RURAL NEW-YORKER 
524 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
Foon Ecoxomiks. —Many farmors will 
consider it. a strange tliinfj to talk alxnit 
“rations’* or food saving on the farm. That 
is the iilaee wheie the food comes from, 
and the farmer ought to have the hest of 
it. 'J'hiit is true in theoi-y, but as busi¬ 
ness is (lone now. tOft many farm families 
are fed from the grocery store and butch¬ 
er’s shop. This habit has grown upon us 
during the ]»ast few years, until thou¬ 
sands of farmers tjike less than 50 per 
<•' 'it of their famil.y food off their owm 
jarms. When T was a boy, the grocery 
store would have shut tij) in les.s than six 
months had it dejjendod chic'tly upon farm¬ 
ers’ trade. Now the baker, the butcher 
and the groc(>i' each send a car through 
the cf>untry neighborhoods and find a big 
trarh*. .Vs a “wjir measure,” if for no 
other reason, we should overhaul our diet 
and make the farm do moi-c in providing 
our food. 
Stum’ku.—W e have just had our sup))er 
after a good working day. There was a 
sou]> made fi'om dried or dehydrated veg¬ 
etables and little bits of meat cut fr<nn a 
lai'g(‘r stewing piece. We had heard 
about these dried vegetables, so we got a 
package and gave them a trial. It seemed 
to be a mixture of potatoes, tomatoes, 
onions, beans and turnips, thoroughly 
dried. f)ur folks just added boiling water 
and little pieces of cooked meat, let it 
simmer awhile, and seasoned it. We 
called it deliei<jus, and this Summer we 
must have a drier to march alongside our 
faithful canmu'. Following the soup, our 
folks brought on a big dish of conumeal 
mush. We can make the meal for this in 
our own hand mill from the flint corn. 
'Phere \vas plenty of milk and sugar", and 
everyone came back for a double helping. 
I'oit your scientific ration liend will say, 
“What about the needed jrrotein ; soup 
and coriimeal may give you enough fuel, 
but \Vhere are your muscle makers?” 
Well, there was a big dish of cottage 
cheese and i)lenty of whole wheat bread, 
and after dis))osing of a dish of baked 
apples, ev(‘ryone was satisfi(>d. For break¬ 
fast we will have soimr cereal, pancakes 
and eggs. AVe have meat once a day, at 
noon. 
.Mipk.—T he av(*rage working man will 
s;i.v that he must have meat in order to 
keep up body and strength. Do you know 
that from exi>erience, or an* you guessing 
at it? After trying all sorts of food and 
diets, T am satisfied that cottage cheese 
and entira wheat will fully substitute for 
meat in the diet of any well-matured per¬ 
son. T am willing to make up a little 
contest with any man of my age and work 
it out. The other man may eat all the 
meat he wants. I will balanci* my ration 
with milk, <'h('ese and eggs. W(; will 
stand for an examination befttre w(‘ btv 
gin, and have careful rt'ctjrds made of 
what Ave do, how the body sttinds it. and 
the cost. I have seen so many men who 
felt thiit tliey could not live without eat¬ 
ing greiit CjUiintities of mejit “come b:ick” 
.aftt*!' b(‘inig f<jrc(‘d to givt* it ui* thiit I ft't'l 
very shim; of m.v gimuml. ’rite scimitistS 
tell us that it ipiiirt of good milk contains 
as much food its it. jtouml of Ix'efsteak. 
.A'i.ii.v a man wilt listmi to thiit and smile. 
’I'heti he will s<dl tlu*^ milk for fixe cents or 
a little moro 'iiml go iind pay ‘lb cents t<jr 
the beef. 1 know tlu' scientist is right, 
and I thjiik this idiiit of selling all the 
milk and pitying five or .six times as much 
for meat is one big trouble in the dairy 
busint‘ss. 
How IT WoKKS.- r will tell you why I 
think so. As I go about tin" country I try 
to h“arn how much milk is used in farm 
fiimilies. The result is iistonishing. I 
have found pliices wlim-e -lb good cows 
were milked iind the entin' fitmily tised 
b‘ss tliiin one (piiirt jter day. You will 
riirel.y if ev(‘r Iind it iiitclu'r of milk on it 
farmer’s table, with iill fnm to helit thmii- 
sidves. I think I hiive told before now 
how I once fiin it boiirding clul) on limit¬ 
ed capital. The boarders (leniiimleil meat 
three- times a diiy. and I siiw ruin tit the 
wity they went iifter it. ’I'he woniiiii who 
did the cooking advisml me to buy milk 
and keep it on the tiible all the time. It 
semued like fooli.sh advice, but I tried it, 
and in le.ss than. 10 days the meat bills 
were cut in two and everyone was satis- 
f - '^. ’l“ es(' men could not be made to be- 
April 6, tni8 
lieve that milk contained “the old sub,” as 
they called it. but without realizing it 
their satisfied bodies convinced them. The 
milk satisfied the craving for meat. AVhy 
not? One wtts jtulled out of the cow’s 
body with the litind, the other cut out 
with .a knife' I.et us suppose every dairy 
farmer who sends milk to the city used at 
letist four quarts at home. On .50,000 
farms that would mean 5.000 cans per 
d:iy tiikeii off the market. It would take 
ctire of the surplus, regubite or increa.se 
price.s, and save two or three times the 
selling price of this milk in other jtur- 
chiised foods! Most dairymen admit this, 
but they say their family does not like 
milk, and the few quarts they would save 
wdll not count. As for liking a thing, that 
is largely a habit. As for small contribu¬ 
tions. this World and till it contains is 
only a collection of very small units. The 
de.sert is barren beciiust* the small rain¬ 
drops do not care to fall upon the .sand. 
Home Market. —Something must be 
done to increase the consumption of milk. 
It is still the cheaitest food we htive. and 
I would begin wu’th the home market and 
use more in the fatnil.v. We have de¬ 
veloped our trade in apples by using great 
quantities at home, tolling about it and 
treating visitor.s. The best Avay to niiike 
milk a popular food is to let the Avorld 
know that you believe in it yourself. In 
the cit.v hundreds of cnildren are being 
fed on be(*r, the parents having been 
taught thiit beer is a food, while they 
think milk is a luxury. Little Rose came 
from the city, Avhere, I understand, she 
Wits fed on wtxik tea and bakers’ bread. 
She now has all the milk she will drink, 
and you ought to see how she is gaining. 
Our children are free to help themselves 
to milk at every meal. They drink quarts 
of it in the place of meat, iind are Lit and 
rosy. I think a farmer is at a gretit dis- 
advantiige when he sells his products for 
cash and then turns around and pays 
<-iish for so much food. For examitle, a 
farmer will sell three cent.s worth of 
grain and pay 12 cents for the siime kind 
of grain, crushed or piirtl.v i-ooked itnd 
packed in a little box. Ry using a .small 
hand grinder, that farmer coulo prepare 
the grain into a better “cerciil” than he 
can buy. This business of selling our 
produce for ii .lo-cent dollar and then 
paying a 175-cent dollar for the .same 
thing dressed u)) or handled by the middle¬ 
men is a losing game, yet many of us have 
been doing it for years. It is time we 
quit. 
Re.vsons roK It.—R tit, of course, I 
shall be met with it hard volley when I 
tiilk of economy on food. 
“Why .should T changi' my hiibits? Why 
should I not have what I want if I can 
pay for it? I know plenty of well-to-do 
people Avho are not economizing. AVhy 
ask me to do more than they do? Am I 
not just as good as they are?*’ 
I hope you tire very much better than 
some I know. Rut why try to compete 
with them on such common, ground as 
eating or fashionable habit? The way to 
prove yourself superior is not to do just 
as they do, but to get up above them 
into something the.v cannot follow through 
lack of .self-control or patriotic spirit. 
Let them jtut stomach above will and ita- 
triotism if they care to. but reverse the 
positions in your own life. If you are 
anywhere near my age you must realize 
that this war has shaken up the world so 
<!ompletely that we can never expect to 
see it settle back to normal conditions. 
Our childreih will see a greater and bright¬ 
er world, but the shock has been so great 
that it can htirdly come in our da.v. Yet 
it is largely what we older people do as 
“home defenders” that Avill determine the 
future, and we must work out our influ¬ 
ence through the food question and the 
farm problem. The country is full of 
wise men who are stirring uj) the surface 
of thing.s. They do not get down into the 
deep, .still waters Avhere the mainspring 
of home ketqts the hands moving around 
the clock, ’ritat is where our work must 
be done—where the Allies must be fed 
and where fjirmiiig must be brought back 
to Avhat it should be. Those who get out 
in the open iind fiico shot and shell hiive 
most of the glory, but those who help .save 
the situation with the milk and entire 
wheat bread and simple food lay the 
foundation for better things. 
A Stuigioae Operation. —You might 
he amused if you could look in upon us 
tonight. The evening is a little chilly, 
and we have the usual fire. Over in 
France that hideous battle is on, and 
most likely some of our friends are in it. 
We are thinking of them as Cherry-top 
tries his hand at a little surgery. I tun 
the victim, with a Avound on my foot. 
You should see the group of wjitchers 
around me—six children, one of the little 
girls holding the baby. Cherry-top has 
m.v foot in warm water. He will soak off 
the dressing and pour iodine into the 
wound. It will make me jump a little, 
and hoAV these little faces will express 
their sympathy. Then the .young surgeon 
Avill juit (in a bandage, Avith many .sug¬ 
gestions from the others. Of course, 
these little hands hurt a bit at times, but 
we are till learning how to give first aid 
and care for our wounded, n. av. c. 
Law Regarding Grape Baskets 
I h.ave about 500 20-lb. grape baskets 
left from last year, (kan I use them this 
year? I Avas told I could not ship grapes 
in them next Pall. If not, can I use them 
to .shij) tomatoes and apples in? 
It. .T. K. 
Silver (Teek, N. Y. 
If these btiskets Avere made in 1917 they 
probably conform to the laAV.s covering the 
dinieiisiou.s for such containers. However, 
it were better that the owner Avrite to the 
Federal iiuthorities at the time, enclosing 
the measurements of the baskets in ques¬ 
tion, It is certain that if they are of the 
requisite capacity for marketing grapi's 
they cannot be used for other jiroducts as 
tomatoes and apples. r. o. 
Prices of cows average from .$140 to 
.$175 each. Potatoe.s $1.80 per bushel, 
turnips $1, eggs 45<* ))er dozen, red 
onions 21c for six pounds. Chickens 5Sc 
per pound, butter 5;ic per pound. These 
are prices in the Newburgh market.s, a 
city about 15 miles from our town. 
Orange Co., N. Y. e. c. c. 
A principle that 
builds quality at 
least possible cost 
It is tlie principle of specialization. 
Wc do not scatter our vast resources. 
We concentrate them upon 
two or three definite grades 
at definitely known prices. 
Thus, by producing clothes by 
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method, we are able to offer you 
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For Spring ’18 Styleplus Clothes-will be 
made in two grades—$21 (green label) and 
$25 (red label). Look for the Styleplus 
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Each grade the greatest possible value 
at the price! You know the price before 
you go into the store! 
Copyright 1918 
Henry Sonneborn 
& Co., liic. 
Write us (Dept. V ) for free copy of “The Styleplus Book.” 
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Styleplus Clothes 
$21and$25 „ 
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