40 
1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Hope Farm Notes 
New Year’s. —New Year’s Eve found 
us eating our supper of cold roast pork, 
stewed Lima beans, bread and butter 
and canned strawberries. The end of 
the year brought one touch of sadness 
in the knowledge that our apple supply 
is nearly exhausted. The hot October 
and November played havoc with the 
apples, and we over-sold. Mother says 
our supply held out like the widow’s 
cruse of oil, but bottom now shows 
through the barrels. Aside from this 
we had no good reason to complain 
with the way the old year left us. In 
fact I wouldn’t complain if I could. 
Jack had some friends who planned 
to sit before the open fire in the old 
house and “watch the old year out.” I 
knew the New Year would come with¬ 
out any watching on my part, and so 
by 10 o’clock the Hope Farm lights 
were out except across the lawn where 
the “watchers” sat by the fire. On occa¬ 
sions of this sort my boys are fond of 
hearing about my celebrated fight on 
the bridge—how on New Year’s Eve in 
pitch darkness I was driving r team 
in the lumber u'oods and met a drunken 
teamster on a narrow bridge! I fear I 
do not size up close to a hero before 
these boys, because after all my roaming 
about I cannot or do not tell of great 
heroic deeds! Of course nobody, out¬ 
side of my boys, cares what I did to 
tame that teamster, so we will skip it. 
Morning came all too soon, and there 
was a great rush to be first to wish 
“Happy New Year.” Certainly if wishes 
were horses to carry one to happiness 
the New Year would be one long pro¬ 
cession through Eden. Not much work 
was done beside the regular chores. I 
did a little chopping in the woods and 
mowed over part of the old abandoned 
blackberry patch, but most of the day 
was passed in figuring up accounts and 
figuring down farm plans for the year. 
Naturally the latter were more satis¬ 
factory, since they are still air castles, 
while the accounts are very humble 
structures. As night came on the boys 
built a roaring fire in the fireplace, for 
that is the best chairman for any family 
gathering. Uncle George and Aunt 
Margaret came over to help watch the 
fire. They had begun the New Year 
by seeking help for a sick man who is 
in serious trouble. The interest on his 
mortgage and taxes both come due to¬ 
gether, as well as the premium on his 
insurance, while Jie is without funds 
and unable to work. 
I was thinking about this and the 
troubles and hard struggles of the poor, 
when I read the next morning of the 
way New York City “watched” the old 
year out. It seems that 24 leading hotels 
and restaurants sold in addition to food 
40,894 quarts of wine. This averaged 
about $7 a quart at retail, so that at 
these few places alone the wine bill was 
$286,188. I have no doubt that, tak¬ 
ing the entire city, over $1,000,000 was 
spent for liquor on New Year’s Eve 
alone. At one single hotel 4,200 quarts 
of wine were sold at an average of $7 
a quart. It seems that the Hope Farm¬ 
ers were sadly behind the times. Twelve 
of us before our fire had a great time 
with 50 cents worth of nuts and crack¬ 
ers and milk. Now read this from the 
New York Times: 
At one prominent Broadway cafe one 
man entertained (wo women and a man. 
Ills order consisted of a basket of wine, 
one dozen bottles, and at the same time 
he insisted that a cooler be brought for 
each bottle. This done, lie had the waiter 
take the wine from the basket and insert 
a bottle in each cooler. Then he had the 
dozen coolers grouped in a circle about 
his table. This table attracted consider¬ 
able attention. 
That meant $84 for the wine alone, 
and very likely $40 more for the food 
and tips to the waiter. That sum of 
money would pay taxes, insurance and 
interest for our sick neighbor, and see 
him through the Winter besides. It 
would also (finish the college education 
of a girl who has struggled to work 
her way through a college and now, 
within sight of the end, lacks the few 
dollars needed to enable her to finish. 
Within a few miles of where these four 
people were wasting this money, men 
were forming in “bread lines” eager to 
get a small loaf of bread, children were 
crying for food and people were shiver- 
nig for lack of fuel and clothing. 
It is hard for me to understand how 
people can escape seeing the sin of such 
extravagant folly’-. Towering above this 
scene of revelry stand almost countless 
church spires. At midnight the bells of 
the churches rang out, not in solemn 
tolling for the death of the old year, but 
happily, because a newer year had begun. 
I am sure there were thousands who, 
at the sounds of the bells, went home 
with lighter hearts. 
Ring out the old—ring In the new. 
Ring, happy bells, across (lie show; 
The year is going—let him go— 
Ring out the false—ring in the true. 
Ring out false pride in place and blood, 
The civic slander and the spite; 
Ring in the love of truth and right. 
Ring in the common love of good. 
Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand; 
Ring out the darkness of the land; 
Ring in the Christ that is to be. 
What a mockery of life that must 
have been to the people who were 
drowning memories of the old year in 
liquor. Every dollar of the money thus 
squandered was made out of products 
which came originally out of the land 
or the sea. Everything in the sea came 
originally out of the land. We have 
here an illustration of what cotnes 
when, year after year, the handlers take 
60 cents or more of the consumer’s dol¬ 
lar while the producers pay the cost and 
take 40 cents or less! There can’t be 
any getting around it; the great trouble 
with farming to-day is the fact that the 
producer gets such a small share of the 
dollar. The man who speculates in grain 
or in stocks can order $84 worth of 
wine for one supper. The men who 
produce that grain or who provide the 
freight which earns dividends on these 
stocks are expected to be thankful for 
fresh air, cold water and hot coffee! 
I am no revolutionist, but I think 
that in this analysis of the dollar which 
the consumer pays, lies the great, vital 
question of American farming. Up to 
date our general system of agricultural 
education has dealt with important 
things, but hardly with essential mat¬ 
ters. Suppose we learn how to improve 
our soils, how to produce larger crops 
and better stock, or grain, or fruit, and 
still go on under this system of taking 
40 cents or less and giving 60 cents or 
more to the handlers. I need not ask 
you what the result will be. You know 
that consumers’ prices would fall, while 
we would get even a smaller propor¬ 
tion than we do now. The transporta¬ 
tion companies carry your produce, and 
their charges are fixed no matter what 
your goods bring. The agricultural edu¬ 
cation which simply tells us how to pro¬ 
duce larger crops is one-sided and, con¬ 
tinued without change or development, 
will leave us comparatively worse off 
than before. The economic and political 
side of agriculture must be taught and 
developed. 
Farm and Garden. —All of our 
strawberries appear to be wintering 
well. There is a light covering of 
snow and the mulch gives good pro¬ 
tection. Several people 'ask about 
Stevens Late Champion. I have not 
tried it, but I hear so much about it 
that I want to plant a few next year. 
It is said to be much like Gandy in 
color and general appearance, but a 
trifle earlier and not such a good 
shipper. I would like a late berry to 
help out the season but Gandy does 
not give us fruit enough, and does not 
seem so well adapted to our plan of 
cultivation. If Stevens will fill the bill 
I want it. This question of strawberry 
varieies is a hard one to settle. I dis¬ 
like to give advice about varieties, 
since there is no fruit grown which 
depends so much on soil and care. 
The only safe way is to do your own 
testing and not limit the test to one 
single season. You cannot tell from 
first appearance what the final will 
be. I have realized this fully since 
my experience at a farmers’ picnic 
some years ago. I was invited to go 
and speak. There was a rustic stand 
in a grove with the audience grouped 
in front of it, and various notables 
holding it down. Judge Scott and the 
Rev. Mr. Brown sat in front with 
the satisfied air which men carry when 
they contain a good dinner and a 
very fine speech. I knew that I pre¬ 
sented a sorry contrast to these dig¬ 
nified gentlemen, and I knew that the 
chairman appreciated it when he in¬ 
troduced me as if he were offering 
soup before the solid meat. T did my 
best, and after it was over the chair¬ 
man proved himself an honest man. 
He shook hands with me and said 
heartily: “I am greatly relieved. I 
had no idea that such a very ordinary 
looking man could make such a good 
speech!” 
I always did like these honest peo¬ 
ple. At another meeting a sharp- 
eyed woman sat on a front seat and 
studied me carefully. After it was 
over T shook hands with her and she 
volunteered her conclusion: “I think 
you are either a very fine man or a 
terrible old fraud!” h. w. c. 
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