©lO 
tight that they can neither fight nor run away. A 
last resort, therefore, would be to sell out and get 
out—with present high prices of feed and high 
prices of dairy cows and comparatively low prices 
of milk, only the manure pile to maintain fertility 
of the soil is the one feature that commends the 
business a moment. There are doubtless sections 
of the country specially adapted by nature to the 
production of milk cheaply. Upland pastures well 
watered by cold and living springs and covered with 
nutritious grasses, will do the trick and probably 
do it profitably. It is hardly to he questioned that 
taking the risks that accompany latter-day milk pro¬ 
ducing the manufacturing of a manure pile will not 
compensate the producer, therefore quitting the 
business by those whose land will admit of some 
other form of deriving a revenue from the soil would 
appear advisable. 
During the past year closing April 1, 1913, I have 
kept a careful record of milk produced, the cost of 
feeds either purchased or home grown, and find my 
total is a trifle over three cents per quart—decimally 
expressed is .0304 cents—price received 414 for 
Winter months and four cents for Summer. Hav¬ 
ing quite extended pasture fields my average of 
nearly 30 head including hull and young stock not 
yet freshened, has been cheapened in cost of main¬ 
tenance considerably. No labor cost in caring for 
the stock is estimated. The manure which is prac¬ 
tically all kept under cover is deemed sufficient to 
offiset the cost of labor that would belong to caring 
for the stock. A glance at the cost of production 
and the munificent price received, however, will dis¬ 
close how rapidly the “get-rich-quick” idea is pro¬ 
gressing. As for figuring interest on investment, 
buildings, land and stock, I don’t dare attempt it, 
for the cost of milk would rise up in a foaming 
protest. 
The “middleman” or dealer who stands between 
the producer and consumer, and distributes the milk, 
is a standing bugaboo to many producers. However, 
I’m not sure that I regard him as the chief sinner and 
sponsor for rotten prices to the producer. lie has 
his own troubles, which may be many. His cus¬ 
tomers are far from infallible in point of prompt 
payment. 11 is employees demand high wages to 
insure reliable honesty and he must pay a large 
wage to such. lie is a victim, too, of drouthy 
weather as well as the farmer himself, for often he 
cannot get milk when requiring it most to supply his 
thirsty customers because of the farm shortage. 
New Jersey. a. t. thomas. 
“GETTING TOGETHER” FOR PROTECTION. 
In the Spring of this year employees of the New 
York Telephone Company were discovered to be 
putting cranks on all telephones they obtained ac¬ 
cess to. One or two of our more knowing people 
also discovered they were connecting the magnetos, 
and it was soon understood that all party lines were 
to be changed from the “common battery” system to 
the magneto, thereby making it necessary for the 
subscriber to ring up central, while under the “com¬ 
mon battery” system the taking of the receiver from 
the bracket gave immediate connection with central. 
Some of the subscribers became so determined in 
their objection to this change that they refused to 
allow any employee of the company to touch their 
’phone or even enter the house. Finally several 
lines were switched to the magneto service and then 
the trouble became the more acute. One line was 
forced back to the former service by recourse to 
the law. Others refused the service, saying either 
the “common battery” service or none. 
Finally two young men, both farmers, started pe¬ 
titions against the change, with the avowed inten¬ 
tion of sending the same to the Public Service Com¬ 
mission. These men visited me, and we arranged 
to cover as much as possible of the lines in this 
manner. We brought the matter before our town¬ 
ship Granges (there are three of these), and they 
passed resolutions protesting against the change, 
and also by bringing the matter before the County 
Grange, obtained endorsement of this procedure. 
Individuals also wrote letters of protest to the Com¬ 
mission. As soon as matters had developed thus far 
the company’s representative interviewed several of 
us and sought to convince us that the change was 
for our advantage but was unable to convince any 
of us that the old system they were trying to foist 
upon us was what we wanted. Finally a meeting 
was arranged between the subscribers and the com¬ 
pany’s representatives at one of the Grange halls. 
No particular publicity was given to this meeting 
by the company, arid we have an idea that they 
would have been glad if it had proved a fiasco, but 
we saw to it that the matter was well known, and 
at the time appointed over 50 subscribers were pres¬ 
ent, together with a half dozen company represen¬ 
tatives. After the election of a chairman the coni- 
THD RURAL NEW-YORKER 
pany was given the floor, with the privilege of ex¬ 
plaining their position and giving their reasons for 
the proposed change. The first speaker occupied 
his time with telling how good the service of the com¬ 
pany was, and asserting how superior in that re¬ 
spect, it was to that in Germany, England and I 
don’t know where. After he was through one of 
the engineers proceeded to explain by means of a 
rough draft the difference between the two systems, 
and his explanation simmered down to the fact that 
it was going to be saving to the company, though 
that came only after considerable questioning. The 
original understanding had been that these repre¬ 
sentatives would be able to come to some agreement 
with us. They were utterly unprepared to do any¬ 
thing save endeavor to persuade us to accept the 
proposed change. 
The outcome of the meeting was the appointment 
of a committee of six, to which was given authority 
to confer with the company and obtain the reten¬ 
tion of the system that had been in use for the past 
six years. This committee met the following day, 
and after due consultation made a demand upon the 
company to restore the former service or else the 
agreement of status quo should be raised and the 
matter pushed before the Public Service Commis¬ 
sion. A three days’ leeway was given in accordance 
with the request of the company. We also decided 
to rent an automobile and proceed to get as many 
petition signatures as possible during this period 
of waiting. 
The time elapsed with no reply from the com¬ 
pany, so we sent to the Commission the petitions 
which, with those previously forwarded, had the 
total of 192 subscribers out of a probable 250. The 
chairman of the committee, in possession of a letter 
of introduction to the Commission’s attorney, pro¬ 
ceeded to Albany with these, where he learned that 
the previous petitions had been handed over to the 
telephone company by the Commission’s electrical ex¬ 
pert, who also presented the same reasons for the 
change that the company’s representatives had pre¬ 
sented at the meeting previously mentioned. They 
would seem to have been sort of pigeonholed, but with 
our chairman there the matter was brought clearly 
out and the assurance of consideration given. 
Some little time elapsed, when finally the repre¬ 
sentatives of the company called upon our chairman 
and gave assurance that the former service would 
be restored, and this was reported at a final meeting 
of the subscribers, where the requisite amount of 
money was raised to cover the expenses of the com¬ 
mittee. Yesterday one of our men informed me that 
his line had been restored to the former service, and 
we expect the remainder to be thus restored in the 
near future. If there had not been this united, de¬ 
termined, intelligent action on the part of the sub¬ 
scribers there would have been no hope of getting 
the service we had had and wanted retained. The 
one proposed by the company was old and out of 
date, and a source of considerable confusion and 
much annoyance. The reasons they assigned were 
not the real ones, as we learned from a study of 
the matter. What they purposed was to do away 
with the necessity of supplying from storage bat¬ 
tery the current for rural lines, and thereby be 
enabled to enlarge their city service at no additional 
outlay of equipment in the central plant. As the 
calls from the country to the city to those from 
the latter to the country are in a ratio of two to 
one this would mean a considerable saving if only 
the subscriber furnished the electricity for ringing 
through use of the magneto. There was no better¬ 
ment of the service, as they said, hut a decided 
retrogression in that respect. But we knew what 
we wanted, and did our best by legitimate and rea¬ 
sonable means to obtain, and we have succeeded, 
but only because we “got together” in the matter. 
Orange Co., N. Y. [rev.] a. s. clayton. 
INTENSIVE CULTURE—GOOD SEASON. 
Many of the strawberry and asparagus growers 
of Concord, Mass., are feeling j ire tty good after a 
prosperous season; a good crop and more important, 
very good average prices. One grower obtained a 
profit of about $3,000 on these two crops this sea¬ 
son. His berries were frosted early in the season 
and the outlook at that time for any profit looked 
slim, but the later bloom turned out all right, and 
by receiving good prices, the lowest II cents per 
box, the highest 25, and the majority selling at IS 
and 20 cents, the season was successful. This was 
his first year on asparagus, which also sold well, 
most of it at about $5 per box. This year’s success 
is appreciated all the more as the previous ten have 
been a struggle to keep even, as the expense of 
starting the asparagus on a large scale is consider¬ 
able, and took all the profit made in the berries dur¬ 
ing this time. 
August 9, 
This man employs tramps to pick the berries, pay¬ 
ing by the day, and usually gets all the help he 
needs. Of course they cannot be depended on to 
stay any length of time, often going 6n a drunk 
after a short time and not turning up again, but 
others come along to take their places, and thus 
fill the gap. They sleep in an old barn and board 
themselves. He claims he gets much better results 
from these tramps than by employing children as 
some do, and lias no trouble at all with them. Often 
out of work season they come along broke, and he 
usually gives them a dollar or two, and in most 
cases they come back later and work it out. He 
seldom loses by this policy. Another grower sold 
a crop of 1.100 crates at good prices and also feels 
happy, as well he may, as too often the story is poor 
prices and failure instead of success. Iam informed 
that the men who make money in Concord are those 
who raise these crops and others for Boston mar¬ 
ket. Even at the good prices the Concord farmers 
receive for their milk, that is, good compared with 
what the average New England farmer receives for 
this, usually from five to 10 cents per can more, I 
am told none of the cow men make any money, hut 
just manage to get along, and if the grain bill hap¬ 
pens to run along a couple of months it is mighty 
hard to catch this up. 
One man started in a number of years ago, 10 or 
more, with $500 capital. He bought a piece of land 
for $900 and gave a mortgage for the remainder. 
He set out nine acres of asparagus, not all at once, 
hut a little at a time, working out by the day for 
the rest of the season until his beds matured and 
returned a profit. Within a year or two he has re¬ 
tired, having sold his nine acres to a friend for 
about $4,000, although this was not the full value 
by any means. It is very pleasing to tell of these 
cases of success, as in too many cases in New Eng¬ 
land a lifelong struggle and no reward in this world 
is the result. Of course there are various reasons 
for this; sometimes it is the individual’s fault, some¬ 
times not, but it happens just the same. a. e. r. 
ASSIGNING A MORTGAGE. 
Can you tell.me what I can do with my boy? He 
is paying a mortgage for me, but as there are several 
other children and none of them has done anything to 
help me I feel it is nothing but right that this boy 
should have a guarantee that he should get his money 
back. At the same time I want a guarantee that lie 
pays it, so I don’t know what to do. I was going 
to give him a piece of land, but if I give him a deed 
on that then I have no guarantee that he will pay the 
rest of the mortgage (which is the sum the land is 
worth) as I don’t like to take a mortgage on it. a. c. 
There are two ways that this could be done. Pos¬ 
sibly the simpler way would be for the father to 
give a letter addressed to his son and delivered to 
him for his keeping, in substantially the following 
form: 
Dear Son. As I have told you I want to do something 
to protect you in tin 1 payments you have made to. 
.for me, I therefore give you this letter to ac¬ 
knowledge receipt of the sum of $. which you 
have paid for me and on my behalf to.. 
mortgagee, holder of the mortgage on my farm, in the 
sum of $., dated.and recorded in the 
office of the County Clerk of .County. 
This letter is also given to make a record of the fact 
that, if you continue the payments on the said mortgage 
until the same is paid in full, in consideration of what 
you have already paid thereon and what you will pay, 
I hereby direct and this letter is authority for the 
mortgagee, Mr., to transfer and to assign 
the said mortgage to you on your final payment of the 
same in full, and I hereby waive any and all claim 
or interest I may have at that time to have said mort¬ 
gage canceled, or any other claim I may have in said 
mortgage when the same has been completely paid by 
you and I shall do whatever is further necessary at 
that time to complete the title in you when you have 
made the final payment 
It is understood between us that so long as I or my 
wife shall live you will not assign or foreclose the 
mortgage or cause or permit the same to be done, nor 
will you disturb my ownership in the farm in any way; 
and that you have no rights in said mortgage until the 
same is paid in full. 
Please send me a letter assenting to the terms of 
this letter. 
Yours very truly, 
A copy of this letter could lie given to the mort¬ 
gagee in the son’s discretion. Any other terms of 
the agreement could he added or this could be put 
in the form of an agreement. 
This, of course, leaves the mortgage on the farm 
(which the father does not particularly want), but 
provides for the holding of it by the son in such a 
way that it can do no harm. 
The second way would be for the father to make 
a binding agreement with the son to provide, by 
will, that on condition that the son pay the mort¬ 
gage in full the father will hind himself to make a 
will leaving the property or its value to the son and 
then execute a will containing these provisions. In 
matters of this kind, involving considerable prop¬ 
erty, it is well to get an attorney to prepare the 
proper papers,as the laws in the different States 
vary considerably. m. i>. 
Try to do your boosting without boasting. 
