1342 The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
All Sorts 
Another Farm Problem creolin solution made of warm water, to 
I am the owner of 90 acres of West 
Virginia land, 25 acres of which has been 
carelessly cultivated for some years. The 
remainder is in good pasture sod, mostly 
Blue grass. The cultivated land lies well 
to be worked. The land cost me $77 per 
acre. Is it possible for my wife and 
I, both energetic, to pay for the land 
from the land alone, or should we have 
an income from some other source? What 
would you consider as the most profitable 
course to pursue to pay for our farm? 
We are both college graduates. I have 
the opportunity to teach in high school 
one mile from home. Will it pay me 
financially to teach or stick strictly to 
business? O. B. B. 
Of course it is impossible for a stranger 
to answer any such question definitely. 
We do not know how old these people 
are, whether they are strong and in good 
health, or whether they have had former 
experience in farming. All such things 
would have to be considered along with 
many others. 
Would they both be satisfied to depend 
on this farm entirely for their income? 
Can they agree perfectly in time of 
doubt and trouble? 
Do they both like to work, and would 
either of them become easily discouraged? 
They are blocking out a big proposi¬ 
tion, -which will require considerable capi¬ 
tal and a great deal of work and fine 
courage and patience in order to put it 
through. Without knowing the person¬ 
ality of either party we would give con¬ 
servative advice. It will be better to 
keep on teaching or wmrking until a fair 
capital has been acquired. In the mean¬ 
time begin each year to plant trees on 
the best parts of the farm suited for or¬ 
chards. Spend vacations or other spare 
time on the farm working out a definite 
programme. Make careful plans now, 
looking forward to a good orchard and 
grass or grain lands for the future, and 
having made such a plan stick to it 
without change, putting labor and capital 
Into the development of that definite plan. 
Such a plan will have to be worked out 
on the spot. Do not take the advice of 
any stranger, but go to practical farmers, 
and also get the advice of the County 
Farm Bureau Agent and the Agricultural 
College at Morgantown. It will be better 
to go slowly in a plan of this sort, and 
accumulate fair capital before trusting all 
to the land. 
Killing the House Fleas 
The flea season is upon us. We never 
had so many complaints about houses 
infested with bedbugs and fleas as have 
come this season. One trouble with the 
fleas is that cats and dogs are left free 
to come and go from the house. They 
serve as carriers into the house; why not 
use them as killers? The dog or cat can 
be given a nest in the house. The fleas 
will get on this animal. Then take him 
out and wash him and let him go back 
to accumulate another supply. Among 
other letters is the following: 
We have a small tenant house which 
we have found full of bedbugs, and used 
hydrocyanic gas. Now we find that the 
ground underneath the cottage, which w 
on raised concrete piers, is alive with 
fleas. We have sprayed from a hand- 
pump five gallons of gasoline, on the 
ground and under the floor, and expect 
to use kerosene also. The whole place 
is still hopping with them, and they are 
also being brorught up to our house, by 
the workers, in serious quantities. 
District of Columbia. c. J. 
There are three kinds of fleas that may 
be found in the house—the human flea, 
the dog flea and the cat flea. Sometimes 
the two latter are present at the same 
time. The reason why these insects pre¬ 
sent such difficulty to control is that 
some of the best control measures are 
rather dangerous to use in the household. 
For instance, there is little doubt but 
what benzine applied thoroughly, particu¬ 
larly to the cracks of the floor in which 
fleas breed so commonly, is one of the 
best methods of treatment, but owing to 
the dangers of fire, benzine cannot be 
recommended in many places. Possibly 
the next best treatment is kerosene, ap¬ 
plied once every three or four weeks 
through the flea season. When houses 
are infested with fleas and a pet dog or 
cat kept and owned on the premises, it 
is well to wash the dog or cat with a 
which enough creolin is added to make 
it of two per cent strength. 
“Helping” the Busy Farmer’s Wife 
Several years ago there appeared an 
article in The R. N.-Y. suggesting that 
it would be a good plan if some city peo¬ 
ple would go in the country and help the 
busy wife on the farm. I can picture it 
from my own experience. Ours was a 
large variety fruit farm, and much small 
fruit. Of course, when pleasant weather 
comes we find many of our city friends 
have just remembered us, and in due time 
a letter comes, saying: “John and I (pos¬ 
sibly a couple of children) will be up on 
a certain date. We want to help you. as 
we know you must be very busy at this 
time of the year. Will be up on the night 
boat, and please do not disappoint us.” 
The farmer’s wife gives a long sigh, and 
the farmer says, “Make the best of it.” 
Of course mother does the work. The 
time arrives and you go to bed early and 
lie with one ear open to hear the whistle 
when the night boat gets in. The tide, 
etc., makes a difference in the time. When 
the whistle blows, or before, the farmer 
or son goes out to the barn t.> harness 
and start for the five-mile drive to the 
river, perhaps it’s two or three in the 
morning. At 4:30 mother gets up and 
the morning chores start and by five 
breakfast is ready and the family and 
help eat. A little later the dog barks, 
announcing the arrival of our city help. 
The farmer eats and starts in a long, 
hard day’s work. Mother doubtless has a 
bunch of fruit cans on the table waiting 
to be filled, and must be done. After a 
hearty breakfast our helpers decide they 
must rest awhile, and appear when din¬ 
ner is ready. When the farmer and fam¬ 
ily are ready to retire for the night our 
helpers are rested and very talkative. 
The family loses a couple more hours of 
needed sleep, and with the daylight sav¬ 
ing, scarcely get in a sound sleep before 
the alarm goes off. Our helper will call 
out before going to bed in this manner: 
“Now, Mrs. C., be sure to call us up 
early, as you know we are here to help 
you.” In the morning, after the family 
have had their breakfast, mother calls our 
helpers, and no response. About nine 
o’clock they appear and ask where the 
folks are. and “have they had their break¬ 
fast? We really meant to get up early, 
but the air is so diffei'ent here. Don’t 
bother with much breakfast; we never 
have anything but a cup of coffee and a 
slice of bread and butter.” Just watch 
the delicate appetites improve. The first 
morning they will take some cereal and 
an egg; next morning potatoes are add¬ 
ed and a few cookies, and by the third 
morning would enjoy a porterhouse steak 
if given. “I cannot understand why I 
eat so much, but really one gets tired of 
bakers’ goods, and everything homemade 
tastes so good, and those lovely fresh 
eggs and garden truck; and think, you 
just go out and get them and do not have 
to carry a pocketbook with you.” 
During the day John will tell the farm¬ 
er in strict confidence that he brought his 
wife up for a much-needed rest, and the 
wife will tell mother that John was so 
busy and spent his nights at the club that 
she thought he might forget them if he 
took a short vacation. When they were 
ready to go home we received many 
thanks for the good time we gave them. 
Thus ended our help, and this happens 
from year to year. aunt Elizabeth. 
Swimming with One Lesson 
I was taught to swim in one lesson 
when I was about 12 years of age. A 
stranger told me to put my head back as 
far as I could, and make my hands and 
feet go as fast as I could, imitating a dog 
running, to push the water downward. I 
did so and found myself a good swimmer. 
Many lives are lost in ponds and other 
still waters. If people would keep their 
hands below the surface and follow above 
directions there need be no further loss 
of life. Rough water and undertow re¬ 
quire strong swimmers. B. T. 
New York. 
An Old-fashioned Hay-rake 
On page 1110 I noticed an article con¬ 
cerning the old-fashioned revolving hay- 
rake. The Parson requests a picture, and 
I send one herewith. The rake has been 
under the shed for 38 years. The horse 
before it is 30 years old, and it is the 
first time she has ever been harnessed to 
that, sort of a rake. The man at the 
handles has used one many a day, and 
says he has never had as much trouble 
as* the Parson in manipulating one. In 
picture the rake is just about to revolve, 
the horse on a walk. The sender hopes 
the Parson will enjoy the picture as much 
as he himself does in having it taken. 
Mastic, N. Y T . c. H. R. 
What Is America’s Greatness? 
The article by A. B. Genung on page 
681 interested me because of some side¬ 
lights on rural conditions in France. But 
as representing post-war impressions of a 
returned fighter, the conclusions are 
rather disappointing. This is particularly 
so in view of the emphasis most of us 
have been led to put on the spiritual 
motives that sent our men to a foreign 
soil to fight for and with a foreign nation. 
Mr. Genung visualizes Soldier John’s en¬ 
thusiasm for America with the statement: 
“The greatness of America—that’s 
what it all sums down to, especially our 
fundamental greatness: land.” 
Is it possible, I have been asking my¬ 
self since reading the above, that anyone 
other than a soul commercialized and 
materialized by the handling of gold, can 
believe that the fundamental greatness of 
America lies in her material possessions? 
Does John’s case represent the typical 
reaction of a war trip abroad on our 
farmer fighters? And will our only re¬ 
turns on the sacrifices made in this war 
be a more zealous incentive to possess 
and to glory in possession? 
It can’t be. For even John himself, if 
he has a sense of humor, must note the 
inconsistency of his conception of the 
greatness of America with the “steaming 
manure piles in every front yard” of 
France. Surely American farmers and 
gardeners do not so decorate their front 
yards or thus conserve their valuable 
wealth. Is this because we have more 
and better places for our manure piles, 
or is it because our sense of the ridiculous 
is more thoroughly developed? To my 
mind neither explanation explains. 
For the fundamental greatness of 
America is spiritual, embodied in the 
mental, physical and moral make-up of 
our manhood and womanhood. And our 
manhood and womanhood in turn, a 
product of forces religious, political and 
social, that date back through the cen¬ 
turies to the origin of a peculiar type of 
human who prized life and freedom. 
Yes, Soldier John, America is great- 
great in land, but so is Russia ; great in 
resources, so is South America; great in 
commercial opportunity, so are Germany, 
China and others. But who would ex¬ 
change a home in America for one of 
these lands? Not I. For the things that 
make America greatest of all lands are 
her ideals, her moral and religious heri¬ 
tage and her peculiar type of manhood 
and womanhood; all of which could make 
any desert habitable and without which, 
for an American at least, no land would 
be American or great. F. A. hawley. 
College Education and Expenses 
I have seen so many discussions in 
The R. N.-Y. regarding the advisability 
of a college education for boys and girls 
that I feel impelled to add a few words 
to this discussion. The prevailing 
thought appears to be that any boy who 
wishes to enjoy the benefits of a college 
education must work for that education, 
regardless of the ability of his parents to 
pay for it. solely to prove that he de¬ 
serves it. This view is entirely erroneous. 
A boy does not necessarily have to pay 
for his education in order to appreciate 
it, or to derive the utmost benefit from it. 
The contrary holds true. A boy working 
his way through college loses very much, 
not the least of which is the social life of 
the institution. No matter how little 
time he devotee to earning his own way, 
that little time might be more profitably 
employed elsewhere. Ili.s studies are 
bound' to suffer at times, no matter how 
studious he may be, for once he gets a 
“steady job,” such as caring for a fur¬ 
September 13, 1919 
nace or something similar, it will have to 
be attended to, regardless of all else. Fur¬ 
thermore, many public lectures and con¬ 
certs, arranged as supplementary instruc¬ 
tion or for purely cultural purposes, may 
have to be omitted. And even “sopho¬ 
more hops” and “junior proms” are not 
to be scoffed at. The student, perhaps 
more so than another, is in need of such 
recreation, and, when properly supervised, 
such affairs are conducive to excellent re¬ 
sults. 
To my mind, the whole question hinges 
on the boy’s training before being sent to 
college. If he has been taught the value 
of time and money, there is little danger 
of his squandering either at college. If a 
boy desires a college education, by all 
means give it to him, if possible, and 
even if he does not desire it, attempt to 
instill the di Ire of it in him. The col¬ 
lege training and the college atmosphere 
will give him a newer and fresher outlook 
on life. This is especially invaluable to 
the farm boy. He will be the better 
farmer for it. 
I am one of those who were forced to 
work my way through college, because I 
wanted an agricultural education and my 
parents were unable to support me while 
away from the farm. During the first 
two years I was almost entirely self-sup¬ 
porting, but during the last, two a very 
dear friend loaned me a sufficient sum to 
relieve me of much of my outside work. 
Although my scholastic standing was of 
the very highest, nevertheless I missed 
much that I might have gotten had I not 
been forced to earn my way through, even 
partially. Had I the opportunity over 
again, I would borrow every cent of the 
necessary expenses, if possible, and de¬ 
vote all my time to college work and other 
college activities. 
My younger brother is now in college, 
and I am giving him all financial aid 
possible, in order that he take advantage 
of those things that I missed. When our 
youngest brother is ready to enter col¬ 
lege, we two older boys will be in position 
to meet all his expenses. We are relying 
on our mother to give him the necessary 
training until that time, so that when ho 
does enter upon his new walk in life there 
will be very little danger of his squander¬ 
ing either his time or money. H. E. 
New Jersey. 
R. N.-Y.—The great truth about this is 
the remark about “the boy’s training be¬ 
fore being sent to college .” That is pretty 
much the whole story, for unless the boy 
can have the right home training, college 
can do but little for him. 
Diseased Goldfish 
I have 50 goldfish in a galvanized tub, 
and they are not doing well. Almost 
every..one of them has a white slime on 
the gills. Some have it on top of the 
head and sometimes on the mouth. I 
change the water once a week, and have 
changed it twice a week. I added a little 
salt to the water, but all for no good. 
I have my fish in the hoxise all Winter 
and lost a few with that slime. Do yon 
think that the galvanized tub may be the 
cause? I feed a little fish food every 
other day. The fish are always on the 
top of the water. L. B. 
New York. 
The goldfish are diseased and probably 
too far gone to be cured. The slime you 
speak of is a fungus growth. The only 
preparation that can be used with success 
is the salt-water bath. Use about one 
tablespoon of salt to one-half gallon of 
cold water. Leave the fish in this for 
10 minutes, then change to clean cold 
water. This may kill some of thu fish, 
but at the same time it will cure the rest 
of them, if they are not too badly off. 
The water ie too warm, that being the 
cause of the fish staying on top of the 
water. As for feeding, the fish should 
each have half a teaspoonful of prepared 
food once a week. 
I cannot find any people who are suc¬ 
cessful with goldfish who do not use a 
good prepared food obtained from a 
dealer. A friend who has the biggest 
aquarium I have ever seen outside a 
museum, says the principal fault in feed¬ 
ing is to give too much. I am afraid 
the galvanized tub is partly to blame, 
because it is somewhat rough and cannot 
be kept as clean as is necessary for fish 
to thrive. This friend insists that material, 
smooth, and as easily kept clean as glass 
is absolutely necessary if one is to keep 
goldfish. She also says that goldfish 
cannot be kept healthy for any length of 
time unless there is green stuff growing 
in their tank. But anyone not familiar 
with an aquarium has little idea of the 
difficulty there is in “balancing” an 
aquarium; that is, having the right pro¬ 
portion of animal and vegetable life grow¬ 
ing in it at the same time. The big 
aquarium I speak of is in front of a win¬ 
dow and has a water tap directly over 
it, and an arrangement for siphoning off 
the top water every little while. These 
fish get a small amount of prepared food 
on alternate days, and come to the top 
when they see the box. Snails kept in 
the aquarium help to keep the glass clean, 
but once in at least three months the 
fish are caught and put in a tub of water, 
while the green stuff is all torn out, clean 
sand put at the bottom and the roots of 
water plants replaced. These fish never 
have anything the matter with them. 
EDNA 8. KNAPP. 
• Farmer: “Do you want a job diggin’ 
potatoes?” Tired Tim : “Yes, provided it’s 
diggin’ ’em out of gravy.”—Melbourne 
Australasian. 
An Old-fashioned Revolving Hay-rake 
