868 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Things To Think About 
The object of this department is to give readers a chance to express themselves on farm 
matters. Not long articles can he used—just short, pointed opinions or suggestions. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER does not always endorse what is printed here. You might 
call this a mental safety valve. ’ 1 
Money Circulation and Prices 
The 35-cent dollar is a problem here. 
A few clays ago a man came into the 
office with two egg crates. Being well 
acquainted with him. I asked him why 
he hadn’t brought me some eggs. He 
said that he did not know that I wanted 
any. He had brought in IS dozen, and 
had received 56 cents a dozen. At the 
same time we were paying 70 cents at 
the store, and probably from the very 
man to whom he had sold the eggs. I 
cannot see that we are going to reduce 
the price very much to the consumer by 
co-operative selling. I will not call it. 
distribution, because what is so often 
spoken of as distribution is only a part 
of production. The growing of an article 
is not the end of production, as produc¬ 
tion is a continuous process, and includes 
all the various forms of transforming and 
transporting commodities. The price is 
what anything brings measured in terms 
of money, and since we had increased the 
money stock of the world in the past 20 
years practically 100 per cent, owing to 
the enormous increase in the production 
of gold, prices necessarily advanced. I 
cannot give the reason in this way. but 
the farmer felt the effect of this advance 
first, and profited very much by it. Since 
the war our own country, through the 
. Federal Reserve system, has. increased 
'our money enormously, and this has had 
a tendency and has advanced prices very, 
very much. But I have noticed in the 
more recent tables of prices that manu¬ 
factured articles that the farmer has to 
buy have a tendency to advance in price 
more than the advance in agricultural 
products. Some day there will be a with¬ 
drawal of some of the money from circu¬ 
lation. and the first to feel the effects of 
this will be the farmer. This has been 
the phenomenon heretofore, and it will 
be the phenomenon this time. In address¬ 
ing the farmers I insist that they oppose 
a curtailing of the circulation as they 
would an invading army, for of all 
calamities that can befall the man on the 
land is the one that comes to him after 
he has created an indebtedness with 
prices at one level and then they fall 25 
to 50 per cent below that level. 
Michigan. C. B. A. 
The ‘‘Scenery Farmer’s” Case 
My sympathies are entirely with “City 
Farmer,” page 726. on his statement of 
the case. He is doubtless a rich man and 
an easy mark, but that is no excuse for 
not giving him what he pays for. His 
men have certainly “soaked” him good 
and proper. With only 50 acres of arable 
land two men ought to do all the work, 
including flower and vegetable garden, 
raise the best crops the land was capable 
of producing, and the weather would 
allow, and keep everything neat about the 
premises. Six-months’ pigs weighing only 
70 pounds are a disgrace to anyone, and 
perfectly inexcusable. 
I wish I could meet a man like “City 
Farmer” out here in Michigan. I am 
working a farm on shares with inade¬ 
quate capital; am starting my sixth year 
on this place. I have made a nice big 
interest for the owner on his investment, 
but a bare living for myself. I have 
determined to work for wages next year 
on a farm, if I can find a job at living 
wages: if not, I shall have to go to. a 
factory. I keep no hired man. but hire 
a little bv the day. when necessary; have 
had 50 to 60 acres of crops each year, 
including hay, but excluding pasture. 
While my crops are nothing to brag of, 
the neighbors say they have never seen 
so much stuff raised on the place before, 
but of course I do a great deal of slicking 
up. Things around here point to a de¬ 
creased production. There are four farms 
aggregating 800 or 000 acres within a 
mile and a half of here that will go un¬ 
worked. or worked only as neighbors may 
put in a field or two. On three of these 
farms the tenants are leaving, and none 
to take their place. The owner lives on 
the other, but is in poor health and can 
do but little work. There have been the 
biggest number of farm auctions ever 
known this Spring, but stock and tools 
have brought good prices. We had some 
good weather the latter part of March, 
but had a snowstorm Easter Sunday, and 
it is snowing again today, April 11. Ko 
working ground the past week, nor pros¬ 
pect of doing so for another week. 
Livingston Co., Mich. H. M. w. 
Nature and the Farmer 
I am much impressed with the article 
uncaring on page 726, entitled 1 roubles 
fa City Farmer.” The editor has asked 
or an expression of some other farmers 
n this subject, and although a woman, I 
m greatly interested in agriculture, hav- 
ug managed a farm of my own for the 
ast 12 years. I have read the article 
of erred to with a great deal of interest, 
or it expresses the thoughts I have had 
a mind for many years. It is only too 
me that a fanning operation cannot be 
un like an industrial enterprise, no mat¬ 
er how clever or competent the managei 
lav be “City Farmer” has overlooked, 
nd probably will always overlook, the 
ne most vital and essential factor he has 
a deal with in running a farm, which is 
Nature. When the good Lord created 
this world He knew 7 what He was doing. 
He has given man a wonderful oppor¬ 
tunity, and in many cases man has failed 
to grasp it. We poor human beings are 
at the mercy of the elements, climate and 
soil. Often people for want of intelli¬ 
gence (or is it sheer pigheadedness?) 
fail to acknowledge this fact. I might 
add also that they fail to see that agri¬ 
culture is the backbone of the country. 
My farming experience of 12 years has 
given me much food for thought. I can¬ 
not imagine any occupation that will de¬ 
velop one’s character to a greater extent 
than farming. A real farmer must pos¬ 
sess thriftiness, perseverence, patience, 
good judgment and faith. A person w r ho 
is naturally extravagant can never be a 
successful farmer, as thriftiness, which 
does not imply meanness, plays a very 
important part in running a farm success¬ 
fully. Prof. Warren of Cornell once made 
the remark that “farming is a small busi¬ 
ness.” The more I think of this the more 
I believe he is right. At least I think 
this applies to the East. The Western 
farms, as I understand it. are run on 
quite a different scale. I agree with Tiie 
R. N.- v . that it is most important a 
farm should be conduct d on a strictly 
business basis, and it is most necessary 
the farmer have some system of cost ac¬ 
counting. Furthermore, in order to in¬ 
sure success in a farming operation, he 
must possess that unfailing instinct that 
will enable him to cope w T ith and under¬ 
stand the vagaries of nature. To my way 
of thinking, this is what troubles “City 
Farmer.” He has overlooked the one 
great factor, natui’e. S. 
Farmers Figuring the Cost 
On page 431 we printed the remarks 
of a Kansas woman on farming and farm 
pi*ofits. This was printed in (he Chris¬ 
tian Science Monitor, and has called out, 
in the . same papei-, the following letter 
from California: 
We are now pi-ocfucing eggs from 600 
hens. At present prices that we have 
to pay for poultry feed it costs very close 
to one cent per day per hen for feed. I 
am getting 200 eggs per day, and the last 
retuims I received equaled 4.45 cents per 
egg, or 88.90 per day income. Deduct¬ 
ing the $6 per day for the cost of feed 
leaves me $2.90 for intei’est, wages and 
depreciation. Since these returns, the 
price of eggs has dropped 14." £ cents per 
dozen, with the prospect of a still lower 
price. On the other hand, we ai'e paying 
4)4 cents per pound for wheat to feed our 
hens, very likely a poorer grade of wheat 
than what the Kansas fanners are un¬ 
able to get on the market. 
We have always had reason to resent 
the attitude of the city papers towards 
the farmers. They have constantly told 
us to produce twice as much, and with 
their assumed superior business knowl¬ 
edge have told us we would have twice 
as much money. The farmers know that 
if we cannot get a fair profit for what 
we ali-ead.v produce, it will not pay ns 
to try to produce a larger amount. 
I have seen many crops allowed to rot 
in the field for absolute lack of market. 
I know quite a lot about the Montana and 
Washington wheat country, where there 
have been many failures for the past four 
years. We. know that wixen we have had 
more work than the farmer and wife 
could take care of. we had to pay very 
high wages for vei-y incompetent help; 
and whether or not the work was done 
right, we have had to pay good hard cash 
on demand. 
The farmer and his wife are just as 
much entitled to wages for what they 
May 1, 1020 
produce for the benefit of the public as 
any other class, and they are going to 
get. it. morkis m’k. wild. 
California. 
Changes in Rural Life 
I have just, been reading “The Ti-ob- 
lem of Rural Recreation.” by Mrs. C. L., 
on page 626, and I have so often won- 
dered why it had all come to be so. I 
have lived for the last 20 years in a 
farming community. 
Scarcely a young man or woman in the 
neighborhood, with the exception of those 
who return from schools to spend the 
week-end. Where once we had eard* 
clubs, dancing school and plenty of social 
life < among the young people, as well as 
their elders, now it is “lights out and all 
to bed” seven nights in the week. Even 
our churches are closed, with the excep¬ 
tion of an occasional Sunday, owing to 
inability to find a “Pastoral Farson” on 
this “lonely i*oad.” We are five miles 
from a good road in any direction, so that 
if we plan an excursion the carrying out 
all depends on the weather anil roads. 
Our cars remain in the garage on an 
average of five months in the year. Dur¬ 
ing tbe past Winter theie 'were many 
weeks in which no doctor could have 
reached us. no matter how badly needed. 
Until within a few years we had always 
a resident doctor in our valley, but lack 
of social or educational advantages for 
his family sooner or later caused them to 
move to town. 
My solution of this rural problem is 
“good roads.” That, and that alone, will 
restore our social activity and fill our 
empty houses. If the young people can 
have the advantages and pleasures of eitv 
life, combined with the comforts and free¬ 
dom. of country life, they will stay on our 
fai-ms. We women, who have a voice 
and a vote, should be able to help in this 
solution, even if we do have to go five 
miles through a sea of mud to cast our 
ballots. M. b. c. 
Tioga Co., N. Y. 
Cut Down,the High Cost of Far ming I 
' " ' * * 
vVt-, 
Seeder 
only 
$12.00 
A tan Weight 
Plow only 
$10.50 
Both Tools 
in on* 
$17.50 
c Eh : s Combination Tool is 
furnished three 
ways. 
AII Steel Low Whee, 
Pivot Axle Cultivator 
No. 69 
Light 
‘Draft. 
Handles rows 30 to 43 
ins. apart. Quick dodg¬ 
ing foot pressure gang 
shift. Price n >ith 6 
shovels, pin break, pole, 
trees and neck-4 Cft 
yoke. 450 lbs. 
Ten 16 in. 
Discs. 
Y OU reduce your farm profits every time you pay a need¬ 
lessly high price for a farm tool. On the average farm the 
net profit per acre, after deducting living expenses, is about 
.$10. Every time you save $10, you save the yearly profit from 
one acre. If you pay$50 foran implement that we will sell you 
for $40, you wipe out the profit from one acre. 
Does this pay? Does it pay you to toil from early Spring 
until late Fall, on an acre of ground, and then throw the profit 
away by purchasing a tool that is priced higher than necessary? 
Does it pay you to add a needless premium to prices already 
high, when for a great deal less money you can get a tool 
that will do the work exactly as well? 
N. F. E. Implements are not “just implements.’’They are 
guaranteed implements. We guarantee them to do in a thor¬ 
oughly satisfactory manner, the work for which they are in¬ 
tended. We guarantee that with trans¬ 
portation added, they will represent an 
actual saving of from 15% to 35%. 
We guarantee that if after a fair field trial, 
you do not find them exactly as represented, 
we will take them back and return your 
money and all transportatioix charges. We 
guarantee prompt and efficient repair service. 
That’s what we mean when we say N. F. E. 
Implements are guaranteed. 
N. F. E. Guaranteed Implements do cut 
down the “high cost of living,” because we 
buy and sell them by the “ShortLine Route” 
■— the shortest route from factory to farm. 
Proof? Compare the prices in this advertisement with 
the lowest prices you can get elsewhere for tools of the 
same high quality. If you do not find that we can save 
you the profit on several acres, then we cannot con¬ 
scientiously ask for your business. If you do find that we 
can save you money let us make this saving a reality. 
Send us your order today for any of these items 
shown here. It will be filled as carefully and shipped 
as promptly as though you made your selection from 
our salesroom floors. Also, ask for our General 
Catalogue and new “Spring Bargain Supplement,” 
showing engines, cream separators, farm, garden, 
poultry and bee keeping supplies, at prices equally 
low. A postal request will bring them. Mail it today. 
National Farm Equipment Company 
Dept. D 98 Chambers St. New York City 
Compressed Air 
Sprayer 
Brass 
Pump, 
SteeJ 
e Uankar,d t 
2 ft.Hc:<*5 .35 
THIS IS 
THE 
TRADEMARK 
\o\ 
Write today 
for this 
FREE 
SOCK I 
m 
All steel, rigidly braced. % in. square steel 
axles. Wi. 365 lbs. 
oscillating truck. 
„ __ so 
Price with 
Wood Beam Chilled 
Plow for One Heavy or 
Two Light Horses. 
*«v. 
1 $45.50 
$ 11.00 
■i-- 
Furrow capacity 6 x 
Wi. 66 lbs. Price <M 1 Aft 
with one extra share t 1 1 .vVF 
*«•* r, i 
10 in. 1 
l.oo 
^ W * 
“* « 9 *1* ^ - • *• 5vf» J ^»! 
SBC 
