237 
tm. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Hope Farm Notes 
Postage Stamps and Pies.—I like a 
man who comes right down to business 
when lie sees something that appears 
wrong. I call Mr. William Hotaling, 
who writes the following letter, the First 
Knight of the Postage Stamp. I vote 
for him as president of that Society: 
Upon my return from the meeting of the 
j iiiit Growers’ Association held at Pough¬ 
keepsie, one of (he first things I did was 
to look through my It. N.-Y. Imagine my 
feelings when about the first thing I saw 
was four recipes for appleless apple pie! I 
would have considered this an insult to any 
self-respecting apple grower even if printed 
by some other farm Journal, but to see it 
in f he It. N.-Y., tile originator and advocate 
ot the Apple Consumers' League, the sun- 
posed friend of the apple grower! To think 
ihey would allow four appleless apple pie 
recipes to appear in one issue, and to get 
t just at a time when you had seen apples, 
talked apples and eaten apples, for two whole 
days and when everything looked pretty 
good . Oh, surely this is too much. Just at 
his time, however, it has occurred to me 
that some one at this same Poughkeepsie meet¬ 
ing said something about "postage stamps.” 
I don t think it was decided at the time 
that any particular person should he favored 
in this distribution of stamps, hut after see- 
nig the aforesaid article it occurred to me 
the Hope harm Man was entitled to the 
tirst stamp. In other words, I think the 
readers of Die It, N.-Y. entitled to an 
apology. Mr. former president of the Apple 
consumers League, will you please explain? 
Columbia Co,, N. Y. w.m. hotai.ing. 
“Appleless Apple Fie!” Now, that 
does sound like a fraud, doesn’t it? The 
only explanation we have is that the 
original question was asked in good faith. 
It is a part of our business to get infor¬ 
mation. We bar out questions that arc 
immoral, political or injurious and when 
we don’t know we ask readers to help. 
I bat s what we did with this pie ques¬ 
tion. We printed it—thinking for once 
we had our people guessing. Not much! 
I hey came rolling in with mixtures of 
crushed crackers and cream of tartar and 
s.milar delicacies until there seemed no 
end to it. We have also learned about a 
minceless mince pie. “squashless squash 
pies,” and other mysterious concoctions! 
We think we were justified in asking the 
question, and do not think the answers 
will depress the market for apples. Who 
do you think would eat one of those mys¬ 
teries? Only one who was trying to pun¬ 
ish himself, or one who lived where apples 
could not be had. I lived in a place once 
where we could not attempt to touch an 
apple. We ate all sorts of substitutes— 
mostly rhubarb, tansy or even sorrel—but 
1 regarded it as a scheme for keepingalive 
the spirit and demand for apples. We 
always rose above the substitute when¬ 
ever we got the chance. The apple might 
have been left out of the pie by force of 
circumstances, but we remembered the 
name. J here is too much apple education 
abroad. A nibble of cream of tartar, 
which comes from fruit anyway, will 
lead a man to bite into an apple later. 
At least I hope so. We believe in call¬ 
ing for information and leaving people 
free to use it. As for postage stamps, 
1 am in favor of voting with them, and 
our friend shows us how to do it. 
Killing Rats. —On page 153 a reader 
asked how to get rid of rats and mice. 
Naturally I told him to get some good 
cats. Here he comes again: 
My rat medicine or whatever Its name may 
he, was sold me as a phosphoric butter which 
i, ". ns * Ra hl ea ten with great avidity by 
all the pests. Does that also produce thirst? 
I had heard of the poison thirst, hut I had 
also heard that it does not always operate 
according to theory. Rut cats were what r 
wanted to speak of : Hodge. Nature Stiulv and 
Life, which by the way is a most illuminating 
little book showing how to teach the young¬ 
sters Nature in a natural way—says that 
. ‘iv intimated that one cat kill’s an average 
y ’ ,f ) ROn gbirds a year. So I have you down 
ror 400 to 000 songbirds according to vonr 
present letter. If the average is correct the 
cost of removing objectionable mice will he 
say two song birds each. Too high. If your 
correspondents will suggest a cheaper method. 
A. D. 
T am not a. naturalist but T don’t be¬ 
lieve Hodge is right in his estimate. T 
would not banish cats on any such tes¬ 
timony. As for the bird army which our 
cats are supposed to destroy, T can only 
*ay that there are hundreds left every 
year. Let a man get a little piece of 
phosphorus on his tongue once and I 
think he will no longer doubt the thirst 
proposition. I\ut if our friend doesn’t 
j ke_ cats what does he think of the fol¬ 
lowing? 
In Hope Farm Notes of February 2.3 A. D. 
asks for some relief or remedy from the 
iats and mice that infest his house. If he 
««* copperas (not blue vitriol) and 
ioii Vc r i fr ‘Ti V t a r°', ,nd where they run, and 
’ J n their holes, cover the cellar floor 
and attic floor with it for three or four davs, 
according to our own experience he will see 
them no more for months. About once or 
twice a year wo have them im the house, and 
as soon as the copperas has been frcelv 
scattered they disappear like magic, tt. burns 
their feet. It is a simple remedy and inex- 
pensive. jij. j t p # 
Connecticut. 
When an animal has sore feet he gen¬ 
erally _ goes hot-footed to change his 
stamping ground—that is, all animals ex¬ 
cept some men. They keep treading the 
old, rough brier-lined path, though they 
may know it leads nowhere. “Copperas” 
or green vitriol has a sting to it—and it 
won’t kill the song birds unless they eat 
it. 
Old I imf.s.— F.very now and then 
some one comes with a long stick and 
stirs deep down into the dregs of mem¬ 
ory. This man from Idaho does it with 
his pen : 
I have often wondered wlien you mentioned 
that, you used to ride, does it not haunt you 
still. When the Spring time comes, docs 
it make you long for a lope over those 
Colorado hills again? I rode for about 12 
voars and while I worked cattle some I rode 
after horses I lie most, and perhaps it is only 
a day dream of youth,, the thought of those 
line Spring mornings, a good strong fat horse 
under my saddle, witli a good wild bunch of 
horses to run. Such thoughts thrill me si ill. 
Rut you see I live in sight of the ranges, hut 
1 *ie grass is pretty well gone. Strainge t<x» 
how time makes us forget the unpleasant 
part. Just remember that colt or spoilt horse 
to ride out on a cold morning * Did you ever 
enjoy taking your wet blankets off’ a pack 
horse, wring out what water you could, and 
go to bed? And (lie good old bacon and 
beans, good black beans, sourdough bread, 
dried fruit, strong black coffee, and Iasi 
but not least, that syrup and rice! Oh, 
1 ve been there, but those troubles have lost 
their sting! 
Oh, dear! Some of those model citizens 
who have always lived in civilized places 
and have nothing hut a gentle and orderly 
growth from childhood behind them do 
not know what pictures this man has 
called up. We can hear the wind sing¬ 
ing over the plains, the cattle and tiie 
horses calling, the river rushing down out 
of the foothills. When the warm Spring 
sun. begins to shine and these old voices 
begin to call, many a man who knows 
that he ought to keep the blanket of 
solid reputation safely tucked over the 
pranks of boyhood is tempted to pull it 
off and show himself as he used to he. I 
know all about it, and I must keep it to 
myself, or lose the pleasant reputation of 
being a cheerful philosopher. To all the 
old boys who have vagabond days as 
underpinning for their present excellent 
reputation—I give greeting. 
Here is another man after a hoy: 
I want to got a hoy 14 to 1C years old. 
from some home or Institution, to come and 
ive wilh me, make his home here, train him 
in our work, and he in all respects as one 
of the family. Oan give him good home. I 
have seen accounts in papers in the pas! 
where such boys could he secured, but canno' 
tell now where they are. The Children’s 
Aid Society’s lxiys are too small. I want a 
l-o.v with some ambition. Now, can you help 
me out in this matter? p'. B . P 
Norwich, Conn. 
I do not know just where to go for 
such a boy. As a rule when boys get to 
be 14 years old they have a cash value, 
for their labor is in demand. If he have 
any relatives or friends they will want 
all the money he can earn—if they are 
willing to give him away. h. w. c. 
Stevens 
* 
\/ 
You “get the 
jump” on frogs if 
you use a quick¬ 
acting, straight¬ 
shooting Stevens 
Rifle. Its records 
for accuracy in 
official tests is 
unapproached by 
any other make. 
Use a Stevens and get results in frog shooting—the severest test 
of reliability in firearms. Here is a list that should interest you: 
Send 4 cents in stamps to cover postage for our FREE 
CATALOG—it tells all about Runs, rifles, pistols, ammu¬ 
nition. sights, targets, reboring old barrels, and a hun¬ 
dred things a sportHinan wants to know. 
For 6 cents in stamps wo will mail our artistic ten- 
color lithograph. It is an attractive hunting scene worthy 
of space on any wall. 
Don’t let your dealer persuade you some other Is as 
good Insist on "Stevons.” You can order direct from us if you And any difficulty. Wo send 
any ’’Stevens" firearms express prepaid, on receipt of catalog price. 
J. STEVENS ARMS ANO TOOL CO., 200 Pine Street, Chicopee Falls, Mass., U.S.A. 
RIFLES FOR BOYS 
Little Scout - $2.25 
Stevens-Maynard, Jr. $3 
Crack Shot - - $4 
Little Krag* - $5 
Favorite No. 17 - $6 
The man behind a Planet Jr. 
* A. 
knows it takes more work off his hands, and makes him do better gardening, than any 
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are guaranteed —no other maker uses such materials or puts such work into his tools. 
Half a million users know how long they last 
The New No. 6 Planet Jr. Combination Hill and Drill Seeder, Wheel Hoe, 
Cultivator and Plow does the work of three to six men, and does it better Opens 
the furrow, sows any kind of garden seed accurately in drills or in hills 4 , 6 , 8 , n or 24 
f inches apart, covers, rolls the ground and marks out the next row — ail at one 
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of crop, and is used all through the season. 
We are glad to send anybody interested, our New Catalogue showing 
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Two - Horse Riding Cultivators, Harrows, Orchard-and Beet-Cultivators 
1 — 45 kinds in all. Write today. 
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3 A ROOF 
11 that is 
1PROOP 
jAgalnnt 1 ightning.flro, wuxBatHiHIH 
Ind A water. Both Iron A Steel. Catalog N & 1 
fcrar 
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BOX 17 HAVANA, ILL 
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have back of themGl years experience in plow 
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20 to40 Foundry St., Cambridge, N.Y. 
What the BUCKEYE MAN Tells You 
about Buckeye Combined Grain and Fertilizer Drill 
he is prepared to back up by the actual construction 
and qualification of the machine itself. 
In short he can “show you’’ the real practical 
reasons why Buckeye Drills are the kind you should 
buy. He can show you why they are the greatest 
drills made today. 
He can point to the features in Buckeye Drills 
that account for their superiority, and if you will take 
the trouble to compare these points you cannot help 
but conclude they are the best drills from 
every standpoint. 
You will see why they last longer. 
You will see why they do better work. 
You will see why they are more conven¬ 
ient and satisfactory to operate. 
You will see why they are the cheapest 
drill for you to put your money into. 
\ 
h or instance just compare the Buckeye square 
steel tubing frame to others. Note it is made with¬ 
out riveted joints or malleable iron corner pieces and 
you will realize why it lasts so much longer. 
Examine carefully the Cone Gear for driving and 
feeding. Here’s a feature well worth a trip to the 
Buckeye dealer’s store for personal inspection. 
Ask him to show why it is the most accurate in 
feed and the easiest to change the quantity; how it 
does away with interchangeable gears—how it saves 
so much in repairs and time. 
I hen notice the Disc Seeding Device—another 
Buckeye strong feature; the Hard Oiler which forms 
an absolutely dust-proof bearing; also the Double 
Run Force Feed, in fact there is not a point about a 
Buckeye Drill that will not impress you favorably if 
you will investigate it. 
If you will write us we’ll send you the name of the 
nearest Buckeye dealer where you can see thi$ 
famous drill with your own eyes. 
hor 50 years half a century—we have been 
making drills that have made the name “Buck- 
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service and wear. 
Don’t buy a drill until you have inspected 
the Non-Corrosive Glass Fertilizer Distributor 
on the Buckeye. It is the only fertilizer that 
don’t and can’t corrode. The feed plate is 
made of glass— that’s the reason it is the 
only successful distributor made. Write for 
our 1907 Drill Book—it’s free. 
P. P. MAST & COMPANY 
Dept. B4, Springfield, Ohio 
