1230 
THE KUKAL NKW-YORKEH 
December 30, 
Hope Farm Notes 
The Debate. —The two older children 
have opposite sides on a school debate: 
“Resolved, that George Washington did 
more for his country than any other man.” 
There has been a great overhauling 
of histories for facts and opinions. I 
think the methods used in preparing 
such a debate are not unlike those used 
by many intelligent people in discussing 
large public questions. The average de¬ 
bater comes up with some facts and 
figures and quotes some person who 
may or may not be prejudiced. There 
is rarely a real analysis of conditions 
and motives. Naturally the opposing 
figure to Washington in this debate will 
be Lincoln. I think Franklin or Jeffer¬ 
son in their diplomatic work in Europe 
did as much to keep the Revolution 
going as Washington did, yet Lin¬ 
coln towers above them all, and his 
deeds and character are to be matched 
against Washington’s. 
Now, I want the children to analyze 
the thing and bring it away from cold¬ 
blooded facts and opinions. One of 
them can prove that Washington did 
most to organize the Government and 
make this nation possible. The other 
can prove that Lincoln did most to pre¬ 
serve the Union and save the structure 
which had been built upon Washington’s 
foundation. Wlio does the most for 
my family, the man who builds my 
house or the man who saves it from 
burning at a time when the loss of the 
house would have broken up my fam¬ 
ily for good and all? This is the thing 
which I want the children to think and 
reason out. Too many debates are like 
parrots chattering in a tree—a mere re¬ 
cital of opinion and fact handed down 
from some one who may have looked 
at only one side of the subject. This 
is not only true of children’s debates 
but of most public discussions of great 
issues. People will not think for them¬ 
selves, but go on using mental hash pre¬ 
pared for them, so that others who are 
keener and sharper may have the true 
roast beef. Take this very case of 
Washington or Lincoln. The average 
men picture Washington as some great 
pure noble character—incapable of do¬ 
ing the mean and petty things which 
we all catch ourselves doing. That is 
because history has given us a one¬ 
sided picture of the great man. In his 
“History of the People of the United 
States” McMaster says that George 
Washington is really an unknown man. 
When the true story is finally told 
“We shall behold the great commander 
repairing defeat with marvelous celerity, 
healing the dissensions of his officers and 
calming the passions of his mutinous troops. 
But we shall also hear his oaths, and see 
him in those terrible outbursts of passion to 
which Mr. Jefferson has alluded. . . . We 
shall see him refusing to be paid for his 
services by Congress, yet exacting from 
the family of the poor mason the shilling 
that was his due. We shall know him as 
the cold and forbidding character with 
whom no fellow man ever ventured to live 
on close and familiar terms. We shall re¬ 
spect and honor him for being not the 
greatest of generals, not the wisest of 
statesmen, not the most saintly of his race, 
but a man with many human frailties and 
much common sense, who rose in the full¬ 
ness of time to be the political deliverer 
of our country.” 
In a somewhat similar way a i Id 
analysis of Lincoln’s character would 
no doubt reveal some things which we 
would rather not believe. I think it 
likely that up to within a few years the 
one-sided, bright picture of these two 
great men has been the best thing to put 
before our young people. My daughter 
is on the Lincoln side of this debate 
and Mother advised her to argu." that 
Lincoln’s rise from hard and ignorant 
boyhood has done wonders for the 
country by inspiring and encouraging 
young people to work on in hope. That 
is a good point, for during th time 
there was free land and free opportun¬ 
ity for the individual young man. That 
time is gone or is rapidly going, and 
that is why I think the public should 
change its basis for debating public 
questions. We have got to come down 
to fair analysis of the situation and strip 
off most of the glory and tinsel. Years 
ago I used to march in political pro¬ 
cessions carrying a torch and wearing a 
shoddy uniform. That torch only 
showed me a lot of words which the 
politicians gave out. I could not read 
the sinister motives behind those beau¬ 
tiful resolutions. I have seen a man 
get up with tears in his eyes and say 
he was a life-long Republican because 
“the grand old party” was good enough 
for him. I have seen other good men 
who said no power on earth could make 
them anything but Democrats because 
that’s what father and grandfather 
were! 1 hese ancestors had handed 
down old political opinions as they had 
a peculiar shaped nose or brown hair! 
Both Republican and Democrat showed 
in both face and form that they were 
losing ground. Now such men have 
been debating public questions wrong. 
They have used facts, many of which 
“ain’t so” and opinions which are mostly 
expressed prejudices. Now they begin 
to see and are forced to admit that in 
spite of their beloved party something 
is dead wrong. 
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our 
stars, 
But in ourselves that *ve he underlings.” 
Legislatures and Congress will do us 
but little good unless we learn to really 
debate these living issues by analyzing 
and thinking over the heart of them. 
This is the thing that comes to me at 
the end of the year. Let us all see if 
we cannot do some real thinking in 1912. 
Looking Ahead. —When we first 
bought this farm we found 30 acres of 
fine chestnut timber on the place. Tim¬ 
ber at that time was high and going up 
in price. There was a good demand for 
poles and a fair price for stove wood. 
I could have sold this timber at a good 
bargain, but taking the best advice 1 
could get I decided to hold it as a “life 
insurance.” It seemed reasonable that 
lumber would go up and that these trees 
would constantly, increase in value. So 
I let them stand. To-day 90 per cent of 
the chestnuts are dead—killed by the 
blight disease. The price of lumber has 
not increased, the pole market is dead 
and you can hardly get enough for fire 
wood to pay for cutting and hauling! 
About a mile from us is a dry, sandy 
farm. The soil actually blows away in 
a dry wind. Few people would have 
touched such a farm as a gift i ‘ com¬ 
pelled to make a living on it. A man 
who would have taken it in preference 
to our woods would have been thought 
a good candidate for an asylum. Yet 
to-day this sandy place is worth far 
more than our wood lot. The develop¬ 
ment of concrete making has made this 
farm into a great storehouse of building 
sand. They make concrete blocks for 
sale and sell thousands of loads of sand. 
The sand hill by the road is gradually 
melting away and paying its price. This 
development of concrete work has kept 
down the price of lumber. Had anyone 
told me 12 years ago how these things 
were to work out I could not have be¬ 
lieved them. Yet here they are to-day— 
the sand heap worth far more than the 
beautiful chestnut grove. It is the man 
who walks carefully in the present with 
one eye on the future who grows into 
good things. This is true not only of 
sand and lumber, but of character as 
well. 
What shall I do with my buckwheat 
straw? Can it be used for bedding? I 
have read with interest what you have had 
to say about rye from time to time, and 
agree with most of your opinions, but dis¬ 
sent from your dictum placing November 
15 as the latest period for sowing. I am 
sowing seven acres to-day (December 11)., 
One year I sowed a field in January 
and it was ready for harvesting with a 
good crop about as soon as that sowed in 
September. fkank hyde. 
Westchester Co., N. Y. 
We should use the buckwheat straw 
to bed stock. This is not from our own 
experience, but from that of buckwheat 
growers. I have no doubt rye can be 
seeded at almost any time when the soil 
is bare and open. I would not, how¬ 
ever, state possibilities as general ad¬ 
vice. That is too much like figuring on 
$25 hens and $1,000 cows. People will 
not consider and use judgment. Tell 
them that rye can be seeded any time 
and some one will sow it on the snow 
in February and March, as many do 
clover seed. Years ago the Sherwood 
steel harness had a good run. It was 
made of steel coming up under the 
horses with a single chain between 
them in place of traces. I asked Mr. 
Sherwood why he made it so heavy. 
He said the object was to give it about 
four times the strength required. Some 
people took it on trial, hitched it to a 
tree and tried to break it. He had to 
provide for all such “trials.” That was 
human nature, and something of the 
same is needed in giving advice. Bet¬ 
ter be conservative. A lot of these 
back-to-the-land stories fall apart be¬ 
cause they promise too much. 
I am planning the following rotation on 
a farm recently bought. I am from the 
South, and methods here are somewhat new 
to me. First year, corn followed by rye. 
Second year, cut rye for bay and follow 
with buckwheat. Follow this with rye or 
wheat and seed to clover and Timothy in 
the Spring. In this case should rye be 
planted at the last cultivation of the corn 
or sown after the corn is harvested? I am 
told that it would not do for hay if planted 
in the corn, i. e., that it would take on too 
large a growth in the Fall. N. L. r. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
I would first of all go to local 
farmers, see what they do and ask their 
advice. Almost every locality has its 
peculiar conditions. Here in northern 
New Jersey the plan would work. We 
sow rye in the corn and can cut it for 
hay next Spring. It is a matter of 
convenience whether you seed in the 
corn or wait until the latter is cut. We 
like seeding in corn because the job is 
done early and we can sow vetch or 
Crimson clover with the rye—which 
could not be done later. Either of these 
crops with the rye will improve the hay 
or green crop. If you are to grow 
small grain clover will be better than 
vetch, as seed of the latter will prove 
a nuisance in small grain. Wheat will 
give you a better grain hay than rye, 
since the straw is not so hard and 
tough. If you do seed rye cut it when 
in bloom— do not wait for the grain to 
form. It is poor hay at best—wheat 
would be much better. As a rule it 
does not pay to grow both rye a 1 
wheat on the same farm. They mix. 
__ H. w. C. 
Eastern Fruit Growers’ Association. 
This Association, a federation of com¬ 
mercial fruit growers’ organizations cover¬ 
ing the States of Virginia, West Virginia, 
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, met 
at Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C., at 
eight o'clock p. m., December 12. for its sec¬ 
ond annual conference. About 50 large 
commercial fruit growers and delegates 
were in attendance. It was shown that un¬ 
just discriminations against shipping sta¬ 
tions located in the five States represented 
at the conference are practiced. To rem¬ 
edy this and secure rates to which the sec¬ 
tion would appear entitled a fund of .$2,000 
was pledged and a committee appointed to 
hire competent counsel to bring these rates 
to the attention of the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission. Present methods of 
compiling and distributing fruit crop re¬ 
ports as used by the Bureau of Statistics, of 
the Department of Agriculture were criti¬ 
cised as unsatisfactory. Unanimous reso¬ 
lution was passed requesting the Depart¬ 
ment to co-operate with growers, shippers, 
and commission men to develop a more 
satisfactory method. That an advertising 
campaign for developing apple markets 
should properly be so organized as to ap¬ 
pear to the ultimate consumer was made 
clear in a paper on the subject presented 
by the secretary. A resolution was unani¬ 
mously carried asking the State societies of 
the five States represented to adopt a uni¬ 
form selling contract to be recommended 
for use by co-operative exchanges between 
commission men and growers with the un¬ 
derstanding that such a contract would 
provide that a commission on the gross 
sales be placed in the hands of an officially 
designated advertising agency for carrying 
on a campaign aimed at the ultimate con¬ 
sumer in certain selected markets. Suffi¬ 
cient volume of business was promised by 
the growers present to warrant an adver¬ 
tising agency for such a campaign. It is 
expected that committees from the various 
State societies will get together and ar¬ 
range for the beginning of such campaign 
early in the year. 
Officers elected for the ensuing year are. 
as follows: President. S. L. Lupton. Win¬ 
chester. Va.' vice-president from West Vir¬ 
ginia, C. W. Thatcher of Martinsburg; vice- 
president from Maryland, E. P. Cohill, Han¬ 
cock ; vice-president from Virginia. S. S. 
Guerrant, Callaway; vice-president from 
Delaware, G. L. Soper. Magnolia; vice- 
president from Pennsylvania. I). N. M in¬ 
nick, Chambersburg; treasurer. E. I. Os¬ 
wald. Chewsville, Md. : secretary, N. T. 
Frame, Martinsburg, W. Va.; members of 
the executive committee, the five State 
vice-presidents named above. 
When you write.advertisers mention Thh 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
|/ 2 H P nV $25 
l/kllel* Weight* 3 50 lbs. 
30000 In Use by Farmers 
Keep Yonr Money While Yon Try Thi* Engine 
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Just Say “Send Me Your $25 1!4-H.-P., or 
Your $98.50 5-H.-P. Engine, 15 Days” 
TVe are somewhat behind on our orders for these 
engines, but have recently put on a night force at 
our factories, and will be able to fill your engine 
order within one week. When it gets to yonr sta¬ 
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until you’ve examined the engine thoroughly and 
found that It meets with your approval. Then haul 
It home and set It to work. Put It to the stlffest 
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expense. If you’re satisfied. we’U send you 
Our Guarantee-For-Life Certificate 
guaranteeing your engine against defective mate¬ 
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ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURERS CO. 
650 Associated Bldg., Waterloo, la. 
largest Manufacturers of Gasoline Engines in tne 
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telling how we can make the prices so low. 
Clip F°S?.*Qft 50 
J| Weightl400lbs.JU = 
H r°o w GET BETTER LIGHT 
From KEROSENE (Coal Oil) 
Recent test by Prof. Rogers, lewis Institute, Chicago, and 
Prof. McKergow. McGill University Montreal, on leading oil 
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To Introduce the Aladdin, we will give Mi |a mm He 
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ask for cat- BGCUTC Ball sold over 1000 on money back 
alogue M, HuUllg guarantee: not one returned. 
Bruner sold fsoo in 15 days. Ask for liberal agency proposi 
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MANTLE LAMP COMPANY, ]13 Aladdin Building, Chicago, 111 
SCIENTIFIC SWEEP MILL 
Double Action. Triple Geared 
-This No. 5 is one of our 
leading Feed Mills. Particu¬ 
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oar corn and small grain for _ 
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stock 
Gives Satisfaction 
Strong, durable and 
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on a heavy hard-wood 
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Write for freo catalog. 
Ovor‘20 styles and sizes. 
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SILOS 
The kind “Uncle Sam’ uses, nest 
and cheapest. Send for catalog. 
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Box 1 1 , Coblesklll, N. Y. 
Continuous Opening 
Best Materials 
Braced Door Frame 
Adjustable Doors 
Permanent Laddei 
Three Styles 
Five kinds lumber 
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Wall board 
