zr/>e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1439 
The Stone Crusher as Town Property 
O F all adjuncts of modern road bnildin". one 
of the most needed in these days of auto 
bravel is that of the stone-crusher. It should be 
on the list of road-making equipment of evei’.v town¬ 
ship. There are many connecting roads in rural 
sections wiiich, while not used by general trafiic, 
are of as tuucli local importance to those concerned 
as the main routes. It would be years at best Avith 
general highway construction Itroadcast in the land, 
before these connecting roads Avould be in order for 
State improvement. Many of them Avill never receive 
more than township management. It is such roads 
that under the town superintendent of highways 
are capable of immense improvement by aid of the 
stone-crusher in furnishing a sub-base of crushed 
stone. In Northern Wayne County, N. Y.. there are 
a number of townships equipped with such outfits, 
and many roads that otherwise Avould remain in 
poor condition much of the year have been ballasted, 
and Avith the limited travel as compared AA’ith the 
State higliAvays the roads AA'ill remain in excellent 
condition for years, requiring but small attention. 
Fig. G71, showing the sub-base of crushed stone, 
Avhile not a connecting road, gives a good idea of 
the broken stone in po.sition after the roller has been 
Avoi’ked. Up to this stage the process is the same, 
Avith the difference that instead of surfacing Avith 
gravel, the method Avith town roads, this road is 
ready for its concrete top. The photograph Avas 
made on Iloute .30 in Wayne ('ounty just before the 
finishing Avork Avas done. a. n. p. 
Sod us, X. Y. 
that the owner can pack CA-ery J)ox or barrel himself. 
There is no reason Avhy su.ch stuff as is shown in 
this picture should ever be found in a 1)arrel of 
Fameuse. The.v do more than make a petty fraud 
and graft, fop they discredit the pack of an entire 
State. We do not give the name of this packer. 
Ills reputation is good, and he makes a prompt and 
fair offer of restitution. 
The School Question on Long Island 
E conomical manaoemfnt.—T he situation 
in our unit. Brookhaven No. 2, is unique. 
Originally, it Avas planned to unite six school dis- 
Bogus Apples in the Barrel 
A SHORT time ago Ave received from a reader in 
Michigan a package of apples AA'hich he said 
A\ere found in the middle of a barrel of fruit des- 
crilied as first-class Fameu.se from New York. These 
apples were apparently l)ought from a local dealer, 
who purcha.sed them from a Avholesaler in a large 
Michigan city, and they seem to have passed through 
at least two other hand.s. Our reader paid ,$5.50 
for these apple.s, and fair specimens of wliat he 
found inside are shown in the picture Fig. 672; in 
fact the appearance of this fruit is a little better 
than that of the original, as the pict¬ 
ure does not bring out all the defects. 
'riiere was something like three pecks 
of this stuff loaded into the center 
of the barrel. Our Michigan friend 
sent us a copy of the name and ad¬ 
dress marked on this barrel, and he 
held this incident up as a sample of 
the way the apple-buying public luiA'e 
been treated. Of course such Avork 
as this means death or ruin in repu¬ 
tation to any hu.siness, and is the 
surest way to spoil the apple-.growing 
industry of NeAv York State. We had 
this picture made and sent a copy of 
it to the parties AAdiose name appeared 
on the barrel. They promptly replied 
that they cannot understand how such 
a thing happened. They say they 
have packed their qavu fruit for the 
past ten years, and this is the first 
conii)laint they have ever received. 
In most cases their apples have ad¬ 
vertised themselA’es, and one lot 
created a demand for another. They 
sold their crop this year for |;4.50 foi- 
A grade, and $2.25 for unclassified, 
and they do not know just Avhat this barrel was 
marked. They say of course it is possible that the 
Avrong basket may have been emptied into this barrel, 
or they sa.A’ the barrel ma.A' luiA’e been opened on the 
AA’ay and these apples put inside by some unscrui)u- 
lous person. At any rate, the man Avho packed the 
apples expre.sses a Avillingness to pay back the full 
price of $5.50 if buyer Avill a.ssure him that the barrel 
has not been tampered with, and that these apples 
Avere evidently in tlie barrel Avhen packed. Now 
AA'e know there ai’e t\A’o sides to this api)le-shipping 
Imsiness. We haA’e had experience both as buyer 
and seller, and surely .some things that are hard to 
explain Avill get in unless the busine.ss is small, .so 
Crushed Stone Base on a New York State Road Job. Fig. 671 
tricts AA'ith a union free school. A census, hoAA'eA’er, 
of the latter village gave a trifle over 1500 popula¬ 
tion, and it iininediatel.v \A'ithdre\A’. So, as matters 
noAA' stand, aa'o six districts comprise the unit. The 
members of the Board of Education, being for the 
most part former trustees, agreed among themselves 
Pumpkins Sliced for Drying. Fig. 670 
Bogus Apples Found in a Barrel. Fig. 672 
to look after their respective district.s thus greatl.v 
reducing the work of the clerks. Consequently, in¬ 
stead of the $1000 to $1500 paid clerks in neighboring 
units Ave gave ours a salary Avhich nets him only 
about $300. By practicing several minor economies 
in addition Ave Avere able to hold this .vear’s tax rate 
for the unit to’3Sc on a $100 assessment. Last year 
the loAA'est rate for any of these districts was 12c; 
the highest 36c, Avhich means an increase of 210 and 
5 %% respectively for this neAv system. In a neigh¬ 
boring unit Avith good salaries and a union free 
school one man paid $28 school tax rent last year 
and $142 this. 
INCREASED COST.—Roughly then, this giA'es an 
idea of the extra cost of the cumbersome educational 
machiner.v somebody at Alban.v is inflicting upon us, 
The farmers here are up in arms. At the last 
(Irange meeting it was unanimou.sly voted that the 
(.III • ii: was unalteraldy opposed to the present 
(iip Board of Education Law. and the delegate 
c-tno Pomona received instructions to do all in liis 
poAver to have the hiAv repealed, or at least Suffolk 
(huint.v excepted, as is Nassau. The matter is also 
beiu.g taken up Avith our A.s.semblyman and State 
Senator, and if necessary a delegation of AA’ealthy 
farmers jvill be sent to Alltany this Winter. 
NO ADVANTAOE SHOWN.—What makes the cit¬ 
izens Avhooping for somelmdy’s scalp is the fact that 
the educational adA'antage for the children in our 
unit are identical Avith Avhat they AA’cre a year ago. 
If it could l>e shoAvn that Ave Avere getting eA'en .50 
cents on a dollar in improved educational opportun¬ 
ities .some of us Avould sluit up. We believe in edu¬ 
cation. Wliy, Avhen Albany Avas nothing but a trad¬ 
ing i)ost for the Indians Ave had our academies. 
Noaa', if Ave had been hooked to a union free school, 
as it Avas origin,ally intended, it is very doubtful if 
any of our students avouUI have attended it. True, 
it AA'as the best one that conhl be scared up under 
this hiAA'. But it Avas located miles to the Avest of 
any of our districts, and betAveen it and us lay a re.al 
good high .school. Fifty-odd years ago. AA'hen our 
academy closed, the larger boys and girls began 
studying there: and they are still attending. 
ITIY8IUAL TRAINING.—We .seem to be going 
from b.ad to Avorse in our educational system. At a 
previous .session of the Legislature .scmiebody c.aused 
to be enacted a physical training hnv good in itself, 
but most abominable in operation. Instead of let¬ 
ting us Avait a ,vear or so until our local schoolmarms 
could qualify to teach the exercises, aa'o AA'ere forcod 
to hire a buxom dame from the city. M.ithematically 
it figured out that Ave are paying $5 per hour to get 
our youngsters’ feet educated and 50 cents ])er houi- 
to IniA-e their heads attended to and Avits sharpened. 
A DEPARTMENT YIEAV.—Some of the educ.a- 
tional officials at Alban.v, Avho from time to time 
have Avritten us conciliatory ej'istles. lioping thereby 
to get ns around to the Department’s iK)int of vieAv. 
haA-e claimed that this toAvnshii) board of education 
hiAV Avas a Drange measure; that its real purpo.se is 
to loAver the excessiA-ely high tax rate in rur.il <lis- 
tricts having a A’ery Ioaa* as.sessed A'aluation. Un¬ 
doubtedly there are such districts up State and there 
is apparently a A-ery simple solution, (live the (’em- 
missioner of Education greater discretionary poAver 
than he has at present, in api)ortionin.g the .schooi 
monies of the State, b.v making a fcAv alterations 
in Art. 18, Sec. 401. of the Education LaAv. Then let 
each rural school district make out its annual budget 
and tax rate as usual, saA'e that no alloAA'ance be 
made for State monies. A very little mathematics 
and eA'en le.ss on the part of the ('om- 
missitaier AA'ould sIioaa' him AA'hat dis¬ 
tricts needed the mone.A'. and the 
amount the.v .should receive. Dur 
district gets a little over $100 per 
year ‘Tree money.” But Ave could 
forego this entirely, give the (’om- 
missioner another $100 to don.ate to 
some np-State .school and then be far 
better off linanciall.A' than Ave ai'e 
under this iicav hiAv. 
C’ENT R ALIZ1 NO E1 > FLAT 1 ()N.— 
Other people claim that this solici¬ 
tude on the part of the Department 
of I'.ducation is merel.v camouflage; 
that it is aiming at a more hi.ghly 
centralized educational .system. Here 
too seems a more expedient Avay. 
Let the Legislature increase the i»oav- 
ers of the district superintendents 
and decrea.se tho.se of the district 
trustees. Rut such a proceeding is 
highly ((uestionable. unless the De¬ 
partment of Education sIioavs more 
gumption than it has recentl.A' 
in administering rural educational 
affairs. da.mei, av. h.\llock. 
T.ong Island. 
Dry Pumpkins and Squash Which May 
not Keep in Storage 
MPKIN8 or squashes Avhich shoAv signs of 
spoilage in cell.ars or storage caves ma.v be 
dried for Spring'or Summer use to advantage. To 
keep AAell for an.A' length of time the.se crops require 
a temperature of 50° to 55° Fahrenheit and a fairly 
dry atmosphere. Usually, a furnace room is very 
satisfactory for storing the pumpkins and squashes 
for late keeping. If conditions obtained in such a 
loom !ire not available the crops should be Avatched 
Drjpa f-~—, Tv.-o Trays Shov.-n ia Prav;f.;s Picture. FD 673 
