1908. 
THE RURAL N E W -YORKER 
967 
Hope Farm Notes 
Thanksgiving Day. —It would take more 
of a philosopher than I ever can be to feel 
thankful for the weather prospect which 
greeted me when I first looked out of the 
window. It was one of those miserable, 
foggy, sticky days. Great drops of water 
hung to the trees—apparently too lazy to 
drop. The grass was like a sponge. There 
was “water, water everywhere,” except in 
our tank. Through the week of fog the 
windmill had been standing still. How¬ 
ever, we are not responsible for the weather, 
but we are for the observance of the day. 
Breakfast was late, but the oatmeal, fried 
sausage and baked apples were good when 
they did come. 
“Now then, short stories,” said Mother. 
While life is one long serial tale with 
most of us there are times when conden¬ 
sation is necessary. This was one, for our 
good friends from Faith Farm were coming 
to eat dinner. M*other and the girls made 
brooms and dusters fly; one boy cleaned the 
turkey while the other raked up the yard. 
Philip wanted his holiday on Saturday, so 
he went to hauling cabbage. I walked 
around to have a look at things in general 
and then came in to do some writing. Our 
girls had a big pumpkin in the center of 
the table with a pile of apples' around it. 
They had captured some of my prize ears 
of seed corn and had them hanging around 
the room. In the kitchen the big turkey 
was browning in the oven, while the top 
of the range was crowded with a combina¬ 
tion of kettles and pots. Things were hardly 
- in shape before the children cried, “Here 
they come!" and there was old Ned jogging 
into sight down the road with the quartette 
of Faith Farmers behind him. If you have 
over seen New England folks come home for 
Thanksgiving you will know what followed. 
If you never went through that experience 
you have missed more than I like to think 
of. Aunt Mary and Aunt Margaret came 
with a frame of honey, a ball of butter and 
a lot of other “flxin’s” to help out. I 
went out to the barn, and there were Uncle 
George and Uncle William in their blacks— 
looking things over. I was able to steer 
them away from some of our mistakes, and 
keep them occupied with the strawberries 
and the seed corn—which, with the cab¬ 
bage, represent the best points in our farm¬ 
ing this year. When the dinner bell rang 
I made all our folks “choose partners” and 
marched them around to dinner. Fifteen 
peonle had a moufh at our dinner that day, 
while Jack and Henry had four more in 
their house. There was no soup, for every 
one was anxious 1o get at the bird at once. 
I here were potatoes, onions, squash, celery, 
cranberry sauce, honey, squash pie arid 
baked apples. Had there been pots enough 
in the house to cook them we might have 
bad several more vegetables. It was a great 
time for the baby, from the moment his lit¬ 
tle red head bowed to the front of his high 
chair, while Uncle George said grace, to the 
last sigh of content when he finished liis 
baked apple. The elders were no less con¬ 
tent as their turkey disappeared. 
It seemed like a duty we owed to society 
to take some lively exercise after such a 
meal, so Uncle George and I with the boy 
started for the hill to look at the trees. 
-Tack and Henry had been at work prepar¬ 
ing the apple trees for Winter. As left from 
Bummer the mulch is close to thOjn and 
grass has worked in close. The first job 
is to take a hoe and pull the mulch away 
and clean out the grass. If it were left 
there the mice would get at the trees. Then, 
after hunting for borers, three or four 
spadefuls of earth are thrown around the 
of the tree and firmed into a mound. 
This keeps off the mice and gives good pro¬ 
tection to the roots. Now, after this is 
■done, I plan to pile all the trash that 
will rot around these trees—outside of the 
little mound. The object of this is to keep 
the soil open as long as possible, to hold 
snow and moisture, and to get this work 
done while other jobs are not pressing. I 
bad been planning to haul apple pomace 
from a cider mill three miles away for this 
purpose, but Uncle George pointed to the 
leaves in our 30 acres of timber. Why not 
use that? When I explained that it cost 
too much to get the leaves out he promised 
to come and show us how. He did come 
two days later, and hauled out a small 
mountain of those wet leaves in a few 
hours. After knowing how to do it, our 
Boys can get leaves enough to put a great 
pile around each apple tree—more than 
■equal to the same weight of manure. Then 
there was my plan of hauling muck out 
of the swamp and using it on the farther 
orchard, and the scheme of clearing off 
the two acres of birch stumps at the back 
of the farm. I had reason to be thank¬ 
ful that I could get the advice and ex¬ 
perience of an old Vermont farmer like 
Uncle George. We stayed on the hill talk¬ 
ing about the trees and looking ahead to 
their fruiting until it grew dark. The 
weather was still foggy and dull. A wind 
was trying hard to break through and make 
the mill turn, but it was a feeble effort. 
Our folks had all gone over to the old 
house, where the boys had built a great fire 
of logs in the big fireplace. There we sat 
in a circle of chairs before the fire, telling 
stories, talking over old times. The mem¬ 
ory and more of that turkey remained with 
us, so that all we needed for supper was 
what they called “knick-knacks” when I 
was a boy. Usually, on Thanksgiving, 
might, before an open fire, the Hope Farm 
man goes back, in memory, to the obi 
tramping- days when he “spoke pieces” in 
■church or school house and passed the bat 
sround. The children prefer such things in 
the present, and they pulled me out for some 
of the old recitations. I am somewhat along 
In years to make myself ridiculous with 
safety, but it seems to be a part of Thanks¬ 
giving for me to do so. Finally the last 
story was told and the logs were burning 
low. The Faith Farmers are earlv birds, 
and it was time to go. As a fit ending for 
the day Uncle George recited the Sixty- 
fifth Psalm, and then thanked the great 
Giver of all good for the day, and what it 
meant. Then off they rode through the fog 
and mist. Our folks were tired enough to 
go ' to bed at once. I had some work to 
finish, but it was hard to get at it after 
such a day. After the rest were asleep I 
sat alone, thinking things over. The fog 
still packed closely around the house. We 
were shut in among the hills from the 
sight of neighbor or friend, yet it came to 
me again just as Uncle George read it: 
“Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest 
and causeth to approach unto Thee, that, he 
may dwell in Thy courts; we shall he sat¬ 
isfied with the goodness of Thy house, even 
of Thy holy temple." 
Guaranteed Seed. —Here is a letter from 
a New York man : 
“I just received quotation from a south¬ 
ern house on clover seed and the best trade¬ 
mark seed Red clover per bushel was .$(1.75 ; 
tins is very low ; a month ago it was $7.25. 
I think very strongly of ordering five bush¬ 
els at this price. How would southern- 
grown seed do for us up here?” 
I understand that the Red clover seed 
cr .9P, ls this year, and that the price 
will be low. I hope it will not he like corn. 
As the reports of the crop grow more fa¬ 
vorable the price seems to grow higher. I 
have no doubt the seed mentioned is good. 
I he Southern States do not produce a large 
amount of Red clover seed. Most of it is 
grown in the Central West. Very likely 
the seed you mention was grown there. I 
doubt if it makes much difference where 
the seed was grown, provided it is clean 
and vital. If it is not you would better not 
take it as a gift. 
“But how am I to knowf 
There you have touched what seems to 
be the sore_spot in the seed trade. You 
can buy fertilizers on a guaranteed analysis. 
You can buy a horse on the certificate of a 
veterinarian, or a cow on the tuberculin 
test, but there is no such guarantee when 
buying seed. I am informed that in most 
cases where suit is brought against seeds¬ 
men to recover damages the cases are usu¬ 
ally thrown out of court when it can be 
proved that the buyer knew or had a chance 
to know about the “disclaimer” which was 
printed last week. 
Yet there ought to be some way for the 
honest and reputable seedsmen to prove 
their character, as is done in cases where 
goods are guaranteed. The United States 
Department of Agriculture at Washington 
conducts a seed-testing bureau. They will 
take a sample of seed and test it for vi¬ 
tality and pick out (he weed seeds. Now, 
I wish it were possible for buyers and sell¬ 
ers of grass and clover seed’s to get to¬ 
gether in some way and let a government 
test settle the character of the seeds. The 
honest fertilizer dealers have found the 
Government work of testing and analyzing 
fertilizers of very great benefit. The seed 
business is much harder to manage because 
it would be difficult to prove tha some 
buyer did not send a bogus or fraudulent 
sample to Washington. I think it would 
be a good thing to send fair samples of 
grass seeds, as purchased, to Washington, 
anyway—whether the seedsmen “made good” 
on a bad sample or not. 
Chicken Thieves.—A Connecticut friend 
states a great truth in his opening sen¬ 
tence : 
“This great nation has not yet risen 
above the chicken-thief stage in some sec¬ 
tions. There are localities where honest 
people lose heavily. Can any Rural reader 
describe any electrical or mechanical de¬ 
vices to give warning of marauders?” 
Has anyone hit upon anv sure devices— 
either spring gun or electric signal? If so, 
please tell us. I have told before of a dis¬ 
tant neighbor who had a big dog around his 
hen house—feeling very secure. One night 
this dog disappeared and was gone a week 
or so. Finally he came back, rejoiced to 
see his old master. As he was on guard 
once more other precautions were dropped. 
One morning investigation showed that all 
the chickens had been stolen—yet there was 
the dog wagging his tail as if be had well 
served his friends. He had. The thieves 
had taken him away and made his acquaint¬ 
ance. He knew them when they came and 
of course gave his new friends a pleasant 
reception and let them take the chickens! 
That dog is like some of the “statesmen” 
who are sent to represent us in public places. 
How they do promise to fight the others 
who are stealing our rights and our 
money! They are not long away from home 
before, somehow, the thief “yets acquainted 
with the doy." That’s the end of it. 
The Farmer’s Snare. —There has been 
a fine response to the request for records 
of commission sales. They come from all 
over, and they will all be figured out. 
Among other notes I have this one from 
Herkimer Co., N. Y. 
“You say the dairy farms in Jefferson Co. 
average one cow to about five to six acres, 
and the income from a cow is $fiO to $70 
Do you consider this, $10 to $12 per acre, 
a fair income from such land as you de¬ 
scribe? prof. Bailey recently said that the 
farms in Tompkins Co. averaged $49 per 
acre. Land capable of producing the crops 
you describe should show a greater gross 
return than $10 to $12 per acre. Dairy¬ 
ing is an expensive line of farming. it 
costs a good deal to maintain a good herd 
of cows. The extras sold from a dairv 
farm seldom pay for the feed purchased.” 
p. w. c. 
I made the statement and stick to it on 
the authority of some of the best dairy¬ 
men in Jefferson Co. There are some other 
items, such as potatoes, pork or hay, but 
$15 an acre would be accepted as good in¬ 
come for the entire farm. I think such 
land ought to bring more. I will say 
bluntly that I don’t believe Prof. Bailey 
ever stated that Tompkins Co. farms aver¬ 
age $49 per acre. Think of a 100-acre 
dairy farm among the hills turning off 
$5,000 a year with milk at present prices ! 
There is some mistake about this. I have 
been figuring a little. Our folks just bought 
one pound and 7 ounces of cheese and paid 
28 cents for t. It is not as good as the 
cheese I saw made in Jefferson Co. The 
farmers average about $1 per hundred 
pounds for their milk. Now, I am not a 
dairyman, but I will estimate that on the 
average it requires 10 pounds of milk to 
make a pound of cheese. If that is so, I 
figure that out of the 28 cents which our 
folks paid for the cheese the dairyman re¬ 
ceived 14 cents for his milk. As far as 
figuring has gone. I think the better 
class of dairymen who make high-class 
products and sell to advantage get about 
as much of the dollar as any class of pro- | 
ducers who ship. h w c I 
Here’s Delight for a Boy or Girl at 
Christmas—Fine Fun All Winter Long 
There is one gift which 
will make any boy, or any 
girl, supremely happy. 
It’s a gift that lets them 
enjoy out-of-doors to the 
utmost. 
Boys and girls who are 
much in the open air 
grow strong in body, 
sturdy of iimb and sound 
of lung. Outdoors-and- 
exercise a-plenty is nat¬ 
ure’s great tonic and in- 
vigorant. 
What gives them out¬ 
door fun is what a boy or 
girl likes most. 
Skating is the finest of 
all Winter fun. The 
grandest of all outdoor 
sports. 
Then let your boy and 
your girl enjoy this fine 
sport to the fullest. 
Get them for Christmas 
each a pair of Barney & 
Berry Skates. 
The skates that will 
delight them the most— 
the kind any knowing boy 
would himself pick out— 
the kind boys and girls for 
three generations have 
known as the keenest, 
swiftest, best-of-all skates. 
They cost but little. 
And nothing else would 
please half as much. 
Moreover, the delight 
they give is not for Christ 
mas Day only. They 
bring huge fun all Winter 
long. And for many 
Winters to come. 
For skating is the most 
ready-at-hand of all Win¬ 
ter pleasures. Where 
th ere’s water th ere’s 
bound to be ice, and lots 
of it. Always our full 
share of skating weather. 
Most any dealer will 
show you these skates. 
They’re made in all styles. 
Should your dealer not 
have the particular kind 
you want, he will get 
them for you. 
Our free catalogue will 
help you to choose the 
right style. Better write 
for it to-day. Christmas 
will soon be here. 
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