1060 ‘The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Boys and Giri 
By Edward M. Tuttli 
s 
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Here is Our Page, full of interest and helpful sugges¬ 
tions. We feel better and happier after reading it. 
Come On In! Don't You Wish You Could? 
Memory Verse 
The month that is may pass away. 
Its pui-pose served, why need it stay? 
The one best suited takes its place, 
And gives the earth a fairer face. 
And so. in passing, one by one, 
The months do wisely what is done; 
And each in turn is welcomed back, 
For each one has what others lack. 
—Author not given. Sent by Louise 
Foye, Pennsylvania. 
August is passing, and in a few days 
/September will be here. Every boy and 
girl knows what September means. It 
means school, and one of these days soon 
you will get your books together, put up 
your lunch and start off down the road 
toward the schoolhouse with its calling 
bell. 
Of course, you feel sorry a bit that the 
days of vacation are over. But I believe 
that nearly all of you are glad, really 
glad, to be going once more among your 
•friends and playmates. 'If you think a 
minute you will be glad, too, that, you have 
the privilege of another year at school. 
All too soon school days will be over and 
you will be looking back to them longingly. 
Make the most of them now. 
What are you doing at school? You 
are getting a set of the tools of life— 
knowledge of reading, writing, arithmetic, 
spelling and the other things that every 
educated person needs. You are sharpen¬ 
ing these tools by drill and by practice 
until you have them keen and ready for 
use. And I hope that you are using the 
tools as you go along, taking your every¬ 
day experiences at home, out of doors, on 
(he farm, on the road to school and tying 
them closely with your school life. In 
school you can make use of all you do out¬ 
side of school. Out of school you will find 
that what you learn in school is helping 
you in many ways. When you look at 
school in this way you will be eager for 
it and anxious to get all that it can give 
you. I hope you will have a fine, happy, 
growing year. Tell me about it as you. 
go along. 
We just have room this month for a 
few good 
Letters 
I have been wanting to write to you 
for some time, and I thought while I had 
the chance I’d do so. I think Our Page 
is very interesting and helpful. 
I am sending you a picture of my little 
sister churning butter. Isn’t it cute? _ I 
had a hard time getting her to keep still. 
But it was worth my efforts, wasn’t it? 
I think it will help Our Page a little. It 
is getting to be better each month, and our 
fathers and mothers should be proud of it. 
I bought my camera with the money I 
earned by selling a pig, and I bought the 
fH. Nkliolas Magazine besides. I think 
the letter that Estella wrote about schools 
is very good, and should be thought over 
by our boys and girls. (See June page.) 
' I will close now, but this won’t be my 
last letter. Your interested reader. 
Maryland. dorotiiy moore. 
Few things that boys and girls can have 
will give more real pleasure for years and 
years than a good camera, rightly used. 
I think we will agree that Dorothy has 
done well and has sent us an interesting, 
artistic, clear picture. I hope more of 
you will let us see what you “shoot” on 
your camera “hunts.” 
I have never written to you before, but 
as I am a reader of the Boys’ and Girls’ 
Page I got very interested in it, and I 
thought I would try and write you a let¬ 
ter. 
II live on a farm of 112 acres. I like 
a farmer’s life very well. My father 
keeps 12 head of cows, including the 
yearlings and calves. We also have two 
horses. Sometimes I have to help with 
the milking and sometimes with the house¬ 
work. 
I am 13 years old, and in the eighth 
grade at school. I expect to go to high 
school in September. I have one sister 
and two brothers going to school. We 
have three miles to go and we drive one 
of our horses. I ’most always drive him, 
as I like to drive very well. 
My father has a flock of 120 chickens, 
and I have 22. I have not taken any 
pictures of them yet. I am sending you a 
picture of me and my flower garden that 
I had last Summer. We are all very 
fond of flowers. The flowers in it are 
carnations, pansies, asters, Zinnias, a wax 
and ever-blossom plant, sweet peas and 
(’liinese pinks. They all bloomed and they 
were lovely. Don’t you think it made up 
a great combination? 
I have to work on the farm a lot. I 
always take care of the chickens, but 
when 1 am at school I can’t, as I have to 
leave at 8 o’clock and get home at about 
5:30 oeloek. In the Summer I have to 
pick huckleberries and help my father and 
brother with the haying. I rake almost 
all of our hay, and I like to do it. 
I will close, wishing good luck to Our 
Page. JEANNE LARORDE. 
Con neeticut. 
What a busy, happy girl is Jeanne! It 
is a great thing to fill the days with 
worth-while work and play, and a farm 
offers such a chance for variety. Every 
boy and girl can find some interest, some 
thing to do that helps. We are very glad 
to see the picture of Jeanne among her 
flowers. 
Your editor was so pleased to receive 
the following letter, and feels that it con¬ 
tains so much for all boys and girls to 
think about that he is printing it and the 
answer which was sent: 
My Dear Mr. Tuttle: 
As I was looking over my rather meager 
collection of books today, I came across 
one entitled “Robinson Crusoe.” It 
brought to my mind the one who gave it 
to me several years ago, Mr. Tuttle, and 
I decided to write you a short letter. It 
has indeed been a long time since I have 
heard from you and you from me. But 
in those four or five years I have not for¬ 
gotten you. 
For a couple of years I lost all trace of 
you, and then one day I saw in The 
Rural New-Yorker that there was to 
be a Boys’ and Girls’ Page once a month, 
with Edward Tuttle as editor. I was glad 
to see that you were still working with 
the young folks, and I am sure that Our 
l’age will be a success, for the younger 
ones seem to take a profound interest in 
the work. Although I now study the 
problems of older folks more, I delight in 
reading Our Page. 
Last month I finished my high school 
course, and probably my schooling for 
good. At one time (I think you will re¬ 
call that time) I thought I would go to 
Cornell when I had finished high school, 
but I have changed my plans. 
1 We are busy on the farm these days. 
We just finished picking cherries, of which 
there was a very light crop, and berries. 
Now we are haying and harvesting the 
oats. All the crops seem to come three 
or four weeks earlier than usual. 
Two years ago I took a course in fruit 
growing in high school. We had a fine 
teacher—a Cornell graduate. This course 
was indeed interesting and helpful, and I 
think more of these practical courses 
should be taught in the schools. For the 
past year I studied poultry raising, caring 
for 150 White Leghorn birds as a project. 
I certainly enjoy these courses of study. 
Well, Mr. Tuttle, I think I will have 
to “hang up” for this time. I would very 
much enjoy a nice long letter from you, 
for you certainly can write such good let¬ 
ters. Let me hear from you soon. 
Please excuse mistakes, as I have had 
my typewriter only a short time, and am 
not expert at operating it as yet. As 
ever, your friend. eimvard haag. 
New York. 
Dear Edward: 
One of the greatest joys of working 
with boys and girls is that they do not 
forget. There may be a silence of years 
and then all at once there comes such a 
letter as you have just written me. 
How it all comes back! We wrote to 
each other several times, and then you and 
your father came on a visit to the college 
while I was there, and 1 had the pleasure 
of showing you about the buildings and 
grounds. You were not very old then, 12 
or 13, I think, and you were shy and did 
not say much, but I could see that you 
were taking everything in and would re¬ 
member. Then before you took the train 
we stopped in a book store and I bought 
you the “Robinson Crusoe” to remember 
the visit by. 
So you have finished high school! That 
is fine! Of course, I am sorry you do 
not see your way clear to go to college, 
but only a few boys out of a great many 
can do that. Perhaps you will go to a 
short course some Winter. Anyway, the 
great thing is to have your high school 
diploma. Every boy needs that. It is 
the foundation of a good education. From 
now on you can educate yourself by intel¬ 
ligent reading, thought, work and associa¬ 
tion with people. Later there will come 
seme opportunities to travel a little, no 
doubt. 
I am especially pleased to know that 
you are sticking to the farm. It is a good 
life in so many ways. There is much 
hard work to be sure, but in any line one 
must work hard if he truly succeeds. We 
are just beginning a great period when 
farmers are getting together, organizing 
to benefit their business. It is a time 
when strong leaders who have their feet 
on the soil are needed. 
It is a time also when every man needs 
to cultivate the spirit of following his 
leaders. Be a good follower, and some 
day you will be a good leader. Few lines 
of work offer so much to a young man who 
can “make good” as agriculture in all its 
phases. 
And the girls, too, have big opportuni¬ 
ties in the country as the newer and easier 
August 27, 1021 
ways of caring for homes and the family 
are better known and more widely used. 
What greater service is there in the world 
than to help in making a real home, filled 
with happy, busy folk—good friends, good 
neighbors, good citizens. 
You see your letter has set me going, 
and really I must stop. Our positions 
have changed. I used to send you type¬ 
written letters w-hen 1 had a secretary to 
make them. Now I have to write long- 
hand and you use the typewriter. There 
was no need of apology. It was very well 
done. 
I hope it may not be so long before you 
write again, but, at. any rate, that makes 
no great difference. You can always 
count on me as 
Your friend, 
EDWARD M. TUTTLE. 
Evidently you are all well acquainted 
with the 
Woodchuck 
So many of you sent answers to last 
month’s Nature Puzzle. Nearly all were 
correct, though two said rabbit (but how 
could that be?) and one said prairie dog 
(which was not a bad guess). Your ed¬ 
itor is astonished at your reports of the 
numbers of woodchucks on your farms. 
Surely they must be a very bad pest in- 
JiaTjij Butter 
deed, and need to be controlled or we 
should soon be overrun with them. The 
list of those sending right answers up to 
August 0 and one lctrer telling of an 
experience with a woodchuck are given 
below: 
Connecticut—Ruth B., Blanche E., Dor¬ 
othy II., Harry A. 
Delaware—Grace C. 
Indiana—Edith G. 
Maine—Altena C., Warren L., Clay¬ 
ton II. 
Maryland—Vera N. 
Massachusetts—Priscilla W., Benjamin 
I).. Elnora II., Caroline I’., Etta <’., Bea¬ 
trice I. 
Michigan—Rosalie IT.. Dorothy DeAV. 
New Hampshire—John P. 
New Jersey—Dorothy A., Susie S., 
Cora W. 
New York—Florence S., Helen II., 
Christine S., Harold I., Mildred 1.,, Roger 
AV., Laura L., Mabel S.. Alice II.. Martha 
G-, Eleanora AY„ Hazel I).. Philip IL, 
Chrys.tal J., Inez IL. Ann AV., Marjorie T., 
Carrie I’., Marian I’., Thelma D., Isabel 
II., Althea T.. Clarion II., Margaret 
MacK., Gladys F.. Ruth AV., Myrtle S., 
Alta E., Dorothv M. 
Ohio—Esther B., Mary Z. 
Pennsylvania—Louise F., B. M. K., 
Grace M., Helen II., Dorothy V., Elinor 
D.. Morton A., Alice C.. Hattie G. 
Ithode Island—Arthur N. 
Vermont—AVarren B. 
AA T est A’irginia—Isaiah AV. 
I think the answer to the nature puz¬ 
zle is a woodchuck. If it is, they also 
feed on clover and generally the hole is 
placed in or near a clover or thick grass 
patch. I here are quite a good many 
woodchucks on our farm, and nearly every 
time we go out in the field we see one or 
more of them. 
One day, when I was out in the field, a 
woodchuck came out of his hole just 
ahead of me. He sat up and looked around 
and then started on. I was so sprprised 
at first that I stopped; then l began to 
walk slowly toward him. He would sit 
up and look around every few minutes. I 
kept going toward him and I got quite 
near to him before he saw me and went 
into a hole. AVhen I told my father about 
it he said that if I had stopped every time 
the woodchuck did I might have got nearer 
to him, as that was the way the Indians 
used to “stalk” a woodchuck. 
You wanted to know how the School of 
Nature and the School of Books can be 
brought together. _ I think that by having 
nature study in with other school subjects 
and working up an interest in outdoor 
Jeanne Among Her Flowers 
