lt>©8 
THE RURAb 1ST Hi W-YORKER 
October zG, 
Hope Farm Notes 
Let us try this week to clean up a 
few of the questions which have been 
accumulating. This hunch will give you 
an idea of the varied lot we have. 
I have a pile of wood ashes which I 
recently purchased from a sawmill, but 
have no place to store them under cover. 
Which would be more profitable, to pile 
them on the ground till Spring and then 
spread them on ground to be seeded to 
grass, or spread them now on ground 
which was seeded last Spring? g. h. s. 
In such cases I should spread the 
ashes as they are hauled on Spring- 
seeded grass, provided the land is 
reasonably level. If you had a covered 
place to store the ashes I should keep 
them over Winter and put them on next 
Spring’s seeding. They will be better 
worked into the ground. There will 
be some loss through leaching if they 
are piled and the labor of unloading 
and handling again in Spring will be 
considerable. Counting in this loss and 
labor I think you will be better off to 
haul and spread this Fall. 
I print the following as a sad example 
of the personal troubles which are often 
sent to us. The Hope Farm man is 
not a lawyer. I wish sometimes I knew 
enough of law to help some of these 
poor people who tie up property and 
even flesh and blood through ignorance 
or fearful necessity. There may be two 
sides to this, and circumstances which a 
stranger cannot grasp, but it is hard to 
have a conflict over a child. 
My boy was born in October, 1904. 
Shortly after I was taken violently ill and 
continued so for several months, during 
which time I was near death’s door two 
or three times, in the meantime my sister- 
in-law came and helped take care of me 
for a few days. When she went home she 
took the baby with her to care for until 
I was able to do it. I do not know the 
exact date, as I was too ill to know much 
about it. She kept him until the 31st of 
March, 1905, at which time she wanted to 
adopt him. 1 did not want to let him 
go, but at that time 1 was not able to do 
near all of my work, and was not able to 
lift the child up without danger of 
dropping him, for lack of strength. I had 
gained fast during the month previous, and 
thought at the end of another month (two 
at most) 1 would be able to care for him. 
She would not keep him any longer unless 
she could have him as her own. It being 
the busy time of year, my husband could 
not be in the house all the time to help 
care for him and do the other work. A 
hired girl was impossible to get, and I 
did not know what to do. Anyway I might 
think or suggest she would immediately 
discourage me (for her own benefit, as I 
have since learned). She saw that I was 
cornered, so she took that way to gain the 
advantage of me, for I could see no other 
way but to let him go. During the time 
she had him she brought him over only 
once for me to see, as 1 have since learned 
she thought that if I did not see him I 
would not care for him, and she would 
stand a better chance of getting him. 
April 3, 1905, the papers were drawn, and 
I signed them, but was not sworn, as I 
refused to be. Is there any way by which 
I can get possession of him? If so, how? 
I know no better advice than to see 
some good lawyer who can examine 
the paper that was signed and give 
direct advice. We are not told just 
what was agreed to, or whether the 
father also agreed. It may be that the 
child may have a better chance with 
the people who have taken it. All these 
things enter into it. I give this as a 
sample of the unhappy stories which 
come to us. Most of them result from 
signing papers which are not clearly 
understood, or parting with property or 
children with no contract whatever— 
only a verbal understanding, which is 
later forgotten or repudiated by one or 
both parties. 
I am about to locate in a town which 
is a natural distributing center for a series 
of manufacturing and rural villages, rang¬ 
ing in several directions. It is used as a 
wholesale center for meat and for grain. 
Dealers complain that buying potatoes 
from middlemen is not satisfactory, but 
there is nothing better. As I am personall’v 
acquainted with some of the best potato 
raisers in New England, I have in. mind 
selling for them on commission. Can you 
tell me what commission is ordinarily 
charged on potatoes? Does cost of freight, 
storage or advertising, or drumming up 
orders, come out of the commission, or out 
of sum paid the farmers? ,t. k. 
This is a practical and good plan if 
it can be carried out. As a theory the 
commission men are supposed to get 10 
per cent, of sales. As a practice they 
get all they can obtain, and there are 
dozens of tricks and “trade secrets” in 
the business. The first thing for you 
to do is to learn what you can sell the 
potatoes for. Go to these dealers and 
see what they will pay for first-class 
stock. Then find out what the middle¬ 
men charge, also figure as closely as 
possible the cost of handling and 
freight. Get these figures all in hand 
first and then leave a fair margin for 
your time and for shrinkage and loss. 
That will give you about what ydur 
potato growers can expect to get out of 
if. They can compare it with what they 
are offered at home. If you sell on 
commission you would be expected to 
pay the cost of selling unless you could 
make some special arrangements with 
the growers to pay part of this cost. 
Do not attempt the business without 
getting all the figures first and discount¬ 
ing chances and risks. Then you will 
know just what you are doing. The 
scheme is a good one, and in line with 
the plans for enlarging that 35-cent 
dollar. 
Farm and Home. —Frost gave us a 
false alarm after all. We expected him 
on October 5 and hustled in the green 
tomatoes and peppers, only to find that 
the mercury regained its clutch at 36°. 
Not a tomato leaf was touched until 
October 16. Had we known it I would 
have let the Eureka corn stand 10 days 
longer That would have matured some 
of the grain and given us more fodder, 
for the Eureka was going like a belated 
horse at the home stretch when we cut 
ir. As this corn stood in the field it 
looked like a prize yield. We have no 
platform scales, but we cut small quanti¬ 
ties here and there and weighed and 
figured. The best we could do would 
not run much over 16 or 17 tons to the 
acre. Now we shall be laughed at by 
the experts, but I give the facts and 
hope they will. When you get 15 tons 
of good fodder on an arn> you have 
some corn, and these friends who run 
up to 40 tons or more have my admira¬ 
tion. They beat us. From this Fall's 
experience with barley I should think 
it a good crop to sow in strawberries 
to grow up as a mulch. Where we 
fertilized it our barley is 15 inches or 
more high. On poor ground it is 
shorter. I think it would grow among 
the berries and fall down over them 
after hard freezing, yet I would rather 
have some one else try it. Our berries 
never looked better, for they have been 
hoed and hoed again. This barley 
would make a good cover crop for 
these places when Spring growth is 
not wanted. You would have a job 
to find any fields on Hope Farm that 
are not now covered with some living 
crop. There is one old field at the 
back of the farm which we call West¬ 
ward Ho! There are young apple trees 
there, but I am ashamed to say that we 
neglected them. The way to Westward 
Ho! lies through a soft swamp, and 
when you get there you • find a dis¬ 
couraging combination of stones, brush, 
tough sod and hornets’ nests. Yet in 
spite of all these trees gave us some 
of the finest McIntosh and Baldwins 
we have had this year. A few centuries 
ago when Englishmen and Irishmen 
wanted fame and fortune they went 
sailing westward ho. There were 
Spaniards to fight and lands to conquer 
before they came sailing home with 
treasures. There is no fortune and 
mighty little fame at Hope Farm. But 
we went on the track of our ancestors. 
Philip will tell you that the hornets 
beat any Spaniards that ever defended 
a galleon. Broker and Tom will stretch 
their legs and tell you that the stumps 
and stones beat any mountains that 
Pizarro ever fought his way over. I 
tried to tell Philip that the exercise he 
got riding the harrow would cost him 
a fortune as a treatment for liver 
trouble, but he did not appreciate it. 
At any rate the big disk plow tore the 
ground up and the cutaway and spring- 
tooth chewed the surface. Then Philip 
and the Italians picked the stones and 
laid them as a road through the swamp. 
Now we have rye growing there. Next 
Spring ive can plow the rye under, put 
on limestone, plant corn and, behold. 
Westward Ho has started back into 
civilization! Jennie came to live with 
us October 12. No, Jennie does not 
make No. 17 as a human. She is an 
old black mare, one of the discards that 
move aside to make place for a motor 
car when her legs begin to give out. 
Happily Jennie belongs to one who 
values her as an old friend. No ped¬ 
dlers’ cart or rough work for Jennie 
after her faithful years. So Mother 
has taken her to Hope Farm. They 
came home leading the old black late 
in the afternoon, a happy group of 
“girls.” Mother always did want a 
black horse. The old mare looks a little 
thin, but we have her on pasture and a 
little green grass before frost comes 
will act like a tonic. We have a place 
for Jennie. She will pay for her food. 
H. W. C. 
Light for all your buildings at any hour of the day or night. 
No danger of fires or explosions from lamps or lanterns. No lamps to 
clean and fill. And with all its advantages 
Electric Light Is Not Expensive 
Burning all 50 lights of this system for 5 hours would 
only cost about 1 0 cents for fuel 
oils. You would seldom burn all 
lights at once hence this low cost would be 
much reduced. Let us give you full partic- 
ulars.Write for Catalog No.CD 598 
Fairbanks,Morse & Co. 
Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York 
50-Light, 
30-Volt 
Outfit 
Complete 
i Deluding 
Mazda 
Lamps and 
Fixtures 
200,000 
Stove Owners 
satisfied proves that you should investi¬ 
gate. Get the stove book and study its interest¬ 
ing: pagres full of illustrations and cash-value stove facts. 
Write a postal now for catalog: 114, mentioning: this paper. 
KALAMAZOO STOVE CO., Mfrs., Kalamazoo, Michigan 
We make furnaces and gas stoves, too. Special catalogs on request. 
$5 to 
$40 
“A Kea&ra&zoe as. 
Registered Direct to You” tST 
Shipped the 
Day Your 
Order Arrives 
Better Than Ever—New Devices—Reduced Factory Prices 
I f you want the latest stoves with all the new features 
such as glass oven doors, you’ll get a Kalamazoo. 
Don’t let the low price prejudice you. Quality 
alone would make Kalamazoo stoves famous. Low 
price is just an added feature along with $100,000 Bank 
Bond Guarantee.—Freight Prepaid—and the 
30 Days’ FREE Trial 
We pay the return freight, 
too, if you decide not to 
keep the stove. 
A plow beam is strongest 
where the strain comes. A 
“Ball-Band” boot has extra 
strength where the rubber 
wrinkles at every step. 
Even Ball-Band” Rubber Foot¬ 
wear will wear out in time, but our 
point is that we conscientiously 
try to make “Ball-Band” 
goods wear longer 
and give better service than any 
other boots at any price. 
We believe 
that we have 
succeeded in mak¬ 
ing the best boot. Over 
eight million people wear “Ball- 
Band” Rubber Footwear and 45,000 
dealers sell it. 
When you buy “Ball-Band” Boots or Arctics re¬ 
member the months of wear they will give you. When 
you figure the cost of rubber boots on the length of time 
they will serve you, then “ Ball-Band ” goods become 
very low-priced. 
“ Ball-Band Boots give long-time protection against 
wet and cold, snags, mud and the scratches of brush 
and rock. 
“Ball-Band Arctics in one or four buckles have kept 
many a pair of feet warm and many a pair of good shoes 
from being spoiled in snow. Quickly put on and taken 
off —long-wearing and well-fitting for every man who 
looks out for his healih and comfort. 
lxv>k for the Red Rail—it i« the sisn of “Ball-Band’' 
,? t !T ar - See lf ..vour dealer is on© of 45,000 that 
sells tuexn. Lf ne is not, write to us. 
Mishawaka Woolen Mfg. Co., Mishawaka, tnd. 
The House That Pays Millions for Quality" 
1.50 Keg 
Farmers' 
NAILS 
iLnywliere 
in New York. Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Delaware. 
Maryland, Ohio. Indiana. Illinois, Kentucky. 
Send Postcard, Name and address to 
RAYMOHO McKEQNE, P. 0. Box 1484, Pittsburgii, ?&. 
flew e/hUand' 
Free 
Trial 
S AW S 
Hard-wood or nil steel saw frames with 
latest improvements. They are time and 
money savers. Large rollers return table 
automatically. Patent rock shaft prevents 
saw breakage. Many other practical, ex¬ 
clusive features. Catalog free. Our low 
prices will surprise vou. 
NEW HOLLAND MACHINE CO , 
Box *1, New Holland, Pa. 
