1062 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 28, 1015. 
WOMAN AND HOME 
You. 
If you want to live in the kind of a town 
Like the kind of a town you like, 
You needn’t slip your clothes in a grip 
And start on a long, long hike. 
You’ll only find what you left behind, 
For there’s nothing that’s realy new. 
It's a knock at yourself when you knock 
your town, 
It isn't the town—it’s you. 
Ileal towns are not made by men afraid 
Lest somebody else gets ahead. 
When everyone works and nobody shirks 
You can raise a town from the dead. 
And while you make your personal stake, 
Your neighbor can make one. too; 
Your town will be what you want to see, 
It isn’t your town—it’s you. 
—Credit Lost. 
* 
What shall we do for those people 
who refuse or forget to sign their names 
to letters? We have at least 50 ques¬ 
tions now on hand. Most of them are 
personal and would not interest the pub¬ 
lic, yet they are either unsigned or the 
address has been omitted. The latest 
is from a woman who sends us a poem 
and demands that we print it or tell 
her just why we will not do so. There 
is no address whatever on either the let¬ 
ter or the poem. Very likely this woman 
will accuse us of neglecting her request. 
We do not notice anonymous letters or 
unsigned questions, and have the best of 
reason for taking this position. Is there 
any possible way for us to induce people 
to be more careful about this? 
* 
The Ohio State University recently 
issued a news item to the effect that 
Rev. Charles L. Cole of Ashley, Ohio, 
is conducting a printing office in con¬ 
nection with his rural church. This 
seemed like a good suggestion for others, 
so we wrote Mr. Cole about it and have 
received his reply: 
The news item from Ohio State Uni¬ 
versity to which you refer is mislead¬ 
ing. Our church does not have a print¬ 
ing office. I have a small hand press as a 
part of my pastoral equipment and find 
it one of the best investments we have 
made. Notices, invitations, schedules, 
badges and numerous cards ai'e printed. 
Ours is a small rural charge with lim¬ 
ited means, and being a “devout” be¬ 
liever in printer’s ink, find this method 
a telling one. For a country preacher 
who does not object to work overtime, 
it does add a valuable element to his 
work. Since undertaking this work three 
near-by ministers have pi-ovided them¬ 
selves with the necessai’y equipment for 
bulletin printing and all say it is worth 
while. CHARLES L. COLE. 
* 
Doc, Training. —Since that little note 
about dog training as a profession there 
have been a number of letters from peo¬ 
ple who are interested. Here is one: 
I realize the fundamental fact that the 
value of a dog lies in the training. I 
have two pure-bred Airedales, and I find 
that if they are not trained or taught 
they amount to nothing more than any 
mongrel breed, excepting for the things 
they can pick up in an intelligent man¬ 
ner themselves. I believe that a dog in¬ 
creases in value with ti-aining more than 
does any other farm animal, and I hope 
to see the day when trained dogs are 
regarded as a part of the live stock of 
the farm, just as much as are horses 
and cattle that are trained to do their 
part. H. A. s. 
It may not be generally known, but 
bi’eed improvement of dogs is going on 
faster than with cattle or hogs or sheep. 
Whoever buys a good dog will see at 
once the need of careful training. We 
believe there is to be a fair opening for 
men and women in this business of train¬ 
ing dogs. 
* 
“Usually and noi’mally I am not a suf¬ 
fragette ; I have too many rights and 
privileges now — several that I would 
like to shift to some man’s shoulders 
and see that he carx-ied them gracefully. 
BUT when I see some poor little woman 
struggling along, abused and brow¬ 
beaten by some lazy, good-for-nothing 
man, then I am all for suffrage.” 
“We have an idea that this expresses 
the point of view of thousands of sensi¬ 
ble women.” 
I copy the above, and your comment, 
from The R. N.-Y. of July 31. Don’t 
say “sensible women” ; say “good-hearted, 
well-meaning, impulsive women.” As a 
matter of fact, where there is fi'iction 
between man and wife, the woman is 
mostly the bully. The man’s vote does 
not help him there; nor if she had one, 
would it help her, whei'e she is the suf¬ 
ferer. C. E. D. P. 
We are asked to print this “since we 
have printed comments on the other side.” 
Of course, we may not all agree as to 
the exact meaning of the word “sensi¬ 
ble.” From our own observation we 
question the statement about the woman 
“bossing” the man. 
* 
The United States Department of 
Agriculture gives the following: 
When the modern mother sings “Baby- 
bye, hei-e’s a fly” to her infant she 
changes the second line of the old nursery 
song to read. “Let us swat him, you and 
I.” The common house-fly is no longer 
an object of tolerant interest, but has 
become an object of hatred and distrust. 
Has anyone ever heard a mother singing 
this song? After all it is more sensible 
than the old one. This is a practical 
age, and no wonder “utility” is being 
stuffed into the old nursery songs. The 
young Hannibal was compelled to swear 
eternal enmity to Rome. The world will 
be a better place if all children are 
brought up to hate and fight a fly. 
* 
You l-emember that we printed, as an 
unusual request, the letter from a farm 
couple who wanted a man with children. 
We found them. 
I am writing to tell you that we have 
secured through the help of your valu¬ 
able paper, a fine man. He has two 
lovely children. We cannot find words 
to express our thanks for all your kind¬ 
ness in our behalf in this manner. If 
at any time we can boost your interests 
let us know and we will gladly do so. 
Wishing you success we remain yours 
sincerely 
MR. AND MRS. CURTIS J. GREGORY. 
It gives us great pleasui’e to be able 
to do such things. The world is full 
of people who have good homes, yet 
lack help, and of others who could pro¬ 
vide the help yet lack homes. Many 
people object to taking children into the 
home, yet it is often the part of what 
we call truly Christian farming to do so. 
* 
At the great Panama Exposition in 
San Francisco a statue to the pioneer 
mother has been erected. At the base it 
carries this inscription: 
Over rude paths with hunger and risk, 
she pressed on toward the vision of a 
better country. To an assemblage of 
men busied with the perishable rewards 
of the day, she bi-ought the threefold 
leaven of enduring society, faith, gentle¬ 
ness and home with nurture of children. 
* 
Is not the Rev. Geo. B. Gilbert about 
right in what he says about keeping 
Summer boarders? There is no bed of 
roses about this job, and in saying that 
we mean no disrespect for the “board¬ 
ers” who will i-ead this. We have quite 
a number of subscribers who say they 
first saw the paper when passing their 
Summer vacation on the farm. The 
woman who takes boarders earns every 
cent she gets and is worthy of her wage. 
* 
It is said that the fake cures for liquor 
and tobacco habits would quickly die out 
from lack of pati'onage if it were not 
for trusting and loving women. These 
women are so anxious to help husband 
or son or bi'other that they easily fall 
victims to the plausible arguments put up 
for these cures. One of our readers writes, 
growling because we have denounced 
these “cures.” He says he was cured. 
He just said, “I am going to quit” and 
then he took the “treatment.” On sub¬ 
mitting this to a high authority we are 
told: 
We have no doubt that the man writes 
in good faith and perfect sincei-ity. In 
curing such conditions as the tobacco 
habit nine-tenths of the victory is gained 
when the patient says, “I am going to 
quit.” That is what he evidently did, 
and the tablets were wholly incidental. 
Small pieces of licorice candy, especially 
if given under exaggerated claims regard¬ 
ing its potency, would have accomplished 
just as much as the nostrum. 
We ask our women l'eaders eai - nestly 
not to patronize these fake “cui'es.” Get 
the patient to say, “7 am going to quit” 
and help him live up to it. 
A New Y'ork paper states that in 
Kansas, where women vote, a woman 
may legally do the following things: 
Can take back her maiden name after 
her husband is dead, without any legal 
process or legislative act. 
Can keep her own name when she is 
married. 
Can persuade her husband to take her 
name and give up his family name, if 
she does not like it. 
Can keep her maiden name and her 
husband keep his. 
Can retain her maiden name for busi¬ 
ness transactions and use her hus¬ 
band’s name for social affairs. 
If wife does not like either her own 
or husband’s family name they can 
change to a name that does suit. 
That is caiTying the “what’s in a 
name” proposition to a limit. Can you 
think of any vital l-easons why any of 
the above named "rights” would be of 
any real help to a New York woman? 
Those Three Debatable Questions. 
On page 908 appears these questions: 
“Was such a husband really worth 
the price?” 
“Is is likely such a woman would 
make an intelligent use of the ballot?” 
“Would other women be justified in 
saying that they should have the ballot 
in order to ‘protect’ this devoted wife?” 
If women will debate at all on this 
first question there will be the united 
opinion that rum causes more trouble 
than all things else in marital relations, 
but what of such husbands? Hard 
would be their lot if their lives lost 
even the memory of the touch of love 
and faithfulness. Does not such a hus¬ 
band (be he worth the price or not) 
have the ballot? 
Is it likely such a woman would make 
an intelligent use of the ballot? There 
must be a certain amount of faithfulness 
in a woman’s natui'e who could in any 
way acknowledge herself better off with 
“such a husband” which might help, if 
she could be awakened to the responsi¬ 
bility of what the ballot could mean to 
her and hers if rightly used. Our most 
ardent advocates of woman’s suffrage will 
have to acknowledge that there are many 
women who have not intelligence enough 
at the pi’esent time to make best use of 
the ballot. Are there less of just such 
men? They are not forbidden to vote 
because they have not intelligence enough 
to make good use of the ballot; have in 
our history even been allowed to vote 
while under the influence of demon rum. 
Would other women be justified in say¬ 
ing that they should have the ballot in 
order to “protect” this devoted wife? 
In the cities where there has been 
child labor why has there been any effort 
to change things? Those children have 
never known any other life; why change 
their lives? They cannot change of them¬ 
selves without help. 
Very likely these women grew up in 
just such a home as is hers at present.; 
why make any effort to change condi¬ 
tions? Why not let that little girl she 
was with at the school grow up to think 
it right for man to beat woman? Why? 
There must be outside influence to im¬ 
prove the next generation. Where will 
it come fi'om? Will it be the saloon 
which has such a hold on so many men 
that will better conditions? Will it be 
from those who today have the ballot? 
Then why don’t they do it? 
A. B. G. 
* 
Children War Against Flies. 
“O, deai%” said my seven-year-old son, 
“I wish that I lived in E-.” 
“Why do you wish to live in E-?” 
I asked. 
“Because papa told me that the city 
paid a cent a hundred for flies that chil- 
dren killed,” he replied. 
“Well, my son, I will pay five cents 
a hundred for all you kill inside the 
house, and just one-half as much for 
those that you kill outside around the 
doors and porch.” 
“All right, mamma,” he answered, and 
he went at it with a will. This was 
weeks ago; his enthusiasm has not waned 
one bit as yet. He has earned a number 
of nickels and the house is freed from 
flies, or rather I am freed from taking 
time to fight them. It is a nevei’-failing 
game for him and besides ridding me of 
the labor of swatting flies it occupies 
his time, and as he is very systematic 
in keeping account it is good arithmet¬ 
ical training for him. And the best thing 
of all about it he has not expressed a 
desire for the city again, but can earn 
his spending money at home on the farm. 
MRS. GERTRUDE JACK. 
a 
A Woman’s Evidence Against Snakes. 
I w'ould like to tell my experience with 
black snakes. Several years ago just 
before dusk my husband and myself were 
out at the barn. We heard a bird call¬ 
ing and calling and flying ai-ound. My 
husband said he was going to see what 
was the matter. He went out where we 
had seen a nest on the ground, and he 
saw a black snake. He picked up a gum 
stump lying near (he had been pulling 
stumps at odd times) and killed the snake. 
The snake had eaten all the birds but 
one; that one was dead, but it might 
have been killed with the snake. This 
snake was 4% feet long. This Summer 
when I went one morning out to the 
barn to drive the cows to pasture, two 
wrens flew right at me, ci'ying in a 
peculiar manner. I drove the cows out 
and when I came back they did the same 
thing. We had been watching the birds 
ever since they built their nest in an old 
unused carriage. The nestlings were al¬ 
most large enough to fly. I thought may¬ 
be one had fallen out of the nest; I 
would go and see. As I moved closer 
to the nest the birds went ahead on the 
shaft, then the dashboai'd. I saw a 
blacksnake lying on one of the cross¬ 
pieces of the wagon shed. I killed it 
and cut it where it was enlarged, and 
thei'e was a little bird. This snake was 
2 y 2 feet long. 
About two weeks ago, just before day, 
we were awakened by a bird’s excited 
calling. We thought maybe a hawk was 
around. But we could see nothing. My 
husband went out into the yard to the 
oak tree whei-e the bird was flying 
around. Looking up the tree he saw 
what looked like a black lump. He re¬ 
turned to the house, got his gun and 
shot that snake into three pieces. He 
was 2% feet long. Afterwards we found 
the nest on a limb just above whei'e the 
snake was coiled. The snake had eaten 
two birds. We are told that bii'ds are 
the farmer’s friend. How can snakes 
be a benefit when they rob the bird’s 
nests? And we have the evidence right 
on them. Our cat we tie during Spring 
and Summer. When he becomes untied 
he goes back to his box to be tied the 
same as our dog. 
Virginia. J. H. 
* 
Mangel Greens. — I wonder if your 
readers know what delicious cooked 
“greens” they may have from the tops 
of cow beets or mangels? Our Sum¬ 
mer spinach was going to seed, and no 
other greens ready, when I noticed the 
men thinning the mangels. I gathered 
some of the tops and prepared them in the 
same way that I prepare spinach. They 
were quite as good as spinach; some 
liked them better. There is very little 
difference in the time of cooking, but a 
little more water is required. When I 
cook spinach, unless I cook it with pork, 
I use no water at all, except that which 
is left on it after washing it. L. s. 
The Slow but Sure Way to the Hay Harvest. 
