492 
JShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 30, 1918 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
Frfe I’lrES.—Early in January wo 
muldonly roalizod that Jack J'rost had 
hoaton us in spite of our care. Ily koop- 
injr the fires roaring w’C kept him out of 
the house, btit these are the days of 
"trench warfare.’’ t)ld .Tack spent some 
time trying to get at us through cracks 
and hole.s. Then he went off for a few 
days to think ahotit it. We thought we 
had him finished when suddenly the 
w.ater refused to run. Then we knew he 
had ruined us by crawling through, the 
ground. The pipes w’cre frozen. There 
was an abundance of water at the spring 
and in the well, but every ounce of it 
must be carried to the house until those 
pipes could be made free! We tried 
various ways of thawing out these pipes, 
but one of them is l,n(X) feet long. It is 
hard to find a bandage for a sore throat 
of that length. So we lugged water until 
on March 10 the water came through 
from the well! ‘‘Gentle Spring” was 
whipping .Tack T'rost. The long pipe 
from the spring will soon be free and 
then, as the children say, we can jcas//. 
Good Work. —There certainly was a 
cold-water jubilee in our house w’heii the 
first rusty drops were forced through 
Jack Frost’s grip. We are strong on 
Prohibition until it comes to prohibiting 
water. Then we know how the liquor 
men feel. There was one citizen of Hope 
Farm which fairly shook itself with 
pride when the water began to pour into 
the t.ank. That is the old windmill 
which for 20 years has stood over the 
well, reaching out with its great arms 
to catch the vagrant breeze and put it at 
work. We have an "anti-loafing” law in 
New .Tersey now, but this honest wind¬ 
mill has always favored this legislation. 
For years the mill stood there an auto¬ 
crat of pow'er. When the wind blew it 
worked faithfully, but it had no initi.a- 
tive, and in these "eflicient” days a 
worker must be always re.ady. .Tust 
when we most w’anted water the wind 
would stand still. So we put in a gaso¬ 
line engine to help, but there were times 
when this would sulk and reftise to 
cough. Then we put the pipe from the 
hillside spring and the water ran down 
hill and jumped up into the tank on its 
own feet. That seemed to end the wind¬ 
mill’s usefulness. It stood over the well 
with head still erect, but like one of those 
proud old-timers who knows his day is 
done, yet will not admit it publicly. To¬ 
day, however, the old mill has come back 
into service. As I write I can see 
it still wave those stout old arms—en¬ 
forcing the anti-loafing law'—taking the 
March wind by the neck and making it 
carry the yoke of labor. The w’ater i.s 
I»ouri?ig into the tank upstairs, and cir- 
culafiug through the pipes like the blood 
in a-living body, I can imagine that old 
mill saying as it waves its arms like a 
boxer: "They tliougbt I was a back 
number, ehV Well, here i am .a 'corae- 
I'ack.’ I have the same punch and power 
in my old arms, and I am glad to show 
fliese people that in war times the back 
numbers can still get right up to date.” 
. The old mill is right about th.it. This 
w'.'ir is making places for many a man of 
middle age and over who has been cast 
aside in "efficient” times, yet still ha.s 
years of good work in him. 
Water. —You never know what W’ater 
really means in your life until you arc 
shut away from it. I .suppose not one 
person in half a million ever know's what 
it means to be really thirsty. When 
there has never been a steady water sup¬ 
ply in the home the family cannot ap¬ 
preciate the pow'cr of water. When you 
merely have to turn a faucet to bring out 
a stream of pure w.ater you begin to 
realize the great force for convenience 
and comfort which Nature has provided 
in this liquid. It makes the home clean, 
and that means more than you think. If 
I could utilize the wasted water within 
reach of every farmhouse and send it into 
every country home you would see an. 
"uplift” that w'ould make itself felt in 
every corner of the country. Our plant 
at its best is quite equal to any city 
supply. Having been deprived of it for 
three months we can appreciate it more 
than ever. .Tack Frost will not catch us 
again, and this Summer we shall u.se our 
dniiMe supply to the limit. T expect to 
keep the windmill working aud u.se the 
surplus from the sjjring for use on the 
garden crops. While the soil will be 
moist in the Spring and early Summer, 
I look for a dry .Tuly and Augu.st. That 
old windmill expresses a desire to help 
Hoover on food production, and we will 
give it a chance. 
Food Economies. —In our part of the 
country everyone is trying to save wheat 
aud meat. In our own family we have 
eaten no w’hite bread for some weeks. 
We have corn bread, entire wheat, and 
bread from a mixture of oatmeal and a 
little white flour. Now and then we have 
a batch of biscuits, but the principal 
“staff of life” with us is entire wheat. 
Nv) one likes the entire wheat for a steady 
diet—there is nothing quite like good 
homemade white bread—but the entire 
wheat is richer in food values, and we 
all feel that going without it is a very 
poor little sacrifice compared with w’hat 
our soldiers must endure. Our local 
dealer ordered a carload of flour last Fall, 
and it finally came the middle of March. 
When it w’as ordered it was expected that 
housekeepers could get a full barrel, but 
since that time the limit has been made 
at one sack, or quarter barrel. As for 
meat, we have most of our supply from 
the farm. When a pig is killed the 
butcher can take half and we can utilize 
the balance during the cool weather. As 
for other meat, we buy mostly stewing 
or boiling pieces. I doubt if we have had 
a piece of real roast beef in the past 
year. I find pot or curd cheese pretty 
close to a full substitute for meat—espe¬ 
cially with entire wheat bread. Eggs 
and milk can be made into dozens of com¬ 
binations, and with vegetables and fruits 
w'ill keep us in perfect health. A good 
many cases are reported to me where 
farm women are making good use of the 
old hens aud roosters. These usele.ss 
birds are killed and dressed and then cut 
up and canned like other kinds of meat. 
At this season many of the jars which 
held fruits and vegetables have been 
emptied. They can be filled with chicken ( 
or meat from a pig or sheep. Then by 
Summer canning time the meat will be 
gone aud the cans are again ready for 
fruits and vegetable.s. 
WuY Do Trri.s?—For our part we 
shall try to economize on food to save 
those things w'hich must be sent to f<‘ed 
our boys. They are doing more than we 
are for the great cause. They offer their 
lives. It seems a small thing to ask us 
merely to restrain tongue and stomach 
for a w'hile. Of course, I know all about 
the bitterness aud discouragement which 
many farmers feel.' Much of it is fully 
justified. One man tells me he will eat 
what he wants to and will obey no rules. 
I think he is wrong. No one knows bet¬ 
ter than I do about the blunders and in¬ 
difference W’hich have largely put us into 
our present situation. I think they will 
be overcome and that order will he re¬ 
stored wtih a fairer deal for country peo¬ 
ple. We are not going to W'ork that 
change out by refusing to do our little 
share. I think it is up to us all—rich 
and poor alike—to make some personal 
contriliution to the counti'y. The nation 
wants your money for Liberty bonds and 
war .stamps, aud must have it, but it also 
wants your spirit and your evidence of a 
little personal sacrifice. As for me I 
know I am better off for cutting out meat 
aud eating more cereals and fruit. The 
chances are that you would be a more 
efficient man if you reorganized your diet 
after you get to be 4.o years old. I think 
there is no doubt about the shortage of 
wheat and meat, and until we i-an in¬ 
crease the supplies we must all help save 
what w’e have. I am going to make •^his 
farm produce every jiossible ounce of our 
own food and thus save buying from the 
supply that ought to go to others. We 
do not quite like the entire plan, but we 
stand for it. Napoleon said that an 
army moves on its stomach. AYhat’s tlu* 
matter with mii' restraining our own stom¬ 
achs so as to move the army a little 
faster? ]r. \v. r. 
Oats. .$1.10; wheat, .$2.20; rye, .$2; 
corn. .$2.2,5; hay, .$.30, baled' straw. .$.S i 
to .$12; potatoes, $1.,50 bu.: cabbage, ,5c j 
lb.; apples. .$2 bu.; butter, 50c lb. ; eggs. 
45e doz. Fresh cows, $80 to .$100: good 
draft hor.ses, $200 to ,$.‘100. Fall grain 
is looking poor. i. j. y. 
Gambria Go., Pa. 
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CONCRETE FOR PERMANENCE 
More Potatoes and 
Better Ones 
' When you spray only with poison you are not getting 
the return you should for your work. You need a fungi¬ 
cide also. 
It was discovered long ago that potatoes produce more 
heavily when sprayed with a suitable fungicide. 
The New'York Experiment Station saj s—“It does not 
pay to spray for bugs alone.” Their ten years’ experiments 
with fungicides show an average yearly gain of 97 1-2 bushels 
of potatoes per acre. A nineteen-year test at the Vermont 
Station shows an average yearly gain of 109 bushels per acre. 
Spray to prevent blight—it pays. 
Bugs are bad, but blight is worse although the spores 
that cause it can be seen only under a powerful microscope. 
Spray with 
It pays 
PYROX is both a poison and a fungicide. It kills the 
bugs and flea beetles, prevents blight, invigorates the vines, 
imparts a rich green color to the leaves, and gives the little 
potatoes a chance to become big ones, 
Pyrox is a smooth, creamy paste, 'a/l ready to use by mixing with 
cold water. It mixes easily and saves time and labor. In a letter to 
a friend, the Editor of “The Fruit Belt” says: “I have made up many 
thousands of barrels of spray mixtures on the farm, and I can say to you 
I have mixed my last barrel. I now use Pyrox.” 
Pyrox is as good for apples, tomatoes and other fruits and vege¬ 
tables as it is for potatoes. 
Most good agricultural supply dealers sell P 3 'rox. Last year the 
demand for Pyrox exhausted the dealers’ supplies. See your dealer at 
once about your supply or write for new Pyrox Crop Book. Address 
Bowker Insecticide Company 
43 A Chatham St., Boston 1012 Fidelity Bldg., Baltimore 
When yon write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
