860 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 10, 
Hope Farm Notes 
Out under the crab apple tree back of the 
house you will now find a stone with the 
following inscription : 
SHEP, 
August 26, 1910. 
“A Gentleman In Fur.” 
It is true that old Shop has passed on, 
and his end came with a tragedy. The old 
dog became badly troubled with a skin 
disease. On Thursday our boys dipped 
him to help his trouble. In treating him 
before it has been the plan to dip him 
thoroughly and then keep him tied or in a 
pen until the dip dries. This time, how¬ 
ever, the old dog got away from them and 
ran about the yard. At times his disease 
pained him so that he cried out almost like 
a child. At night he could not be found 
and when morning came he had not re¬ 
turned. The boys hunted in all his old 
haunts, but there was no sign of him any¬ 
where. Finally in the course of our search 
we heard that a dog had been shot at a 
place on the hill, and after supper a com¬ 
pany of six Hope Farmers marched through 
the' dark to investigate. 
Poor Shep must have run crying from 
home. Perhaps ho was dazed and lost his 
way. At any rate, when morning came he 
lay in a shed back of a farmhouse. The 
people did not recognize him as our dog 
and they were afraid he might be mad or 
develop rabies. They kept him shut up 
until about noon when a neighbor came and 
shot him, thinking that the safest and most 
humane way of ending his trouble, lie was 
buried in the garden. It was a sad group 
that walked home that night. It seemed 
like losing an old friend through some sud¬ 
den and fearful tragedy. It must be hard 
to die in such a way—far from home and 
friends. 
Many of you, but not all, will think it a 
part of foolish sentiment to feel that way 
about a dog—even one that has grown up 
with the children from a puppy. 1 do not 
know what you will think when I toll how 
the next morning I went with one of the 
boys and dug up what was left of old 
Shep, brought it back and made a new 
grave out under the tree. It was there the 
old fellow used to sit and watch us at work 
or keep an eye on the children. It seems 
fitting that he should finally rest there. 
That line, “A Gentleman in Fur,”’ fitly de¬ 
scribes the old dog. I have had human 
friends who failed me at the pinch, but 
Shep never in all his life failed to he true, 
lie would, I know, have willingly given his 
life for Mother and the children, and there 
is not a person on Hope Farm who has not 
been made a better human through asso¬ 
ciation with the old dog. 
Little redhead came to me after dinner 
and said, with great seriousness: “Don’t 
you think Shep is an angel?” 
I wish I were qualified to give an opinion 
on such a subject. On lonely walks with 
Shep or on Winter nights when the old dog 
kept watch for me in the silent house it 
has seemed as if he possessed that thing or 
quality which we call a soul. It has 
seemed as if he, too, pondered over the old 
heart-eating question of eternity. Shep was 
a true gentleman in fur. I do not know 
what becomes of. the noble qualities and 
human-like love which dumb brutes often 
show, but I hope they will endure some¬ 
where. At any rate, old Shep lies buried 
on Hope Farm. Peace to him—whatever 
that may mean for a dog. 
The Railroad Question. —L'p to within 
a year or so the Western farmers have been 
the loudest in outcry against railroads. 
They had reason for it. Every Jerseyman 
who is-able to think knows how his State is 
dominated by three great railroads, but he 
has not been roused to any fighting pitch. 
When the fighting does come it is done by 
commuters who work in the city and live in 
New Jersey. These people suddenly find the 
cost of their monthly tickets shot up in the 
air. From our station the increase is about 
$7.50 per year, and the cost of 10 or 50- 
trip tickets has also increased. There are 
about 50 commuters on an average at our 
place. Counting the increase in family tick¬ 
ets the people of our little station have 
been held up for an increase of about $600 
per year. This will make for the entire 
line at this rate more than .$75,000 at a 
very low estimate. When you are held up 
for an increased price for no improvement 
in service you want to know why. Because 
Jerseymen are asking ichy they are to be 
ranked with the Kansas and Iowa farmers, 
and 1 rejoice that we are getting into the 
same class. 
Our railroad is the New Jersey and New 
York, controlled by the Erie. We are told 
that our prices are raised because it costs 
more to run the road. They even have the 
face to give figures showing that the cost 
of carrying a commuter is greater that the 
sum he pays. That is a fair sample of a 
railroad lawyer’s argument. Every man 
who makes his home in the country brings 
his family. His wife and children travel 
on the cars, and most of the food and mer¬ 
chandise which he buys comes as freight. 
The railroad gets the benefit of all this, 
but "figures” only on what the man pays. 
In my own case during the 20 years I have 
travelled on our road I am sure that my 
family has given a revenue of over .$4,000 
in i yassongor and freight and express traf¬ 
fic. My own tickets have not cost much 
over .$1,200 all told. The Erie might figure 
its entire passenger cost for the 20 years 
and say I personally have given them no 
profit, yet counting all my family has paid 
there would bo a profit. 
The history of our road is a miniature 
story of much railroad history. It was 
originally built by selling stocks and bonds 
to country people. Several of my neigh¬ 
bors still have stocks which they paid for 
in cash and supplies. The railroad finally 
went into a receiver’s hands, and through 
some sharp manipulation a few preferred 
stockholders obtained control. The Erie 
bought these three or four men out, paying, 
as I understand, some $300,000 for control 
of the road. The farmers and others who 
put up their little sums of cash and made 
the road possible were squeezed out com¬ 
pletely. Their stock is not worth the paper 
it is printed on, and to-day they who cre¬ 
ated the road and their children are held 
up with the rest. 
Now let us see what the Erie got hold 
of through this deal. They own 34 1-2 miles 
of track and operate 47. The total amount 
outstanding as railroad capital is $3,261,- 
100. The last report of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission gives the gross in¬ 
come for the year at $010,408.20, with oper¬ 
ating expenses of .$490,737. 'The railroad 
paid $7,510 taxes and made nearly $120,000 
on the year’s business. Did my neighbor 
with his little block of stock representing 
what he paid for the original road got a 
slice of this little melon? Not a penny. 
Will he get any of the increase for which 
we are held up? Not this year! Are any 
of our people likely to borrow money to 
buy stock in the Erie? I haven't heard of 
any such person yet. I think it a good plan 
to have this railroad question run right 
straight into a man’s pocketbook. While 
those Western men think they have suf¬ 
fered they have had mere child’s play com¬ 
pared with the way New Jersey has been 
bought and sold by the Pennsylvania, the 
Jersey Central and the Erie. We have sent 
a constant stream of penniless young law¬ 
yers to Trenton and seen them come back 
in automobiles with a surprising legal 
practice or a seat on the bench, while we 
■went into our pockets and paid the price. 
It is time to quit. If this latest hold-up 
will make us do something it will be the 
best thing that has happened. 
Farm and Home. —This drought has be¬ 
come a calamity. The situation has grown 
worse as day by day passed without rain. 
Our soil on the hill is like a cement floor. 
We managed to get about half an acre 
turned over, but it was so lumpy that it 
could hardly be fitted. This has upset my 
Alfalfa plans. While wc expect to put some 
in drills and try to nurse it through the 
Winter if possible our scheme of broadcast¬ 
ing several acres has fallen through or 
rather dried up and blown away. The corn 
is a failure. The' only field that I would 
willingly show is that loafer field where we 
have cultivated only twice, and cut off the 
weeds with a sickle. On the fields where 
we followed the best rules for fertilizing 
and cultivating the corn is hardly worth 
cutting. There can be no doubt that, in a 
season like this one, ordinary cultivation is 
a mistake. We did too much of it. 
The potatoes are falling behind my esti¬ 
mate as we dig them. It looks now doubt¬ 
ful if the field would more than pay cost. 
Our peach crop is perhaps 20 per cent of 
what we expected. Of apples wc shall have 
rather more than I looked for, and the 
young trees are fine. The big strawberry 
plants are growing. How they do it is 
more than I can figure, but they get the 
moisture somewhere and come along. While 
we have potted something over 5,000 plants 
we should have had 25,000 could there have 
been one soaking shower. One thing, how¬ 
ever, has been favorable, and that is killing 
brush and weeds. The sprouts from the 
birches wore cut off in August and that 
will just about finish them. At this time 
such sprouts have made their full growth 
and the roots are about exhausted. Cut off 
the sprouts now and the root instead of re¬ 
covering from its Summer's work must try 
and replace those sprouts. That will weaken 
it and Winter will about finish the job. 
Do not think, however, that because the 
dry weather has held up the farm wc 
have any serious complaint coming. We can 
blame ourselves for several mistakes which 
we now plainly see, but as for blaming the 
weather or natural conditions—what would 
be the use? It will not be long now before 
we shall have too much rain ! n. w. c. 
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