50 
The  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
January  13,  1923 
HOPE  FARM  NOTES 
“The  Little  Red  Hen” 
Past  I. 
“Life  is  a  search  for  power!”  As  a 
young  man  I  heard  a  minister  preach  a 
sermon  on  that  text.  It  greatly  im¬ 
pressed  me,  and  I  have  always  remem¬ 
bered  at  least  one  statement  in  it.  Among 
other  things  he  quoted  Shakespeare : 
“Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve 
greatness,  and  some  have  greatness  thrust 
upon  ’em.” 
The  preacher  went  on  to  say  that  every 
young  man  who  is  worth  anything  dreams 
of  the  time  when  he  will  be  accepted  as 
a  great  leader.  When  he  gets  to  the 
point  where  his  soul  is  convinced  that  it 
can  never  rise  to  greatness  in  any  line 
or  particular,  the  man’s  mission  on  earth 
(if  he  ever  had  any)  is  decayed  beyond 
revival !  It  was  a  hard  and  stern  doc¬ 
trine.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  whether 
life  has  proved  its  truth  to  me  or  not. 
The  poet  has  a  different  view : 
“Hope  spring  eternal  in  the  human  breast, 
Man  never  is.  but  always  to  be  blest.” 
You  may  take  your  choice.  At  any 
rate,  we  young  fellows  who  on  that  far¬ 
away  and  long-forgotten  day  listened  to 
the  sermon  felt  sure  that  we  were  going 
right  out  to  achieve  greatness.  No  one 
could  thrust  it  upon  us — we  would  go 
out  and  bag  it  ourselves — a  slice  so  large 
that  no  ordinary  town  could  contain  it. 
■.<  *  *  $  $ 
That  is  the  way  young  folks  talk  and 
feel.  I  imagine  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have 
this  beautiful  hope  springing  eternal  in 
their  breasts.  I  must  confess  that  the 
springs  get  a  trifle  rusty  at  times,  but 
faith  is  a  good  oil  to  limber  them  up. 
Most  of  us  make  a  more  or  less  strenuous 
effort  to  achieve  greatness,  but  it  slips 
through  our  fingers.  As  for  those  who 
are  born  great,  well,  I  have  seen  young 
parents  look  at  their  first-born  as  if  to 
say  :  “This  cradle  holds  one  who  has 
received  a  remarkable  heritage  from  his 
parents.”  Yet  on  his  tramp  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave,  the  child  finds  that 
his  parents  handed  him  a  handicap  rather 
than  a  help.  I  rather  think  that  most  of 
those  who  achieve  greatness  have  it  thrust 
upon  them  from  some  unexpected  quarter. 
I  knew  a  farmer  once  who  wanted  to  go 
to  the  Legislature.  He  could  make  a 
good  speech  and  had  a  fine  opinion  of 
himself.  There  was  a  big  farmers’  picnic, 
and  this  man  went  along  for  a  little  elec¬ 
tioneering.  His  wife  went  along  with 
him.  Now  the  man  felt  that  this  quiet, 
unassuming  woman  did  not  measure  up 
to  him  in  greatness.  In  fact,  he  had  be¬ 
gun  to  feel  that  a  growing  eagle  like 
himself  ought  to  have  a  more  suitable 
mate,  to  fly  with  him  up  to  the  higher 
realms.  Some  of  these  men  who  are 
“born  great”  come  to  feel  that  way. 
When  they  got  to  the  picnic  grounds  the 
man  began  wire-pulling  so  as  to  be  in¬ 
vited  to  make  a  speech.  His  wife  disap¬ 
peared  among  the  women  who  were  plan¬ 
ning  the  dinner.  She  was  a  natural  or¬ 
ganizer,  and  in  15  minutes  she  was  ac¬ 
cepted  as  leader  by  the  other  women,  and 
had  things  running  like  a  machine.  The 
farmer  got  on  the  platform  and  made  a 
fiery  speech — to  his  own  satisfaction,  at 
least.  Toward  the  end  of  the  day  he 
hunted  out  the  local  political  leader : 
“Well,  Henry,  you  see  the  pull  I’ve  got 
with  this  crowd.  Do  I  get  the  delegates 
from  your  township?” 
Henry  was  a  wise  old  bird,  as  a  coun¬ 
try  politician  must  always  be.  He  knew 
how  to  size  up  “greatness.” 
“Well,  John,”  he  said,  “you’ve  got  one 
big  political  pull  with  this  crowd.  They 
are  on  to  your  hot  air,  but  you  got  a 
mighty  smart  wife,  and  ain’t  got  sense 
enough  to  realize  it.  If  it  was  legal  to 
do  it  we’d  nominate  your  wife,  but,  see¬ 
ing  as  the  only  to  way  to  get  her  services 
is  to  nominate  you,  we’ll  do  that!” 
*  *  *  *  * 
So  John  had  greatness  thrust  upon 
him,  and  when  the  greatness  came  I 
think  there  must  have  been  gall  in  it,  as 
there  usually  is  to  conceited  people  who 
achieve  greatness  in  that  way.  To  speak 
personally  about  such  things,  I  have  al¬ 
ways  wondered  how  it  must  seem  to  stand 
at  the  head  of  even  a  small  procession. 
Perhaps  the  person  who  is  truly  great  is 
enough  of  a  philosopher  to  realize  the 
logical  head  of  the  final  procession  is 
always  the  hearse — the  ultimate  and  final 
conveyance  in  which  the  great  ride  at  the 
same  pace  as  the  small : 
“Both  heirs  to  some  six  feet  of  soil.” 
Up  to  this  season  I  must  say  that  I 
have  been  forced  by  fate  to  take  my  place 
with  those  who-  “also  ran.”  The  racers 
have  gone  tearing  past,  usually  leaving 
me  to  come  in  unnoticed  with  the  crowd. 
Like  most  of  my  fellows,  I  have  made  a 
good  many  starts,  only  to  see  at  the  finish 
some  other  fellow  walking  off  with  the 
bacon,  and  I  have  always  hoped  he  would 
enjoy  it  whenever  he  won  it  fairly.  I 
have  come  to  believe  that  these  winners 
must  be  lonesome.  There  is  more  fun  in 
the  company  of  the  “also  rans.”  I  regard 
it  as  a  happy  frame  of  mind  when  one 
can  keep  hope  eternally  springing  and 
still  become  convinced  that  if  he  is  ever  to 
stand  among  the  great  the  office  will  be 
obliged  to  seek  him  out  and  pull  him  in 
by  the  collar ! 
*  *  *  *  £ 
And  now  that  touch  of  greatness  which 
often  kills  kinship  with  the  world  seems 
to  have  come.  It  has  been  thrust  upon 
us — by  a  Bed  hen,  or  rather  a  score  of 
hens.  "  I  have  been  interested  in  the  egg- 
laying  contests  ever  since  they  started, 
and  have  had  12  pens  of  birds  in  compe¬ 
tition  at  various  times.  We  thought  we 
had  a  good  strain  of  Reds,  and  we  backed 
up  our  opinion  by  entering  them  in  the 
race.  And  we  always  lost.  Those  birds 
would  not  exert  themselves  when  we  sent 
them  to  college.  Splendid  eaters,  and 
pften  with  fine  feathers,  they  simply 
would  not  lay,  even  when  given  every  in¬ 
ducement  of  scientific  food  and  care.  It 
was  just  like  sending  vain  and  lazy  chil¬ 
dren  to  college.  They  may  learn  to  loaf 
and  play  and  become  experts  at  dancing 
or  in  selecting  brands  of  tobacco  and 
cigarettes,  but  they  will  not  work,  and 
they  become  so  soft  that  you  cannot  pos¬ 
sibly  thrust  greatness  upon  them.  It 
passes  through  and  comes  out  at  the  other 
side.  I  would  not  send  any  such  child  to 
college,  and  we  were  finally  forced  to  the 
reluctant  conclusion  that  our  Red  hens 
had  concluded,  with  Hamlet, 
“But  I  have  that  within  which  passeth 
show.” 
Our  hope  lost  its  desire  for  that  eternal 
spring — the  spring  was  as  flat  as  the 
springs  on  our  truck  are  when  we  over¬ 
load  it  on  a  market  trip.  So  I  became 
convinced  that  our  Reds  were  not  born 
great,  nor  were  they  likely  to  achieve 
greatness.  I  could  not  imagine  any 
known  power  thrusting  greatness  upon 
them,  so  I  brought  them  home  when  the 
race  was  completed  and  put  them  in  their 
proper  place — a  chicken  pie.  Now,  I 
said,  let  us  forget  about  it  and  congratu¬ 
late  those  fortunate  breeders  who  have 
really  developed  a  strain  of  laying  Reds. 
#  *  *  *  * 
There  was  one  more  pen  left  in  my 
name  at  the  Westwood  contest.  These 
were  pullets.  Their  mothers  were  at  the 
contest  for  two  years,  and  I  cannot  say 
that  they  covered  themselves  with  glory. 
The  daughters  were  there,  but  I  had 
trailed  in  the  rear  so  many  times  that 
they  seemed  to  me  like  the  chickens 
owned  by  the  Western  tenant.  It  is  said 
that  this  man  moved  so  frequently  that 
all  the  farm  animals  had  the  moving 
habit.  As  the  story  goes,  whenever  a 
wagon  drove  into  the  yard  the  chickens  all 
lay  on  their  backs  and  held  up  their  legs 
to  be  tied.  Frankly,  that  is  about  what 
I  expected  my  birds  would  do,  side  by 
side  with  Red  pullets  from  the  best  breed¬ 
ers  in  the  country.  So  I  forgot  about 
them  until  I  became  aware  that  some¬ 
thing  remarkable  was  happening.  In¬ 
stead  of  waiting  for  their  legs  to  be  tied, 
these  pullets  kicked  themselves  free  from 
the  reputation  of  their  forebears,  and 
proceeded  to  lay  themselves  right  up  to 
the  front.  I  began  to  realize  how  one 
feels  when  greatness  comes  up  the  road 
and  demands  admission.  It  is  what  you 
may  call  “a  grand  and  glorious  feeling.” 
Some  years  ago  in  the  United  States  Sen¬ 
ate  various  Senators  from  the  South  and 
West  were  having  considerable  sport  at  J 
the  expense  of  Massachusetts.  When 
they  got  through  up  stood  Daniel  Web¬ 
ster  : 
“Gentlemen,”  he  said,  “I  make  no  de¬ 
fence  of  Massachusetts.  She  needs  no 
encomium  from  me  !  There  she  stands  ! 
Look  at  her !” 
And  so  I  feel  like  saying  about  my  Red 
pullets,  “There  they  are!  Look  at  their 
record!”  The  following  list  gives  their 
names  and  their  record  up  to  and  includ¬ 
ing  December  31.  These  names  were  se¬ 
lected  by  four  different  persons,  who  drew’ 
numbers  by  lot : 
RECORD  OF  PULLETS  IN  PEN  15 
„  8  Weeks.  Dee.  31. 
Scarlet  Runner  .  33  35 
Anna  May  .  33  35 
Flapper  .  0  1 
Lonesome  .  0  0 
Gay  Girl  .  25  3 
Rosie  .  39  43 
Bonnie  .  6  7 
Columbine  .  39  41 
Red  Daughter  .  18  20 
Glory  .  23  27 
Tip  .  33  37 
Top  .  24  24 
Marigold  .  9  13 
Verbena  .  30  33 
Girlie  . 20  26 
Primrose  .  13  13 
Robbob  .  Cl  24 
Henrietta  . .  32  14 
Bettie  Red  .  0  0 
Camellia  .  1  3 
Bradley 
Bowker 
Coe' 
Stockbridj/e 
Wheeler 
Lister 
Crocker 
Detrick 
Zell 
Hess 
What  do  these  names  o 
mean  to  you : 
WHETHER  you  know  the  fer¬ 
tilizers  of  this  organization 
as  “A  A  C,”  or  by  any  of  the 
names  which  for  ten  to  sixty  years 
have  been  famous  brands  of  its 
predecessors  or  subsidiaries,  it  is 
well  to  remember  this  fact : 
All  are  to-day  the  product  of 
The  American  Agricultural  Chem¬ 
ical  Company,  with  its  unlimited 
facilities  for  manufacture  and  ob¬ 
taining  the  world’s  choicest  ma¬ 
terials.  All  have  behind  them  the 
accumulated  discoveries  and  ex¬ 
periences  of  what  is  probably  the 
most  noted  group  of  soil,  crop  and 
plant  food  authorities  in  all  fer¬ 
tilizer  history. 
Where  else  can  you  find  such 
assurance  of  value  for  your  fer¬ 
tilizer  dollar? 
THE  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURAL  CHEMICAL  CO. 
Alexandria.  Va.  Cleveland  Henderson,  N.  C.  Norfolk 
Atlanta  Columbia,  S.C.  Jacksonville  Raleigh 
Baltimore  Charleston,  S.C.  Los  Angeles  St.  Louis 
Boston  Spartansburg,  S.C.  Montgomery  Savannah 
Buffalo  Detroit  New  Haven  Etc. 
Cincinnati  Greensboro,  N.C.  New  York 
Address  nearest  office 
A  Free 
Service  Bureau 
“A  A  C”  means  more 
than  good  fertilizers.  It 
means  service.  To  help 
every  farmer  toward 
greater  farming  success, 
this  organization  main¬ 
tains  an  Agricultural 
Service  Bureau,  con¬ 
ducted  by  Dr.  H.  J. 
Wheeler,  formerly  Di¬ 
rector  Rhode  Island 
State  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion.  This  Bureau  car¬ 
ries  on  practical  ex¬ 
perimental  work  in  all 
sections  of  the  country, 
to  determine  just  what 
fertilizers  are  best 
adapted  to  each  crop 
and  soil. 
What  are  your  crop 
problems  ?  Let  this  Bu¬ 
reau  help  you.  WRITE 
to  it,  in  care  of  our 
nearest  office,  for  sug¬ 
gestions.  No  charge  or 
obligation. 
WRITE  for  this  free 
booklet : 
“How  to  Get  the 
Most  Out  of 
Fertilizers” 
A  AC 
DOUBLE  A  QUALITY 
FERTILIZERS 
WRITE  for  the  A  A  C  agency 
if  we  have  no  dealer  near  you 
The  One. 
for  All  Farm  Work 
Change  power  as  you  change  jobs — Turn  on 
more  power  or  turn  it  down  as  needed— 1%.  2, 
3, 4,  5,  or  a  strong  6  H.  P.  all  in  one  engine.  Light  to 
Clove— Sets  anywhere  without  fastening  down. 
Runs  Washer,  Pump,  Saw,  Grinder,  Etc. 
_  Busiest  machine  on  the  farm — Kerosene  or  gasoline — Starts  easy — No 
cranking^— Durable,  Reliable,  Guaranteed — Thousands  used.  Write  now 
for  description  and  bargain  factory  of  this  wonderful  farm  engine. 
The  Edwards  Motor  Co.,  312  Main  St—  Springfield.  O. 
Some  eggs  were  laid  outside  the  nest. 
They  cannot  be  credited  to  any  particular 
bird,  but  are  included  in  the  total. 
These  birds  are  all  half-sisters;  that  is, 
they  have  the  same  father,  yet  see  liow 
differently  they  start  off.  Lonesome  is 
surely  true  to  her  name.  As  for  Flapper, 
there  js  an  ancient  joke  going  the  rounds 
— “What  is  the  difference  between  a  ; 
chicken  and  a  flapper?”  “One  is  killed  to  i 
dress;  the  other  dressed  to  kill.”  The 
first  eight  weeks  of  this  contest  ended 
December  26,  and  during  this  period  my 
pullets  laid  435  eggs.  There  are  eight 
pens  of  Reds  in  the  contest.  Here  is 
their  record  at  the  end  of  the  first  eight 
weeks : 
“BROOKLYN 
BRAND ” 
COMMERCIAL  FLOUR  SULPHUR,  99}4  %  pure,  for  spraying — insecticide 
purposes,  potato  blight  and  scab. 
SUPERFINE  COMMERCIAL  FLOUR  SULPHUR,  99 pure} for  dusting 
FLOWERS  OF  SULPHUR,  100%  pure . )  purposes. 
Also  Crude  Nitrate  Soda  and  Crude  Saltpetre. 
BATTELLE  &  RENWICK 
80  Maiden  Lane,  New  York 
The  Boola  Farm . 
Pen  15  . 
Henry  P.  Walker . 
C.  Reed  Ferguson . 
Fred  C.  Nixon . 
Howard  G.  Taylor . 
R.  W.  Tracy  . 
Underhill  Bros . . 
143 
415 
254 
280 
106 
81 
S6 
.108 
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