poison? —The Hope Farm man 
must become an expert dodger if he is not 
bowled over by some of these questions: 
“When a question comes up -which Web¬ 
ster’s latest fails to make clear, what can 
one do but ask The R. N.-Y. ? Such a ques¬ 
tion came up at the dinner table, when I 
spoke of salt as a poison if taken in large 
quantity. No one at the table thought it 
true of human beings, but possibly might be 
of some animals. Several years ago we wetted 
a mash for the liens with the water in which 
corned beef had been cooked. A few of the 
hens, after suffering distressing contortions, 
died. We thought too much salt must have 
caused the trouble; we wanted confirmation 
however, and wrote to The R. N.-Y. Replies 
from two or three confirmed our suspicion 
that salt was the cause, one saying he should 
have thought all the hens would die, as salt 
ill excess is a powerful poison. I shall be 
greatly obliged if you will sit down in 
some cosy corner of that comfortable new 
house of yours and inscribe this small chunk 
of wisdom. mbs. w. c. l. 
My “chunk of wisdom” after Webster’s 
failure will be like salt that has lost its 
chlorine. The best medical authorities I 
can find say that salt is not a poison. It 
is often given a's a medicine. In some cases 
a solution of salt—a teaspoonful in a pint 
of water—Is injected into the blood. The 
salt is passed away through the kidneys. 
A large excess of salt will act as a purga¬ 
tive or emetic. I have noticed the danger in 
giving salt to hens. I think the danger is 
due to the hen’s peculiar system of digestion. 
I understand that the kidneys do not throw 
off as large a per cent of wastes as with 
animals. Again the crop of the hen will 
permit the salt to back up and remain as a 
strong brine for a time. This. I think, causes 
irritation and inflammation. But Webster 
knows more about it than I do. and so no 
doubt do many of our readers. Let’s hear 
from the experts about salt and strawberries. 
Home and Farm. —The hens, or rather the 
pullets, are starting up at last. Most, of our 
pullets were hatched so late last year that 
Winter caught them unprepared, and they 
have been slow to start. It. has required 
nerve to keep on feeding them in apparent 
idleness, and proves anew, what poultry 
keepers always say, that it. does not pay to 
hatch chicks late in the season. The excep¬ 
tion of course is where you have expensive 
birds of a new breed. In such cases it may 
pay to set every egg up to July. As I write 
five sitting hens have responded to pur sign, 
with more to follow. . . . We have had 
some trouble lately with rats in the grain 
bin. Our cats keep the mice pretty well 
down, but they do not like to tackle the rats. 
We have been catching them with a steel 
trap concealed in the grain. The boys let 
one big fellow free in a room with the cat. 
Tiger jumped at him, caught him with his 
claws, held him at arm’s length safely until 
he could fix his teeth in the rat’s neck. It 
was a cruel fight—I suppose the same method 
has been followed by cats for thousands of 
generations. I am told that men in battle 
are about as cruel. Men who under other 
circumstances would be good friends and 
neighbors will shoot and slash at each other 
without really knowing why. No war for 
me, please. . . . We have made a number 
of plant boxes out of old fence boards—2% 
by 3 feet. They will be filled with good soil 
and used for tomatoes and potatoes. The 
latter are put in the sun until the sprouts 
start: thick and strong. Then they are cut 
and planted about two inches deep in the 
boxes, and kept well watered. As the sprouts 
appear, sand is sifted over them, so they 
grow up through it, and when it seems safe 
to do so the plants are set out in furrows— 
seed and all. Some years this will pay. We 
shall also stake some potato plants—-tying 
up the vines as we do tomatoes and nipping 
off the side branches. . . . About three 
acres of brush land have been cleared ready 
for tree planting. The larger brush is 
burned—the rest piled around the trees. We 
shall plant Elberta and Carman peaches as 
fillers in an apple orchard planted in this 
rough manner. These varieties seem to do 
well under this system. I am also thinking 
of using some dwarf pear trees and apples 
on dwarf stock as fillers. I have never 
tried them, but It seems to me they would 
answer. We are so surrounded by the scale 
that we need small, early-bearing trees of 
some sort. A fair proportion of our peach 
buds seem to be alive thus far. h. w. c. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a’ square deal.” See guarantee, page IS. 
No. 816. Stanhope. Price complete, 168.00. As 
good as sells for (25. more. 
33 Years Selling Direct 
Our vehicles and harness have been sold 
direct from our factory to user fora third of 
a century. We ship for examination and ap¬ 
proval and guarantee safe delivery. You 
are out nothing if not satisfied as to style, 
quality and price. Wo ore the largest manu¬ 
facturers In the world selling to the con¬ 
sumer exclusively. We make 200 styles of 
Vehicles, 65 styles of Harness. Send for 
large free catalog. 
No. 646. Combination Top Buggy. Price com- 
jlete with extra stick seat, (50.50. As good as sells 
'or (25. more. 
TRADE 
Your Old 
Buggy fora 
New One 
We are selling the entire 
output of a buggy top and re¬ 
pair factory at less than reg- 
ular factory prices. You can make yoOT Old buggy 
look like new for only a few dollars. 
Eight Faotories With One Selling 
Heads Entire Output direct 
to you* 
The entire output of eight factories making Bug¬ 
gy Tops and Supplies, Vehicles of all kinds, Paints 
and Varnishes, Steel Ranges, Sewing Machines, 
Farm ami Blacksmith Tools, Steel Wheels and 
Handy Wagons, Telephones and Supplies. 
All combined to cut down selling expense and de¬ 
liver goods to the consumer direct at unheard of 
low prices. 
Write for Big Free Catalog* 
describing and illustrating the output of all of our 
factories In one big volume. The greatest selling 
plan ever devised, to save money for the buyer, 
plainly and clearly explained. The Book is free. 
Write for it. 
THE UNITED FACTORIES CO., 
Dept, 31 Cleveland, O. 
-N 
“Anderton” 
Vehicles 
are the only ve¬ 
hicles sold on a 
Real Free Trial. 
No money in advance; no money on deposit; 
no note to sign; no fuss of any kind. 
We dare make this offer because we can 
trust “Anderton” Vehicles to sell themselves 
and because we can really save you from 815.00 
to $35.00 on your vehicle. 
More than this. We give you a 
Two Years Approval Test, 
backed by a $25,000.bank deposit which we have 
put up to guarantee the return of your money, 
if your vehicle does not give satisfaction. 
Why not "try an Anderton with your money 
in your pocket?” 
Write for our free 110-page illustrated cata¬ 
logue No. 14. It fully explains our offer on 
high-grade vehicles and harness. 
THE ANDERTON MFG. CO., 
19 Third Street. Cincinnati, Ohio. 
GUARANTEED BUGGIES 
lHEREIs a reason why you can buy a better buggy from us at $29.50 than you 
T , __ _ 
can from others at (45.00 and (50.00. We bought our gear woods, wheels am 
shafts of white split hickory when the market was low. These woods 
are In the Evanston Top Buggy exclusively In the parts named and the 
buggy Itself sella to you for S29.50. It Is the highest grade, strongest, 
light draft and most stylish vehicle in the world. Hides easy, wears long 
and Is of striking finish and appearance. Our complete catalogue of 
vehicles and harnesses free when you send for it—» book about top buggies 
you ought to get and read before buying one. _ 
_THE FAVORITE CARRIAGE MFG. CO., 15Dayton Block, 
Have You Seen the New Split 
Hickory Vehicle Book? I 
Top 
Buggies' 
From 
$35 
to 
$50 
Thi* i, on illustration of our new 
1906 Split Hickory Special. You can't 
see from this small illustration just 
what it is like. Our catalog shows it 
gotten up in 19 different styles. We 
can furnish it any way you want it 
and ship it promptly. Th* price is 
(50.00 with a legal bindiDg guarantee 
for two years, and shipped anywhere 
to anyone on 30 Days Free Trial. 
T will be well 
worth your 
while to send 
for one. It costs you nothing but a penny for a postal, or a 
two-cent postage stamp. You can't know what our great 
proposition is until you get our catalogue. You may not 
think you will be interested—perhaps you may not. We do 
not sell every one, but we can save you money. We guar¬ 
antee every vehicle that we manufacture for two years. 
Our Guarantee is a legal one and it means full value to 
every purchaser. 
Spilt Hickory Name l’late on a vehicle stands for quality. It 
stunds for fair treatment, and if our goods are not satisfactory after 
you have given them BO Days Free Trial, they cost you nothing. 
The new catalogue tells you all about the factory we have 
equipped inwhich w e manufacture our SPLIT HICKORY SPECIAL 
TOP BUGGY. It tells all about the saving that you make.in buy¬ 
ing from headquarters, how you save the dealer’s and middleman’s 
profit, which is at least S25 on a buggy like our Split Hickory 
Special. We want you to know all about our plan. Will you write 
for our new catalogue today? 
Tho Ohio Carriage Mfg. Co., H. C. Pho I pa. Proa. 
Station 290, Cincinnati, Ohio 
In Actual Use! 
$50 Columbia King Buggy 
.. Sumner, Ia.. July 27, 1905 
Columbia Mfg. and Supply Co,. Cincinnati. O.: 
Gentlemen— The buggy I bought of you arrived July 5th and Is O. K. in every 
particular—every bit as goodas represented,and you havemy thanks and best wishes 
for your success. Yours very truly, E. R. Kohinson. 
If yon want the best buggy in the world for$50, write us forfull particulars. Our$50 
Columbia King is equal to other buggies sold in your neighborhood for from $75 to $100. 
We make more than 250 styles of Vehicles and harness. Write for our large and hand¬ 
some new catalog. Mailed FREE. 
COLUMBIA MFG. ® SUPPLY CO., 808 Vandalia Avenue, Cincinnaii, Ohio. 
It’s the COLUMBIA KING Buggy—the triumph of our 25 years 
of buggy-making. We build it in over 100 different styles. Of the finest, 
most substantial construction ; sold direct from factory to farmer on 30 Days* Free Trial, 
under a Two Y ears’ Ironclad Guarantee. The gentleman in the buggy above is Mr. E. K. 
Robinson. Here’s what he writes of his 
To Make Your Wagon Last 
BUY 
The Milburn Wagon 
'THE MILBURN W AGON costs more than many others,but we can prove to you that i is 
1 worth more than it costs—worth more in good satisfactory service and in the entire luck to f 
mean little annoyances from weak parts that break down just when you do not want them to. 
Where would you fiud another wagon ironed, reinforced and built up from tire to seat as is 
the MILBURN? Look at the cut of the hind gear and reinforced axle we show here. That 
reinforcement in the axle is admitted to be the best one used on any wagon. And there are 
no holes bored through into the front or hind axle for bolts, except twosmal 1 holes in the front 
axle to hold the bolster plates in place. And note that the hounds are 
Pieces of Perfectly Straight-Grained Wood. 
For it is common sense that no crooked or cross-grained hound 
can be as strong as the perfectly straight hound on the MILBURN. 
And the iron is put on heavy iu spite of this—following up the 
Milburn Policy of Building lip and Adding Strength 
until there are no weak spots in the whole wagon. A care¬ 
ful look at the MILBURN wagon is a liberal education in 
wagon building. We want you to go and see one at your 
dealer’s. But if you haven’t time to call on the MILBURN 
dealer in your town or do not know just where to 
Write For Our Wagon Bo<_ 
It goes carefully into the details of wagon building, and reading it willmake you a better judge 
of wagon building all your life. We will gladly mail you a copy free. 
MILBURN WAGON COMPANY. Dept. IL. Toledo. Ohio 
