44 
Vht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 8, 1921 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
We have just had our little Christmas 
celebration. It was quiet this year, as 
befitted the times. Happily we still have 
several children who hang their stock¬ 
ings. I am not sure thpt they still be¬ 
lieve in Santa Claus, but at any rate, the 
stockings were hung and filled. No, I 
will have no argument with people who 
consider it wrong to permit children to 
believe in Santa Claus. There are such, 
and I feel sorry for them and for their 
Children—if they have any. We have 
now had more or less to do with 23 chil¬ 
dren. and if I could have 23 more I 
should see that the entire 46 came up 
through life with happy memories of old 
Santa. Of course, I know what some of 
these exponents of science and truth will 
have to say to that, for I have had some 
of them lecture me about it. Perhaps 
they have had more experience with chil¬ 
dren than we have. I know that. some 
who have argued with me never raised a 
child in their lives. In fact, it seems to 
me to be ever true that those who are 
foremost in telling how to train children 
never had any of their own. At any rate, 
Santa Claus visits Hope Farm, and we 
make much of him. 
* * * * * 
The children were up early and put in 
a lively day. It was bright and cold, 
with frozen ground, but no snow. In 
order to make the open fire burn brighter 
I dug out the wood ashes and put them 
where they should do the most good. The 
strawberries have had their overcoat of 
mulch, and I scattered those ashes right 
on top of the covering on one patch. You 
will, of course, remind me that I have 
often advised against putting wood ashes 
on berries. I have, but this is a special 
case, which I will explain later. At any 
rate, we made that fire roar. While the 
women organized the dinner the young 
folks made merry and prepared their 
appetites for dinner—an easy task when 
you are young. I felt it a good time to 
start writing a new book which I have 
had in mind for a long time. The trouble 
has been to start it. but something of the 
joy and thoughtful hope of our family 
celebration gave me the clue, and I wrote 
out the first chapter of “Adventures in 
Silence.” By the way, I would like to 
hear from any deaf people who have had 
strange or unaccountable things happen 
to them—as I have. Our dinner was a 
great success—a turkey and all the “fix¬ 
ings” known to our family combination 
of Cape Cod and Mississippi. There 
were 12 of us to be fed. We may not 
excel in brain power, but it would have 
required a dozen of great capacity to eat 
more dinner than we did. In the late 
afternoon we all went to the community 
Christmas tree in the village a few miles 
away. There is a big pine tree standing 
in the public square, with colored electric 
lights run over it, making a brilliant dis¬ 
play. A great crowd had gathered to 
sing Christmas carols, and finally an up- 
to-date Santa Claus came rolling up m 
a big truck with several barrels of pres¬ 
ents for the children. Then after supper 
we had our own little tree—a cedar, on 
a table in the corner. The simple gifts 
were piled around it. and Cherry-top and 
the Japanese boy gave them out with a 
great flourish. They were all simple and 
inexpensive. You may be. sure there 
were no new cars or rich pianos or dia¬ 
mond rings, for we have all been taught 
that the value of a Christmas gift lies 
not in the money put into it. but in the 
love which accompanies it. And so 
Mother and I sat by the fire and watched 
our brood. We missed little Rose, but 
the others are strong and happy and, as 
we hope, they will never forget these 
quiet days at home. I had a pair of 
slippers, a pair of gloves, a box of hand¬ 
kerchiefs. a book I have long wanted and 
some candy. Wlvat more could a healthy 
young fellow like me call, for when I can 
see love covering every gift? 
***** 
But the tree lights have died out and 
the children have gone upstairs. Let us 
punch up that fire a little and.take up 
the subject we were discussing last 
week. We were trying to explain how and 
why the town has gained a business ad¬ 
vantage over the city. It seems to be 
largely a matter of organization—the 
power which naturally comes to men 
when they group together and combine 
their forces. Of course, the remedy for 
this, if you care to call it by that name, 
is for farmers and country people to or¬ 
ganize and thus combine their own pow¬ 
ers for work and credit and achievement. 
But the second question you asked last 
week was this: 
“If you face the situation fairly, as it 
stands today, does not the future indicate 
that farming is to be the business of an 
inferior type of men and women?. Will 
there be anything in food production to 
attract our most intelligent people?” 
I judge that you have been reading 
some of the books by men like Wells or 
Howe. They can see nothing in the 
future except the big town. Wells 
dreams of a coming time when a. vast 
majority of the human race will be 
crowded into great cities. A few rather 
inferior specimens, he thinks, will be 
found in the country tending flocks and 
herds or growing vegetables, but most of 
the human food, apparently, will be 
chemically prepared for us—the big shop 
or factory taking the place of the farm ! 
Howe thinks the civilization of the rural 
districts will fail and that the city must 
come to the resuce and save the country 
by dominating the rural districts more 
and more. I think it is something of this 
influence which has led the school au¬ 
thorities to attempt to push their city 
theories and practices upon our rural 
districts. When you intimate by your 
question that we are to have an inferior 
class of people in the country you show 
that you have been influenced by this 
talk. 
But do you not think country people 
are inferior to city folks? 
No, I do not. I never will admit any¬ 
thing of the sort. It, may be that some 
city people are what you call smarter. 
Very likely they would grade higher on 
a surface test of superficial manners, but 
on a true test of true manhood and 
womanhood they would rank behind. The 
question s, what do you mean by in¬ 
ferior? Is your superman smart or. is he 
sound? The city people and their de¬ 
fenders have set up an arbitrary standard 
of what they call superior humanity. I 
will not admit that their standard is al¬ 
ways a just one. I think that for intelli¬ 
gence, ability to make a living, love of 
home and country and kindly feeling 
toward his fellow-man, the average coun¬ 
tryman is superior to the . average city 
man. In usefulness, that is, in supply¬ 
ing the actual needs of the nation, I think 
the average farmer is far superior to the 
average town workman. Consider, for 
example, the absolute need of a full sup¬ 
ply of milk in this country, and then com¬ 
pare the national usefulness of a dairy¬ 
man with any of the clerks, salesmen or 
handlers who consider themselves su¬ 
perior. 
I will not, therefore, admit that coun¬ 
try people are inferior either in character 
or mentality or in their occupation. Take 
5.000 country men and women at random 
from the country and an equal number 
from the city. Transpose them—that is, 
put the country people into the city jobs 
and put the city people out on the farms, 
where they must earn their own living. 
What do you suppose would happen? I 
know, because I have seen it tried on a 
small scale. Within a reasonable time 
the country people would be doing the 
city work as well, if not better, than it 
was done before. In the country 00 per 
cent of the city people put on the farm 
would be utterly helpless. They would go 
hungry and cold, in the midst of plenty, 
because the job is too large for them. 
That shows to my mind either that 
farming is a more exacting and compli¬ 
cated enterprise than city employment, or 
that country people are, on the whole, su¬ 
perior in adaptability to city workers. 
The city man claims better “manners,' 
and presents that as evidence of superior¬ 
ity. There was a girl once who had two 
suitors—one was a well-dressed city chap, 
who displayed quite prominently a pair 
of patent-leather shoes. The other was 
a country man of good character and 
ability. The girl chose the latter, be¬ 
cause she said «he wanted a man who 
carried the polish at the right end of his 
body—not on his feet. I have seen a 
blind man trying to cross a busy city 
street corner. At least a dozen city 
people rushed by unheeding until a 
woman, evidently from the country, took 
him by the arm and piloted him across. 
So I will not accept the standard of “su¬ 
periority” set up by people who openly 
despise the country and have no sympa¬ 
thy for farmers. Publishers of good books 
tell me that a large proportion of thought¬ 
ful readers are found in the country. 
Millions of city neople live within half 
an hour of the finest public libraries, yet 
never enter them, but depend on some 
yellow journal for their brain food. On 
the other hand, I can take you to thou¬ 
sands of country homes where the finest 
books are read and re-read and studied 
by thoughtful people. 
But is there to be any future to farm¬ 
ing? 
Surely! It seems to me that is one 
of the most senseless questions I have 
heard. We are now passing through an 
adjustment of business. The war has 
forced great changes upon us, and as 
farming has been slower to change than 
most other lines of business, we have felt 
the shock harder than others have. The 
farmer will always remain the most use¬ 
ful citizen in the world. He is the one 
man who cannot be dismissed . from the 
world's great school. He might dismiss 
himself some day, but he cannot be fired 
out. The world must be fed and clothed. 
Chemistry will do wonders in the future, 
but will not seriously compete with agri¬ 
culture in the production of food. That 
will ever be a job for the man on the 
farm, and as the years go by it will be 
more and more of a man-sized job. More 
food will be demanded, and its produc¬ 
tion will become more and more in a class 
with the highest skilled labor. We are 
now working through a disastrous change. 
Before it is over we shall be forced to 
abandon many of our present methods, 
and very likely much of the land now 
worked at a loss. It will not pay any of 
us to put on the gloves with fate. Bettor 
stay out of the ring and make our changes 
in time. 
Three great things will put us where 
we belong in society. These are self- 
help, organization and patriotic motives. 
We have got to do it ourselves. That is 
as sure as fate. No one will do it for us. 
It is to the interest of the city to keep 
things as they are, or moving in the same 
direction. Before we can greatly improve 
our industrial condition I think we must 
improve our sScial situation and “fix 
For more gas engine power 
and economy this spring 
-install tKe best piston rin^s now! 
When a farm engine has wasted oil or gasoline, lost some 
of its power, or has had too many fouled spark plugs, car¬ 
bon troubles, or repairs of this kind—the chances are that 
its piston rings are leaking. They are probably worn out— 
or imperfectly designed or made. Such an engine needs 
better piston rings if it is to give you complete satisfaction 
during your busy season. 
Install the best piston rings now—while you have the time. 
Put a Superwjt Ring in the top groove of each piston to keep 
oil out of the combustion chamber. That will decrease car¬ 
bon troubles and save lubricating oil. Put the real 
Rings in all lower grooves. Their equal radial pressure 
keeps fuel from wasting past them. It is all compressed 
into power. Your dealer can sell you a size or over-size for 
every make and model of engine. 
Always install 
the combination 
McQuay-Norris Mfg. Co. 
St. Louis, U. S. A. 
Write for Free Book 
It explains why McQuay-Norris 
Piston Ring Equipment will in¬ 
crease gas engine power, save 
fuel and oil, and decrease car¬ 
bon troubles. Address Dept. aR 
Shall Your Boy Know 
Modern Farming? 
The Riggs Agricultural 
High School 
For boys 14 to 17 years old prepares for Agricultural 
colleges. The best development of the youth. Excep¬ 
tional opportunity for instruction in practical carpentry. 
The farm of 175 acres is fully equipped. Every facility 
for outdoor sports and healthful recreation is afforded. 
Gymnasium. Send for booklet. 
F. B. RIGGS, Headmaster 
Lakeville - . - Connecticut 
New York State FARMS 
making farms for sale. We have a size, location and 
pnce to please yon. Stock and tools included on many of 
them. MANDEVILLE REAL ESTATE AGENCY. Inc., Dept. I. Olean, N. V 
P DIMTINf 1 200 letterheads and Envs. with name and ad¬ 
mit lllvu dress, delivered, for $2. Write for sampie. 
MILLER PRINT SHOP. P. O. Box 2864, PHILA., PA. 
FARM 
STATIONERY PRINTED for Poultrymen, Stockmen* 
etc. It pays to make your letters look businesslike. 
Samples printed Envelopes and Letter Heads for any 
postpaid, free. R. N. Howie, Printer, Beebe Plain.Vt. 
PLOWS WM.H. PRAY, Mfg. 
ILrEi TOOLS La Grangevllle, N.Y. 
When you write advertisers mention 
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a quick reply and a “square deal.” See 
guarantee editorial page. 
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