THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
643 
1913. 
THE LABOR QUESTION IN MARYLAND. 
I have had much trouble with the help 
problem, and thought it would be acute 
h e re, but I am pleasantly disappointed. 
Here there are two tenants with large and 
capable families. They work on shares, so 
no money has to pass to bother. They 
are very ready to learn, and your paper 
and the others I take are loaned to them 
and their ambition is aroused to make . 
more than 15 bushels of corn to the acre. 
They do as I think best about where tho 
crops are to be put. They are pleased 
that I have Crimson clover seed for them. 
They were interested in an article on 
corn and fertilization by Crimson clover, 
and now are planning for sowing it in 
the corn in August. They are pleased that 
I want them to have two crops on the land, 
and are now busily at work. They have 
cows, horses, oxen and pigs of their own. 
All the manure goes on the land, and I 
have no inconvenience. When I want a 
day’s work with their team I am charged 
but one-third as much as I paid on Long 
Island. They are ready with their best 
of everything to help us. I find them 
very intelligent, both black and white ten¬ 
ants, even though they cannot read, they 
have an appreciation for reading and the 
many children of both families arc being 
nicely educated, and read aloud to their 
parents the article I think might do them 
good. Because I do not approve of tobacco 
they have both consented, though they need 
not have done so, as their tenancy continues 
for another year, to raise tomatoes instead, 
and also are trying early potatoes. For¬ 
tunately there is a canning factory a few 
miles up the river on which the farms are 
situated, which can take tomatoes, black¬ 
berries, beans, peaches and gooseberries, and 
the proprietor wished me to plant these 
vegetables and fruits. 
I supply some basic slag to make with 
the Crimson clover a complete fertilizer. 
These men are interested because they have 
their own homes, gardens and stock. There 
is plenty of land for the stock to run 
over, which can be used later as corn land, 
or where it is too hilly, put into apples. 
A boat leaving at two in the afternoon 
puts the produce at a wharf in Baltimore 
at 2 A. M., right at the market. Thero 
seems to be a market for clover hay and 
I have a large field of that, but perhaps not 
more than my own stock will need next 
Whiter. 
One thing that pleases us all very much 
is that we have to sail down the river two 
miles for our mail, a much more enjoyable 
way than to hitch up a horse and drive 
four miles. Then a sail always appeals to 
the young sou of the black tenant, whom 
I have employed by the month; a most 
capable young man, a fair carpenter, a 
good gardener and ready to turn his hand 
at auything. -His family has been on the 
place for several generations. I was warn¬ 
ed not to treat the negroes the same as 
white help, but I do. They are Mr. and 
Mrs.-to me. they are not treated 
with sueh familiarity as to breed contempt, 
but just as I treated employees of equal 
social standing in a law office, and they 
appreciate their independence. I almost 
feel that the help problem is solved—by re¬ 
membering that in this country “all men 
are free and independent,” that there is no 
social caste and that large families are an 
asset on the farm. As the two tenant 
houses are nearly a mile apart, there is 
no obnoxious familiarity between the fam¬ 
ilies. They make neighborly calls on each 
other and the children go to their separate 
schools together, and all the children help 
each other in caring for the stock. Of 
course, these tenants are anxious for fine 
crops and work for their families, and are 
glad when I make any improvements of 
common benefit. Treat your working ten¬ 
ants as neighbors, not servants; give them 
a large garden spot and give them some 
employment when they are not busy on 
the farms, and then you all will find farm¬ 
ing a pleasure. elbkrt wake man. 
St. Mary’s Co., Md. 
It. N.-Y.—Mr. Wakeman says the previous 
owner treated the tenants in this same 
way. The tenants feel that this farm is 
their homo. On the neighboring place the 
seventh generation are still working the 
farm. In this part of Maryland the slaves 
were well treated and did not leave when, 
“freedom came.” They remained and 
worked for wagps or on shares. 
German Women as Workers. 
Reports from Germany show that the 
German woman, as is the case in this 
country, is entering all lines of productive 
Industry. Years ago the business German 
women were to be found in farm districts. 
Now it is said they are forsaking country 
life in large numbers and going to the 
town and city. In 1882, 4.000.000 German 
women were employed in occupations other 
than domestico service. The number is 
now given at 9,500,000. One-third of the 
ecenomic labor of tho Empire is being 
carried on by women. Nearly every second 
adult woman in Germany is earning her 
own living, and directly contributing to 
the wealth of the country. These women 
are largely responsible for the wonderful 
advance In an industrial way recently made 
by Germany. Women compete with men id 
the great industries as a matter of course, 
these women are organizing into industrial 
Unions or leagues in order to take care 
of their business interets. It is said that 
several industries, like that of artificial 
•lowers, toy-making, clock-making, basket- 
making and wood-carving are coming to 
be almost entirely in the hands of the 
women. The German people may well stop 
and ask themselves what is to be the 
pffect of the entrance of this army of wo¬ 
men into business and away from special 
home-making. We have seen a powerful 
picture entitled “In Time of War.” An 
old man incapable of warlike service held 
the handles of a rude plow. To this plow 
was attached a group of six women. By 
means of a rope they were pulling it 
through the ground. The younger men of 
the family were all at the wars, and the 
old man and the women were left at home 
to provide food for the community. We 
hear much of the fearful war taxes levied 
upon the German people. It is a thought¬ 
ful thing when we consider these 9,000.000 
women toiling at industrial labor, while 
the nation is burdened with war taxes for 
building airship and fighting vessels, and 
the younger men of the land are being 
drilled in the great armies to fight tbeit- 
brothers. Surely here again the women 
of the nation are plowing that their 
brothers may learn to fight. 
Parcel Post Delivery. 
There are changes obviously required in 
the system of parcel post for which we 
may well wait patiently and not embarrass 
the department with clamor, yet it is not 
amiss to point them out. One of the 
changes needed that seems to have es¬ 
caped attention is that of a more equit¬ 
able arrangement of the dimensions of the 
first zones. The unit of area selected by 
Congress for the parcel post was ready 
at hand on every map in the country, and 
its accurate location could not be called in 
question anywhere in the United States. 
This unit of area is 30 minutes square, 
identical with a quarter of the area formed 
by the intersecting parallels of latitude 
and meridians of longitude, any nine of 
these squares everywhere eoustitutiug a 
first zone. This arrangement was so con¬ 
venient as to have perhaps justified its 
adoption in the final rush that unexpect¬ 
edly gave "us the parcel post, but it divides 
the country so unevenly as to make it 
permanently impossible for a system de¬ 
signed to be just and uniform throughout 
the country. A glance at any map will 
show the marked variation in the size of 
these units of area and the zones based 
on them. The greater variations are illus¬ 
trated by comparing the zones along the 
31st parallel of latitude (through Central 
Texas) with those along the 43rd parallel 
(through Central New York). o. s. 
New York. 
The First “ Parcel Poster.” 
The complaints against the parcel post 
service in the issues of April 12 end 19 
show clearly that the parties do not un¬ 
derstand how to make use of it. The 
writer began to use it before sunrise of 
January 1 and is still at it. I claim to 
be the first in the United States to make 
use of the parcel post for direct ship¬ 
ment of dressed poultry and eggs from 
the produced to the consumer. Eggs are 
being handled with care and promptness. 
A recent shipment to Denver, Col., reached 
there 2,000 miles, in 69 Ms hours, in per¬ 
fect condition. Eggs to go properly should 
be packed in corrugated paper boxes made 
for the purpose, and the postmaster will, 
if requested, attaeh a red “Fragile” tag 
to the package, when it will be handled 
outside the sacks, and in a much safer 
manner than by express. There is great 
saving in cost, and it is much better and 
more convenient to send hatching eggs 
in this way. I am proving it every day. 
When people in the large cities realize 
that they can have eggs laid the day 
before and mailed at night, delivered to 
them by mail the next morning at a cost 
of 17 cents for postage on two or 2% 
dozen that business will increase. The 
boxes can be saved and returned to the 
farm when a sufficient number accumu¬ 
late. The question is how is the pro¬ 
ducer to get In touch with these con¬ 
sumers. FBED. A. HAXAFORD. 
Massachusetts. 
Spraying Notes. 
On page 562 I notice your remarks fol¬ 
lowing my little article on hand sprayers. 
I will confess that boys of this type are 
very rare these days, but, nevertheless, I 
have one, and will say that he stayed 
right with me for two weeks spraying, not 
regularly, however, for we had some rainy 
days, and we put on as much as 400 
gallons in 10 hours. Furthermore, II. B. P. 
said nothing about the weather, but said 
he did as much iu one day with his power 
sprayer as he did the year before iu seven 
with hi/ hand pump, and I know this can¬ 
not be done. Will say that 150 of my 
trees are apple; we were not discussing 
spraying with poison; this was Spring 
spraying with lime-sulphur. I certainly 
would not tackle 4,000 large apple trees 
with one hand pump, neither wonld you 
with one power sprayer, but I am sure I 
could kill as many worms in proportion 
to nozzle used with my hand pump as 
anyone can do with power. But 1 don’t 
think you or anyone would want to tackle 
3,000 large apple trees iu blooming season 
with one powder rig. I have a 100-gallon 
tank with my pump, which saves lots 
of time in going back and forth for solu¬ 
tion and water. Your remarks have 
placed the wrong construction on the dis¬ 
cussion ; still if there is any doubt about 
the boy or the work done I can produce 
the boy as proof. d. v. pike. 
Maryland. 
But a small percent, of the fruit growers 
in this section spray at all, although a 
few more of them are waking up every 
year. So far as I know, only one large 
orchard has been sprayed iu this section 
this Spring. It looks to me like a short 
apple crop in Washington County this 
year unless spraying is done. Last year 
90 per cent, of the orchards were almost 
completely stripped of leaves' by the tent- 
caterpillars. I have only a small orchard 
myself, have trimmed and scraped the trees. 
I have not sprayed as yet. but expect to 
do so at least twice. Weather is fine here. 
More plowing has been done now than 
on May 1st last year. c. f. t. 
Cambridge, N. Y. 
ck if more convenient. Your pigs and bogs nee 
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