/ 434 W. 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 12, 1921 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
I must say that about the last thing 
we expected at Washington’s Birthday 
was an old-fashioned blizzard. It is true 
that most of the weather prophets agreed 
we were to have some weather, and we 
will give them credit for being like George 
Washington in one respect at least—they 
report what in their judgment is the truth. 
I will guarantee that most of them were 
shocked, as we were, when they looked 
out on Sunday morning and saw the white 
whirlwind that was blowing in upon us. 
Great drifts were forming all along the 
fences or where the wind had a full 
sweep, and the air was full of dancing 
whiteness. Mrs. Winter seemed to have 
suddenly realized that Spring company 
was coming and would catch her at poor 
housekeeping. For here was the good old 
earth, left in Winter’s care, like an old 
man with rough, unwashed face and very 
scanty covering. You know how the 
housekeeper who follows you comments on 
the evidences of poor housekeeping you 
leave behind when you go—and Miss 
Spring is very critical. So Mrs. Winter 
proceeded to throw a thick, white blanket 
over the earth, and then employed her old 
friend Jack Frost to come and fasten it, 
down with his icy fingers. It would have 
been all right if Winter and Frost had 
not given us to understand that they had 
both taken a vacation. As it is, we think 
they played a trick on us. 
***** 
There was very little use talking about 
church with such a storm raging, so we 
Started a good blaze in the fireplace and 
disposed ourselves for the day. The chil¬ 
dren were radiant with happiness over 
the storm. Cherry-top had expected to 
play the violin at a church concert in the 
evening, but you can hardly expect to 
make a concert a success unless you have 
an audience. So the wind may provide 
the music tonight and the violin will wait 
until next Sunday. The boy improves the 
opportunity to practice his part. But 
what would the old folks who brought me 
up have said to this idea of playing the 
fiddle in church! In those days a fiddle 
was supposed to be a true instrument of 
the devil. It was said that the fiddle led 
the feet into most unholy paths. I imagine 
the old folks would have smashed that 
violin or sold it! The children put on 
their boots and warm clothes and ran into 
the storm, where they fairly wallowed in 
the snow. I saw some large object out 
there with them, and found that my 
daughter had put on her college basket¬ 
ball suit and was playing snow woman. 
Soon there came a call over the ’phone 
for our horses to help break out the roads. 
Thomas had gone off in his car, but we 
finally located him some 10 miles away, 
arid before long his car had forded the 
streams and pushed through the drifts 
and came panting into the yard. The 
girls had prepared a great Sunday dinner. 
There was a piece of roast pork, potatoes, 
turnips,, onions and rice, and a big pan- 
dowv or apple pudding. There is an¬ 
other case! Ilaw my old folks would 
have exploded if the daughter of that gen¬ 
eration had attempted to express her idea 
of the joy of living by preparing a hot 
feast on Sunday! They would have 
called it a substitution of eating for re¬ 
ligion, I fear. After dinner Thomas 
hitched up the big grays and with Cherry- 
top for ballast went out to help the neigh¬ 
bors clear the track. Tom and Broker 
plunged into the big drifts like elephants, 
and smashed the sled though behind them. 
Broker acted as if his warm stall would 
be preferable to a hip-high snowdrift, but 
Tom has a dash of warm blood in his 
veins. I have no doubt his great-grand¬ 
mother kicked up her heels at the very 
joy of speeding down the road in those 
happy days before the car. So Tom 
plunged into the harness and snorted at 
Broker: 
"Come, brother, put on a little pride. 
This is our day. The truck and the car 
have been insulting us and taking our job 
away—now they are as helpless as babies. 
All their smelling gasoline will be power¬ 
less to push them through this. It’s our 
day, brother. They can't get on without 
ns. Wo are masters of the situation. 
Rub it in. so they will always remember 
it. They claim we are a mere encum¬ 
brance. Here is where we prove ourselves 
a necessity! Come on. Hold up your 
head. We lead the procession.” 
***** 
Old Tom is about right. A storm of 
this sort gives us the acid test. The truck 
and the ear are fine fair-weather serv¬ 
ants, when the roads are smooth and 
skies are fair. But in time of storm the 
good old horse comes to the front. And 
so the helpless cars stood impotent under 
cover until Tom and Broker and their 
companions cleared the tracks for them. 
And then the cars came out on the road 
once more, with less pride in their snort 
and cough, while the horses stamped in 
their stalls and took a fresh grip on their 
importance. In our neighborhood strong 
horses are scarce, for trucks and cars are 
numerous, but the few that are left surely 
had their day in this blizzard. Later in 
the week, after the storm settled. Thomas 
hitched Tom and Broker to the big sled 
and gave the children of the local school 
a straw ride. There were 26 children 
packed into and upon the sled, and the 
grays pranced and trotted as if proud of 
their load—for were they not for the mo¬ 
ment assistant educators? I never did ex¬ 
pect to live to see the day when a sleigh 
ride would be considered such a novelty 
in Northern New Jersey, but the cars have 
nearly driven the horses out of business 
and a sleigh is now as great a novelty in 
our country as a car was 20 years ago. 
And this change has forced us all to pre¬ 
pare the roads so that they will accom¬ 
modate the cars. The road bed is smooth¬ 
er and harder, and we are learning how 
to keep them cleared of snow. That is 
an illustration of the way the inventive 
mind of man keeps up with progress, or 
rather a little ahead of it. Once, when I 
lived in Mississippi, there came the first 
snowstorm in 40 years. The ground was 
white for almost 48 hours, and the people 
turned out on boxes, boards, anything 
that a horse or mule could haul, that they 
might say they had “a sleigh ride.” It 
was a novelty; but I never expected to 
see it in New Jersey. King Louis of 
France put up a greater “novelty.” In 
a mild, open Winter some women of his 
court demanded a sleigh ride. So the 
monarch had tons of white sugar scat¬ 
tered over the roads and lawns. Those 
lazy parasites put on their furs, got into 
sleighf and rode about in tin 1 sugar pre¬ 
tending they were riding through the 
snow! They could not see the grim shad¬ 
ow 'of the headsman who was to cut off 
the head of the king’s descendant for just 
such foolish crimes against the poor. I 
thought of many of such things as the 
wind roared and the snow piled up. It 
has upset our Winter work and done us 
iome damage, but it holds the first buds 
nack. and here come the children rosy and 
happy and without a care. They have 
caught an owl, and from his cage on my 
table this wise old hird is looking at me 
as if to say: 
“Cheer up, neighbor, you can’t prove 
it is not all for the best!” 
* * * * * 
You remember that a few weeks ago I 
wrote about grain prices, and said many 
of our Eastern farmers want to know 
where cheap corn can be bought. Some 
of our Western friends take me right at 
my word and offer the corn. I am going 
to print the following letter just as it 
came as a fair sample of what those 
Western men have to offer. This seems 
to me as straight a proposition as I have 
seen. There are other letters from va¬ 
rious States. On general principles it 
would look as if such a business would 
pay both parties, but I think the corn 
should be dried before shipping to the 
Atlantic coast. 
“I have just read in your ‘Hope Farm 
Notes’ what you say about wanting to 
buy cheap Western corn. I am a member 
of a farmers’ elevator company here. I 
called up the manager and asked him if 
he could furnish several carloads of corn 
on track at 55c per bu. He says he can. 
All you would need to do would be to 
send money to the Conrad State Bank, 
with instructions to pay as the cars were 
loaded and bills of lading turned in to the 
bank. 
“We would send samples of the corn 
for your inspection. It is good, sound, 
bright grain, but. like all corn from the 
crib at this time of year, contains about 
20 per cent moisture. We ship this corn 
to Chicago, a distance of 300 miles, with¬ 
out loss or danger of heating, but you 
would be taking some risk on so long a 
distance, as the cars might encounter 
warm, damp weather on the way, which 
might start the grain to heating. _ Your 
second risk would be with the railroad. 
They might take a notion to set your cars 
out somewhere and leave them for two or 
three weeks, or even two or three months. 
If you want to try it we can furnish the 
corn. We would have to get the order 
soon, as prices are coming up some now.” 
Conrad, Iowa, harrow rockhill. 
***** 
Another thing: in all this discussion of 
co-operative work we must consider 
things just as they are and be fair to all. 
In most country districts of the Fast 
business has settled into the hands of lo¬ 
cal dealers. The long-established dealer 
or storekeeper has become a part of local 
industry. He keeps stocks of necessities 
and sells in all quantities. He gives 
credit often on long terms. He will often 
accept chattel mortgages. He usually 
cashes checks for those who have no bank 
accounts. In most cases he leads in pub¬ 
lic* improvements, because such things 
help his trade. He plays the. part of 
agent, banker, dealer and adviser. As 
business is now done he is a necessity to 
the community. I think that as a rule 
he charges far too much for his services, 
but he does give a service which under 
our present system is necessary. Now if 
this man is put out of business through 
co-operative development, who or what is 
to take his place? In my own neighbor¬ 
hood. and every country place in which I 
have lived, most people have acquired the 
lifelong habit of doing business through 
the dealer. A minority of more enterpris¬ 
ing people will advance the cash and buy 
to better advantage through co-operation, 
but the great majority have formed the 
habit of depending on the dealer. Can 
they do business if he is driven out? 
AVIiat will be substituted for his system? 
That is what I want to know about co¬ 
operation. I can see great possibilities in 
it for the intelligent and financially strong. 
Habit is as strong as humanity. What 
about the majority who seem to be fixed 
in the present svptem of distribution? I 
have no doubt this has all been thought 
out carefully. What is the answer? 
As I write that my eye falls upon the 
owl in the cage. He looks at me steadily 
out of his wise old eye for a moment, and 
then hops off his perch. The children 
have put a dead mouse in his cage, and 
perhaps in answer to my oimstion the owl 
proceeds to tear his dinner apart! H. w. c. 
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