434 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  17,  1923 
All  Sorts 
Fishing  for  Eels  Through  the  Ice 
Fishing  through  the  thick  ice  on  rivers 
in  Nova  Scotia  is  a  favorite  sport  for 
the  farmers,  who  work  like  beavers  dur¬ 
ing  the  Summer  months  with  their  hay 
and  grain  crops.  In  the  Winter  season, 
when  the  mercury  is  often  stuck  down 
around  35  and  40  degrees  below  zero,  it 
is  a  common  sight  to  see  many  of  these 
hardy  fellows  out  on  the  ice,  fishing  for 
smelts  or  spearing  eels.  It  is  a  sport 
that  is  indulged  in  on  all  the  salt-water 
rivers  in  the  lower  maritime  provinces. 
On  many  of  the  rivers  it  is  customary 
for  these  fishermen  to  put  up  little  shacks 
on  the  shores,  where  they  can  go  and  get 
warmed  after  an  hour  or  two  work  in  the 
biting  winds  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law¬ 
rence.  Holes  are  cut  through  the  ice 
with  a  long-handled  ax,  and  with  long- 
handled  spear,  like  in  this  picture  (some¬ 
times  15  ft.  in  length)  the  fisherman 
keeps  at  his  work  from  early  morn  until 
sundown. 
His  smelts  are  frozen  solid  usually  by 
the  time  he  is  ready  to  pack  up  for  home 
(at  the  end  of  his  day’s  labor)  and  his 
eels  likewise.  They  are  sorted  and  packed 
in  boxes  for  the  American  market,  taken 
to  the  nearest  railroad  station,  and  sent 
by  express  to  New  York  and  Boston  fish 
markets,  and  not  until  they  arrive  and 
are  carefully  examined  does  the  Nova 
Scotia  man  get  any  money.  If  the  party 
in  the  States  writes  back  that  the  fish 
arrived  in  an  unsalable  condition  the 
fisherman  has  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
they  did,  and  he  receives  nothing  for  his 
work,  while  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  fish 
came  up  to  the  expectations  of  the  buyer, 
a  check  is  forwarded  by  next  mail. 
I  have  seen  ice  30  in.  thick  when  fish¬ 
ing  smelts,  for  it  is  this  festive  fish  that 
is  unsurpassed  for  flavor,  while  snow  is 
on  the  ground.  'When  the  smelts  bite  the 
sport  is  exciting  beyond  all  expectations, 
but  when  they  bite  slowly  at  the  bait, 
and  the  mercury  is  falling  out.  of  the 
bottom  of  the  glass,  minutes  seem  hours 
in  flying  by.  The  picture  accompanying 
this  article  was  snapped  by  the  writer 
on  Sutherland’s  River,  in  Pietou  County, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  shows  spearing  of  eels 
that  eventually  were  consumed  by  New 
York  State  persons,  as  they  were  shipped 
their  via  express.  LOUIS  o.  na.tac. 
Why  Raise  Top  Many  Cats? 
You  ask,  “Who  favors  a  tax  on  cats?” 
As  a  devoted  lover  of  animals,  cats  es¬ 
pecially,  I  can  only  say  “1.”  for  I  think 
the  imposition  of  a  tax  is  the  only  way 
by  which  people  may  be  deterred  from 
raising  more  kittens  than  can  be  properly 
fed  by  the  owners,  or  be  given  away.  I 
know  a  family  which  one  Summer  had 
12  half-starved  cats  roaming  about  the 
vicinity,  subsisting  largely  on  birds.  Such 
cases  are  far  too  common.  I  have  heard 
of  families  by  whom  1*6  cats,  or  even  20, 
were  left.  Some  persons  who  consider 
themselves  “too  tender-hearted”  to  kill 
kittens,  will  perpetrate  the  extreme 
cruelty  of  “dropping”  older  cats  in  an 
unfamiliar  neighborhood,  perhaps  to  die 
by  inches  in  loneliness  and  terror.  Last 
Fall,  in  the  village  were  I  now  live,  there 
was  a  sudden  invasion  of  cats,  and  it  was 
piteous  to  see  them  sitting  on  the  porches 
of  empty  houses  (being  driven  away, 
doubtless,  from  the  occupied  dwellings) 
and  to  hear  them  wailing  day  and  night 
for  food  and  friends.  Most  families  here 
were  already  supplied  with  pets,  and  felt 
they  could  not  take  more.  My  feelings 
at  the  time  were  such  that  I  would  have 
voted  not  only  for  a  tax  on  cats,  but  for 
fines  and  imprisonment  for  all  persons  re¬ 
sponsible  for  such  cruelty. 
It  is  easy  to  chloroform  young  kittens 
in  a  wash  boiler,  and  costs  little.  For  the 
good  of  the  mother,  one  kitten  should 
usually  be  left,  at  least  for  a  time.  If 
the  mother  has  another  family  the  same 
season,  the  second  litter  can  be  destroyed, 
as  she  will  soon  be  content  with  the  kit¬ 
ten  previously  left. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  Creator  must 
have  intended  that  there  should  be  a 
good  many  cats  in  the  world,  or  He  would 
not  have  made  kittens  so  attractive.  1 
sympathize  with  all  who  find  it  hard  (as 
I  do)  to  destroy  even  tiny  ones;  but  to 
do  this  is  vastly  kinder  than  to  let  them 
grow  up  unwanted  and  insufficiently  fed. 
If  left  to  subsist  on  game,  they  will  suf¬ 
fer  from  lack  of  balanced  diet ;  cats  often 
become  sick  from  eating  too  many  mice  or 
rats,  but  will  recover  when  fed  bread  or 
potatoes.  Worst  of  all,  the  unfed  cats 
devour  birds,  which  our  country  cannot 
afford  to  lose.  If  only  by  means  of  a  tax 
can  people  be  brought  to  feel  their  respon¬ 
sibility  in  this  matter,  let  cats  be  taxed — 
partly  for  their  own  sake.  o.  A.  T. 
Pure  White  Collies 
Will  you  tell  me  whether  a  white 
Scotch  collie  can  be  a  purebred  animal? 
I  am  about  to  purchase  a  puppy,  but  was 
told  that  white  (pure  white)  collies  are 
barred  from  Madison  Square  dog  shows 
because  they  are  not  a  true  collie.  I 
expect  to  pay  $40  for  an  eight  weeks’  old 
male  puppy.  f.  a. 
Rhinebeck,  N.  Y. 
The  following  opinion  comes  from  one 
of  the  best  authorities : 
“The  pure  white  collie  is  acceptable  in 
all  cases.  It  is  not  true,  we  are  quite 
sure,  that  the  Westminster  Kennel  Club 
barred  white  collies.  They  are  purebred  ; 
simply  care  has  been  taken  to  breed  white 
dogs  to  each  other  until  they  have  prac¬ 
tically  oliminated  the  orange  and  tan.” 
Additional  Profits 
“ Since  buying  my  Case  15-27  I  have  doubled  my  farming 
operations  to  320  acres." 
— Everett  Taubeneck,  West  Union,  Illinois. 
Besides  larger  profits  from  better  farming,  the  Case 
tractor  gives  you  two  other  sources  of  profit.  You  can 
farm  more  land  with  the  same  help,  or  you  can  do  profita¬ 
ble  custom  work.  These  additional  profits  often  pay  for 
It  is  not  uncommon  for  a  farmer  to  find  his  working  capacity  doubled 
when  he  begins  to  use  a  Case.  This  increased  efficiency  is  due  to 
many  proved  Case  advantages: 
Ample  power  is  furnished  by  ef¬ 
ficient,  Case-built  engines,  with  a 
fuel  system  assuring  extreme 
economy  on  low  grade  fuels. 
Power  is  transmitted  to  both  drive 
wheels  through  simple,  cut  steel, 
spur  gears — all  completely  en¬ 
closed. 
Belt  pulley  is  mounted  on  engine 
crankshaft,  with  no  waste  of  power 
through  gears. 
Engine  has  removable  bearing 
shells  and  bushings.  Practically 
all  other  bearings  are  renewable 
roller  and  ball  bearings. 
All  gears,  bearings  and  wearing 
surfaces  are  enclosed,  thoroughly 
lubricated,  and  protected  from 
dust  and  dirt. 
A  patented  Case  air  washer  keeps 
all  dust  and  dirt  out  of  the  engine. 
Because  of  these  and  many  other  practical  qualities,  Case  tractors  are 
well  adapted  to  all  kinds  of  farm  power  work,  both  drawbar  and  belt. 
Ask  any  Case  owner  or  write  for  “Better  Farming  With  Better 
Tractors,”  which  tells  you  why  the  Case  tractor  is  superior  in  many  ways. 
J.  I.  CASE  THRESHING  MACHINE  COMPANY 
(Established  1842) 
Dept.  C22  Racine  Wisconsin 
NOTE:  Our  plows  and  harrows  are  NOT  the  Case  plows 
and  harrows  made  bythej.  1.  Case  Plow  Works  Company. 
a 
Balanced 
F  ertilizer 
FERTILIZERS  are  used  to  increase 
crops  and  profits.  The  right  kinds 
and  amounts  of  plant  food  make  profits 
by  reducing  the  cost  of  production  of  a 
unit  of  crop,  by  improving  the  quality, 
and  by  increasing  the  yield. 
One-sided  fertilizers  may  be  unprofit¬ 
able.  Today  Potash  is  the  cheapest 
ingredient  used  in  fertilizers,  even 
cheaper  than  before  the  war. 
If  one  wishes  to  increase  the  number 
of  units  of  plant  food  in  a  fertilizer, 
German  Potash  will  do  it  for  the  least 
money,  and  at  the  same  time  balance 
the  other  ingredients  so  that  the  value 
of  them  may  be  more  fully  secured. 
For  GRAIN  and  CORN  use  a  fertilizer 
with  6  to  8  per  cent  of  Potash;  for  root 
crops  and  truck  use  10  per  cent. 
It  is  always  safe  to  use  at  least  as  much 
Potash  as  Phosphoric  Acid. 
SOIL  &  CROP  SERVICE,  POTASH  SYNDICATE 
H.  A.  HUSTON,  Manager 
42  Broadway  New  York 
POTASH 
PAYS 
