1908. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
9715 
Hope Farm Notes 
Whisky at Christmas. —I get a 
large variety of joys and sorrows. 
Here comes a genuine novelty from 
Texas: 
I don’t know how it is with the farming 
element of the North, but I do know that 
we’uns in this far-off corner of the country 
have been used “all our lives” to have a 
round of egg-nog with our friends and 
neighbors on a Christmas. It kinder looks 
like this year most of us will go without, 
since we have been swindled out of the 
price saved up for the occasion by some 
very catchy circulars brought to us by our 
old reliable T.'ncle Sam, from an unscrupu¬ 
lous set or firm doing business in Newport, 
Ky. (our old standby whisky State). The 
New York Distilling Company is the style 
of the firm, and the stuff they send us, bear¬ 
ing the name of “Old Lanark” whisky 
would undoubtedly make any man who 
drank of it go on the warpath at once and 
kill his neighbor and maybe his own fam¬ 
ily. It is no wonder that crime is on the 
increase when our laws are so liberal as to 
permit whisky dealers to advertise and 
ship out by express a preparation not worth 
one cent per barrel at a cost of $1 for 26- 
ounce bottle. The two small quart bottles 
that came to my order bore no signs of 
Government inspection either as to proof of 
strength or hint at the pure food laws. The 
bottles were not sealed, and no signs of a 
revenue stamp anywhere on bottle. 
El Paso, Texas. t o. a. 
I am happy to state that the “farm¬ 
ing element” at the North can entertain 
Santa Claus very well without “egg 
nog” or any other preparation contain¬ 
ing liquor. If bottles of that whisky, 
or any other, came on Hope Farm and 
I could get my hands on them they 
would be smashed at once over the 
stone in the barnyard. No doubt this 
stuff is as bad as our friend puts it, 
but aside from the taste it is no more 
dangerous in the long run than any 
other brand. The way to avoid being 
swindled again is to break the lifelong 
habit and let all whisky alone. We are 
glad to expose this particular brand 
of poison—and take pleasure in com¬ 
bining all other brands with it. Bet¬ 
ter have a bushel of typhoid fever 
germs in the well than a case of whisky 
in the house! 
A Farm Home.— New kinds of work 
are constantly being developed on the 
farm. This is well, because farm labor 
should be made as varied as possible 
so that all hands may have a chance. 
Therefore I print the following letter 
from a woman in New Hampshire, 
who comes with what is to me a new 
proposition: 
I would like to take two elderly gentle¬ 
men or ladies and give them a home with 
good care. We are on a small farm in the 
village, three minutes’ walk from the post- 
office and eight from the station. The foot 
hills of Ragged Mountain are directly back 
of the house, and Mt. Kearsarge about two 
miles south of us. It is a beautiful loca¬ 
tion, especially in Summer. We are just 
starting in on farm life. This is our sec¬ 
ond year. I am very anxious to do some¬ 
thing so we can get along faster for a few 
years. If I could find some one who would 
like a quiet home and could afford to pay 
for such I would like to take them. I am 
a trained nurse and would care for them 
accordingly. For food we have all a good 
farm should have, even baked apples. We 
keep four cows and 300 hens. 
s. p. s. M. 
I have no doubt there are people who 
would be glad to have just such a home 
as this. The country would be the 
place for them. This woman could em¬ 
ploy her skill as trained nurse to good 
advantage and help raise a good crop 
of health and comfort. I have long 
believed in scattering the children now 
crowded into institutions among farm 
homes, paying the women a fair price 
for caring for them. This new plan 
of making the home into a small sani¬ 
tarium is a good one, and I would like 
to see it tried out. 
Where People Live.— Shortly before 
we sat down to baked beans and baked 
apples the other night I received a 
letter from Prof. W. F. Massey who 
lives on the peninsula in Maryland. 
This passage made us thoughtful— 
written December 2. 
Oysters are plentiful and cheap, and we 
are enjoying them; my lettuce frame is 
right at the kitchen door, and the cook has 
only to step out and cut it. Then we get 
spinach and kale from the garden, and the 
onions are growing finely. To-day we had 
Black-eye pea soup, and the benighted folks 
that only know beans should come down 
here and try the best member of the cow- 
pea family, the Black-eye. Then a little 
later the muskrats will be on the market, 
and a salt-water marsh muskrat is a deli¬ 
cacy, the cleanest of living animals, for he 
lives on vegetables and washes everything 
lie eats. Nowadays diamond-back terrapin 
in the restaurants is apt to be muskrat. I 
was on one of our steamers last Winter 
and they had terrapin on the hill of fare. 
I ordered some, and it came cooked in regu¬ 
lar Maryland style. But I told the waiter it 
was muskrat, and he laughed, and said: 
“Dat is what dey give me, sah.” Come 
down on the Eastern Shore and see where 
people live. 
When that letter came the ground 
here was frozen solid, with a little crust 
of snow, and the air was biting cold. 
We ought to know beans by this time, 
but I think our folks would desert 
them for Black-eye cow peas. As for 
muskrat—I would eat more of the cow 
peas and leave that delicacy to the 
others. Mr. Norton, the railroad man, 
ought to do down on the peninsula and 
eat a few farm dinners. As for me, I 
fear I should miss the hills of home, 
and after all what are oysters and 
muskrat to a big dish of baked apples? 
Farm and Home.— The cold weather 
came at us with a rush finally and 
nipped us down to 12 degrees. As soon 
as the ground was permanently frozen 
we began to mulch the strawberries. 
The manure had been accumulating for 
several months, and this was hauled 
and spread thinly over the beds. On 
that Kevitt patch we first put a coat 
of forest leaves between the plants, 
with manure on top to hold them down. 
The plants themselves were not thickly 
covered, but coarse vines, straw and 
stalks were put over them. I have 
before now smothered such single 
plants by (covering them completely. 
The object of the mulch with us is to 
hold the frost in the ground and pre¬ 
vent thaw and freeze which, if con¬ 
tinued, will slowly lift out the plants 
and expose the roots to the air. I 
notice there is seldom any loss of 
plants from this cause where the rows 
are not kept clean, but grow up to 
grass and weeds. These mat down 
over the plants and protect them. The 
trouble is they don’t have very much 
of value to protect, for where the 
weeds grow rank enough to give pro¬ 
tection they prevent the growth of 
plants both in vine and fruit bud. . 
From the limited experience I have had 
with it Alsike clover impresses us fav¬ 
orably. I shall sow more and more of 
it. While I do not think it will give 
as large yields as the Red it is with us 
hardier and stock eat it cleaner. I 
imagine, too, that it will do better with¬ 
out lime than the Red. . . . Last 
year during the Winter we hauled a 
number of loads of woods muck and 
leaves, and put a fair quantity around 
young apple trees. We selected low 
places in the woods where water stands 
in a wet season. While the soil is 
damp the black soil and leaves in these 
places will fork up like manure. In 
the Spring a small quantity of wood 
ashes was thrown over this black soil. 
The boys were somewhat disappointed 
because there was no apparent benefit 
in the early season. They thought 
their labor had been thrown away. I 
did not expect any results much before 
July since the nitrogen in that black 
stuff was not in available form. I 
expected it to come with hot weather— 
and it did, for by the middle of July 
those trees fairly shook themselves and 
put on their green paint. I shall try 
it again this \\ inter on a larger scale. 
For use in farm crops I would com¬ 
post the stuff with lime. On trees I 
shall throw it out in a circle around 
each tree and cover with lime in the 
Spring. . . . Our boys are becom¬ 
ing interested in studying the weather 
service. We are keeping temperature 
records and shall soon have a barom¬ 
eter. Then we expect to get the daily 
maps from Washington and study the 
storms which move across the country. 
Farmers who have ever begun this 
study know how interesting it is. It 
is one of the best things you can take 
up with the boys this Winter. Try it. 
Farm Education.— Another and far 
more hopeful question which comes 
every week is about as follows; 
"Do. you think it is possible for a 
boy . without money or chance of bor¬ 
rowing it to work his way through an 
agricultural college? Would it pay him 
to do so? Which college is best for such 
a boy?” 
T knew it is or was possible, for I 
did that very thing myself. I had just 
$50 of help in four years. I am told 
that it is harder to do this now since 
expenses are higher and “social duties” 
demand more. Still I believe that at 
most of our agricultural colleges to-day 
there are boys and young men who have 
no income whatever except what they 
earn from month to month or year to 
year. It is the will of the man that 
makes the way. So I answer, “Yes, it 
is possible to work through,” but it will 
not be the easiest or pleasantest job on 
earth. Will it pay? Again I answer 
yes! I often doubt the wisdom of send¬ 
ing a boy to college just because others 
go, or because it seems to be the cus¬ 
tom to pay for it. I am aware that 
there are two sides to this question. As 
for me, I plan to give the girls a 
good education anyway, and the boys 
what they are willing to work hard for. 
When a boy shows that he is willing to 
sweat and toil and deny himself for an 
education I would by all means advise 
him to get it even if he must wait until 
there are gray hairs in his head. I 
think the Connecticut College offers a 
good chance to such a boy. It is off 
in the country—away from towns, and 
unconnected with other schools—as such 
a college ought to be. 
Paint for Peach Borers. —Here are 
two Pennsylvania men after information; 
Have any of your readers used coal tar 
for borers and with what success, painting 
the tree several inches below ground and 
several inches above ground? Would the 
tar injure the tree? j. h. z. 
After you hunt for Peach borers, did you 
ever paint around the base of tree with, pine 
tar? I did this the other day; did not 
think the borers would like the tar. I shall 
wait about a week before I replace the 
earth. What do you think of it? f. k. m. 
I confess that I have never had quite 
the courage to put tar or paint on a peach 
tree. We dig the borers out and some¬ 
times use lye in hot water. As for the 
tar, I should expect damage from it. I 
want to know about this. h. w. c. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
Bargain 
Counter 
Sepa¬ 
rators 
The so called cheap (?) ones 
that are offered by Cheap Johns’ 
at bargain counter prices, should 
never be tolerated; because they 
are not only worthless but unsafe. 
It’s throwing money away to buy 
one. If you are in need of a sepa¬ 
rator investigate the 
Tubular Separator 
the machine that has stood the 
test. 
Tubulars not only do the work, 
but they are simple, durable and 
reliable. 
Remember the best is always 
the cheapest, in the long run. 
Catalog 153 describing Tubulars 
sent free. Write for it. 
THE SHARPLES SEPARATOR CO., 
West Chester, Penna. 
Toronto Can. San Francisco, Calif. Chicago, HI. 
Jan. 5 and 19 
Plan to go on one 
The trip will not cost 
low-fare tickets over 
Frisco-C. &K. I. Lines 
one way and return 
tra cost. You will see 
west than you could 
can better decide 
Ask the ticket agent 
over the Rock Island- 
Lines, either through 
Kansas City, St. 
Birmingham, accord 
If you will tell me 
go, I will tell you the 
send you a map- 
I -will also Bend yon 
books about the 
inform you of oppor 
you there, and will 
possibilities. Write 
JOHN SEBASTIAN 
1914 LaSalle Sta. 
1914Frisco Bldg. 
▼ 
Feb. 2 and 16 
of these days — 
much. These special 
the Rock Island- 
will allow you to go 
another, without ex- 
more of the South- 
in any other way, and 
where to locate, 
to sell you a ticket 
Frisco-C. & E. I. 
Chicago, St, Louis, 
Joseph, Memphis or 
ing to your location. 
where you want to 
cost of a ticket and 
schedule. 
some interesting 
Southwest. They will 
tunitiea waiting for 
open your eyes to new 
for free copies today. 
Pass. Traffic Mgr. 
Chicago 
St. Louis 
rass. 
FRISCO 
t 
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Copyright Applied For. 
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LET US TAN 
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mi 
Potash means dollars in the grower’s pocket. Perfection 
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GERMAN KALI WORKS* 93 Nassau Street, New York 
CHICAGO—Monadnock Block 
ATLANTA—Candler Building 
