1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
431 
Hope Farm Notes 
“The Saxon Grit.” — Some weeks ago 
on the editorial page mention was made of 
a poem by Rev. Dr. Collyer with this title. 
It has always been a favorite of mine. 
Prof. L. H. Bailey wrote me that Dr. 
Collyer once recited the poem at his home 
and he hoped we could print at least part 
of it in The R. N.-Y. So I will give a 
few stanzas here. This year farmers-are 
in great need of both grit and poetry, for 
this is one of the most discouraging sea¬ 
sons ever known, at least in our time. 
There is no poetry on a farm when all you 
can see is a rainstorm soaking the dig¬ 
nity out of labor. As for “grit,” it is 
the foundation of all value or character. 
No men ever enjoyed liberty, property or 
comforts that were not the result of “grit” 
and self-denial on the part of himself or 
some one else. Plere is the poem : 
Worn with the battle, by Stamford town, 
Fighting tbe Normans by Hastings Bay, 
Harold tbe Saxon’s sun went down, 
While the acorns were falling one Autumn 
day. 
Then the Norman said, “I am lord of the 
land; 
By tenor of conquest here I sit: 
I will rule you now with the iron hand 
But he had not thought of the Saxon grit. 
And Kett, the tanner, whipt out his knife. 
And Watt, the smith, his hammer brought 
down. 
For Ruth, the maid he loved better than life. 
And by breaking a head, made a hole in 
the crown. 
From the Saxon heart rose a mighty roar, 
“Our life shall not be by the King’s permit. 
We will fight for the right, we want no 
more,” 
Then the Norman found out the Saxon 
grit. 
For slow and sure as the oaks had grown 
From the acorns falling that Autumn day, 
So the Saxon manhood in thorpe and town 
To a nobler stature grew alway. 
Winning by inches, holding by clinches, 
Standing by law and the human right, 
Many times failing, never once quailing, 
So the new, day came out of the night. 
Then rising afar in the Western sea, 
A new world stood in the morn of the day, 
Ready to welcome the brave and free. 
Who could wrench out the heart and march 
away 
From the narrow, contracted, dear old land, 
Where the poor are held by a cruel bit, 
To ampler spaces for heart and hand— 
And here was a chance for the Saxon grit. 
Steadilv steering, eagerly peering. 
Trusting in God, your fathers came. 
Pilgrims and strangers, fronting all dangers. 
Cool-headed Saxons, with hearts aflame. 
Bound bv the letter, but free from the fetter 
And hiding their freedom in Holy Writ, 
They gave Deuteronomy hints in economy 
And made a new Moses of Saxon grit. 
Then slow and sure, as the oaks have grown 
From the acorns that fell on that old 
dim day, 
So this new manhood in city and town, 
To a nobler stature will grow alway; 
Winning by inches, holding by clinches. 
Slow to contention, and slower to quit. 
Now and then failing, but never once quailing, 
Let us thank God for the Saxon grit. 
Best Farm Crop. —I have no doubt we 
have among the readers of The R. N.-Y. 
some of the best farmers in America. If 
I wanted to find the man who is highest in 
authority on growing potatoes or apples or 
grain, or who knows most about fatten¬ 
ing a steer or a sheep or milking a cow, I 
could find him in The R. N.-Y. family— 
and he would be willing to tell about it. 
It is human nature to like to tell about the 
things we have worked hard to master. I 
realize that, and it gives me great satis¬ 
faction to see that masters as they are of 
material things our people after all take 
most interest in the child crop. I wish 
I could print the letters that come to us. 
Here is one that must see type: 
I am,' interested in reading in your paper 
about raising farm help and adopting chil¬ 
dren. Farmers ought to raise their own 
help, and it seems to me the women are to 
blame. They like to go to women’s clubs, 
etc. They have no time to rock the cradle. 
Then in their old age they are crying for 
help. The future citizens of the United 
States will be the children from the city 
slums. I have three of my own, but had to 
have a girl assist with light housework 
throughout the Summer. Got a little Ger¬ 
man, age 12, through the “Country Week.” 
She was the best girl to work I ever had ; 
stayed six weeks. She wanted to live with 
us always, would give up her own people, 
but they couldn’t spare her, as her mother 
was sickly. Oh. how she did eat, I thought 
I should never get her filled up. Next one 
came from a charity home; stayed two years. 
Next was from a State home. I have a 
Grange friend who has a small boy from the 
State home. These girls were lots of help 
to me. I believe it a sin for man and 
wife to lire on a farm laying up money and 
just waiting to die, if God hasn’t sent them 
any of their own. Take some of these poor 
little- ones. But don’t take 1 a child over 10 
years old and expect to get an angel. If 
I was to take one I should have one be¬ 
tween the age of three and 10 . I don’t like 
these girls who have beeen in a Home. I 
like them from the slums. I have an idea 
the Salvation Army could get anyone a child. 
Some of the children that live in these 
homes have better clothes, food and school¬ 
ing than many of our farmers’ children. 
So when they do go out into the world they 
are not able to battle with its ups and 
downs. I wish more Massachusetts farm¬ 
ers’ wives would invite a little boy or girl 
for the Summer or even two weeks, to 
their homes, through the “Country Week.” 
MRS. CHESTER E. HILDRETH. 
In a few lines that lays bare the great 
vital principle of human society. Children 
by the thousand are now growing up who 
will be a blessing or a curse to their coun¬ 
try. Left in the slums or so-called 
“homes” they will carry the sin or shame 
of their childhood like a badge of dis¬ 
honor. Brought up in some quiet country 
home they will gain character ajid true 
ambition if there be any such things in 
them. I know that such children cannot 
be exactly like your own and that some¬ 
times they prove a disappointment in spite 
of all you can do. Yet the world is made 
better for every honest effort you make 
to save a child. Some of those statesmen 
and orators like to tell farmers that they 
supply the blood and bone which keeps the 
city alive. Let them remember that the 
man who does the repairing is just as 
strong a character as the manufacturer. 
The awful mistakes and failures which the 
city makes in human lives can only be 
made good on the farm. The best crop! 
I am thankful that our people know what 
it is. 
Late to Start. —I don’t want to talk 
about weather or crops if I can help it. 
That pleasant Sunday I told about was 
followed by a week of wet weather. Then 
we got a few hours of sun, and Saturday 
night the “Hon. John Frost” put a skim 
of ice over the troughs. It looks bad for 
our buds, but is more a case for this 
“Saxon grit” than for handkerchiefs. 
Whenever the soil is dry enough we are at 
it with the harrows to keep it stirred up 
and kill all the weeds we can. I notice 
that our trees vary somewhat in starting. 
The following note from a New York 
State reader will set many to thinking: 
T have an orchard of apple, pear, peach 
and Japan plum trees set last Spring that 
made a very satisfactory growth last Sum¬ 
mer, but some of the peach and plum trees 
show signs of being hurt during the Win¬ 
ter. I think they grew too late in the 
Fall. Twenty-eight peach trees that are 
on sod and mulch looked very fine last Fall, 
hut some of them have not started yet, 
though they look fully as good as the ones 
that are cultivated. Mercury stood at 28 
degrees this morning. That makes me wish 
I lived in a warmer climate. Not much 
honor in “John Frost” this Spring. 
Wait until July and August and then 
you will be thankful for the privilege of 
living in the temperate zone. While we 
are now growling about the wet weather 
no doubt we shall be howling about a 
drought inside of a month! As for the 
trees I notice that where we use a heavy 
mulch the trees appear to ripen earlier in 
the Fall and certainly are later to start in 
the Spring. There is not so much dif¬ 
ference in this so far as the leaves are 
concerned, but I do not think the fruit 
buds open as early. In theory the mulch 
keeps the ground cool so that the tree does 
not start so rapidly, but as Mr. Van 
Deman has recently shown, this theory is 
not all fact. I cannot explain why it is, 
but on our farm the mulched orchards 
seem to have the advantage at both ends 
of the season. . . . Walking through the 
woods and over the hills on May- 12 re¬ 
minded one of a late November day. Last 
year at this time the forest trees were 
nearly in full leaf. This year there were 
only small buds. A cold wind was blow¬ 
ing which made a thick overcoat feel com¬ 
fortable. There were a few violets in the 
damp places and dandelions in the grass, 
but most other wild flowers knew better 
than to show color. My early strawberries 
are evidently frostbitten. Some of the 
peaches are dead—I hope not all—and I 
think the crab apples are nipped. No use 
saying “this season beats all,” because we 
are taught to say something original or 
keep quiet. It looks bad just now, but 
I’ll guarantee that Thanksgiving will find 
us with something to be thankful for as 
usual. h. w. c. 
Heavy Manuring. —Some of our people 
who think 200 pounds of fertilizer or four 
loads of manure per acre all the crop will 
stand, ought to try their hand at Dutch 
farming. At a recent meeting of the New 
York Florists’ Club, M. IT. Weezenaar, of 
Holland, made the following statement as 
reported in The Florists’ Exchange : 
“Land in Holland adapted for the cultiva¬ 
tion of hyacinths, he said, rums from $ 2,000 
to $3,000 per acre. The manure used 
amounted to something like $ 1,000 an acre, 
in addition to which there was a big water 
tax, levied for service of the pumping en¬ 
gines, the water having to be pumped at 
certain seasons from the canal. This 
water is pumped some times at the 
rate of 20-.000 gallons every minute, the 
various canals emptying into a large 
one which connects with the ocean. The 
water in the canals is so regulated that 
there is never an overflow at any time. The 
soil in which the hyacinth bulbs are planted 
is dug to a depth of three feet, the work 
being done in Winter, the aim being to get 
as much, frost as possible Into the soil. When 
Spring arrives from 10 to 15 inches of pure 
cow manure is dug into the soil to a depth 
of one foot. In that soil are planted pota¬ 
toes, peas or beans, either for seed or mar¬ 
ket. In the month of August the products 
are gathered. The same soil is then dug to 
a depth of \Vi foot, cow manure being again 
applied to it. The beds are rounded and 
there is a ditch of about 1 % foot broad and 
deep, dug along the sides of the beds to 
carry off the water. The bulbs are planted 
from 2 to 2% inches deep. The beds are 
then covered with reeds to a depth of 10 
inches. This covering is not put on until 
the severe weather is past, the object being 
to secure freezing. Part of the mulch is 
removed after January, and the crops are 
hardened as much as possible, the mulch re¬ 
maining being entirely taken off when active 
growth shows.” 
The Side Deli very Clo ver Buncher and 
Pea Harvester 
It places the cut crop to the side 
out of the way of the team and 
machine on the next round. 
It saves its cost every day it Is 
used. 
Ask ymir dealer about it, or 
send to us for Catalogue. 
THE SIDE DELIVERY BUNCHER CO., Toledo, Ohio. 
Loudei 
Hay 
Came 
THE LOUDEN JUNIOR 
Always ready. Never out of repair. The 
round top swinging fork pulley registers at an angle. 
Does not tip or bind on track as other Carriers do. Fills 
barn full clear up to the comb. Lock always works and never 
gjves trouble. Patent swivel takes twist out of kinky rope. 
This is one of our many excellent Carriers made either for 
steel or wood track. 
ALL HAY TOOLS 
We are Hay Tool Specialists. Our line includes 
everything in Carriers, Tracks, Hay Slings, Forks, 
Pulleys, Stackers, Cable Rickers, Hay Rack Fixtures, 
etc. Also, the best Flexible Barn Door Hangers in 
the World, Feed and Litter Carriers and other hard¬ 
ware specialties. Write for free catalog and also 
booklet on “Fitting up Barns.” Sent free, 
LOUDEN MACHINERY GO., 
FAIRFIELD, IOWA 
39 BROADWAY, 
bought a 
BALING PRESS 
and found it 
was not the best you could have bought for the money, you would be 
sorry. Our presses have taken so many first prizes, including 
St. Louis World’s Fair GRAND PRIZE, that they are called 
WHITMAN’S “WORLD’S STANDARD” 
Ought you not to know why they are so superior before you buy 
a press? Let us send you our catalog of Presses and other superior 
^gncultura^Machiner^^^^VHITMA^^A6RICULrURAI^O^!tDLoiii5^ 
BALES'Vday HAY 
Say "Baler Book” on a postal to ns and we I 
will send you free a book telling the results of | 
our experience since 1867 making hay presses. 
You want proilt, so should spend a penny to I 
learn about our Gem Full Circle Steel Baler and 
how we save you about 125 in price and sell you 
a press which will save you as much more each 
year in repairs and do the most work. Patent 
power head, short trip lever arms, long plung¬ 
er stroke with quick rebound, large feed open- 
| ing and two charges for each round of the | 
team are ad- vantages of our presses. | 
HAY PRESSES 
Guaranteed enough better than the best 
of other makes to earn 6 per cent interest 
as follows, or no sale. 
The Alligator 6% Int. on *13687.50 
“ Favorite “ “ “ *18000.00 
“ Hercules “ “ “ *22812.50 
Great Money Makers. 
For conditions address 
«i. A. SPENCER, 
DWIQHT, ILL. 
Eli 
Hay 
Mailed free. 
HORSE and BELT 
POWER. 
30 slylea and slzaa ol 
Presses. 
For many years the stand- ( 
ard. Lead in character 
of work, speed, easy 
and safe operating.a 
Don’t buy until youl 
seethe Eli catalogue.! 
Write 
for it today. 
COLLINS PLOW CO., 1111 Hampshire St., Quincy, Ills. 
THE “RELIANCE” HAY PRESS 
■ while cheaper than any 
other machine of its class, 
is absolutely reliable, very 
substantial, easiest of all 
hay presses to operate;ma<le 
to last a lifetime. 12 sizes. 
Manufactured only by 
HOBSON & CO. 
EASTON, PA. 
SICKLE GRINDER 
HIGH CEARED 
FAST,EXACT 
!_• High Geared, 
Fast, Exact. 
Alundum wheel grinds ten times as fast as grindstone. 
DOES NOT DRAW TEMPER. 
Turns easy and takes little pressure. Simple but strong 
and durable. Write for booklet. 
ROYAL MANUFACTURING CO. 
228 E. WALNUT ST.,LANCASTER, PA, 
HAY RACKS! HAY RACKS!! 
Having a quantity of hay racks on hand, we are 
offering them at an extremely low price in order to 
dispose of them at once. They are very strong and 
well built but not too heavy, and are guaranteed to 
do good service. Our price will surprise you. Address, 
THE STAK SEEDElt CO., Shortsville, N. Y. 
HEAVIEST FENCE MADE! 
I All No. 9 Steel Wire. Well galvanized. Weighs J 
lK more than most fences. 15 to 85c per rod J 
^delivered. We send free sample for inspec- i 
Ltion and test. Write tor fence book of 133 
styles. The Brown Fence Jk Wire 
Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Ill I! r II IS A GATE NOT A GATEQ 
UmLV PI |U I HAVE SOMETHING NEW W 
■ ■II ^^1 ■ TO TELL YOU ABOUT 
-FARM GATES- 
White, 
S. CEO. STEVENS, 120 6th. Ave. West, Duluth, Minn. 
Monarch 
Hydraulic 
Cider Press 
Great strength and ca¬ 
pacity; all sizes; also 
gasoline engines, 
steam engines, 
saw mills, thresh¬ 
ers. Catalog free, 
■onarch Machinery Co.. Room 161 < 39 Corilandt St., Noa York. 
Farmers’ 
Waterproof 
or plain Canvas Wagon and Stack Covers, 
Hay Caps, Plant Bod Cloth, Tents, &c. 
Circular Price Lists and Sample. 
HENRY DERBY, 49 Warren St„ New York 
MACHINERY 
HIDE 
■ Beat and cheapest. 
Send for catalogue. 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT 
PRESS CO., 
118 We.t Water St, 
8IEACC8B. H. Y. 
TILE DRAINED LAND IS MORE PRODUCTIVE ~ d to %rl 
creases the value. Acres of swampy land reclaimed and made fertile. 
Jackson’s Round Drain Tile meets every requirement. We also make Sewer 
Pipe, Red and Fire Brick, Chimney Tops, Encaustic Side Walk Tile, etc. Write 
for what you want and prices, JOHN u. JACKSON, ;e Third a«.,‘ ibsn/, n.y. 
