88 
January 19, 1924 
Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
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CHILDREN WHILE 
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learn arithmetic, concentration and alert¬ 
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want to play with your school-going 
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] 500 to 1000% 
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GROWING 
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R. MORRILL & CO., Originators 
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Some Special Offers 
to Introduce Our 
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We will send b» Parcel Post prepaid. Safe arrival in Brood 
condition guaranteed. _ 
• * * .$l.oO 
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Wo will send bf Parcel Poi 
conditioi _ 
110 Concord Grapes, No. 1, 2-year-old, for.SU‘»” 
10 Assorted Grapes, No. 1.. 
6 Fruit Trees, 1 year, 2 each. Cherry, Apple. 1 each 1.50 
100 California Privet Hedge Plants, 12 to lo ins---- 5.00 
iy Or all four collections for $0.00 prepaid. 
Send for REDUCED list of all kinds of TREES. PLANTS and 
VINES. (Established 1855. 68th Year.) 
BARNES NURSERIES 
(College Hill) Cincinnati, Ohio 
Our List of Gladioli Bulbs for 1924 ready. 
Prices low for varieties offered. Will be pleased to mail 
upon request. C. W. Clapp, Pleasant Avc.. Hamburg,.!*, y. 
Postpaid, 
s t 
Gladioli—20 Varieties, all Different, SI 1 n s e 
varieties only. If bought separatoly would cost many 
times price asked. GEI.StR BROS., Boa Y, Dalton, N. Y. 
(a) That without becoming a mem¬ 
ber of the League of Nations as at pres¬ 
ent constituted, the United States shall 
offer to extend its present co-operation 
with the league and participate in the 
DOMESTIC.—Jan. 8 a dust explo- work of the league as a body of mutual 
sion followed by fire destroyed two build- counsel under conditions which 
ings of the Corn Products Co. at Pekin, 1. Substitute moral force and public 
Ill. Forty-four persons were injured, a opinion for the military and economic 
number of them fatally, and 41 persons force originally implied in Articles X and 
were listed as dead or missing. The ex- XVI. 
plosion rooked the surrounding district, 2. Safeguard the Monroe Doctrine, 
and the property loss was heavy. 3. Accept the fact that the United 
The Government’s suit against the States will assume no obligations under 
Chemical Foundation, Inc., was dismissed the Treaty of Versailles except by act of 
by Judge Hugh M. Morris in the United Congress. 
States District Court at Wilmington, 4. Propose that membership in the 
Del., Jan.'3. In an opinion of 20.000 league should be opened to all nations, 
words Judge Morris swept aside every 5 . Provide for the continuing develop- 
contention set up by the Government for ment of international law. • 
recoverv of 5,TOO seized German patents FARM AND GARDEN. Dr. Henry 
and trade marks sold by the Alien Prop- C. Taylor, Bureau of Agricultural Eco- 
erty Custodian to the foundation for the nornies, Washington, D. C., will give an 
nominal sum of $271,000, In its brief address Friday evening, January 25, at , 
charging a plot in the sale of the patents Columbia University, New York City, on. bed of the party prophesied that the 
the Department of Justice recited the the subject: “The Present Plight of the would die within a few weeks and, 
testimony of a German witness that the Farmers—a National Problem.” Dr. enough v when_ the Joys went back 
patents were worth not less than $17,- Taylor’s thorough acquaintance with the 
000,000. An offer of the French Govern- conditions of farming throughout the 
ment to pay 59,000,000 francs for the United States, along with his thorough- 
rights to only a part of the patents also going constructive point of view guar- 
was detailed. The suit, one of the most antees for us an outstanding pronounce- 
important of the post-war cases brought ment on this subject. Persons who are 
by Attorney-General Daugherty, charged interested in attending should apply for 
conspiracy, violation of trust, inadequate cards of admission to the Institute of 
return and unlawful action in the private 
sale of the property by the Alien Proper¬ 
ty Custodian. The sale was attacked as 
invalid. Judge Morris found that none 
of these contentions was sustained. 
Jan. 3, 11 fishermen were swept to 
death from a small power boat after 
hours of struggle on Fire Island Bar, 
Long Island Sound. Five men were 
rescued after heroic struggles. 
S. E. J. Cox, nationally known oil pro- 
moter, in the county jail at Ft. Worth, 
Tex., under sentence for using the mails 
to defraud, has been barred the use of the 
United States mails, according to a fraud 
order by Postmaster-General New re¬ 
ceived at Houston. Cox .was. sentenced 
to eight years in the penitentiary when 
tried as an associate of Dr. Frederick A. 
Cook. , 
Five bandits held up two messengers of 
the Centropolis State Bank, Fifteenth 
Street and Belmont Avenue, . Kansas 
City, Mo., Jan. 4, and escaped with $32,- 
500 intended for payrolls. 
Fire at Ocean Park, Cal., an amuse¬ 
ment resort near Los Angeles, Jan. 0, 
caused damage estimated at nearly $ 2 ,- 
000 ,000. , TT _ r . 
Governor Smith has pardoned Harry W i- 
ni'tsky, of New York, who was convicted 
in March, 1920, with James Larkin and 
others under 'the criminal anarchy 
statute. He was sentenced to a term of 
not less than five nor more than 10 
years. After Winitsky had served more 
than two years of his sentence he was 
released on bail pending his appeal to 
the Court of Appeals, which unanimously 
affirmed the conviction. He now is at 
liberty under a certificate of resonable 
doubt. . . 
Gov. Silzer of New Jersey, in his first 
annual message delivered to the Legisla¬ 
ture Jan. 9, recommended reduction of 
taxes, more equitable distribution of tax 
The tree illustrated is one in which a 
large cavity has been filled with cement. 
Many tree lovers do not realize how often 
the life of a crippled or aged tree may be 
saved in this way. The cavity is first 
many years ago. When the scientist 
compares his recollection of an incident 
with the notes he made at the time, he 
finds his memory so faulty that he does 
not fully trust the memory of others un¬ 
less there is some written evidence to 
back it up. 
In its best development the story 
usually goes that the one telling it (it 
is my impression that it is a woman in 
about four-fifths of the cases) was pick¬ 
ing blackberries or blueberries on a hill¬ 
side in the pasture and was startled by 
the sudden appearance of a snake. Drop¬ 
ping the pail with a great clatter, the 
terrified child rushed down the hill, 
closely pursued by the vicious reptile. 
In most cases, the child was saved by 
some older member of the party, who 
killed the snake or drove it away. In a 
few cases, the snake struck at the child 
and hit a small tree so hard that its 
stinger stuck and held it fast until it 
could be killed. Then some older mem- 
bed of the party prophesied that the tree 
sure 
there 
rabbit hunting they found the tree with 
the shriveled remnants of its leaves still 
hanging from the dead branches. At 
some point in the story it is brought in 
that the snake coiled itself up in the 
form of a hoop and rolled down the hill 
after the child. 
The story is open to attack at three or 
more points. It is possible that more 
girls than boys went berrying, but not 
probable that the proportion was any¬ 
where near four to one. It is a little un¬ 
usual that a child, beside itself with ter¬ 
ror, should see so minutely what was go¬ 
ing on behind it as it ran down the hill. 
It is not uncommon for young trees in 
old bush pastures to die suddenly in mid¬ 
summer from the effects of insects, fire or 
grazing, and it is not always possible, 
without careful marking, to tell which 
one of several, similarly placed, trees 
was under discussion several weeks pre¬ 
viously. 
In regard to the first point: It is 
noticeable that, of men who are about the 
same age as the women who tell the 
hoop snake story, a great many tell of 
killing large blacksnakes among the berry 
bushes of the hill pastures. The snake 
commonly known as blacksnake, black 
racer or blue racer is said on pretty good 
evidence to have a habit of chasing per¬ 
sons who run away from it. This snake 
is often found among bushes and can run 
very fast over the top of thick brush. 
No comment is needed on the second 
point. Very simple tests will demon¬ 
strate the third point. 
The hoop snake story appeared in print 
in South Carolina at least as early as 
1784, and was probably current much 
earlier. So far as we can find, it was 
not adopted from the Indians, and it 
does not appear in the folk-lore of any 
other country. 
In Central Africa there are snakes 
with a rather peculiar sharp, horny tip 
to the tail. The natives tell the same 
“stinging snake” story about them as is 
told of the “hoop snake,” but without 
the hoop part. The “stinging . snake” 
story was published from South Carolina 
about the time negroes were brought to 
that colony from Barbadoes. It seems 
TO US _ 
And Gel Your Check by Return Mail 
Highest Prices• Honest Grading. 
mb Me va p Price list and valuable information to 
FREE trappers. Write NOW for your copy 
ASEDELMAN 5C0.INC 
Dept. 38, 333-7th Ave., New York, N. Y. 
“lore Potatoes” 
POTATO PLANTER than 
by any other method of 
planting. Work perfectly ac¬ 
curate, A simple, strong, 
durable machine. Write 
for CATALOG, price, etc. 
A. J. PLATT, MFR. 
BOX A. STERLING. HJu 
IiauM . _ _„ „_ well cleaned out, dead and dying tissue 
hurdens nmtection of consumers against being removed, treated with a fungicide probable that the story was brought to 
coal MofiteerS”obedienceto the Presi- or disinfectant, and then carefully filled America from Africa and that the “hoop 
dent’s request °for enforcement of Pro- with cement, so that the bark will grow snake” was a later elaboration of a story 
hibition and stringent regulation of the over the edges of the wound. Tree surg- already current among the negro popu¬ 
late of deadly weapons. ery of this class is often called for on 
WASHINGTON.—Fraud and corrup- the farm, for beautiful trees are not only 
■ ~ an adornment of the homestead, but a 
valuable asset. 
tion existed in the Veterans’ Bureau un¬ 
der the dictatorship of Charles h. 
Forbes, Major-Gen. John F. O’Ryan of 
New York, general counsel for the Senate 
veterans’ committee, asserts in a report 
filed with the committee now investigat¬ 
ing the bureau, Jan. 7. Moreover, Gen. 
O’Ryan charges that Forbes himself 
“was a leading actor in an established 
conspiracy to defraud the Government’ 
lation. 
It seems probable that several snakes 
had a part in the building up of the 
“hoop snake” story. The mud snake of 
the cypress swamps of the South has a 
hard, horny, sharp tip on its tail, which 
it seems to use as an anchor. This is a 
big, strong snake, reaching a length of 
6 ft. or more, with a thickness greater 
than a man’s wrist. When a large mud 
snake is trying to pull away from a per¬ 
son who is holding it, it may press the 
Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 
New York City. 
Beginning February 9th, George M. 
Rommel, formerly chief Animal Hus¬ 
bandry Division United States Depart- 
suuaiy iu ucuauu -- ment of Agriculture, will start a course - . . ,, - - , . , 
on hospital contracts, and he names as at Columbia University in “Livestock point of the tail against the flesh hard 
other parties to the alleged conspiracy, Production on Eastern Farms.” Changes enough to be unpleasant. The stinging 
C. B. Hurley, president of the Hurley- in freight rates and labor conditions in snake story lias been, at Jeast in part, 
Mason Company of Tacoma; J. W. the last few years call for a reappraise- 
Thompson, a St. Louis contractor; the ment of the whole live stock situation on 
late James W. Black of Chicago and Eastern farms. 
Elias A. Mortimer of Philadelphia, the 
chief witness in the committee’s public 
hearings. Ewing Laporte of Pittsburgh, 
an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 
in the Wilson Administration, and E. L. 
One Crop Pays forLand 
Chamber of Commerce 
Sold only to practical farmers. 
If interested write 
: Hereford, Colorado 
... 
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II Intensive Strawberry |l 
Culture 
By LOUIS GRATON 
11 This book has grown out of Mr. || 
i| Graton’s more than 40 years’ experi- || 
11 ence as a successful strawberry cul- || 
ll turist. Of special value to the home || 
II gardener and small commercial || 
|| grower, producing high quality her- || 
II ries and plants. Price, $1.00. For |j| 
II sale by RURAL NEW-YORKER, jp 
11 333 West 30th Street, N. Y. 
II if 
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?;,,,, !IMIIIII i ii77?7TTnT iiiijTiiiiiiiiii)iimrmiiiHiiiii)iiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiitiiniiiiiiiiimtiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iitiiiinii>ik 
in “Soil Management and Crop Produc¬ 
tion,” beginning February 7. This is a 
course intimately connected with live 
_ stock production. Persons interested in 
Morse, prominent in Missouri Republi- these courses should apply for informa- 
can politics, are assailed in connection tion to University Extension, Columbia 
with the purchase of Morse’s homestead University, New York City. 
■at Excelsior Springs, Mo., for a hospital --- 
transferred to this snake. When the hog¬ 
nosed snake is annoyed it sometimes 
Lotcui “throws a fit” and then “plays ’possum.” 
Professor O. S. Morgan gives a course It often stops in a position which might 
- - suggest that it had fallen from the posi¬ 
tion of a rolling hoop. Many snakes 
will make very threatening motions when 
startled, and may even attack viciously, 
although they have plenty of chance to 
escape. 
The backbone, so to speak, of the hoop 
snake story seems to be the blacksnake 
a-t $90,000. 
Senator Edge of New Jersey, in a 
speech delivered Jan. 8 , called for more 
businesslike management of the merchant 
marine, advocating his bill for the aboli¬ 
tion of the Shipping Board. He favors 
one powerful executive head. He as¬ 
serted that the American people are pay¬ 
ing more than $60,000,000 a year to op¬ 
erate a government-owned merchant ma¬ 
rine. 
The Senate, Jan. 8 . passed a bill creat¬ 
ing a bureau of civil aeronautics in the 
Commerce Department. This bureau 
would encourage and regulate- civil air¬ 
craft in interstate and foreign commerce, 
lay out routes, and co-operate with the 
Weather Bureau in procuring data. 
THE BOK PEACE PLAN. — The 
American Peace Award, financed by Mr., 
Bok, has accepted a plan for permanent 
The Story of the Hoop Snake 
Is there such a thing as a hoop snake? 
and its lighter colored relative, the blue 
racer.' The story does not seem to be 
well known except where one or the 
other of these snakes is found. The very 
Would you give me infoi-mation concern- g reat speed of these snakes undoubtedly 
in S „ L - B - helped the story. 
Bliss, N. 1. The h 00 p snake undoubtedly exists, 
‘There is such a thing as a “hoop although we shall not be able to put a 
snake,” but fortunately or otherwise, it speeiment in any museum. There is no 
seems to belong to the same group of question that many of those who tell 
things as the kraken and the sea serpent, the story were actually chased by 
That is, a group of things which, so. far 
as we know now, exist only in the minds 
of those who see them, but which have 
some real physical basis for the common 
belief in their existence. 
The story exists in many forms, and 
is told seriously by a great many per¬ 
sons as having happened to them or to 
Many of these 
hoop snake.” More girls than boys 
were so chased because the other boys 
stopped to kill the blacksnake, blue 
racer, hog-nosed snake, water snake or 
other vicious reptile. In some cases, 
there is the probability that there was 
something similar to the old story of the 
race between the rabbit and the hedge¬ 
hog, the snake that was killed not being 
the one that attacked. We pride our- 
hard sense” and 
relatives or /friends. 
n(m „ na stories are told with suc-h wealth of de 
peace that proposes the following fea- tail that they would carry great weight selves on our good bard sense 
tnres * in a court of law. Neverthless, it is all speak slightingly of these other things 
1. That the United States shall imme- circumstantial evidence, the corpus de- 11+ ‘.mwinar 
diately enter the Permanent Court of lieti has never been proved. To the 
International Justice, under the condi- scientist, the most serious fault in the 
itions stated by Secretary Hughes and evidence is that, in every case, it is a 
President Harding in February, 1923. memory record of an event that, happened 
as "imaginary,'' but science is showing 
every day that many “imaginary” things 
are more real than some “realities,” and 
that there is no hard and fast line be¬ 
tween the two. ALF3ED C. WEED. 
