534 
7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
I am glad to report that Spring did not 
come upon us as rapidly as we expected. 
She blew a warm breath over the hill 
and started lip the grass and set the fruit 
buds stirring into life. I thought they 
were coming, but all of a sudden old Win¬ 
ter came back for a final visit lie seemed 
to take Miss Spring by the ear and put 
her in her place, as if to say: 
“None of that, young lady; no vamp¬ 
ing here! You will have your chance 
at them later—when they are older and 
have more sense. No flirting with these 
young people. You will only ruin’ them. 
Stay back in your place where you be¬ 
long.” 
And so in place of the warm breath of 
Miss Spring our fruit buds felt the cold 
blast of Uncle Winter, and they decided 
to keep on studying a while longer. I 
wish there were more human parents and 
guardians who can retain something of 
old-time discipline, and child control. It 
looks to me as if human society is coming 
to be much like my fruit buds, with 
Spring about three weeks ahead and Win¬ 
ter unable to control his ward, waiting 
to get a nip at her victims. No use talk¬ 
ing, too many of our young people are 
being picked or started before they are 
ripe. But he who plays the part of Win¬ 
ter has a thankleess job. While we are 
thankful that Winter is holding our buds 
back, many town people are growling 
because Spring does not come faster. 
$ « 4 $ $ 
The change in the weather will enable 
us to get the “Scalecide” on our trees 
before the buds swell too much. We had 
to buy a new engine for the sprayer this 
year, and it has taken some time to ad¬ 
just it properly, but we exoect to give 
every tree a thorough soaking. While we 
have little, if any, scale left, except in 
one corner of the hill orchard. I am satis¬ 
fied that thorough spraying will pay. We 
abandoned spraying for two years, and 
lost money by doing so. Aside from its 
value in destroying the scale, I am sure 
that the liquid spray on the dormant tree 
gives stronger and healthier fruit buds, 
and thus finer fruit and leaf. While we 
shall continue to use the dust to destroy 
the worms, I feel confident that the liquid 
spray on the dormant tree will be a neces¬ 
sity. There is no use running away with 
our notions and claiming too much for 
either spraying or dusting. I think dust¬ 
ing superior to spraying for Summer 
work when we consider time and labor 
saving. On the other hand, I cannot 
conceive of any dust that will do what 
the liquid spray does to the dormant tree. 
The ideal device would be a machine on 
which the tank and pump can be easily 
taken off and a duster substituted for the 
same working power. 
$ i[i :jc :je 
As for methods of spraying or dusting, 
work them out for him- 
a little dam in the brook, 
back, tli'e sprayer up to it and use the 
>-ngifre to pump the water through a tank 
filler. The spray mixture is then mixed 
with a few gallons of water and poured 
into the .. .. vith the agitator working 
at full power. We usually drive through 
the center of the alley and spray from 
both sides. Some little judgment is re¬ 
quired to put on the liquids properly. 
The tree must be well covered, for you 
cannot kill the scale unless you hit him 
squarely with the liquid. We like to put 
on enough pressure to send the spray out 
in a fine mist, which sifts through the tree 
and Govern every part. By keeping the 
nozzle well moving inside the tree you can 
give a good covering without using too 
much of the liquid so as to cause a drip. 
Before we began spraying I read every¬ 
thing I could find on how to spray, but I 
never did know much about it until I 
saw the work done and held the rod my¬ 
self. This is one of the jobs where a 
man must be at least partly self-taught. 
T hear from some fruit growers who say 
they will not spray this year. Low fruit 
prices and high cost of material have dis¬ 
couraged them. I think they make a 
great mistake. True, things do not look 
bright at this moment, but the clouds will 
pass, and when the sun comes out once 
more the neglected trees will not look or 
act well. 
* * * * * 
The stove wood has been sawed. We 
have nearly two years’ supply ahead. 
The shed is packed like a box of sardines, 
and there is a pile outside. It is dead 
chestnut and apple trimmings. The open 
Winter enabled us to get this wood down 
early, and then we hired a sawing outfit 
and went at the pile. What an appetite 
for sawdust a sharp saw with good power 
behind it can develop! That great pile 
of wood simply melted away. The boys 
will keep it split far ahead of the stove 
needs. We also got out and sold a good 
outfit of fine posts, and hauled some 40 
logs to the mill. These were dead chest¬ 
nut, and oak. and have been cut up into 
lumber. Every farmer knows what a 
^satisfaction it is to have a pile of plank 
and 2x4’s ready at any time for use. The 
dead chestnut made far better lumber 
than I thought possible. It does not 
seem to decay as rapidly as other timbers 
do, and I now learn that there is some 
demand for it for inside wood working. 
I am told that there is fair demand for 
apple and cherry wood, though the cost 
of shipping is so high that there is little 
left for the shipper. These awful freight 
and express rates are ruinous. I think 
they are responsible for a large' share of 
the present stagnation in business. I 
know people who arc able to buy goods, 
and would buy them, but for the fearful 
cost of transportation. These people feel 
that present rates are monstrous and ex¬ 
tortionate, and they simply will not buy 
(although quite able to do so), and be 
held up by what they call legalized rob¬ 
bery. 
* $ * * <c 
Several weeks ago I spoke of the busi¬ 
ness done by the local dealer or middle¬ 
man. A number of readers are getting 
after me because I feel inclined to give 
the much-abused middleman a fair show¬ 
ing. My idea is to give everyone a fair 
chance, and there is no question about 
the service which the local storekeeper 
renders. 'In some cases the community 
The picture given above shows the 
summit of Ivearsarge Mountain in New 
Hampshire. The birthplace of Daniel 
Webster is said to be at the foot of this 
rocky pile. No doubt the “godlike Dan¬ 
iel” tramped over those rocks after the 
sheep as a boy. One would call this a 
rough place to go away from, but ever 
since the world began the important thing 
in life has been not where a man starts 
from but where he ends his career. One 
man may be born in the White House 
and another in a lowly cabin on this 
could not do business without him. or 
at least some substitute for him. I think 
the average middleman charges at least 
twice as much as his services are worth, 
yet he takes risks and assumes responsi¬ 
bilities which his critics will usually de¬ 
cline to assume. What I want to know 
is—who or what will substitute for him 
when he is driven out of business? Sev¬ 
eral readers have come after me hard 
because I say the middleman has become 
the motive power of business habit in 
many localities, but while they abuse the 
middleman, they do not answer my ques¬ 
tion. In the average country community 
perhaps 30 per cent of the people have 
the cash or credit and the confidence 
needed to buy and distribute co-operative¬ 
ly. The other 70 per cent live closely 
and have bought on credit with local 
accommodations all their lives. They do 
not know how to do business in any other 
way, though they are paying a fearful 
tax to habit. Now what happens to 
these people when the local dealer stops 
business? I do not consider that general 
abuse of the middleman is any answer. 
I would join in that if it would do any 
good. I want some man to drop theory 
and tell me what practical business sub¬ 
stitute he has for the middleman. 
:Jc :!» v $ •<* 
We started plowing this year earlier 
than ever before—the first work being 
dope in the back orchards. In former 
years we have thought it necessary to 
plant crops in all these orchards. This 
year such crops will be cut out. These 
orchards will be harrowed several times, 
and in .July seeded to a combination of 
rye, buckwheat and Alsike clover. The 
time has come when we must cut down 
labor, and we begin with these back fields. 
The fruit trees will receive all the benefit 
from plowing, harrowing and fertilizing. 
The cultivated crops will all be grouped 
around the buildings and given extra care. 
I cannot see any outlook for high prices 
this year. Therefore we must cut down 
the cost if possible. Some of our farmers 
think this a good year for potatoes. There 
seems to be a smaller planting at the 
South, but there will be many potatoes 
left over, and without, any question the 
public is demanding fewer potatoes'than 
formerly. I was tempted to plunge in 
potatoes this year, but we have aban¬ 
doned the idea, and will plant not over 
one acre. Sweet corn, tomatoes and fruit 
will be our crop*; this year It looks now 
like a good apple crop, a fair, crop of 
peaches and a reasonable supply of cher¬ 
ries. The prospects show nothing to brag 
about for this year. If we can fully pay 
expenses I shall be satisfied, for I think 
the present depression will work off in 
time, and give us a good chance in the 
future. In a business like ours, based 
upon fruit, we must look to future years 
for full returns. While the immediate 
outlook is not promising, I have _ great 
confidence in the future. T am going to 
plant much as usual this Spring. What 
we are going through now had to come 
as a result of the war. I grant that the 
waters are muddy right now, but they 
will settle in due time. Not one of us 
could bring immediate change, even if we 
were elected President tomorrow and 
given absolute power to hang or jail or 
fine any person we chose to reach. If 
we threw every rascal and robber, great 
and small, into jail tomorrow, it is likely 
that we would create greater loss and 
confusion than we have today. We have 
all got to be mighty patient and do our 
own share first. I think conditions have 
begun to improve a little, and they will 
gain, but I shall work my business this 
year as economically and conservatively 
mountain, and at death each may perhaps 
occupy Ihe birthplace of the other. It 
was Webster who said in one of his 
speeches, l 'Tl\e farmers are the founders 
of human civilization.’' That was spoken 
in the city of Boston at a time when city 
people could be made to believe it, and 
when the strongest of the breed were will¬ 
ing to remain in such locality as we no¬ 
tice in this picture. But how would you 
like to try to make a living on these 
rocks—not blasting out the granite, but 
at farmingf 
as I can. and keep right on thinking and 
talking of better times to come. I believe 
as truly as I believe anything that right 
here on this upper Atlantic slope we shall 
find in the future the njost prosperous 
place for a farmer to do business. 
H. W. C. 
Watch Out for White Grubs 
The State College warns farmers that 
this season is due to see a big crop of the 
white grub pest. They are much more 
prevalent every third year, and were 
troublesome in 1912. 1915 and 1918, and 
will be this year. Farmers will do well 
not to turn sod for corn or potatoes this 
year, but rather should use sod ground 
for other purposes, even if it interrupts 
the rotation. The grubs are the larvae of 
the May or June beetles, which have been 
so abundant as to defoliate trees in some 
sections. Early Spring examination of 
fields cannot be depended upon wholly 
to determine the safety or planting corn 
and potatoes on old sod. Young grubs 
may be overlooked, and areas of infesta¬ 
tion will vary in different parts of the 
fields. F. 
Economics of the Farmer’s Wife 
I have followed the “Primer of Eco¬ 
nomics” with much interest, and agreed 
well with its conclusions until I came to 
page 278, in the description of the life of 
the farmer’s wife as compared with that 
of the city woman. It seems to me that 
in this particular Mr. Dillon has worked 
away from the plain class of economics 
and is working into class feeling or class 
politics. I do not think this is a ques¬ 
tion of political economy and it should 
not be left without stating all the reasons 
why the farm woman has such a hard 
position. It seems to me a mistake to 
picture farm life in this way without full 
explanation, and thus convey the impres¬ 
sion that such results are entirely due to 
political or economic reasons. 
While there are no doubt many people 
or farm women who must do these things 
April 2, 1921 
mentioned, is it not. honestly, in most 
cases her own fault? If any woman gets 
up in a cold room, lights her own fire, 
carries her own wood, and so forth, while 
she has a husband and family, it is her 
own fault for doing what her men folks 
should do for her. It is one of the funda¬ 
mental laws of family life for the man 
and the older children to do the6e things. 
There is something wrong with any wom¬ 
an who permits herself to go throdgh 
these hardships when she has a husband 
and boys who should do the work for her. 
In many thousands of farm homes there 
are stoves and heaters which burn over¬ 
night where wood is used for fuel, and 
any man can at the cost of a few dollars 
arrange a stovepipe so as to make at 
least one room comfortable in the morn¬ 
ing. There are too many cases where 
farmers have money ahead, or where they 
make the barn comfortable and neglect 
the house, though well able to provide 
conveniences. Their failure to do so, and 
the failure of the women to demand what 
is their right, has nothing to do with po¬ 
litical economy or economics, and the 
trouble should not be attributed to eco¬ 
nomic injustice. The failure of the farm¬ 
er to do what is easily within his power 
to make his home comfortable without 
great expense lias driven many a boy and 
girl away from the farm. In my opinion, 
this failure to put the home ahead of the 
barn in comfort and convenience has had 
as much as anything to do with driving 
the children away. It seems to me a mis¬ 
take to print such pictures of class injus¬ 
tice unless the causes for it are all stated. 
In many cases the woman and also the 
man are chiefly responsible for it; the 
woman, because she does not assert her 
home rights, and the man, because he over¬ 
looks them. SUBURBAN. 
New Jersey. 
We are not concerned to have everyone 
agree with our discussion of economics. 
The important thing is that our friends 
study the subject, think about it, and 
form conclusions of their own. To lead 
to this is our best hope and our greatest 
service. 
It seems to me that the subject comes 
clearly within the limits of economic dis¬ 
cussion. The science of economics is 
nothing but an expression of the plain 
common-sense way of doing things to save 
waste, to encourage frugality and to pre¬ 
vent unnecessary expense. So long as we 
discuss the means by which people ac¬ 
quire material things that help satisfy 
their needs we are surely in the realm of 
economics. A bucket in a country well 
and a fauccc on the end of a pipe in a 
city kitchen contribute to daily needs. 
Why not try to find out why the country 
woman must use the bucket in a waste of 
human energy while the city woman saves 
labor by the use of the faucet? We are 
often confused by precedents. Economic 
students usually discuss abstract princi¬ 
ples and academic problems, and their 
readers conclude that anything bearing 
on concrete activities does not belong to 
economics. The truth is that the abstract 
principles must be applied to concrete 
things before we can derive benefit from 
them, and we are trying to square them 
with the problems of the farm. 
A certain package of butter represents 
three days of skilled labor on the farm; 
a certain hat represents one day of skilled 
labor of the shop. The butter and hat 
each sell for a dollar. The farmer gets 
the hat; the hatter gets the butter. The 
exchange is not fair because the three 
days of the farmer’s time is exchanged 
for one day by the hatter. The farmer 
wastes two hours’ time in an improvident 
trade, and in consequence his wife hauls 
water in a bucket while the hatter’s wife 
turns a faucet. The economic authori¬ 
ties develop the principle that the value 
of an article in exchange is determined 
by the amount of labor necessary to pro¬ 
duce it. We apply the rule to butter and 
hat. 
It does not matter whether the wood 
and water are carried by the wife, hus¬ 
band. children or hired man. The lack of 
the conveniences in the country causes a 
lose of energy for some one before the 
needs are supplied. If the farmer c-ould 
exchange the butter which he can make 
in a day for the hat made in a day he 
would then have the butter made in the 
two extra days to pay a plumber to put 
water pipes in the kitchen and bath. 
Suburban is right in one thing. There 
is class politics involved. Politics im¬ 
posed this system of unfair exchange on 
the farmer by the use of a complicated 
exchange through the medium of money. 
Politics sustains it. When the farmer 
break6 down the protecting political wall 
he will then make short work of the sys¬ 
tem that demands three days of his labor 
for the products of one day in the shop. 
