The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
1917 
The Day Before Christmas 
lion* is Christinas again nl last. .For 
n month I have boon roquiml to mnko 
tho most mlnuto calculations on tho thno 
which has elapsed in its ruining, by neven- 
yoir-old Flsio, who is not vary strong on 
tignros herself, climbing up tho back of 
my diair. 
“Mother-r-r, how long is it now before 
Christmas?” 
This is what you would call a loan your, 
hut wo will not 'lie poor in those things 
that make a happy Yulotide, because wo 
have never given expensive presents, and 
there will be no disappointed faces on that 
score. We spend ourselves, as it. were, 
and give the kiddies a good time, if pos¬ 
sible the best they ever had. Judging 
from appearances I would say that F.lsio 
prefers having her heels tossed up to the 
♦•oiling to anything I could hope to give 
her. And little red-head, mischievous 
Jane, who is so fond of her daddy, it will 
be a great day for her, too. 
Christmas really begins the day before, 
when we start out for the woods to get 
the tree. Daddy is carrying his ax, tin- 
same one which later will bo used for 
that elderly Plymouth Hock in the hen¬ 
house, and drawing little Jane on a long, 
green sled, with the letters S-p-c-e-d-o 
printed on it in a bold band, but which 
belies its name. Klsie, her skirts tucked 
away in a suit of brown leggings, dances 
in the lead, looking back once in a while 
to say "Oh, mother! you do look just like 
a clown in those bloomers." Whereupon 
mother endeavors to give an exhibit of 
her accomplishment by shouldering an im¬ 
aginary gun, llxing a vacant stare in the 
fence corner over yonder, and sticking 
out her chest, when she stalks proudly 
forward to the tune of "It; Takes a Man 
to I5c a Soldier.” "Do il again," cries 
Klsie. 
the little pines grow. There are dozens 
of these Liny trees, and their soft gray- 
green foliage ia.vs against the background 
of snow like so much smoke. 
While daddy is cutting down the tree 
Elsie begs me to tell her about the In¬ 
dians. We found two arrow-heads in (In¬ 
fields last Summer, and there is some¬ 
thing primitive about, this place that sug¬ 
gests the red men of pioneer days. Hour 
tragedy may have occurred on this very 
spot where wc are sitting so calmly. I 
have tried to draw a word picture for 
Klsie of what life once was in thin quiet 
woodlot. It must have been a harrowing 
tale, for her eyes are very round, and she 
is much interested in how the white peo¬ 
ple built their log cabins and made ’em 
strong to keep out the Indians. 
Well, the tree is cut, but we hate to 
leave the woods, being prone to discuss 
such subjects as how one would go about 
building a cabin of logs, and how much 
fun it would be to spend Christmas in a 
little snug house away off on a mountain, 
with a pleasant lire, a good dog, and lots 
of books. One might have a fiddle hang¬ 
ing up in the corner, you know, and after 
dark they would have mother take it down 
and play them a little Harry Lauder, 
and some of those little, catchy tunes that 
daddy is so fond of. And after that, of 
course, mother could play something for 
herself, while they wriggled in their chairs 
and wished she'd quit. I think the nicest 
thing about, our family is that it. enter¬ 
tains itself. Kvery year as the children 
grow older wc have a little more fun. 
"People ought to have things handier 
I ban they do on the farms,” muses daddy. 
"Ought to have running water in the 
house, and electricity. When you think 
of it. who could use a bathroom to any 
better advantage than a man from the 
All A lionnl for llic 
Now we are walking back the lane, 
between two potato fields, the scene of 
last Hummer's labors, The wind sweeps 
the land clear of snow so the green rye 
peeps up through on one side, and plowed 
ground on the other. One of the jobs 
Daddy had given himself to do last Fall 
was to scrape a layer of that light eliding 
sand on those knolls oil into the hollows. 
It was one of those things we never could 
find time for, and as his eye roves over 
the lieblo he steps along a little faster. 
So much to do! 
We have stepped through the open gate 
into the pasture. Kntler the big hickory 
by the rail pile there is a sudden stir 
among the twigs, a flash of silver and u 
fair-sized gray squirrel whisks tip the 
tree. "Ilo bo!” says Daddy. "After nuts 
was lie? I.et’s see.” Going over by tin- 
edge of tin- rail pile lie finds the cache 
where poor Gray Fur had not. waited to 
cover it, a dozen hickories or so. "Mother, 
why do men shoot a poor gray squirrel?” 
asks Klsie in mournful tones. I confess 
that I do not know. Little Jane has 
pulled out one fat bare little hand and Is 
pointing up into tin- tree. "See-a! Seen, 
daddy," sin- chuckles. And sure enough 
there In- is. though like enough In- thinks 
In- is well hidden bceblnd the crotch of 
that limb. 
"Well, we'll go away,” decides Buddy, 
"so he can come down and finish his 
breakfast.*' 
This is the lane that lends to our 
woods; it climbs the hill on the way and 
lets us in at tin- top, ho that we may 
stand at the edge of the rise and look off 
into the huge treetops of manic, oak and 
beech. My load of everyday worries 
seems to «lip off here, and I begin to lead 
Hie procession. The Christmus trees un- 
over at the other Hide. We traverse the 
valley and come up again by (lie great 
stump of a fresh-cut pine, last Winter’ 
work. Around it the ground Is strewn 
with houghs and pine needles, and on one 
"f the huge limbs our little party cornea 
to rent. Ah! daddy lias found a hole in 
the ground near by. with three skunk 
•racks leading into it, but though wc arc 
mighty interested, we are kind of thank¬ 
ful he didn’t bring his shovel. We arc 
silting ou tin* edge of u little glade where 
H7>i ter 3 a Fun! 
bay field? Why, a farmer ought to have 
everything lie wanted in that line, and lie 
could if lie’ll only realize il !" 
Hack at tin- house, on tin- edge of tin- 
lawn. are some lumber piles which only 
last Christmas were yet in the form of 
trees. This lumber would huve beeu sold 
long ago only for the idea of putting our 
own trees into our own house, instead of 
buying lumber from other parts, l’cr- 
hupH wc thought to bring out a little of 
its impenetrable background where the 
fi-et of our ancestors trod. However, tlic 
hli-a of using our own lumber is most 
appealing. Last Autumn wc* spent some 
time and gasoline finding out that; it 
couldn’t In* done. There are plenty of 
woodworking shops, but tin- machinery 
which Used to make oak flooring is packed 
away off in the corner and marked for 
sale. The owner says it doesn’t pay to 
run it. for the big sawmills out West can 
produce the same work much cheaper. 
To console us they add that the Western 
mills have a very line process of polish¬ 
ing. that takes a better finish. Wc asked 
them all sorts of questions, except how 
much tlicy would take for the despised 
machine. They had told its it cost $2,000. 
Mlith tiic country hereabouts* needing 
houses, and line oak, butternut and chest- 
nut going for firewood, it seems that it; is 
time to set this machine at work. Lum¬ 
ber to sell is cheap; to buy it is still very 
high. ^ \\ by not sell our lumber to our¬ 
selves? Or am I tin- only one with sen¬ 
timental lcauiugs toward tin- old woodlot? 
There, daddy is standing up, ami savs 
it is time for ns to go. Tin- wav hack 
seems short, for Elsie is already planning 
tin- decorations, which are to consist 
mainly of popcorn and some of those bril¬ 
liant red Northern Spy applet) from down 
ci-llai'. Oh, yes, and there's going to be 
Caudles, I don't know of au.v more e v - 
citing time than we will have today while 
this tree i« being dressed, but it is apt to 
acquire more foliage during the night ami 
tin- breaking dawn on Ghristmiis day is 
the most wonderful time after all. Little 
Iiiiii- feet flying about in white nighties, 
just as the first gray light begins to 
hIionv ; lliai is what wo think of when wc 
say "Merry Christmas!” 
MBS. F. U. UNQEB. 
$4,000 from 4 acres of apricots 
$7,500 from 20 acres of peaches 
$25,000 from 35 acres of grapes 
(Cut these figures in two, to be safe, and returns still arc large) 
San Joaquin Valley 
There is but one California. It is a garden. It is a 
scenic paradise. It is the place of no winter. You 
get the most out of life for yourself and family. 
See it, this winter, when the East is snowbound. 
fou (an Farm AH Year in (alitomia 
No storing costly fodder for months 
of snow ami icc. Here you can 
profitably raise alfalfa, grain, fruit, 
stock and poultry. You have benefits 
of established communities. Schools 
ajc ready, and fine roads. The 
various fruit associations have a 
remarkable marketing system. You 
raise the fruit; no bother about 
markets. That problem has been 
worked out for you. 
Land values still are within reason¬ 
able bounds—considering what you 
get in return. The San Joaquin 
Valley can support many thousands 
of families, on twenty and forty acre 
tracts. The world competes for 
what you raise, because of superior 
quality. 
The Santa Fe operates five trains 
a day from Chicago and Kansas City 
to winterless California. Two of 
them — the California Limited and 
the San Francisco Limited—arc solid 
Pullman trains with dining cars all 
the way. The Navajo, Scout and 
Missionary carry standard and tourist 
sleepers and chair cars; meals in 
dining-cars east of Kansas City and 
at station dining rooms west. Meal 
service for all trains by Fred Ilarvcy. 
The two Limitcds and the Missionary 
have through sleepers by way of 
Grand Canyon of Arizona, the world’s 
scenic wonder. The Santa Fe tourist 
sleepers arc comfortable and you 
save Half on the berth rate. Station 
meals also arc economical—a “square 
meal” for a dollar. 
Our illustrated folders, descriptive of Caliiornia lands, and the trip there, mailed on 
request. Let me help you ptan your trip, and advise about places worth looking over. 
C. L. Seagraves. Supervisor of Agriculture. A. T. & S. F. Ry.; 
9.10 Railway Exchange, Chicago, Illinois. 
5 daily trains to California 
p&y highest market prices, guarantee 
honest assortment and make immed¬ 
iate returns. 
Eitabliihed .U years in New York. Capital, 
lurplui and resources over SS.000,000. 
References—Any bank or banker in U. S. A. 
Write for Price List L 
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Farm Helpers 
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When you write advertisers mention The R. IV.-Y. and you'd get a 
t/uii It reply and a "square deal.' See guarantee editorial page. 
