1074 
THR RURAL NR W-YORKER 
November 4, 
Hope Farm Notes 
The Flood. —Of course you know 
what a rainy night in late Fall means. 
We ought to know, for we have now 
had a long succession of such nights. 
Just when we thought everyone should 
be satisfied with moisture the rain 
began—and kept up. It is hard to tell 
bow seriously this has interfered with 
our Fall work. I shall not try to tell, 
for this is the time to get rid of 
trouble. I am on the safe side of a 
window—warm and light. The rain 
oounds away on the glass and runs 
down in little streams, but it cannot 
touch us. Every living thing on the 
farm is safe and dry under cover. 
Across the fields I can see the light in 
my neighbor’s house. Best of all, there 
is a big panful of baked apples ready 
at hand. If you were here I should 
stop and say: “Let’s have something— 
an apple!” As you are not here, I will 
have one anyway. 
I do not know how far back from the 
coast this rain has extended. Here it 
1 as soaked us to the limit, and prevented 
outdoor work. There are some 100 bar¬ 
rels of apples yet to pick, the buck¬ 
wheat is still out, the onions have not 
been harvested, and the last of the 
sweet corn had not been cut by October 
23. On the other hand this soaking 
brings up the rye and clover, puts the 
trees in great shape for Winter, and 
fills out the Brussels sprouts. As we 
cannot stop the rain we will take an¬ 
other baked apple and forget it. 
What shall a farm family do to keep 
good-natured through these dismal 
days? It is sometimes a hard problem. 
The rain let up one night, and Mother 
and the older children went off to a 
lecture. It was darker than pitch, but 
old Madge carried them safely through 
it. I stayed here as home guard. This 
lecture was by Dr. Hillis of Brooklyn 
on “The Romance and Heroism of the 
Self-Made Man.” If the Hope Farm 
man could take rank as such a char¬ 
acter, I might say that his romance 
went to the lecture with his wife, while 
he displayed his heroism by staying at 
home. It certainly would not do to get 
those definitions reversed. Our folks 
got things out of that lecture that will 
help them all Winter. I imagine the 
coming five months will be hard for 
many of our people—shut in by weather, 
bad roads and poor health. Physical 
troubles and mental ills will do their 
best to make us discontented. We can 
only get above them through the mind 
and spirit by having the best things to 
think about. Make the house as warm 
and bright and cheerful as you can. 
Make much of mealtimes. No matter 
how plain the food may be, let there be 
pleasant talk and fun with it. Melan¬ 
choly and despair may easily become a 
real, personal devil to haunt you 
through the Winter unless you can 
shake him off with cheerful thoughts. 
All people of middle age have their 
times of depression. As this is a mental 
trouble the thing to do is to forget it 
by filling the mind with the best of the 
world’s thoughts, or in service for 
ethers. All these things come to me 
tonight while the dismal rain pours 
down. Our folks are widely scattered— 
some in lonely homes, some where heavy 
troubles gather. I wish I could make 
them all realize how spiritual power arH 
kindly service will carry them gently 
through this coming Winter. And 
let us not forget the material good 
things of the farm—pass back your 
plate for another baked apple. There is 
another thing abou'. +b ; ~ struggle to 
rise above melancholy that ^.ught to be 
understood. Physicians now understand 
that many cases of indigestion and lack 
of nutrition arise from mind worry. 
They call it such names as “psychic in¬ 
digestion” or “nutritional neurasthenia.” 
The average man might feel proud of 
his mind when it can produce stomach 
troubles worthy of such names, but the 
fact is that in middle life the mind and 
will have great influence upon digestion. 
Sudden anger, long brooding or worry, 
mind exhaustion, all tend to upset the 
stomach and derange digestion. This is 
not much noticed in the young or the 
very old, but nearly every person of 
middle age will upon reflection see that 
this theory is right. Dr. Niles, in writ¬ 
ing on this subject, says that Job was 
really suffering from “cell exhaustion 
from mental strain, autoin lection and 
consequent malassimilation !” Who will 
now deny it? As I have met people 
about as cheerful as Job I am glad to 
know what ails them. The thing to do 
seems to be—keep cheerful if you have 
to kick yourself in order to do it! As 
an aid to cheerfulness, how about an¬ 
other of those baked Greenings? Apples 
are “healthy” and we may help the 
market by increasing demand. 
Florida Homes. — As the weather 
grows colder, Northern people begin to 
talk of going South. The following 
letter from Ohio is like dozens of 
others: 
I understand your people spent last Win¬ 
ter in Putnam Co., Florida. I have a 
business which is not very lively in Winter. 
Could I buy land in Putnam County and go 
there during Winter and raise a profitable 
crop of vegetables—coming back to Ohio in 
late Spring ? 
You can buy thousands of acres in 
Putnam County, and much of it mighty 
cheap. As a Winter home it is a de¬ 
lightful place. Many of the permanent 
residents there are well satisfied to re¬ 
main. .As for going there for a few 
Winter months to grow a profitable 
crop, my advice is do not attempt it. 
Go there first with the full price and 
spend a Winter. Look around, examine 
soils, watch the growth of crops, and 
do your own figuring before you invest. 
We have tried Winter cropping and 
have been beaten by frost, drought, flood 
and disease. The last few seasons have 
been so dry in Florida that unless one 
had an irrigating plant there was little 
show for a crop except on the low 
lands. Northern people somehow will 
not understand that farm conditions in 
Florida are entirely different from those 
at the North. The theory of “farming 
both ends of the country” by having a 
hay farm or orchard in the North and 
a truck farm in Florida is very pretty, 
but will not work well unless you have 
two families, one on the job at each 
end. Let this man spend a Winter in 
the South observing and figuring, and it 
is 10 to one he will not buy land ex¬ 
pecting to work it in Winter and aban¬ 
don it in Summer. 
Anti-fat. —Not long since we had a 
little discussion of obesity and cures for 
fatness. As usual in such cases, people 
come forward to defend certain “anti¬ 
fat” cures, which they say have helped 
them. I judge that this plan of drug¬ 
ging to get rid of flesh is quite common. 
The Journal of the American Medical 
Association recently printed the follow¬ 
ing: 
Every now and then it is reported that a 
Washington, New York or Philadelphia or 
Boston or western woman, who has been a 
shining light in society here, is in bad 
health, and it is the proper thing to say she 
has broken down under the strain of her 
social duties. But it became known to-day 
that the poor health of some women who 
have broken down here has been caused by 
the use of a dangerous anti-fat drug, with 
which fashionable women in Europe first 
experimented. Women in Newport have 
been using this drug ever since fashion de¬ 
creed that a truly fair one must be slender. 
It is said that the drug commonly 
used by mail order quacks is thyroid. 
This drug is very dangerous in many 
cases, and should never be given except 
by a reputable doctor. The fat which 
it might perhaps lcmove will promptly 
return unless diet and exercise are both 
regulated. Over-eating and laziness are 
responsible for the obesity of these so¬ 
ciety women. I would like to give them 
the housework treatment. They would 
pump water from a well and heat it over 
a stove and then do the washing for a 
large family. The exercise over the 
washboard would remove fat and the 
steam from the water would act as a 
“beauty treatment.” 1 would have these 
women bake bread, scrub floors and 
ceilings, sweep and take an occasional 
round in the garden with hoe or wheel 
cultivator. They would also care for 
three o. four children and do it right. 
They w T ould not eat candy as they do 
now, but live mostly on cereals and 
apples. If you could have such women 
off on a desert island where there is no 
“society,” where wealth has no power, 
where it is a case of work or die, they 
would soon drop their extra fat and 
come back to civilization models for the 
sculptor. I think the desert island will 
prove a necessary part of the treatment. 
The best part of it is the apple eating. 
You and I may be in danger—let us 
have that pan of baked apples once 
more. 
Acid Soil and Strawberries.—I am 
glad to have the following question 
brought up: 
I should like your opinion as a practical 
grower as to whether strawberries do bet¬ 
ter on acid than on neutral or alkaline soils. 
In other words, is the addition of lime det¬ 
rimental or beneficial? Do you consider 
that there is sufficient ground for experi¬ 
mental work along this line? w. J. w. 
Pennsylvania. 
I should say that the strawberry does 
best on a soil that is slightly acid. It 
does not require a Soil as sour as one 
suited to cranberries, but does not do 
well with us on a neutral or alkaline 
soil. I think varieties vary somewhat 
in this respect, and I feel sure some 
wild plants can stand more acid than 
others. The use of lime or wood ashes 
does not suit the berries as we grow 
them, and I would not advise their use. 
Still, we have had a few reports, from 
people who claimed good results from 
the use of ashes. I always want to 
know the variety of strawberry and the 
character of the soil. As a rule such 
reports come from a muck or very acid 
soil, or from one derived from rocks 
that are naturally lacking in lime. This 
subject might well be taken up by the 
experimenters. Let them find out just 
what effect lime has on the strawberry 
crop. I would like to hear from our 
readers also. H. w. c. 
KODAK 
means 
photography 
with the 
bother 
left out. 
No dark-room for any part of the work; 
loading, unloading, developing, printing, all 
by daylight. YOU can readily make good 
pictures by the Kodak system. It’s inexpen¬ 
sive too. 
Illustrated catalogue of Kodaks and 
Brownies (they work like Kodaks) free at 
dealers or by mail. 
EASTMAN KODAK CO., 
387 State Street, Rochester, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
J 
SCIENTIFIC SWEEP MILL 
Double Action. Triple Geared 
This No. 5 is one of our 
leading Feed Mills. Particu¬ 
larly adapted for grinding 
ear corn and small grain for stock 
feed. A medium priced mill 
Gives Satisfaction 
Strong, durable and 
easy running. Mounted 
on a heavy hard-wood 
box. Fully guaranteed. 
Write for free catalog. 
Over20 styles and sizes. 
TW? HAUER BROS. CO., Boi 415 Springfield, Ohio 
HiTSELMAM FENCE 
Sold direct to you at factory 
prices on 30 days trial. Save 
the dealers profit. Farm, Uog 
and Poultry Fence at from 
1 1)4 CENTS A ROD UP. 
All wires are heavily galvanized 
80 rod spool of Ideal galvanized 
Barbed Wire $1.40. Write 
to-day for large free Catalog showing 
100 different styles and heights of fencing 
Box 230 KITSELMAN BROS. MUNCIE, IND. 
Qufanm- 
This is a snap 
-just the thing 
you’ve been 
looking for— 
a corn sheller 
thatwill shell 
r from 120 to 
150 bushels an 
hour and only 
costs $25 at the 
__ factory (with a 
little added for freighttoyourstation.) 
3 H. P. operates sheller to full capacity. 
The Watts Sheller costs less-than-half 
any other and has a feed grinder attach¬ 
ment that gives you two machines for about $36. 
Nothing like it anywhere. Own one and bo 
independent. Shell your corn when you want 
to—shell at the right time. Write for booklet. 
Seager Engine Works 
1028 Hazel Street Lansing, Mich. 
^•Save Money* 
on Feed 
Grind the corn and cob and your stock will 
surely produce more meat and milk. Nutri¬ 
tion alone is not enough, you must leed 
bulk also. Put your grain through a 
iRew Holland 
Feed Mill 
I your stock will obtain 25 <f, extra feed value— 
fattens hogs and steers quickly and ensures 
more milk in the pall. New 
Holland Feed Mill can be 
adjusted to grind 
coarse or fine. It 
is easy to oper- 
, ate — prices are 
, extra low this 
year to induce 
big sales. “The 
Right Way To Feed 
Grain” is a booklet 
every farmer needs 
—it's free. These 
are the best and lowest 
priced feed mills on the 
market; so write today. 
New Holland Machine Co., 
BOX 41,NEW HOLLAND, PA. 
“I Shall Never Paint Those Rools! 
“I shall simply leave them alone. 
It will not be necessary to spend a cent 
on them.” They are covered with 
ROOFING 
A 
MATITE has a real mineral 
surface and therefore needs 
no painting. 
There have been other ready 
roofings in the past which had a 
mineral surf ace, out they were not 
practical. 
Amatite, however, is successful 
because the mineral 
matter is embed¬ 
ded in pitch. 
Pitch is very 
tough and has 
great adhesive 
power. Year 
after year 
those roofs 
_ __ will give 
faultless 
service 
without 
anybody 
giving a 
thought 
ROOFING 
gjsjKV 
MERAlSWKf, 
"EDS NO PAM? 
v if 
to them. This is the kind of roof¬ 
ing to have! The day of these 
smooth coated roofings that re¬ 
quire a heavy coat of paint every 
year or two is past. They cost 
too much to maintain. You can 
spend more money on the paint 
alone during the ten years than a 
new Amatite roof would cost. 
A free sample of Amatite Roof¬ 
ing and a booklet can be obtained 
on request by addressing the near¬ 
est office. 
Ever jet Elastic Paint 
A very low-priced black paint—very 
tough and durable. Stands heat so well 
that it can be used on boilers. For wood 
or metal, ready roofings, fences, ironwork, 
farm implements, tanks, etc. 
BARRETT MANUFACTURING CO. 
New York New Orleans Minneapolis 
Boston Chicago Seattle 
Pittsburgh St. Louis Philadelphia 
Kansas City Cincinnati Cleveland 
Canadian Offices: — Montreal, 
Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, 
St. John. N. B., Halifax, N. S. 
—SB 
fj 
hi? 
Kv 
V 
