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683 
much better finished. The next season we used the 
Tunis on all our ewes, with the result that nine- 
tenths of all our lambs, aside from the ewes we 
reserved for breeders, were on New York market at 
from seven to 14 weeks old, many of them bringing 
$1 to $2 above the highest quotations. Since then 
we have got into the Tunis as fast as we have been 
able, buying many from the best flocks in Indiana 
and elsewhere, until now we have over 100 head. The 
rams are certainly strong cross-breeders, transmitting 
to their progeny all the good qualities for which the 
Tunis are noted. Their hardiness to me seems won¬ 
derful, as during the first five years experience with 
Tunis, both pure and cross-bred, we had never lost 
one through disease or sickness; in fact not even had 
one sick, while our Shropshire grades were con¬ 
stantly dropping aw r ay without warning or apparent 
reason. We have the past two years lost a few, but 
nearly all by accident. They are a very quiet sheep, 
long-lived and excellent mothers, fairly good shearers, 
and we get the highest market price for the wool. 
They are quite easy keepers, and while not so large 
as many of the mutton breeds, will easily lead them 
in quality of mutton and profit to the owner where 
early maturity and quick returns are desired. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. j. n. m’pherson. 
CONCRETE TILE IN SWAMP LAND. 
I wish to use about 2.000 feet of 10-inch and 12-inch 
concrete drain tile, and about 4,000 feet of four-inch and 
six-inch tile, all on clay land. The surface water from 
several upland muck swamps flows on this clay flat. We 
know the muck land is acid. Will this acid attack the 
lime in concrete tile? e. p. r. 
Midland, Mich. 
If your swamp land, when drained, will not be too 
sour to grow crops, it does not contain enough acid 
to injure first class concrete tile. However, such 
tile must be well made and well cured. The secret of 
tile making to secure a product which will with¬ 
stand such action is to manufacture a tile of the 
greatest density and the smoothest finish both outside 
and inside. By following the directions below you 
will get a dense, non-porous tile—the kind required. 
In making concrete tile, choose a standard brand 
of Portland cement. If the materials are clean sand 
or bank-run gravel, use one part cement to 2 y 2 of 
the other material. If both fine and coarse materials 
are used, proportion the concrete one part cement to 
two parts sand to four parts screened gravel or 
crushed rock, which must contain no stone larger 
than one-half the thickness of the shell of the tile. 
Take care in proportioning that the measurements are 
made exact on a basis that one bag of cement equals 
one cubic foot. To avoid getting a porous tile, and 
one more liable to acid action, insist that the tile be 
molded from wet concrete. Mix the concrete in 
small batches, so that nothing but fresh concrete (not 
over 30 minutes old) will be used. Fill the molds in 
layers, not over two inches thick, and tamp well. 
Protect the green tile from the hot sunshine and 
wind. After they have been removed from the mold 
for from four to six hours, sprinkle them by means 
of a sprinkling can or a hose with a spray nozzle, 
and repeat the operation morning and evening for 10 
days. The tile may be piled out in the yard after 
six days. Under ordinary conditions, they are used 
when 30 days old, but in your case let them attain 
an age of two months. 
FIXING A LINE FENCE. 
I have just purchased a farm and have repaired the 
half of the line fence which the man I purchased from 
always repaired. The farm which bounds mine is rented. 
The tenant claims I have repaired the end of the fence 
he owns, which I can prove is not true. Should his 
cows come through his part of fence and do damage, how 
shall I proceed to recover damages? In this section when 
there is a dispute over a fence they call in the assessors 
who divide the fence. Is this method legal, and if so, 
who pays the assessors? A. s. 
Franklin Co., N. Y. 
Adjoining land owners ought to come to a fair 
agreement regarding the erection and maintenance of 
their line fences. The law contemplates that they 
will. But unfortunately differences will arise, and 
the law has provided a method by which these differ¬ 
ences may be adjusted. In New York State the 
assessors and the commissioners of highways are by 
virtue of their office made the fence viewers. In the 
absence of any other agreement, each owner shall 
make and maintain a just and equitable portion of 
the fence between adjoining lands. If a dispute 
arises the parties may submit the matter to two fence 
viewers. One party may call one and the other party 
may call another. If the other party neglects or re¬ 
fuses, for eight days to call a second fence viewer, the 
first pfirty may select both. These fence viewers 
have authority to summon witnesses, view the prem¬ 
ises and decide where the fence shall run and who 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
shall pay and in what proportions. If they cannot 
agree they may call in a third fence viewer, and the 
decision of any two shall be binding. Their finding 
shall be in writing, and shall be filed with the town¬ 
ship clerk. When the lands or any part of them are 
sold a new agreement must be made. From the 
above you will see that you should first agree with 
your neighbor and put if you can the agreement in 
writing. If you cannot agree your recourse is to the 
fence viewers. Their decision will probably be no 
better than your own, and you must in addition pay 
fheir expenses and the expenses of witnesses. If 
your neighbor’s cattle break through the part of the 
fence for which you arc responsible the loss is yours. 
If they break through his part of the fence, he must 
pay the damage, if he has failed to keep the fence 
properly in repair. In case of a dispute the fence 
viewers may be called in or the matter may go to 
the courts. 
ECHOES FROM AN OLD TREE DEAL. 
Inclosed find a letter sent me by Whiting's lawyer. I 
believe all who have not settled accounts in this vicinity 
are receiving similar notice. I know of several. I never 
saw a man die so hard. He is like a cat. 
An engraving of this letter is shown below. This 
is the same Whiting whose nursery tree business we 
have referred to before. 
This is, no doubt, a circular letter sent by the law¬ 
yers to all who refused to accept trees. Mr. Whiting 
made many sales in Orleans Co., N. Y. He is prob¬ 
ably the most effective talker that ever went on the 
road as a tree agent. We say this after a wide ex¬ 
perience with such gentlemen, including a few who 
introduced the “Seedless apple.” Whiting made 
many sales to people who would not have bought trees 
under ordinary circumstances. He told great stories 
about his stock, and gave extravagant praise to cer- 
t)ear Sir:- 
Ths Whiting Hursery Company has placed an account 
against you amounting to in our hands for col¬ 
lection, because a year has gone by and no remittance has 
been received. 
On account of the unfortunate misunderstanding 
between L!r. Whiting and yourself, we are authorized to 
offer you 20# discount for an immediate cash settlement, 
If this offer is not accepted, we are instructed 
to bring suit and are confident of winning the suit. 
If you will therefore send us a money order or 
chfeck to the order of Hoskins & licGrew, Attorneys, for 
$ within ten (10) days, we will send you a receipt 
in full and you will thus save the costs, expenses and 
annoyance of a law suit for the full amount. 
tain varieties. The best authorities we could find 
agreed that most of these varieties were not new, and 
not well adapted for growing in the territory where 
Whiting sold them. We learned that Mr. Whiting 
had usually delivered trees of good quality, but that 
he charged in many cases over twice as much as re¬ 
liable nurserymen would sell them for. Fruit grow¬ 
ers around Albion, N. Y., got together and refused 
to accept the trees. We understand that the man 
who received the above letter would not take his 
trees. They were tossed from the road into his yard— 
that being supposed to be a “legal delivery.” No one 
touched them until, while the farmer was away, Mr. 
Whiting or one of his agents apparently came and 
heeled them in. Of course they have not been planted. 
This letter is no doubt a form. There is not likely 
to be any suit over it. 
The above letter seems to have been sent to all who 
refused to pay. A meeting was held at Albion on 
May 27 and those who attended agreed to stand firm 
and refuse payment. 
THE ELIMINATION OF THE EXPRESS 
COMPANIES. 
At the recent postal conference in Washington no 
proposition offered struck as vigorously at the root of 
the parcels post problem as did that presented by Con¬ 
gressman David J. Lewis, of the Sixth Maryland Dis¬ 
trict. His plan contemplates nothing less than the 
purchase of the business of the express companies by 
the Government and turning it over to the Post Office 
Department in its entirety. That such a plan may 
not be at the present time feasible is possible, owing 
to its boldness and its lack of publicity, but that it 
will be the only ultimate solution of the question, once 
its principles are understood, there can be little ques¬ 
tion. It does not attempt gradually to inch up on 
the express companies, to do things by halves, but 
proposes to eliminate them in a fair and business-like 
way. And that Mr. Lewis’ interest in the matter is 
not a matter of political expediency, but the result 
.Time 17, 
of much study and personal investigation and genuine 
conviction, further strengthens his position. Indeed, 
he seems so far as we can learn to stand alone among * 
his associates in having taken the subject up as a busi¬ 
ness proposition, demanding a practical, economical 
and permanent solution. The steps in his proposition 
are as follows: First, that the ratio between freight 
and express charges in this country is utterly out of 
proportion to the services rendered by the express 
service, the ratio in fact being over twice that found 
in any foreign country. Second, that though extor¬ 
tionate in their methods, the express companies as an 
established business with vested interests are entitled 
to a square deal at the hands of the people, which 
means, according to Mr. Lewis, a chance to sell out 
to the Government at a reasonable figure. Third, that 
any attempt to cope with the express companies in 
any other basis is certain of bitter opposition, and 
further, their advantage in railroad rates makes them 
a proposition with which even the U. S. Government 
cannot afford to compete. Fourth, that the Post Office 
Department as the legitimate channel for such busi¬ 
ness is better equipped to handle it on an economical 
basis, and will reach and benefit far more people at a 
reasonable expense. 
Owing to the peculiar business methods of the ex? 
press companies, Mr. Lewis found the study of specific 
cases to eliminate the abuse of their privilege an un¬ 
profitable task. However, in collecting data on their 
conbitied business, he was able to get at certain facts 
from which to draw definite conclusions. To begin, 
the average charge per ton for express matter is 
$32,024, $1.56 per pound, of which $15.69 or .74 cents 
per pound is paid the railroads for transportation* 
The collection and delivery expense is reckoned at 
11.5 per cent of the total rate, and that with other 
operating expenses gives a net revenue amounting to 
11 per cent of the total income, as a fair average. Com¬ 
paring freight and express charges, he finds a charge 
of $1.96 per ton for freight as against $32,024 for ex¬ 
press, or a ratio of 1:16.86. During a personal inves¬ 
tigation of foreign, and particularly European rail¬ 
road rates, he found the highest ratio to be 1 :4j/<, or 
less than half of that in this country, and in some 
countries it ran as low as 1: 4 j /2 and even four, this 
last in Argentina; 1:6 was about the average. These 
figures can mean only one thing, that for an inade¬ 
quate and limited service we are paying over double 
what we should, while foreign and less progressive 
countries (let us say it if we can) are paying a 
reasonable price for an increased service. 
This brings us to the second step, buying out and 
if necessary “condemning” the express companies, and 
this step Mr. Lewis assures us has the full authority 
of the law. So having this stumbling block elimin¬ 
ated, we are confronted with the wisdom of this course 
as a business proposition. Is it not wiser to buy out 
their interests, paying them in full, rather than to en¬ 
deavor to compete with them, entrenched as they are 
behind long usage and privilege? Is it not also the 
fairer way? When we compare the rates paid by the 
Post Office and the express companies to the railroads, 
we have an average of $.04 a pound for mail against 
three-fourths cent for express matter, and the latter 
in some cases reaches as low as one-fourth cent per 
pound. Can we afford such competition, or expect by 
enforcing the letter of the law as regards the present 
four-pound limit or a future 11-pound limit, to place 
the parcels post service on a paying basis? 
And to conclude, Mr. Lewis asserts that after an 
investigation of foreign post office departments and 
their management, none equals that of the United 
States in point of economy and efficiency. What bet¬ 
ter agency have we for reaching the bulk of the popu¬ 
lation of the country, and particularly the farming 
people, who like myself are located 10 and 15 miles 
from any express office or railroad, yet are surrounded 
by a network of delivery routes, easily capable of 
being turned to more advantage than just carrying 
the mails? This plan, too, gives to the Post Office 
the added financial asset of the profitable “short haul” 
and eliminates the additional “advance” charges of 
supposedly competing companies. 
The express capital invested in operation amounts 
to $28,288,450. Their franchises, good will, etc., are 
reckoned at $10,877,369, totaling $39,165,819 invested 
in function. Other assets, including outside stocks 
owned and other permanent investments, etc., amount 
to over 147 millions, but the amount Mr. Lewis 
reckons the cost of the elimination of the express 
companies at is under 50 millions, surely not too 
much to pay for ridding ourselves of their incubus. 
And by no other method will we so thoroughly 
realize the dream of the “careful consideration” Con¬ 
gressman, namely, “to accomplish that which will re¬ 
dound to the glory and good of the greatest number” 
everywhere! reuben brigham. 
Maryland. 
