8274 
RURAL. NEW* YORKER 
Pastoral Parson and His Country Folks 
By Rev. George B. Gilbert 
A Full Day. —The Parson has felt old 
all the week. Haying has dragged heavily 
upon him. Last Sunday seemed to be a 
full day, and that may be the reason. It 
is well to start a week of haying well 
rested. We got up last Sunday and got 
all the children ready and the chores done 
and the dinner put up and three gallons 
of ice cream made and frozen and reached 
a church 18 miles away by 10 o’clock, 
daylight saving time. After service here 
we drove the car 10 miles farther on and 
had another service at one of our real 
country charges. What a day of it we 
had here! We were five hours at this 
place. First, we had a service with bap¬ 
tism. Then we all had dinner—42, in¬ 
cluding men, women, children and babies. 
Here the three-gallon freezer of ice cream 
came iu handy! As it was the Fourth of 
Noise from the Buzz 13aio 
July, in the afternoon we had singing, with 
speaking by the children in the church. 
How everybody enjoyed it! The weather 
was perfect. We had a good discussion 
on haying; how and when to cut hay, 
how to cure it. etc. We found that we 
must buy another can of potato spray: 
the first 50-pound can was gone. Every¬ 
body had paid cash, and the man having 
charge of it was happy. 
A Long Day. —We went back home 
from this place, and with the big horse 
George and the Parson started out again. 
The second place is seven miles away, 
and the road too bad for a car. It was 
dark when we reached the schoolhouse, 
and such a crowd as was there! Every¬ 
body that lived anywhere round, and some 
from over three miles away. We had 
game,s on the schoolhouse lawn, and an¬ 
other three-gallon freezer of ice cream was 
opened up. In the schoolhouse we had a 
stereopticon service with singing and 
psalms from the screen. The place was 
packed, three in a seat. After this the 
Parson had to tell stories, the chief one 
being “Quack, quack, quack, I want my 
money back.” Then packing up and the 
long trip home over the big hill. As he 
closed the big barn door the town clock 
over .in the city was striking 12, and the 
Parson remembered that it had been just 
18 hours since he opened that same barn 
door in the morning. 
Haying. —All the week it has been a 
question, to hay or not to hay. The 
Weather Bureau has said “Showers to¬ 
day and fair tomorrow” ever since Tues¬ 
day. It has looked like a big storm 
brewing every day, but none has come, 
and we got quite a little haying done. 
Our hay has never been anything like as 
heavy as this year. We did a good deal 
of top-dressing through the Summer and 
Fall, and this does count with grass. 
Grass seed is so expensive and hay worth 
so much that it seems best to us to keep 
land in grass as long as there is a big 
yield with a little top-dressing. Quite a 
little sorrel crept in this year, which 
probably shows that the land needs lime, 
and it will get a good dose when next 
plowed up. We ke.ep the clover and the 
Timothy separate, the first for the milk 
cows and the second for the horses. The 
second-crop clover and grass will be re¬ 
served on the scaffold for the sheep. The 
two ewe lambs seem at a distance to be 
as big as their mothers now. 
Fourth of July. —The boys seemed to 
have a good Fourth, and we. did not spend 
a great deal for powder. Fireworks come 
high and are soon gone. Noise was the 
main factor, and the Parson remembered 
seeing an old circular eaw out in the shed 
that was on the place when we came here. 
It was a big one for sawing lo'gs in a 
steam sawmill. He suggested to the boys 
that they hang that up in the tree by the 
lawn and try a hammer on it. It was 
certainly heavy, but they got it up there, 
duly suspended by a log chain. Then the 
real noise began. Such a time ns they 
had with that thing all day! You can 
see Clossie by it now, ready to beat it 
with a hammer. 
TnE Old Ford.— The old Ford has 
been fixed up again and has started for 
a new lease of life. With new fenders 
and radiator and brace irons to hold the 
steps and $1.50 worth of paint, our 
friends thought we had a new car. It 
completes its ninth year this month, and 
will start the first of August on its tenth 
season. The Parson has noticed that the 
churches are great on anniversaries. One 
church nearby had two the same year I 
So the faithful old car really ought to 
come in for due notice. In the picture 
you see her just as we have arrived home 
from a down-country trip. The Parson 
is taking the picture, and the rest of the 
family is about to disembark. The hoi’se 
blanket that you see is keeping the ice 
cream freezer warm! 
The Lonely Road. —The Parson has 
just read a letter from an old couple who 
evidently live far out on some Lonely 
Road. They complain that no one ever 
comes to see them, and that life is hard, 
and growing harder all the time. Such 
cases are certainly worthy of all sym¬ 
pathy and a deep sense of humility and 
shame on the part of the churches. What 
do these ministers of small country 
churches do all the week? The Parson 
would think they would fly away. Actual 
investigation seems to reveal the fact that 
they read newspapers most. of the time. 
If they would apply the acid test of the 
Christian religion to what they have read 
the next Sunday morning in church it 
might help some. Ten to one their re¬ 
marks are wholly confined to what hap¬ 
pened 2,000 years ago. As a farmer com¬ 
plained to the Parson the other day, the 
sermon was wholly upon Jehu. 
Two Illustrations. —The Parson has 
happened to call on two such cases as is 
found in this letter last week. One old 
couple lives ’way out in a little shack in 
the edge of the woods, and at the end of 
the road, or, better, rabbit trail. No car 
was ever known to go over this road, but 
we had old Jim. No mail man, no grocery 
man, no telephone, no team ever goes by, 
to say nothing of stopping. There is no 
go-by* to it—it is simply just the end—to 
the road and to this couple living there. 
But we had a fine visit, and they knew 
they were remembered by somebody, and 
as there was a party down to the school- 
house that night, and the Parson had 
three gallons of ice cream with him, he 
left them there on the old . plank seat 
against the house, each holding a great 
saucer of ice cream in one hand and wav¬ 
ing a farewell with the other. 
Another Case. —And early in the 
week George and the Parson pulled up at 
another place, 15 miles down country. 
The Parson pulled his overalls out of the 
tool box and put them under his arm as 
he headed for the door, for the man has 
been laid up all the Spring with a bad 
foot. Yes, the pig bothered .about getting 
out. and they had to keep it shut up in 
the barn. The yard fence must be re¬ 
paired. So George and the Parson got 
boards out of the cellar, and we fixed it 
up in great shape. Then we called for a 
couple of hoes. Then we hoed out the 
potatoes, and then we hoed out the corn, 
and then we put in the brush for the late 
peas, and then as we went we did the 
most cheering thing of all.. “Do you sup¬ 
pose we could come down in the Fall and 
saw up this woodpile for him with the 
Ford car?” asked the Parson of little 
The Family Arrives Some 
George as we struggled with the pigeon 
grass in the corn. “I don’t know—why 
not?” said George, “Shelley can pass up 
and you can saw and I can throw away. 
We got the saw on the car when we 
bought it, and I should think we could do 
it again.” There is old dry cherry and 
apple tree wood in that pile to last those 
people about all Winter. 
The Interchurch Movement. —And 
so the Interchurch movement has col¬ 
lapsed. It was a great ideal and many, 
longing for church unity, had great hopes. 
The Parson took hold of the survey work 
with vigor, but soon got discouraged with 
it. It required altogether too much work, 
and many of the questions asked were 
utterly useless. Nothing will ever be 
done with the answers—nothing could be 
done. It is one thing for some people to 
sit in a fine office down in New York and 
make out these questions, and another 
thing to fill out these papers, and still 
another to do anything about it. Then, 
too, in these days of poverty and distress 
and starvation the whole thing smacked 
of extravagance and waste. The kind of 
religion the Parson believes in doesn’t 
cost much money. Was it intended to 
cost any? To the Parson’s mind many 
of the great, big expensive church plants 
are a serious handicap to the spread of 
the religion of the One who had no place 
to lay His head. Its close connection 
with some of the millionaire magnates of 
the country did not help it any. 
The Natural Way. —It seems to the 
Parson that the best and most natural 
way for any good news to spread, is for 
one person to be so pleased with it that 
he would tell the next one. Then this 
person would see how much happier and 
better off that person was who had this 
religion, and he would naturally want it 
himself. “Tell John those things ye do 
see and hear”—that did not cost anything. 
The Parson heard of a Japanese student 
who came over here and was looking 
about the colleges. He happened to at¬ 
tend a college dance that lasted well on 
toward the morning. He watched the 
whole proceeding carefully. “I see no 
difference between those who are Chris¬ 
tians and those who are not,” was his 
casual remark as he left the hall. Won¬ 
der if he didn’t hit the nail on the head 
after all! 
Conveniences in the Home 
In the Franklin County (Mass.)' 
Farmer's Bulletin is the following very 
pertinent discussion: 
At the New England meeting of the 
American Federation of Farm Bureaus 
two very interesting viewpoints were ad¬ 
vanced on the problem of what household 
conveniences could be furnished on the 
farm home and when. The woman said 
the housewife should demand just as 
many improved appliances in the house 
as were used on the farm. The man just 
as honestly took the opposite ground and 
said he and his wife had talked it over 
and agreed that they would go without 
any extras iu their home, and get the 
things needed on the farm first, because 
labor-saving machines there would in¬ 
crease the profits, and would thus finally 
enable them to get more home conven¬ 
iences than if they bought them first. 
He had undoubtedly thought this out hon¬ 
estly, because the farm kitchen is the 
balance wheel of the whole farm machine. 
If the kitchen breaks down the whole 
farm machine goes wrong. Upon it de¬ 
pends the health and strength of the 
whole family, and thus the productive 
power of everyone on the farm. Upon it 
depends the temper and efficiency of the 
hired man. He would stand a lot of 
“roughing it” on the farm if he gets on 
time three square meals a day, as it 
always hits the right spot, and a com¬ 
fortable bed in which to sleep. The tem¬ 
per and efficiency of everyone on the 
place depends pretty much on that 
kitchen. This is not all. The same man 
admitted that the hired man could milk 
the cows while he was away, but only 
his wife could be trusted to Vun the in¬ 
cubator and attend to the newly-hatched 
chicks. In other words, his wife’s time 
was really more valuable to the farm than 
his own, and so more worth saving. He 
had based his whole argument on a false 
premise. The farm kitchen and farm 
wife’s time are just as. much productive 
factors in the farm business as- any other 
department. Reasoning from the other 
point of view, it. has resulted in failure 
to keep farm help, loss of the wife’s 
health, loss of the health of the whole 
family, loss of temper, loss of efficiency, 
loss of profits, and finally breaking down 
of the whole machine. When the profits 
from the farm machinery and improve¬ 
ments are sufficient to buy equally effi¬ 
cient equipment for the home there is too 
frequently no Teal home to. use it.. We 
have sometimes in addressing audiences 
of farmers called upon all those who use 
power machines to cut the silage and saw 
the wood to raise their hands, and nearly 
every hand would go up. We have then 
called upon the farm women who had 
power washing machines to raise their 
hands, and too frequently not a single 
hand would go up, and yet the men saw 
the wood and cut the silage only once a 
year, while the housewife washes the 
clothes at least 52 times a year. 
Penalty for “Changing Mind" 
The New York Sun gives the following 
account of a recent incident: 
A young English woman, engaged to 
marry a Canadian array officer, sailed for 
America on a ticket paid for by her 
fiancA On the voyage she met an Eng¬ 
lish army officer, and found that she 
loved him better than the Canadian. For 
the offence of breaking her engagement to 
the man who had paid her passage a 
special board of inquiry at Ellis Island 
has refused to admit the girl to the United 
States. The story does not end. as un¬ 
happily as it might, for the English cap¬ 
tain is going back with her and will 
marry her at Southampton. 
That the immigration board of inquiry 
has disregarded woman’s ancient right to 
change her mind is not surprising, for 
official boards are likely to be deficient in 
humor. AVhat is amazing, though, is that 
officials should run counter to public 
policy in a case like this. The only evil 
in the whole affair is the apparent pres- 
sure brought to make the woman marry 
a man she had ceased to love. As every 
July 31, 1920 
fellow, who wears a hat larger than size 
six ought to know, it’s a good deal better 
for a woman to change her mind and her 
heart before marriage than afterward, if 
she must change them at all. 
But we don’t suppose there was a 
woman on the board of inquiry. If there 
had been she would have arrived by in¬ 
stinct at the right solution. The men 
arrived by red tape at the wrong one. 
Light and Heat for Farm Homes 
I have been a reader of The It. N.-Y. 
for many years; have been aided many 
times by suggestions by editors and 
readers. I now come to both for help. 
The times demand that farmers must have 
some of the city conveniences, such as 
lights and water. These things are just 
beginning to be urged on the farmers of 
this section by smooth-talking agents, and 
of course each one represents “the best,” 
If I am to install these things I want 
them to be serviceable and satisfactory, 
and to be sold to me at a reasonable price. 
Now, will readers of The R. N.-Y. who 
have installed water and lights tell me 
what they have, what its cost (including 
upkeep) and what service it renders 
them? There are several makes of elec¬ 
tric lights represented. Carbide lights are 
also being sold. I particularly desire the 
plant I install to furnish power for wash¬ 
ing machine and heat for electric iron. 
I desire all the information possible to 
me. . J. O. LOFTIN, 
North Carolina. 
R. N.-Y.—If readers who have had Teal 
experience with such things will tell ua 
about it we shall all be helped. 
Treatment of the Hired Man 
Mr. C. A. Gilliam, in the Wisconsin 
Agriculturist, gives the following “sys- 
em” for handling hired men on the farm: 
First. I make the rest-hours of my 
hired help comfortable ones by good sleep¬ 
ing quarters and a comfortable sitting- 
room of his own. 
Second. I furnish him with a reading- 
table with 1 plenty of good books, news¬ 
papers, farm papers and magazines, which 
he greatly enjoys. 
Third. When a friend calls on our 
hired man, the man knows, he is welcome 
to take his friend to his room. 
Fourth. Our hired man greatly enjoys 
music, so our phonograph is at his com¬ 
mand at any time. 
Fifth. We furnish him regularly with 
good, nourishing food. 
Sixth. When we go to church or visit¬ 
ing, w T e always ask our hired man to go 
along with us, and seldom does he. refuse. 
Seventh. If he makes a mistake, I do 
not get angry with him. I merely tell 
him of it in a kind way, and the same 
mistake never happens the second time. 
Eighth. When work is not pushing I 
let him have a day off once in a while, 
and in the hot Summer days I let him 
go to the shade for a few minutes each 
day. 
Ninth. If my hired man leaves his 
work for a few minutes without my per¬ 
mission I do not quarrel with him, as 
many bosses do; and I believe I get as 
much out of my hired man as anyone does. 
Tenth. Last, but not least important, 
I pay a fair wage the last day of each 
mouth, even if I have to borrow money 
to do it. 
Treat your hired man like a human 
being; kindness and right treatment win 
out every time. 
A Woman with “Bloomers” 
My husband and I have been interested 
readers of The R. N.-Y. for several years, 
and lately I have been much interested in 
the letters about “overalls for women.” 
After three years’ experience with them 
I heartily indorse overalls of some sort. 
For myself, I prefer bloomers, as they 
seem more comfortable than the longer, 
narrower trousers. Mine are plaited at 
the waist, making them snug and smooth 
over the hips. The legs are long and 
wide, gathered to an elastic at the bottom, 
which I wear just below the knee, allow¬ 
ing them to blouse several inches. With 
these I wear a middy blouse of same ma¬ 
terial (mine are blue percale) with short 
sleeves and no collar. With a neat cap 
of the same or a straw hat one has a tidy 
suit for out-of-door work, of which they 
need not be ashamed. My husband and I 
are running a 200-acre farm. As we have 
no children and can get little hired help, 
I help a great deal out of doors, and as¬ 
sist with the barn chores the year round. 
I can mount the mowing machine or rake 
without fear of catching my skirts and 
causing an accident. I can help with a 
load of hay or corn without treading on 
my clothes and tearing them. I can feed 
calves, care for horses or poultry, pick up 
potatoes or hoe the garden and still look 
neat when I get through. As long as X 
live on a farm and work out of doors I ” 
not bo without my bloomer suits. In 
Winter, with a short flannel skirt under 
the bloomers and a pair of boys’ boots 
with moccasins, I can still be comfortable 
While at work, or even make snow men 
with the little girl next door and not be 
draggled when I am through. 
A neighbor and myself were the first to 
wear “overalls” in our community, and 
were quite a curoisity. If we were a bit 
shy at first it was not to.be wondered at, 
for strangers and “smarties” laughed and 
yelled. Now they have ceased to cause 
amusement, and people often remark 
about our sensible costumes. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. MBS. W, T 
