628 
the: rural new-yorkkk 
Hope Farm Notes 
The School Problem. — I ought not to 
take so much space to discuss the school 
finances in our little district but, after 
all, our situation is typical of many oth¬ 
ers in New Jersey. I have received the 
following letter from our local school 
teacher: 
While I agree with you in much that 
you say about both the rural school and 
i he high school, yet I feel that you have 
been misinformed as to expenses. We re- 
<eive from the Stiito $25 each for high 
school tuition, so for the eight pupils you 
mention we receive $200. We receive three- 
fourths of the transportation from the 
State, which would make a return on the 
$520.20 you mention of $300.15. Then the 
library money is entirely a matter of vol¬ 
untary subscription and ought not to be 
included in an actual tax record. That 
item is $46.27. Under teachers’ salaries the 
State furnishes $400, which does not come 
from local taxes. Further, t he face of the 
note $400 should not be included, as it is 
recorded as an actual expense under sal¬ 
aries and to mention its payment doubles 
the amount. These notes are given in an¬ 
ticipation of taxes, and it is simply a case 
of spending the tax before it is received, 
it only increases the real expense by the 
$16 interest rnonev. When we combine the 
items 1 have mentioned it reduces your total 
by $1,436.42, leaving a balance of $2,074.35. 
This might be even further reduced by 
State aid, which we receive, but the 
amounts of which I am unable to state at 
the moment. However, this makes our per 
capita expense in local taxes $4 instead of 
$7. If we consider the total school cost 
of each pupil, no matter what the source 
of the revenue, we should divide $3,110.77 
by 02 (84 local pupils, plus eight high 
school), which gives us an average of $33.81 
or about 17 cents per day for the 200 
school days. The school authorities tell us 
that throughout the State the actual aver¬ 
age daily cost for the education of each 
pupil is from 20 to 25 cents. For this 
each child is guaranteed a sanitary build¬ 
ing, adequate supplies, a competent teach¬ 
er. and full and equal protection of the 
law. With all our faults in organization, 
and we all know there is much room for 
improvement, where may we find a greater 
economic achievement than the one just 
stated? To my mind the school problem 
is not so much one of money, but of ad¬ 
ministration. Let us have rural schools 
that fit rural conditions, and teach our 
lx>ys and girls the real worth of honest 
toil, the advantages of rural living and the • 
fundamental principles of agriculture, as 
well as character. Let us have high schools 
that lit the boys and girls to think, to 
make a life as well as a living; schools 
that shall be closely related with the real 
life of the average citizen. The problem is 
being recognized and stated everywhere, 
hut where is the educator to evolve the 
concrete, detailed system to fit the need? 
G. H. OSBORN. 
I do not see that this changes the main 
issue. If our district receives money 
from the State we simply shift our bur¬ 
den upon some one else. The State has 
no money to pay us except what it can 
collect in taxes. Either directly or indi¬ 
rectly all public money comes from the 
people and through them finally from the 
land. I have heard people claim it as a 
great economy that railroads, corpora¬ 
tions and saloonkeepers ‘‘pay our taxes 
for us.” It hardly seems possible that there 
can be anyone left who does not realize 
that all these taxes are finally paid by the 
people. As for State school taxes the 
fact is that our district raised last year 
$1,102.65 or .249 per $100 as a State 
school tax. This was sent away and we 
received as our share of this State tax 
from the county collector $1,117.55. Thus 
the State paid us $14.90 more than we 
raised as State tax. It is therefore just 
about as broad as it is long and I am 
still waiting for some one to put up a 
good argument for our high school law. 
Farm Notes. —I have received the fol¬ 
lowing note about hand potato planters: 
I notice your method of planting pota¬ 
toes, as described on page 522. I have one 
of the hand potato "planters that I bought 
for less than 60 cents, and must say it 
is a fine thing. I use it for many other 
crops, as well as corn, beans, sunflowers, 
Soy beans, etc. It is almost as rapid as 
dropping alone, and puts the seed piece 
right where wanted, and at any depth de¬ 
sired. I usually lay my potatoes out in 
an airy and light place some weeks before 
planting, and have seed pieces often with 
sprouts several inches long when planted, 
but the planter bandies them well, and 
does fine work. The planter as made lias 
only a vertical handle like a broom handle, 
which I found not any too comfortable 
when used for several hours. I improved 
mine greatlv by putting a short handle at 
right angles with the other at right height, 
and must say it is a very desirable tool. 
We have two of these planters. We 
tried them in that field but there were so 
many stones and the sod was so tough 
that we could not drive the point in 
easily. When you strike an underground 
stone the cutting or spade edge of the 
planter is dulled or turned over. On the 
open land with loose soil, without so 
manj’- stones the planter will operate 
well. On May 21 we spent 2 l / 2 hours 
cultivating that potato field. I went over 
all the field one way and part way the 
other. This makes a total cost of $31.30 
to date. We have a fine stand of plants. 
Some of them were slow in coming but 
they look well now. They ought to do 
well, for an Alfalfa sod is enough to 
make any crop behave itself. The trouble 
will come in blight if this wet weather 
continues, for the soil is heavy and not 
perfectly drained. . . The wet 
weather still continues. We managed 
to get most of our field corn in by May 
20, but it was only by taking advantage 
of every possible chance. We put the 
fertilizer on broadcast and cultivated it 
in. There are one or two more small 
pieces to put in field com, but after June 
1 we shall plant sweet corn if there is 
any ground left over. . . The young 
rye is a problem. The wet season has 
driven it ahead wonderfully, and the soil 
is so wet that the young trees have had 
moisture enough. If we could only have 
a week of sunshine 1 would cut the rye 
at once, before Decoration Day, and cure 
it for hay. To cut it now would be folly, 
for there is no way of curing it. If I let 
it go much further it will get past the 
“hay” stage and yet not be ripe enough 
for grain. . . The drilled oats and 
Spring rye are coming on. By May 21 
they were about four inches high and 
had been cultivated once. We expect to 
work them about four times and, if the 
plan operates as it does in the South we 
shall have long straw and great heads. 
This is only an experiment with us, but 
we have great faith in it. 
Home Notes. —Hope Farm was inter¬ 
ested in the comet. The baby may see 
its next appearance but the rest of us 
can hardly expect to get a good view of 
it in 1986. The wise men figured out its 
path and told us when to be ready. Merrill 
sat up to keep watch and the rest of us 
went to sleep. About midnight the watch¬ 
man roused the sleepers and the younger 
Hope Farmers climbed the hill to view 
the celestial visitor. They strained their 
eyes looking but there was no comet in 
sight. They were not quite up to the 
trick of claiming they saw it when they 
did not. So back they came with some 
loss of sleep thinking they were not quite 
as smart as the rest of the world. It 
seems there were some people who could 
not bear to admit that they did not see 
the comet, so they went about describing 
it in great detail until they found that 
even the astronomers missed it! . . . 
Since I wrote about our vegetarian I 
have had many letters. Several people 
come forward with remarkable stories 
about cures that have been effected by 
simnly giving un meat food. On the 
other hand I am told that man was de¬ 
signed for a meat eating animal—as 
shown by his teeth and body. One set of 
people claim that meat is a sort of 
poison, and that an entire grain like 
wheat is far better as a diet. Then come 
the other side, with the statement that 
individuals here and there may do fairly 
well without meat, but that whenever 
nations practice vegetarianism it is be¬ 
cause they have to. I have one medical 
friend who says children Should not eat 
meat, at least until their second teeth 
are fully formed. Now comes another 
to say that children should have more or 
less meat—that they need it even more 
than adults. It seems to me to come 
down to about this. Various strong and 
healthy people present themselves as 
complete arguments in favor of a diet 
without meat. On the other hand a 
much larger number come forward and 
argue from theory that meat is a neces¬ 
sity. Let me hear from the people who 
have given vegetarianism a fair trial and 
failed to make good. What was the 
reason? In the meantime I still think my 
man with the bread and prunes will out¬ 
work any of the meat-eaters who have 
yet come forward. . . The -boy is in¬ 
terested in history and like many others 
has been saddened to think that old 
Rome and Athens went down before the 
barbarians from the North. He has ac¬ 
cepted the usual explanation that pros¬ 
perity weakened the nation and that hire¬ 
lings would not fight. Now comes some 
noted professor with the theory that 
mosquitoes caused the downfall of Rome 
and Athens. I think it more than likely. 
It has been demonstrated that mosqui¬ 
toes carry the germs of malaria from 
one person to another. In fact the true 
malarial drsease is rarely spread in any 
other way. What this wise professor 
means is that malaria so weakened the 
Greeks and Romans that they could not 
stand against their enemies. I have little 
doubt of it and the suggestion it offers 
is worth more to us than many of the 
stories of old world battles or govern- 
June 4, 
merits. The modern mosquito is up to 
his old tricks. If it destroyed Rome it 
can make life a burden for you. The 
thing to remember is that the mosouito 
cannot breed except in stagnant water. 
Drain the ponds or pools where water 
stands, empty the old cans or pans 
around the house and there can be no 
mosquitoes hatched near you. This is 
fact and by following out this simple 
plan of removing stagnant water the av¬ 
erage farmhouse can kill off nine-tenths 
of the mosquitoes which usually infest it. 
Some of them will be blown from 
swamps or large ponds, but keep the 
stagnant water from forming near the 
house, and you will be largely free. A 
single tin fruit can left in some place 
where the rain fills it will breed enough 
mosquitoes to make you believe any 
story you hear about Greece or Rome. 
I would teach the children to hunt for 
all such cans or pails and tip them over 
whenever found. h. w. c. 
FIGHTING THEM WITH FIRE. 
Few of our New York readers realize the 
watchful fight being put up to keep Brown- 
tail and Gypsy moths out of this State. 
One day last Summer the Commissioner of 
Agriculture received a telegram that larva) 
of insects suspected of being Brown-tail 
moths had been, noticed on the farm 
premises of a wealthy gentleman in south¬ 
eastern New Y'ork. Immediately by tele- i 
graphic order an expert was dispatched to 
verify the diagnosis. This is almost al¬ 
ways done before heavier expense is in¬ 
curred, because many of the alarms coming 
to the department are proved to be false, 
although they come from well-meaning 
people. It was found that the larva) of 
the Brown-tails were on the premises, and 
without a short time would be transforming 
to the adult insect. These facts were 
quickly reported to Albany, and several of 
the best trained nursery inspectors were 
rushed to the scene. The Commissioner 
himself visited the scene of operations 
while the work was being got under way. 
These men worked with the same spirit, 
that animates a well-trained fire company. 
In a short time barrels of petroleum were 
on the premises, force pumps and a gang 
of laborers. The petroleum forced through 
spray nozzles was ignited and the tierce 
flame directed against the surface of the 
ground. Several of these flames were soon 
going and literally every square inch of 
about two acres of ground was thoroughly 
burned. Much of the area was burned over 
twice and some three times. Nothing re¬ 
mained alive when the work was done. 
On the premises there were a tew very 
valuable shrubs and trees. These were pro- 
tced from fire by asbestos screens, and were 
treated by especially thorough methods, 
which incidentally were quite expensive, 
thus making their destruction unnecessary. 
Soon after this work was begun it was 
found that the insects had been introduced 
on nursery stock brought into New Y’ork 
State from the infested districts in Massa¬ 
chusetts, and set out without official in¬ 
spection, which Is now against the State j 
law and regulations. The owner of the 
premises was asked to foot the hills for j 
all expenses incurred in connection with 
the eradication of the Brown-tails except I 
the reguar salaries of our department em¬ 
ployees. This he was at first unwilling to 
do, but after some reflection and some 
strong arguments presented to him by the 
Commissioner of Agriculture he yielded 
and paid the bills. In order to make as¬ 
surance doubly sure the Department of 
Agriculture set up trap lanterns and oper¬ 
ated them for an extended period in this 
neighlxirhood, and the insects caught 
nightly were carefully examined. An in¬ 
spector was also sent into the neighbor¬ 
hood to go thoroughly over the premises 
and adjacent premises, but no further In¬ 
fection was ever found. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
11. N.-Y'. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee 
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Write a Postal 
See my Split Hickory Anto-Seat, color- 
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Hays’ Road Test—2-Year Guar¬ 
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now. 
H. C. Phelps, Pres. 
The Ohio Carriage Mfg. Co. 
Sta. 290, Columbus, Ohio 
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with a team taking 
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of forksfnll it 
takes the fork of 
hay up and brings 
back empty to load. 
Write for particulars. 
REDDEN BRO.’S 
MFG. CO., 
NORWICH, NEW YGRK. 
PORTER 
HAY CARRIER 
Has wide open mouth and 
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