1294 
The Rural New-Yorker 
TIJE BVSl.VBSS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban IIomcH 
EstahlUhed isto 
I'DblUbrd weekly by the Raral Pnbtiiihine Company, 333 We«t 30(li Street,Sew York 
Herbert W. Coelingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillos, Treuourer and General Manager. 
Vm. F. Dieeon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Roylb, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreipn countries In the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8 s. 6 d., or 
8>4 marks, or lOlj francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
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advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient ordera 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
tfe believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon- 
■ible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertisine of 
reliable houses only. But to'make doubly sure, we will make trood any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by tmstinft any deliberate swindler, Irrespon- 
■ible aiiyertisers or misleadinp; advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willinffly use our grood 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against roRues, but wo will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rubae New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
We certainly do appreciate this magazine. It stands 
for the hest. and I like to stand firm with anyone who is 
doing the big thing. r. h. be.nedict. 
Ohio. 
T he “big thing” just now is to win this terrible 
war so completely that no nation can ever again 
break up the world’s peace. A bigger thing will 
grow out of that—the readjustment of society so 
that in the future the farmer will receive a fairer 
return for his labor. No one can stand for the “big 
thing” without being for the time being snarled or 
barked at by those who cannot see beyond the pres¬ 
ent. They will all come to the “big thing” when it is 
made clear. It is a part of our job to help make it 
clear, 
* 
T his war, among other things, is leading farmers 
to consider the use of farm power as never be¬ 
fore. Many of them will set up old engines, or buy 
new ones, and arrange to work machinery indoors. 
We have had many letters asking how to arrange 
belting and line .shafts, and how to group such ma¬ 
chinery so as to get most work out of it. Last week 
Robert Smith had an article on belting, and another 
on line shafts will follow. They tell the full story, 
but if more details are needed. Mi*. Smith is right on 
hand to explain. He wants to give you practical ad¬ 
vice in a plain and simple way—and he know*s how 
to do it. 
» 
I THINK you are doing good work in trying to get 
jn.'Jt prices for farmers, but farmers must organize to 
fight for their rights as other industries have done. No 
single individual has a ghost of a chance against a well- 
organized team working together. I seiwed over three 
years as a member of the 7th Illinois Cavalry, and was 
amused often by the efforts of citizens to get some sol¬ 
dier punished for some alleged offence; ordinarily they 
just wa.sted their time. We punished men for many of¬ 
fences, of course. Let us “win the war” and then right 
some of our domestic injustices. daniel e. bobbins. 
Illinois. 
R ight you are. The individual has a very poor 
chance against “team w’ork.” Take a dozen 
husky young giants out of a cornfield and line them 
up against a trained football team and make them 
play the game according to college rules. The “team 
work,” resulting from long training, will enable the 
lighter college team to win. The.v have not only 
training but “morale,” or spirit. Take these husky 
farmers and train them in the game and give them 
an idea of “team w’ork” and they would walk over 
the college boys like children trampling down the 
grain. “Team work” means organization of hand 
and brain, quick acting and thinking, loyalty and 
pride of occupation. These are the things our farm¬ 
ers must have, and which they will have in time. 
The men to teach this “team work” must be domi¬ 
nated by the farmers, and put all their powers at the 
service of the farm, 
\ 
What would a man say to his wife if she were to 
leave her $50 sewing machine out over night in the yard 
n a rainstorm? 
HE North Dakota Experiment Station w*ants to 
know the answer. It would depend on circum¬ 
stances. In New York State, if the mun were run¬ 
ning for otfice in a close election, he would remember 
that his wife is a voter, and he would also remember 
that mowing machines out in the fence corner and 
that reaper outside the shed. What some men say is 
not always a fair index of what they think or the 
way the,v would act under pre.ssure. As a rule, when 
the average man is inclined to advertise the faults of 
others, he might well remember a verse of the Scrip¬ 
tures : 
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
hrother's eye hut perceivest not the beam that is in 
thine own eye? 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
HE old-time farmers’ institute seems to be fad¬ 
ing away as a part of farm education. In some 
States it has been given up entirely; in others it still 
lives along in a perfunctoi*j- sort of \vay. In a few 
localities the institutes are as popular as ever before, 
and there would be a fierce protest against any plan 
of giving them up. In New York State we have been 
unable to find any popular demand for these insti- 
tute.s, though we have done our best to rally their 
friends in defen,se. It is probable that modern “ex¬ 
tension work” will soon replace the old-time farmers’ 
institute. We regret this, but it is part of the mod¬ 
ern tendency to organize and concentrate the work of 
agricultural education. That has its advantages, but 
the trouble is that all this organizing has the effect 
of squeezing most of the spirit and plain farm flavor 
out of education. The lo.ss of this may not be no¬ 
ticed at once, but it will be evident in the next gen¬ 
eration. 
He 
I AM a city man; have been all my life, and expect to 
continue one. My boy, like thousands of others, is car¬ 
rying a gun for Uncle Sam. In civil life he was a bank 
clerk ; now, after one and one-half years of service, he 
says he can never go back to an inside job. The farm 
for him. Are the real farmers going to be willing to 
take this green labor, teach it the business of farming, 
and “pay while you learn”? g. L. 
Brooklyn, N, Y. 
HAT is one of those big problems we have been 
talking about. We are in correspondence with a 
good many soldiers. A largo uumber of these young 
men, after their active, outdoor life, will never be 
sati.sfied with “an inside job.” This country and its 
people will make a great mistake if they think other¬ 
wise. Great Britain and her colonies see the same 
thing coming in the future, and they have made ar¬ 
rangements for these soldiers to work for good 
farmers while they are learning the bu.sines.s, and 
they ai’e to be paid for their work. The government 
of these Briti.sh colonies will then make loans on easy 
terms to these soldiers, 
* 
N O thoughtful man will deny that great changes 
are coming to Ea.stern farming. Some of these 
have already started; others will follow the ending 
of the war. We cannot stand still. Life in our 
country districts never can be quite the same again. 
For one thing, our Eastern States must produce 
more bread and meat. They cannot safely continue 
the old plan of importing a large proportion of their 
food from distant State.s. There has got to be greater 
home production of beef, pork and mutton. For 
years following the war Europe will demand great 
quantities of our food and conditions will be such 
that the Eastern farmers can take up live stock at a 
pi*oflt. We have the natural resources and the mar¬ 
ket, and we can study out the be.st way of doing it. 
The R. N.-Y. proposes to take an active part in this 
development. Prof. F. C. Minkler, one of the best 
live stock authorities in the country, has joined our 
editorial staff, and will make a special .study of the 
situation for the benefit of our readers. 
* 
“They also serve who only stand and wait." 
ILTON, sitting in blindness at the time when 
light would have seemed to him the most pi’e- 
cious gift, wrote that line. It has been separated 
from the rest of the poem and given a meaning dif¬ 
ferent from what Milton intended. He meant to 
bring out the thought that the finest service is given 
by those who endure affliction or disappointment 
without complaint, and give the best they have in 
their humble, quiet way. We are now coming to a 
period of this great Avar Avhere this matter of real 
patriotic service must be fairly considered. We are 
sure to glorify the soldiers on the battle front, the 
nurses in battle hospitals and the thousands of others 
whose privilege it has been to do their duty out in 
the limelight where great, spectacular things are 
performed. All these noble characters Avill have 
their share of glory and AA*ill richly deserve it, but 
let us not forget those Avho “only stand and wait.” 
There are thou.sands of them. Some of them are 
elderly men and women who have sent their sons 
away into the army, and are now forced to work be¬ 
yond their strength to maintain the farm and help 
provide a surplus of food. There are the younger 
women who have been doing the full A\*ork of a man 
—doing it Avithout complaint; a Avoi*thy labor offer¬ 
ing to their country. Then there are thousands of 
young men Avho Avanted to enlist and fight, yet Avho 
have remained at home to help father on the farm. 
There is not a drop of coAvardly or he.sitating blood 
in the veins of these young men. If they followed 
their own inclinations they would be over in Europe 
hot on the trail of the enemy. They have deliber¬ 
ately cho.sen that better part of remaining where 
they are most needed—on the farm. We knoAV some 
November 16, 1918 
of these young men, and we know the motives which 
have induced them to stay at home. As they follow 
the plow or dig potatoes or husk corn it galls them 
to think how their old friends or companions are in 
the trenches or AA’orking machine guns OA'er in Eu 
rope. As John slashes his corn knife through a hill 
of corn he realizes that Billy at the same moment 
may be lunging with his bayonet against the breast 
of an enemy. These boys do not rejoice that the? 
are out of danger—they envy the other boys theii 
chance to fight. Now these men and women and these 
boys in their humble places must “stand and wait,’ 
but they are serving their country as faithfully and 
w^ell as any other soldiers under the flag. It is time 
for all of us to remember the services these loyal 
waiters are rendering. It will soon be the time foi 
flag-waving over victory. Our tribute goes to the 
“also servers”—those who “stand and wait” 
» 
D uring the year we haA-e had at least 6© case^ 
of trouble over farm drainage. They are small 
drainage problems Avhere one man needs an outlet 
across his neighbor’s farm. Usually there is no othei 
reasonable outlet, but the neighbor will not give per 
mission and the land lies Aindrained in consequence 
In other cases one farmer simply opens his drair 
AA’ithout consulting his neighbor and floods the land 
Under our pre.sent laAvs such cases are very unsatis 
factory. There ought to be some amendment which 
will enable a farmer to secure a fair right of 
drainage Avithout the handcuffs of red tape and a 
legal flght, 
» 
O N Thursday, Nov. 7, a report came from Europe 
that Germany had practically surrendered bj 
agreeing to the military terms for a truce. The 
country at once AA^ent AAuld Avith joy at the prospect 
of peace. In this great city thousands of whistles 
began screaming, and the bells in every steeple began 
ringing. All over the country there was the samf 
evidence of joy. Later reiiorts shoAved that the cele 
bration was premature, but the noise and shouting 
AA*ent on—a natural expres.sion of thanksgiving! As 
The R. N.-Y. goes to press there is no deflnite news 
except that the German envoys have come into th( 
Allied lines a.sking for terms. It is eAudent that 
Germany knoAA*s she is Avhipped. The surrender ol 
Austria has left German.y fully exposed to her 
enemies, and the crushing end is now only a question 
of time. Yet, judging from the history and character 
of the German nation, it is hard to realize how their 
proud and arrogant aristocracy can submit to the 
Avar terms AA’hich the Allies Avill demand. They will 
be AA'orse than the cruel demands which Germanj 
stamped into the face of France nearly 50 years ago 
The Germans must meet the terms sooner or later 
They may surrender noAV or elect to flght on to th( 
death. The end is in .sight anyAA*ay, and the gang ol 
bloodthirsty tyrants Avho plunged the world into thi? 
hideous AA’ar noAV .see the shadoAV of the rope. And 
this nation, through the mighty sacriflee of its monej 
and its manhood, has .«aA’ed the AA’orld from slipping 
back into the barbarous centuries out of which il 
has sloAA’ly groAAti. Well may the men and women 
of America AAave their flags and rejoice as the sol- 
(•mn flgure of victory appears in the sky. The 
Republic and what it stands for among the nations 
has met the trained forces of autocratic government 
and beaten them. Hurrah for the true spirit ol 
America ! Now let us prepare for the greater vic¬ 
tories of peace. 
Brevities 
Barley griddle cakes are well spoken of. 
Some horses seem to be made permanently nervous bj 
rats running over and around them in the stable. 
SoALY leg on hens. Soften in warm water and smeai 
with a mixture of sulphur, carbonate of potash and lard 
or vaseline. 
The influenza epidemic has created such a demand 
for oranges and lemons that prices are out of sight 
Grapefruit is more desirable and cheaper. 
People write us saying they are inclined to take cer¬ 
tain things “with a grain of salt.” It would be a good 
thing to take a fair dose of salt with all new and highly 
praised propositions. 
What shall we do to the asparagus patch this Fall? 
Let it alone. Cut off the tops if you AV’ant to and leave 
them over the roAvs, but otherwise let the patch stand as 
it is until next Spring. 
The coming of peace will not. this year, add a pound 
of food to the Avorld’s present supply. It will release 
some food noAv stored away, and it will open millions of 
new mouths for us to fill. 
An English paiier tells of some farmers who had the 
old debate about Avhether a hen is sitting or setting. 
One man put it this Avay : “My friends, that don’t in¬ 
terest me at all. What I Avant to knoAv* Avhen I hear a 
hen cackle is whether she is ‘laying’ or ‘lying,’ ” 
