iyi3. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
413 
ICEHOUSE QUESTIONS. 
I would like to know more from P. J. 
B., who tells us about his icehouse on 
page 63. How big was the house? How 
thick was the ice he put in? He says he 
put in four layers, but did not say how 
thick they were, or give the length and 
width of the cakes. How much rain fell 
on the ice, or rather, the sawdust on the 
ice, during the Spring and Summer? If 
ho puts up his ice this Winter in the same 
place I would like to hear from him next 
Fall as to how he succeeds this time. Was 
the house in shade or in sun? w. s. j. 
Holliday, Mo, 
The icehouse is 10x12 feet. The ice I 
put in was 17 or 18 inches thick and cut 
about 16 inches square. The four layers 
contained 168 cakes. I do not know how 
much rainfall there was on the sawdust. 
We had lots of rain until about June 1, 
and then we had a very dry spell of 
weather; very little rain until after Sep¬ 
tember 15. No one seems to know here 
just what our rainfall was from May 1 
to November 1, but it is not likely there 
was as much as there is in some other 
sections of the country. The icehouse is 
built where there is no shade at all of 
any kind. I expect to use the same place 
for ice this season, as I did so well before. 
I will try to remember to write and let 
your inquirer know. p. j. b. 
New York. 
A FARM BARN. 
I send you rough sketch of an idea for 
a farm barn when there is grade enough 
so that an extra floor could be put in be¬ 
tween basement and the usual floor. Same 
to be used for granary underneath 
A FARM BARN. 
thrashing floor, also for feed grinding, fod¬ 
der cutter, etc. This may be of use to 
some of the members of the Rural family. 
Yate Co., N. Y. N. R. M. 
SLAVES OF COMMISSION MEN. 
The section of which I speak is a small 
portion of Anne Arundel County, but I 
am informed that this is a good example 
of conditions all through the country. In 
this particular section the farmers are to 
a large extent Germans with little knowl¬ 
edge of English speech or American busi¬ 
ness methods, and it is this ignorance, to¬ 
gether with the fact that there is no way 
in which these farmers cau secure legiti¬ 
mate loans, that the commission men work 
upon. Here is an outline of the system. 
A man and his wife come to this country 
where the man secures work on the sand 
banks or, if he is young and strong, per¬ 
haps in an iron foundry. The wife stays 
with friends or relatives and adds what 
she can to her husband’s income by straw¬ 
berry and bean picking. The first year 
enough money is saved to make a small 
payment on a few acres of uncleared land. 
During the Summer land is cleared for 
a kitchen garden and a small house is 
put up. The lumber used is from the 
cleared garden and the timbers are hewn 
by hand. The following Winter the man 
returns to hU work at the sand bank or 
foundry. The woman remains on the 
“farm” but she does not remain idle. 
While her husband is earning money for 
their few necessities and saving every pos¬ 
sible cent she is clearing land and grub¬ 
bing. It would be a much fairer division 
of labor if she could exchange jobs with 
her husband, but he can earn more money 
than she could. Even as it is there is no 
more than enough to make payments on 
land, stock, etc., and it is here that the 
commission man gets hold. Seeds and 
fertilizers are needed, and a commission 
man will furnish them, taking in exchange 
promissory notes. If the farmer had cash 
he could got the same seed and fertilizer 
for just about oue-fourtli what the com 
mission man charges him. But the seed 
merchants will not give him credit—and 
why should they when they can sell to the 
commission man for cash? The commission 
men have an opportunity in this for a 
good business but they are not satisfied 
with fair profits. 
These debts are paid in crops and need¬ 
less to say the lowest possible price is 
paid for them. Should the farmer Object 
or sell elsewhere he is threatened with 
having the notes foreclosed even though 
they may not be due for some months. 
Such is the power of these commission men 
that payments have been forced at such 
times, and the farmer either loses every¬ 
thing at once, or borrows from another 
commission man and thus not only pays 
double interest on the debt but does not 
improve his chances. Should one of these 
farmers, by some wonderful success, act¬ 
ually pay off his debt at the end of a sea¬ 
son he is convinced by a smooth-tongued 
thief that he could do better still witii 
another mule. And so a mule is sold to 
him, on credit at double its value, for 
it is in no wise the plan of the commis- 
son man that the farmer shall get out of 
debt. 
It is hard to believe that some men 
really do fight their way against such con¬ 
ditions and build up prosperous farms. This 
is not the rule, however, for generally a 
bad year or some other cause will place 
them at the mercy of the commission man, 
and as the commission man has no such 
thing the home is lost. If the farmer has 
proved himself a hard worker he is al¬ 
lowed to remain on the farm, where he 
slaves and makes a bare living. This is 
not the story of one case but the story 
of dozens in this vicinity. Under such 
conditions it is not surprising that the 
farms are not prosperous in appearance, 
or that the children are worked beyond 
their strength, and that the men and 
women are aged beyond their years, or 
that very few Americans are left in the 
fight or that the younger generation is un¬ 
willing to enter it. . A casual observer 
would set these farmers down as a shiftless 
lot, for who wants to pay four times its 
value for paint to paint his house which 
may be lost at the end of the season, or 
who cares if his fence is out of repair if 
the fields it marks may not be his next 
month ? The fact that some do succeed 
proves that this could all be changed by 
a system whereby these men could get 
loans at a fair rate of interest. h. b. 
Anne Arundel Co., Md. 
VALUE OF COLLEGE TRAINING. 
I see in Rev. Alfred S. Clayton’s article 
on page 123, that the farmers who went 
to college earned $847 per year, $622 high 
school; $318 common school. It would 
seem from his article that he thought the 
things that they learned at school caused 
all of this difference. I don’t think that it 
did. The men who went to college were 
smarter in the first place; they had more 
money to invest and better credit. If a 
man has to spend eight years of his time 
and a lot of money to go to college to 
earn $847 per year it is either a poor 
man or a poor college. This is from a 
reader of your paper and a common-schooler 
who has to make more than $318 to cover 
expenses of his home and farm. h. m. t. 
Westport, Conn. 
NATIONAL WRAPPER AND SPLICER 
FOR FARMERS, FENCE BUILDERS, LINEMEN 
Before you build that wire 
fence this Spring you will 
want a National Wrapper 
and Splicer. JUST OUT. A 
Maclune-mado tool with a 
revolving head. SEE CUT. 
Four distinct parts. Works 
on any gauge of wire. Sim¬ 
ply pump up and down and 
head revolves and makes 
the wrap. No Spaco to close. 
Send 7 .ic .Money Order and re- 
oelve Me, Parcel i’o*L. 
SELLS LIKE WILDFIRE 
Agents wanted in every 
county and township. Write 
today. 
NATIONAL IMPORTING COMPANY, DESK 2. JACKSON. MICH. 
Husk When You Please 
No need of waiting for the custom 
man. Use a 
Rumely - Adams Husker 
and husk when your fodder is right. No 
extra men to board. Simply attach an 
8 h. p. Rumely-Olds Engine 
and get the cheapest power. It is a sim¬ 
ple, strong, well built engine- - steady run¬ 
ning, adjusts instantly tinder any load. 
It will do your husking when you want 
it done—and you can use it for a hun¬ 
dred other jobs. Any size or style. 
Portable, stationary or skid-mounted. 
Write for Data Book, No. 344, on the Rumchl- 
Olds Engine, and information about the Rumelu- 
Adams Husker. We toill be 
glad to answer ana inquires. Ask 
the name of our nearest dealer. I 
RUMELY PRODUCTS CO. 
(Incorporated) 
Power-Farming Machinery 
La Porte, Ind. 
_ 559 ^/ 
JT V -r ftf* 
r.r* 
The Sulky with the Steel Frame and the 
Patent Auto Foot-Shift 
A Two-Way Sulky Plow with a steel frame—a great improvement in two- 
way plows. Something you have never seen before. 
Strong, neat in appearance, all steel and malleable,—not cumbersome cast 
iron, no surplus weight and the lightest draft sulky ever built. 
Notice the patent auto foot-shift pedals in the illustration below. They 
operate like the foot pedals on an automobile. Press the foot pedal; that’s all you do to shift 
the bottoms. Or, if you choose, do it with the hand lever. 
The John Deere Two-Way Plow is always in balance, whether operated 
by man or boy. 
Some of the Good Things About the 
John Deere Two-Way Plow 
1. Steel Frame 
Makes plow strong, light draft, neat in 
appearance and durable. 
2. Steel Arch 
Special channel steel, one of the strongest 
shapes into which steel is rolled. 
3. All Steel and Malleable 
Practically unbreakable. You can pound 
any part of it with a hammer. 
4. Long Malleable Beam Clamps _ 
Hitch can be raised or lowered as desired. 
5. Flat Steel Levers 
Handy, easy to operate, positive, strong. 
6 . Long Frame 
Always in perfect balance, whether used by 
man or boy. 
7. Long Range Shift 
Our patent auto foot shift operates easily. 
It is really a power shift when plow is in motion. 
Most perfect and convenient foot shift ever 
invented. 
8 . Chilled, Steel, or Combination Chilled 
and Steel Bottoms 
Can be fitted with bottoms for any soil and 
to work under all conditions. 
9. Removable Shin Pieces 
Easy to take off and replace. 
10. Wide Truck 
Staunch on hillside work. Steady running. 
11. Foot Lift 
Plow always under control of feet—hands free 
to control the team. 
12. Made in the East for Eastern 
Conditions 
By men who have made eastern soils and the 
plows best suited for them, a life’s work. 
Let us tell you more about the John Deere Two-Way Plow. Don’t buy a plow 
until you know all about this one. Just write us saying you are interested 
Get This Book Free 
Better Farm Implements 
and How to Use Them.” 
Tells how to adjust and 
use farm implements 
under varying condi¬ 
tions. It has a practi¬ 
cal encyclopedia for 
the farm. 
Write at once; to 
be sure that you 
get “Better Farm 
Implements and 
How to Use Them,” ask 
for Package No. TW 33. 
John Deere Plow Co. 
Moline, Illinois 
Branches and Dealers Everywhere 
Made in the East for Eastern Conditions 
Hydraulic Cider Presses 
All sizes. We have had 
so years’ experience and 
can save you money, 
Also Steam and Gaso¬ 
line Engines, Boilers, 
Sawmills, etc. 
CATALOGUE FREE 
Thomas-Albright Co.? 
West New Y'ork, New Jersey 
Saves a Man and Team 
Operated 
by the man 
on the load. 
CANADA’S OFFERING 
T. TL. CaHls* The American Rush to 
10 1 (lO dwltlor Western Canada is Increasing 
Free Homesteads ^ 
Districts of Manitoba. Saskat- 
| chewan and Alberta, there are 
thousands of Free Homesteads 
left, which to the man making 
entry In 3 years’ time will bo 
worth from *20 to *25 per acre. 
These lands are well adapted to 
grain growing and cattle raising. 
Excellent Railway Facilities 
In many cases the railways In 
_ _ Canada have been built In ad¬ 
vance of settlement, and In a short time | 
there will not be a settler who need be 
Operated with 
gasoline 
engine. 
Drum holds 
240 ft. of rope. 
Ireland Hay Hoist 
A powerful machine that saves time and labor In 
storing hay and in other hoisting. Used In con¬ 
nection with harpoon fork or sling. Attach it to 
your own engine. Works strongly and steadily. 
Safe and easy to operate. Under instant control. 
Pulley to suit your engine. Guaranteed as rep¬ 
resented. Write for circular and prices. 
IRELAND MACHINE & FOUNDRY CO., Inc. 
Box 14, Norwich. New York. 
more than ten or twelve miles from a line 
Of railway. Railway Rates are regulated 
by Government Commission. 
SOCIAL CONDITIONS. The Ameri¬ 
can Settler is at home In Western Canada. 
He is not a stranger In a strange land, 
having nearly a million of his own people 
already settled there. If you desire to 
know why the condition of the Canadian 
Settler Is so prosperous write to any of 
the Canadian Government Agents and 
send for literature, rates, to 
J. S. Crawford 
301 E. Genesee St. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
or address Supt. of Immigration, 
Ottawa. Canada. 
1 See 140 Styles of Vehicles, also Complete Line of Harness—Sold at Factory Prices 
Direct to You—2 Years Guarantee—Made to Order—30 Days Free Road Test 
- Book shows many features not found in any other line of ,| @ 
i save you $25 vehicles—tells why Phelps saves you $25 to $40, and why 167,000 \ 
he vehicle you other folks bought Split Hickory after 30 Days Free Road Test ' 
book prove it and2 Years Guarantee. Don’t you want the Phelps Book? It’s 
H. C. PHELPS the best guide you can get, even if you buy elsewhere. It f|8 __ 
- will show you what’s what in vehicles and harness and 
tells you the right price to pay. Just mail a postal—Phelps pays tho 
postage to you—and the book comes by return mail—all free. Address 
-— »_» u w - - - — — • f VUI t ---— — 
runabouts, carts, spring wagons and harness, than you to you. 
can find in 25 retail dealers stores and quotes lower prices ——— 
than they pay even when buying In car-load lots for spot cash. 
Proves by actual photographs, that Split Hickory quality is years ahead. 
^ H. C. PHELPS, Pres. The OHIO CARRIAGE MANUFACTURING CO., Sta. 290, COLUMBUS, O. 
