1008. 
THIS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Hope Farm Notes 
Everything.— Last week I spoke of 
the . great numbers of odd questions 
which pour in upon us. Many of 
them come from trial subscribers—evi¬ 
dently “feelers.” Those who write want 
to see if we will really take notice of 
humble people who arc poor and who 
have not had opportunities for education. 
We are able to read between the lines of 
these short letters, and can see the idea 
which these men are trying to express. 
We are sorry we cannot give them 
more direct help. Many of them are 
troubled over the great evils of social 
life, and do not consider the little things 
which make the whole. “The Kingdom 
of God is within you!” In like 
manner about all most of us can do to 
fight the great wrongs of society is to 
make our own lives and the lives of our 
children what they ought to be. That 
is much harder than shouting out 
against public men or general evils. 
Here is one about the minting of sil¬ 
ver : 
Can you toll me the moaning of the 
small letters, such as o and s that are 
found on some' of the silver 10-eent pieces 
,iust beneath the wreath design? A friend 
says if enough letters are found to spell 
the word south they would be redeemed at 
the bank for $25. Would like to know 
what they signify. j. k. S. 
It is safe to say the Lhiited States 
Government is not offering prizes. I 
wrote the Director of the United States 
Mint, and received this reply. It may 
occupy the mind to hunt for the letters 
named, but there will be more money in 
studying some useful job. 
You are respectfully informed that the 
letters on the coins arc known as ‘'mint 
marks’’ and indicate the mint at which 
the pieces are coined. The mint at Phila¬ 
delphia has no mint mark on coins struck 
at that institution. New Orleans has the 
letter “o’’ ; San Francisco the letter ”s"; 
Denver the letter “d”; and coins struck 
at Carson prior to the close of coinage 
operations at that institution had the let¬ 
ters “c. c.” upon them. 
FRANK A. l.KACII, 
Director of the Mint. 
Here is one of a dozen similar ques¬ 
tions : 
What is the best way for a poor boy to 
get a start in this world? n. m. 
Ohio. 
It depends on the boy and on that part 
of the world which he touches. Few 
boys were ever poorer than I was when 
I went to work at 14. Few men were 
worse prepared to do a full man’s work 
in the world than I was at 25. A poor 
boy’s best assets are character and abil¬ 
ity. Be clean and honest. Don’t smoke, 
don't drink, don't fool and play with life. 
Don't let anybody catch you at mean or 
small things. Your word must be a 
good deal better than your bond. Get a 
reputation for doing at least one thing 
well—better than anyone else in your 
neighborhood can do it. No matter what 
it is—anything that is honest—you mas¬ 
ter it. It is mastery that attracts people 
all the way up from milking a cow to 
building a cathedral. Your hope lies in 
mastery of yourself and things about you. 
I cannot tell you what particular thing 
to take up, but the best start any one 
can ever have is clean body, heart, mind 
and hand. 
Here is a duplicate of dozens of ques¬ 
tions from the South: 
Will you tell me why the farmers can¬ 
not bo successfully organized? j. e. r. 
Cornelia, Ala. 
I wish I could tell you. There are a 
number of organizations among farmers 
which, up to a certain point, do well. 
They usually fail when they undertake 
to buy and sell on a large scale. Such 
organizations lack the capital required to 
handle large enterprises and lack skilled 
men at the head. After a time these 
large organizations fall into the hands of 
rogues who get what they can out of it 
and let it go. Combinations to be suc¬ 
cessful mean self-denial and surrender 
of some personal rights. In most neigh¬ 
borhoods where I have lived too many 
men wanted to ‘‘boss the job.” It stands 
to reason that we can’t all he leaders, but 
most of us object to being high private 
in the rear rank when we feel we could 
give the captain points on business. Sup¬ 
pose we have 30 men in a neighborhood 
who cannot agree on business methods. 
They unite with 300 other similar com¬ 
munities to form a big organization of 
10,000 members. That large organiza¬ 
tion will not stand the test until the 
men in those small bodies can get to¬ 
gether in some true spirit of brother¬ 
hood. Otherwise such an organization 
will be like a house built of cement 
blocks in which the cement was not 
properly mixed with the sand. That is 
why I believe in first learning to make 
our Injuries and pur neighborhoods what 
they oii&ht tp pe. If the units'are 1 not 
sound, the- bunding uywr can l^. . , , ' ! J. 
2G 
From all over the South come letters 
like the following: 
I am a farmer, and I do no-t understand 
why I do not make more money according 
to my work. I would like to hear from 
you and have your advice on my farming 
and money matters. m. a. m. 
North Carolina. 
Now I can see that this man is in 
trouble without the power to state hit 
case clearly on paper. If I could sit 
down and talk with him I have no doubt 
we could find the germ of his business 
disease. Many a man knows that he 
works hard and willingly, that he isn't 
lazy, and that he wants to provide for 
his family. Still, year after year he goes 
down hill. No doubt others can tell him 
where he is wrong, yet we would all 
resent hard criticism or ridicule. If this 
man will tell us about his farm, how 
many acres, his crops and tools, does he 
sow Crimson clover or cow peas—or 
anything else about it—I am sure our 
folks will be glad to help him. 
The following question about sponta¬ 
neous germination often comes to us: 
Do you know of any experiment ever 
being made and what the results were to 
ascertain whether a combination of mois¬ 
ture. sunlight and air on the earth wiP 
produce any sort of vegetation without 
seed? j. e. h. 
Of course some plants like witch 
grass* will sprout from the roots or un¬ 
derground stems, and thus do not de¬ 
pend upon seeds. The question does not 
concern them—can a plant grow from 
“moisture, sunlight and air” without any 
seed? I can safely answer No! There 
must be a jeed germ to start with. We 
sometimes find mushrooms or molds ap¬ 
pearing suddenly on the soil as if they 
grew spontaneously. They were started 
from germs or spores. Last Spring a 
friend who prides himself on keeping his 
house and grounds neat and clean, was 
horrified at detecting close to his front 
door the most awful odor that ever as¬ 
sailed the human nose. No dead animal 
could be found, but finally, driven to des¬ 
peration, a man who had fortunately lost 
something of his sense of smell got 
down near a hole and found growing a 
very handsome “toadstool” well named 
“stink-horn.” This was pulled up and 
destroyed and the awful smell at once 
passed away. These hideous beauties 
sometimes appear just where they are 
not wanted. One sprung up near a hotel 
and drove half the guests away before 
it was destroyed. It has been argued 
that these disturbers' of home peace must 
prove that sun, air and moisture start 
plants alone—otherwise how do they 
ever come in new places? Botanists, 
working, I trust, with faces well muffled, 
have worked out the life history. It 
seems that the dreadful smell comes 
from a sticky green fluid which has a 
great attraction for Hies. The spores 
from which new plants start, are mixed 
with this green fluid, and they are car¬ 
ried away on the feet or bodies of the 
flies to other places where new growths 
may start. No plant starts except from 
seed or germ. H. w. c. 
PERFECT POTATO 
PLANTING 
Every farmer knows the importance 
of proper potato planting-. Here’s a 
machine that does it perfectly. Has 
none of the faults common with com¬ 
mon planters. Opens the furrow 
perfectly, drops the seed 
correctly, covers it uni- 4 /■ *-■»„_ 
formly.andbestof all ' /T xron , 7???. , 
never bruises or g\ (improved RobMn.) 
punctures the A. a Potato Planter 
seed. Send a 
postal for 
our 1908 
free 
Book. 
BATEMAN MFG. CO., Box 102PGrenloch, N.J. 
_ ices right. 
Send for Booklet and Souvenir—FREE. 
TAYLOR BROS., Dept, M, Camden, N. J, 
w 
THE “KANT-KL0G” SPRAYERS 
I Something New. Gets twice the results withs ame labor 
a and fluid. Flat or round, line or coarse sprays from same 
^ iW— w’ii ■ir .A Nozzle. Ten styles. For trees, vines, 
vegetables, whitewashing, etc. 
Agents 
Wanted. 
Booklets free. 
Rochester, R. t. 
Rochester Spray Pump Co., 16East Ate 
7 T7T7 
T7T7T 
FENCE 
Strongest} 
Made - 
oMadeof High Carbon Double Strength 
ICoilcd Wiro. Heavily Galvanized to 
preventrust. Have no agents. Bell at 
.factory prices on 30 days’ free trial. 
ujWe pay all freight- 37 heights of farm 
?and poultry fence. Catalog Free. 
COILED SPRING FENCE CO. 
BOX 
Try This 
POULTRY & PIGEON 
SU PPLIES 
for every need in our line including famous 
KEYSTONE- 
MILK TUBES' 
RETURN AT OUR EXPENSE 
IF IT DOESN’T PLEASE YOU 
Here is a harrow that looks very 
different from the old spike or spring 
tooth harrow. 
It is different. Every point of dif¬ 
ference is a point of big improvement. 
It is as much better than the old 
fashioned harrow as a modern plow is 
better than the Indian’s crooked stick. 
Sizes 
3 to 
17 ft. 
ACME 
' Pulv.rlzee the 
plrwad land, crushes the cloda 
The coulters or teeth of the "Acme” work 
as a gang plow. They turn over and pulverize 
the ground and give the crop all the soil’s 
benefit. Farmers will tell you that bigger 
crops grow after harrowing with an "Acme." 
FREE BOOK for Your Farm Library 
Write us today and we’ll send you free, a valuable 
booklet, “A Perfect Seed Bed.” It means money to you 
DUANE H. NASH, Inc., 
Box 33, Millington, N.J, 
Indorsed by leading veterinary! 
surgeons. Coin Silver oUc. Set of four I 
$2. Teat Opener 7f>c. Dilating i’lug 25c. [ 
Milk Fever outfit $3. Teat Slitterl 
$1.50. Postpaid on receipt of price. [ 
Full directions. 
GEO. P. PILLING & SON, 2233 Arch St., Phila.,Pa. 
BEATS THE 
Grindstone 
TEN TIMES OVER 
No pressure, no drawing 
temper, if you use the 
Practical 
Alundum 
Grinder 
with wheel revolving 
3,000 times a minute. 
Far superior to emery 
or stone. Grinds any S 
tool, knife to sickle. 
Different sizes. Foot 
power attachment. 
Write for circular of particu¬ 
lars. Good agents wanted. Address, 
ROYAL MFG. CO.. 226 E. Walnut St.. Lancaster, Pa 
CUTAWAY TOOLS FOR URGE HAY CROPS. 
Three of Clark’s Intense Cultivators produced 
this year on 14^ acres, 102 tons of well dried Alfalfa, 
Timothy and Redtop Hay. If you want to know how 
DOUBLE ACTION JOINTED POLE GUTA 
NO MORE 
The Mill on the Farm 
Every farmer needs a good feed mill 
forgrindiug corn meal, all kinds of feed, 
cracking corn, etc. Here’s an opportu¬ 
nity to get the best mill made at a rea¬ 
sonable price and on trial fortwo weeks. 
Write for free catalogue describing 
MONARCH 
Feed Mills 
This booklet gives lots of 
honest, advice on milling 
methods, and tells just 
what kind 
of a mill 
you need. 
Sprout, Waldron 
& Co. 
P. 0. BUX2S3, 
MUNCY, PA. 
•fylifirt; 
JJll 
i)w9mi]Jnr 
Jointed Pole takes all the weight off Horses 
anti keeps their heels away from the Disks. 
Clark’s Reversible Hush and Bog Plow. 
Cuts a track 5 ft. wide, 1 ft. deep, will 
plow a new cut forest. Ills 
double action Cutaway Harrow 
keeps land true, moves 1,500 tons 
of earth,cuts 30 acres per day. 
CUTAWAY HARROW COMPANY, 
39 Main St., lliggaiiuni, Conn. 
MONEY INVESTED 
in a Superior Wire 
Fence I8 as secure as tlio 
fence. Our heavy weight look 
makes the Superior fence secure 
for a lifetime. .Superior Fences 
are stronger, more durable and cheaper 
than other kinds. Ask us why. 
Write lor cat aloe:. 
Till*) Sri’FKIOK FEYCR TO. 
Dept# 1. Cleveland, Ohio 
Poultry Fence 
Best for Farm 
Paso Poultry Fence 
is woven of high carbon 
Bpring Bteef Wire — 
horizontal bars are 
coiled springs, which 
keep Page Poultry 
Fence rigid and tight 
at top and bottom—no 
top or baso boards 
necessary—stay wire is 
one continuous pieco 
securely knotted. 
Fences poultry in¬ 
stock out. 
Write for interesting 
folder und cutulog. 
I’age Woten Wire Fence Co. 
Box 79. Adrian, IHich. 
Money in 
Selling Fence 
— _ — lt , | Selling fence is an easy 
I if WyM * and profitable business. We 
’— 1 * want agents everywhere to sell 
FROST WIRE FENCE 
Exclusive territory. This is a big 
money maker. Write for catalogue. 
THE FROST WIRE FENCE CO.. Cleveland. Ohio 
H. B. DRAKES CO., 30 West St., New York.N. Y 
COIL SPRING FENCE 
Made of high carbon Steel Wire 
Horse-high, Bull-strong, Chick¬ 
en-tight. Sold direct to the 
Farmer at lowest manufac¬ 
turers prices on 30 Days Free 
Trial, freight prepaid. lOOpage 
Catalogue and price-list free. 
KITSELMAN BROS., 
Box 230 MUNCIE, IND. 
The Celebrated De Loach M 531 
The 
World’s 
Standard 
for 20 
Years 
We Set the Pace 
—Others do the 
Best They 
Can 
_ . A 15-year old 
24 boy can operate 
successfully. 
Two hands cut 
1 5,000 feet per day. 
15,000 mills in use 
the world over. 
Variable Feed, Friction 
■g- ... Sot Works, Automatic Steel Tri- 
” pier Logs and Diamond Track produce 
results impossible with other mills. Send for 
catalog of Saw Mills up to 2(10 II. P,, Steam Engines 
-y and Boilers, Gasoline Engines, Portable Corn and Feed 
Mills. Planers, Shingle Mills. Wood Saws and Water 
Yi heels. Prompt shipment and we pay the freight. 
DeLOACU MILL MFG. CO., Box 302, BRIDGEPORT, ALA. 
AMPLE 
. ,m - 
A J* Every wire— 
both strand and stay— No. 9 gauge. 
Thickly galvanized. Best grade steel. We mail free sample | 
for inspection and test. A more substantial, stock-resist¬ 
ing, time-defying fence was never stapled to posts. We 
I pay freight on 40 rods. Write for book snowing 133 styles. 
[The BROWN FENCE «ft WIRE CO., Cleveland, O. } 
l5 T °35crs.~ 
PER ROD 
DELIVERED 
.Write Fop CRCC Dflfllf Now-Todav 
EST. 1867 „„ STYLES » UUU!\ HANbm., 1NC.1902 
.22 STCITY FAMILY OF oSS®«>20| 
Winchester, Indian# 
CS & h 12 
Sent on Trial—Freight Paid 
Grind Corn and Cobs, Feed and Table Meal. 
10 lbs. to 70 bushels per hour; ball bearing; easy running. Shipped from 
Philadelphia or Chicago. Send for free catalogue to 
THE A. W. STRAUB CO., 3737 39-41 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, Pa.a 
