joy and spirit must bo paid for through 
sacrifice. IJoforo that flag was put there 
1 have felt unworthy. Now T feel that 
I may ('ven go into the jiresence of God 
Himself. T can go witli lifted eyes, 
lu'oudly. Not as the poor (xerinan p(‘as- 
ant woman, not as the hopeless serf—l)ut 
proudly, like a queen! For have I not 
])ut upon the altar of my country the 
holiest gift of freedom? You ask me 
what that is? It is your own flesh and 
blood glorified, sanctified hy tlie spirit of 
your early dreams, which all through 
your hard life you have tried to express I’* 
And Thompson, standing there with his 
head bare, felt a great flush of shame as 
he realized how small, how iietty his life 
had been beside this woman's joyful sacri¬ 
fice. “You deserve a rich reward.” was 
.‘ill he could say. She was speaking again. 
Kecognition.— “We find our reward 
in that flag. Through the sad days and 
quiet nights we are not alone. I have 
read something of history in oi’der to kee]) 
jiace with my children and I know how 
the world has found men and women 
who have tried to pay the debt they owe 
to their country with such willing sacri¬ 
fice as we have made. These characters 
step out of history and sit with us in 
our quiet home. They bring a presence 
and a glory to lighten our liyes. We 
have tried to repay the debt. And all 
we ask is that the world may know and 
recognize what jilain country peojde have 
tried to do. You will find men juul 
women who out of their liard lives have 
given the children which represent their 
joy and pride—yes. and rejoice in the 
gift. I pray that the world may under- 
.stand and recognize what they have done. 
The honors of war and of peace too often 
go^ to the great people, wliile those who 
toil and suffer in the shadow and the 
silence are unrecognized. It is no doubt 
an idle thought, but I wish that when 
this war is over some of the honors could 
be pinned not only upon the uniforms of 
those who batter down the walls of Ger¬ 
many and give her people freedom, but 
also upon the^ kitchen aprons of the farm ■ 
women who in the sad loneliness of the 
hills fight their battles as* only trusting 
women can !” 
I wish I could tell this just as the 
woman told it and as Thompson heard 
it. She did not raise her voice—there 
were no gestures—it was just a iilain 
country woman telling her sample story 
to a selfish, cynical man. And Thomp¬ 
son listened and bowed his head boneatli 
the flag. How small, how poor his con¬ 
tribution had been beside the calm faith 
and holy offering of tliis peasant woman. 
His country had jioured the best of blood 
and fame and treasure into his* life, yet 
he had given in tnie sacrifice a mere 
pittance comnared Avith what this fa’-m 
home-maker had done. And .she had Imr 
reward in the calm and steadfast faith 
Avhich enabled her to tell her st^uy Avith 
dr.v eyes and a sublune peace. The true 
moral magnitude of this war came to 
'I’hompson as he stood beneath that flag 
Out of the silence and the loneliness 
AA'hich he liad desnised had come the 
spirit to shake up his *!elfish life. As he 
rode on through the early shadoAvs he 
heard that calm Am'ce once more: 
“Have I vot laid iinon the nJfar of my 
country the holiest yift of sacrifice?** 
And there came to Thompson, as it 
must to all men, the old qxiestiou, “What 
have I done to equal that gift?” 
ir. AA^ c. 
J3»c RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Prison for the Robins 
^ In regard to the t’-euble E. G. T. men¬ 
tions on page 228 AA'ith robins destroying 
his cherries, I want to mention how I 
saA’ed my straAvberries a foAV years ago, 
I had a particularly fine bed, but it 
seemed as if I should lo.se them all. I 
tried A*ariou.s expedients without success 
until one day I saw a young robin hop- 
ping_ beside the bed Avhile its mother was 
gorging it AvTh my berries. I rmslied 
after it, and, jis it could hardly fly, caught 
it; of course, there was a great commo¬ 
tion among the feathered pi’ferers. 
Thinking wlmt I .should do, I trii'd the 
folloAA’ing: Getting an old Avire cage I 
placed the young fledgling in the caa'e, 
and arranged it conspicuously in the 
middle of my strawberry bed. It Avas 
not long before every bird, it seemed, for 
a mile, aa’us there adding to the cries and 
confusnpn. After about an hour I re¬ 
leased it, and, I pledge my AA'ord, I reA’’er 
saAA' another rohin in that bed of berries 
that season. Wliat all the scarecroAA’s 
failed to accomplish that little period of 
actual imiirisonment realized. I AA'a.s as 
much distre.ssed as Avere the birds, but I 
AA'as ready for a desperate remedy, and, 
as no real harm Avas done, I felt rewarded. 
lhe.se are the only conditions on Avhicli I 
Avould ever advise robbing a bird’s nest, 
but. let E. C. T. capture a few young 
lohins and place them in conspicuous 
confinement in his cherry tree.s* and note 
the result. By all means release them 
before they are injured. 
jVIassachusett.s. OKO. av. t.oa’r. 
Crows and Moles 
In 1915 and 1016, up in Penusyhmnia, 
m-OAvs and blackbirds got all oiir corn. 
'' e planted it over three times, but they 
w-ere always ready each time it came. 
Gur county agent told me to try feeding 
the crows. At the same time t planted 
our com I soaked a half bushel of corn 
over night and then put it on Avire bottom 
trays to sprout, the same as the poultry- 
men sprout oats, and Avhen the corn be¬ 
gan to come up I had sei'eral bushels of 
sprouted corn. I took about four quarts 
of sprouted corn out in the cornfield and 
soAved it a fcAv times across the field. One 
day I counted 50 blackbirds and three 
croAvs eating my sprouts to beat the band. 
I never kneAV they Avere such lazy liirds 
before. I failed to discover that they had 
pulled a single spear of* corn, but there 
was a bunch there eA’erv dav for their 
free lunch. I don't think'l continued this 
feeding for OA’er a AA'eek or 10 days. AA’hen 
the corn Avas out of danger. An old farm- 
er_ told me he had practiced the .same 
thing Avhere ground squirrels Avere bad 
around the edge of a piece of woods. 
Another thing the agent told me is 
AA’orth iiassing along. had been torment¬ 
ed Avitli moles in our laAvn for years, and 
before each rnoAving had to go all over 
the laAvn and press their burrows down. I 
have usi'd seA'eral kinds of mole traps and 
would occasionally catch one. but most of 
the time Avhen the traps sprung it Avas a 
miss. He told me to get about 10 cents 
worth of gas tar from the gas Avorks, to 
make a small hole Avith my finger doAvn to 
their burrow and pour the tar doAvu their 
ruiiAA’ay. He said he did not knoAV if it 
killed the moles or mit, but they could not 
traA'el along ruiiAvays Avithout getting it 
on their fur, and it drove them away. I 
did not see a sign of a mole for four or 
five months, Avhen they began to shoAv up 
again, but 5 cents Avorth of tar finished 
them for the season, avm. ir. trusloav. 
IMaryland. 
433 
Birds and Fruit 
Being a lover of birds, I have studied 
their habits all my life, and having been a 
groAver of choice fruits and berries for 30 
years, naturally I Avould familiarize my¬ 
self Avith the sources of injury done my 
crojAs. After apples liaA'e been frozen and 
on the tree and then thaAved, and especi¬ 
ally Avhen snoAV lies on the ground and bird 
feed is scarce, the starling, the blue jay, 
.'the crow, and occasionally the belated 
lark, Avill attack these softened fruits, 
sometimes eating the pnlp. but oftener 
eating to the heart for the seed. I haA'e 
neA'er known one of the.se birds to attack 
a sound unfrozen apple. But I luiAm had 
much damage done to my choicest plums, 
pears, peaches, grapes, bm-ries, and to a 
lesser degree to my apples, by bees and 
other winged in.sects. Aboi<- 20 per cent 
of my choicest plums Avere damaged last 
August and S -ptember, and many berries 
are damaged every Summer by these in¬ 
sects. The damage done is ahvays Avorse 
during a dry season like the last. My 
experience in Galifornia orchards corrobo¬ 
rates my experience here. The damage 
done there to figs, plume, apricots, peach¬ 
es, etc., by insects amounts to many thou¬ 
sands of dollars annuall/, AA'hile the dam¬ 
age done by birds, exeejAting to cherries 
and straAvberries, is comparatively slight. 
Of course our birds like cherries and 
straAvberries just as Avell as the birds of 
California, but Avho begrudges Robin lied- 
breast his share of the fruit that he helps 
protect from the ravage of insect pests? 
Ncav Jersey. .tas. (a. cooper. 
Poitum Cereal Company, 
••Mte mou. V-1 A. 
, m ^*-mi 
CCONOMV 
MCV «Ou«rC4M 
A Conserving Food 
The recognized value 
of 
Grape-Nuts 
as a “saving** food for 
these serious times, rests 
upon real merit. 
Unlike the ordinary 
cereal Grape-Nuts re¬ 
quires no sugar, little 
milk or cream, and re¬ 
quires no cooking or 
other preparation in 
serving. 
A trial is well worth 
while for those who 
sincerely desire to save. 
Theresa a Reason” 
Hjngt Sprat) System 
Ri^ht to tiour Dpor 
PROFIT! 
rn 
YOU WANT TO 
CASH IN- 
in A BIO WAY! 
You want all the profit you can get from your fann, gar* 
den or orchard. Bugs, insects and disease attacking 
SIaTve'SST' mSS 
HURST SPRAYER 
increase in profits because HURST 
I'iii* all forms of pests 
which injure and destroy growing crops. 
TEN DAYS FREE TRIAL! 
THREE WAYS TO PAY. 
A SPI^YER FOR EVERY NEED—37 styles of Sprayers—that is the HURST 
Spray bystem; giving you a choice of sprayers or advising with you the exact 
style of sprayer you need, is a HURST service. We bring all of this risht to 
u• selective method of payment 
that puts a HURST Sprayer in your possession practically on your own terms. 
With a Special Money-Saving Offer, 
Bet This Free Book and Special Money-Saving Offer. wh? 
How and When to Spray” is Free to you, if you grow garden truck, 
potatoes and fruits and will tell us what you have to spray and how 
much* By word and picture it enables you to recognize the bugs^ 
insects, pests and disease that injure and destroy crops and 
^ tells you how to exterminate them. 
yVrit© today~.Scnd for the Hurst selective purchasi 
p!an-;-with.money-saving offer. Hurst Catalog i 
the Free Book, Why, How and When to Spray. 
Address The H. L. BURST MFG. CO., 
133 Hurst St., Greenwich, Ohio. 
e OrcharCL 
v.**S: 
The most effective and simplest spraying device ever made. 
Growers all over the country find it saves them time and 
labor. Does the spraying job quickly and thoroughly. It’s easy 
to use—just fits the hands—quickly adjusted to throw from 10 to 
30 ft. No hard work or tiresome effort any more. Spray all day 
and hardly know it. A big improvement over the old method. Shoots 
a big cloud of penetrating Spray, covering the tree quickly and thor¬ 
oughly. Make sure of your Hardie Orchard Gun by ordering promptly. 
They are selling fast. Don’t delay. 
Hardie Spray Pumps are fast taking the places of other 
pumps on spray rigs—the growers are getting Sprayer- 
wise. Over 40,000 ofthem know that Hardie Sprayers last 
longer and give more constant service with a lower up- 
keep cost. This is because they are designed better, built 
more carefully with better materials and better workman- 
snip. built just to sell, but for long and satisfactory 
service. Our catalog tells you things you ought to know* 
THE HARDIE MANUFACTURING CO. 
Hudson, Mich. 
Branches in Portland, Ore.; KansaaCity, Mo.i 
Hageritown, Md.; Brockport, N. Y. 
f-Tl 
The 
Right 
Start 
IS 
A crop well-started is half-grown. 
A moist, smooth, firm seed bed 
essential to a right start. For big¬ 
ger yields use the 
“Acme” Pulverizing Harrow 
“The Coulters Do the Work.” They 
cut the soil easily, crushing, pulver¬ 
izing and leveling it. Leading Ex¬ 
periment Stations use and endorse the 
Acme.’’ Sizes. 1-horse to 4-horse. Get 
our free book. The Acme Way to Crops 
That Pay.” Send today. 
Duane H. Nasb Inc. 
Millington 
Elm St. iw- 
• Did You Get Our 
LOW PRICES 
.. ON .. A 
AGIO 
PHOSPHATE 
Nitrate of Soda, 
Fine Ground Bone ? 
* ^ ■ 
e ' ' 
i. , IF NOT, write us at once, ' 
before placing your order for' - , 
FERTILIZER 
Sears, Roebuck and Co. 
Dept. 51F 
CHICAGO, ILL. 
When you write advertisers mention 
The Rural New-Yorker and you'll get 
a quick reply and a “square deal." See 
guarantee editorial page. 
