lira 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 9, 
Hope Farm Notes 
A New Republic. —The other day in 
New York I saw a procession coining 
around City Hall Square. There are a 
dozen or more of such things in the 
great city every day. Few people pay 
attention to them, but for some reason 
I stopped to watch this one. First came 
a band. There were at least five dif¬ 
ferent nationalities represented among 
the men who were blowing wind 
through brass and stopping it with their 
fingers so as to make a somewhat 
wheezy “America.” Then came three 
Chinamen and two boys carrying a ban¬ 
ner on which we read: 
“To commemorate the beginning of 
the Chinese Republic.” 
There followed a long procession of 
carriages and cars filled with solemn- 
looking Chinamen, their queues cut 
short and wearing high hats and black 
clothes. From each carriage fluttered 
small American flags and the flag of 
the new republic. This was red with a 
blue square in the corner and a sun¬ 
burst. 
No one could call it an impressive 
spectacle—this handful of wooden-faced 
men—like a strange ripple of humanity 
quickly lost in the whirl and roar of 
Broadway. There were a few long¬ 
faced, hawk-eyed men, but for the most 
part these Chinamen had fat, un¬ 
wrinkled faces with just about as mucj) 
expression as the countenance of an en¬ 
larged toy out of a child’s Noah’s ark. 
Shakespeare was a great student of 
human nature, and he makes Caesar say: 
“Let me have men about me that are fat— 
Sleek headed men and such as sleep o’ 
night; 
Yond’ Cassius hath a lean and hungry look. 
He thinks too much; such men are dan¬ 
gerous.” 
If the great William could have come 
back to Broadway that day without fur¬ 
ther human experience he would have 
said this new republic would soon be 
licked off the map. True, a fat Chinese 
face packed under a high silk hat does 
not strike us as the top piece of a hero. 
Not one man in one thousand can lend 
any character to a high hat anyway. 
Yet behind that smooth mask of a face 
the Chinaman may carry a brain so 
keen and sharp that a Cape Cod Yankee 
would lose his jackknife trading with 
him. And the Yankee has got to talk 
while the Chinaman says nothing! 
These men were mostly students and 
rich merchants. No doubt the Chinese 
rebellion was planned and financed in 
San Francisco and New York. These 
men may be wooden-faced, but they are 
not wooden-headed. They know just 
what they are doing—and no one else 
does. There is the shade upon the new 
republic; it will most likely be “a rich 
man’s war and a poor man’s fight!” 
But this little group of silent men had 
their day of parade and banners. There 
was a tiny bright spot on Broadway for 
an hour. Then it faded and the multi¬ 
tude smiled and forgot it—for what had 
this odd-looking bunch to do with lib¬ 
erty ? 
I had much the same thing in mind 
as I turned and found myself facing the 
statue of Nathan Hale. It is a power¬ 
ful figure—of a young man standing 
with his arms tied behind him. Prob¬ 
ably every school boy knows the story—- 
how 135 years ago Nathan Hale was 
hung not far from this spot.. He “gave 
his life for his country”—that is what 
I read on the stone below that powerful 
figure. It seemed as if the roar and 
battle of Broadway were stilled for the 
moment and I saw another procession 
passing by. It was in the gray of the 
morning. There came a band of red- 
coated Hessians as hard and impassive 
as these Chinamen, but with not 10 per 
cent of their intelligence. If there had 
been anything except putty inside their 
skulls they would not have been hire¬ 
lings. In their midst walked Nathan 
Hale—in the flower of his life to die a 
felon’s death. Who at that time could 
have dreamed that this sad procession 
seemingly walking to the gallows was 
really marching past it to lead men up 
higher to a nearer view of freedom? 
Yet the years have worked it out, for 
here above the rush and roar of the 
human flood stands Hale the martyr, 
the very bonds which were put upon 
him as a badge of disgrace now carry 
an almost sacred significance. The 
sculptor caught the true spirit, for it 
seemed as if the bronze face softened a 
little as those Chinamen passed on with 
the flag of their new republic. The 
thing I am getting at is that all be¬ 
ginnings of great things look small and 
mean to the unthinking. I am sure 
that much of noble effort and hopeful 
ambition is stifled in the cradle be¬ 
cause men become discouraged at ridi¬ 
cule or lack of support. There are so 
many ways in which farming and coun¬ 
try living need help and improvement. 
We, who live in the country, have got 
to do this work. No one will do it for 
us without taking the very heart of it 
out as toll. It is a work of faith and 
hope for the plain, common men and 
women who think they have no power, 
yet who can move mountains if they 
will but think so, and keep on working 
patiently and honestly at the things God 
gives them to do. There may be no 
parades on Broadwav for us, but our 
work will march on all the same. Who 
can say that the most telling work for 
the future is not being done over the 
cooking stove or on the milking stool? 
Quince Culture. —Now and then 
some one with an ambition to be a 
“back-to-the-lander” tastes a dish of 
good old-fashioned quince preserve! 
That is calculated to make any man go 
out and borrow the money to buy a 
present for his mother-in-law! The 
back-to-the-lander at once has dreams 
of getting close up to the consumer with 
quinces and he comes witli a list of 
questions about quince culture. We get 
many of them, and I try to lead these 
friends away from the subject. Quince 
culture has led us pretty near zero. We 
have some 50 trees, and they are the 
most unprofitable of any on the farm. 
Again and again they have bloomed and 
led us to brag that at last our day had 
come. Then the bloom faded and left 
perhaps one quince on a bush. I would 
not advise planting quinces. If others 
make money growing them—they beat 
me. The experts name a moist, heavy 
soil as best. Orange is the standard va¬ 
riety. We have also Rea’s and Van 
Deman. Now and then some man comes 
with a big story of profit in quince cul¬ 
ture. I have to take a back seat when 
he talks—in fact I think the road to 
quince culture ends where the back seats 
jump off. 
Utilizing Bones. —Here is another 
common situation: 
I have about one barrel of bones every 
two weeks; also boiler and engine. Could I 
make any use of them on the farm, or is it 
better to sell them for 70 cents a hundred 
and buy manure? c. F. b. 
If I had an engine and boiler I should 
keep the bones. As fertilizer the plant 
food in them would cost you about $30 
per ton. Of course I do not know what 
manure costs you. Boil the bones un¬ 
der high pressure until the meat and 
grease are taken off. Draw off this pot 
liquor, thicken it with cornmeal and 
shorts and feed it to hogs. This will 
pay better with a small lot of bones than 
to try save the grease. Then boil the 
bones again and crush up what you can 
with a heavy shovel. If you can get a 
bone mill you can with your engine 
power grind the bones suitably for fer¬ 
tilizer. If you have no mill pack the 
hard bones in layers of wood ashes and 
keep the mass moist. In about three 
months the bones will be soft enough to 
smash up. 
Running to Tops. —It seems that the 
fertilizer problem is world wide. Here 
is one from Colorado: 
What does my soil need to grow pota¬ 
toes? I have tried different ways of 
planting, but in every case it was all tops 
and no potatoes larger than a marble. All 
vegetables do well and produce heavy crops. 
My soil is a medium dark sandy loam, 
easily cultivated. My potato tops grow 
three to four feet tall. 2. Would straw¬ 
berries bear well on this kind of laud? 
Dencer Co., Col. G. w. h. 
It seems much like absent treatment 
to tell what Colorado soil needs. Such 
soil is new. It was naturally strong. 
Alfalfa growing has made it rich in 
nitrogen, and in parts of Colorado a 
form of bacteria work in the soil and 
add to the nitrates. There is little loss 
from leaching unless irrigation water is 
put on. In New Jersey such a growth 
of potato tops would indicate a large 
excess of nitrogen. This is the element 
of growth. Where there is too much of 
it in proportion to the potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid the vine and leaf will make 
quick and heavy growth and keep this 
growth up so long and late that the seed 
or tuber will not mature. I do not 
know much about Colorado conditions, 
but these symptoms all indicate too 
much nitrogen. We could get much of 
this out by growing some rank crop like 
millet or corn and then following with 
potatoes. The usual method, however, 
is to use a mixture of sulphate of potash 
and phosphoric acid—either acid phos¬ 
phate or ground bone. These chemicals 
will “balance” the extra nitrogen and 
there will be a quicker maturity and 
better tubers. The same thing is even 
more true of the strawberries. On this 
soil they will make fine large tops but 
few good berries. The potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid added will correct this and 
produce more fruit. H. w. c. 
A Steel Roof 
for the Least 
Money 
You can save every cent of the 
middleman’s profit when you buy 
from us, because we make thousands 
of tons of Steel Roofing a year and 
sell direct to the user without one hit 
of unnecessary selling expense. 
. Every pound of our Roofing is brand new, standard quality, perfect in every 
way, and is sold under the positive guarantee that if it is not perfectly satisfactory it 
will not cost you a cent. 
Write today for free samples of Steel Roofing, and Roofing Book, which tells all 
about Steel Roofing and Siding, why it is the best roofing material, how easy it is to 
put on, and shows our complete line of Roofing Supplies. 
We pay all freight charges, and our price sheet shows exactly what your Roof¬ 
ing will cost you delivered to your nearest railroad station. 
Don’t fail to write for all this free information because it will show you why you 
. can positively save money, get quicker and better service and receive the very.high- 
est grade of Roofing when you buy direct from our factory. 
The Ohio Galvanizing & Mfg. Go., No. 8 Ann St., Niles, 0. 
'ljfc Horse Power 
For lYz Hours 
For ly 2 Cents 
Wc know this Caille Perfection Special to be ab¬ 
solutely the greatest engine value on the market. 
Built by automobile men with automobile mach¬ 
inery-runs cconomicallyon kerosene orgasollne— 
your two hands the only tools you’ll need. The 
simplest construction of any farm power plant— 
your 14-ycar old boy can take care of it. Made 
of the finest material, every moving part works 
as smooth and sweet as a watch. Our free book 
tells how we make a better engine at a lower price 
than our competitors. Write for free book and 
15-day free trial offer. 
CAILLE PERFECTION MOTOR CO. 
312 Second Street Detroit, Micb. 
So,IS “BULL DOG 
TEN DA YS FREE 
You can grind SO bu. grain to table 
meal with one gal.of gasoline.l set of 
rollers will grind 5000 bu. of cob and 
corn. "Bull Dog" grinding rollers are 
only threo inches in diameter which 
accounts for light running, Gel our 
FREE Catalogue and Samples. Address 
LETZ MFC. COMPANY 
204 E. Road, Crown Point, Ind.! 
Monarch Jtcel Stump Puller 
Pulls Stumps 
Seven Feet Thick 
The mighty Monarch is made of highest grade 
Bessemer Steel in our own big factory. Outwears 
three ordinary pullers. Guaranteed 700 h. p. and 
against breakage. Only stump puller In the world 
equipped with genuine "Hercules” Red Strand steel 
wire rope, the kind used by U. S. Government. 
Clears 1 to 5acres a day. Used in all parts of world, 
» Write today for Catalog and special proposition 
ZIMMERMAN STEEL CO.. Bent KTP Lone Tree. Ia. 
A Concrete Root Cellar 
Is a Money-Saver 
The even temperature and dry atmosphere required 
in a root cellar can only be maintained by building 
of concrete. Rats and mice can not get into it. 
Decay and waste are avoided. Concrete root cellars 
are also an absolutely safe place to winter bees. 
Build of concrete made of UNIVERSAL, Portland Cement and 
clean sand, gravel or crushed stone, and you will build “once 
and for all”. The cost is less in the long run. Repairs, replace¬ 
ments, and fire risks are nothing. Successful farmers are now 
making ALL possible improvements with concrete and using UNIVERSAL 
Portland Cement. We will give you instructions, and full particulars for 
doing any work you may be considering. 
Write for “Concrete in the Country”—a 100-page book of 
farm building helps. It illustrates and describes what 
others are doing with concrete and how you can use it 
to equal advantage. Sent free anywhere on request. 
Address the nearest office of the Company 
UNIVERSAL P cement D COMPANY 
CHICAGO PITTSBURGH MINNEAPOLIS 
72 West Adams St. Frick Building Security Bank Building 
Annual Output 48,000,000 Sacks 
