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The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
April  2s,  1023 
The  Farmer 
A  CASE  IN  POINT. — A  number  of  our  readers  say 
that  they  are  hopelessly  in  debt,  that  they  are 
considering  bankruptcy  as  a  possible  way  out.  They 
are  fanners,  and  they  want  to  know  just  what 
property  rights,  if  any,  a  farm  bankrupt  would  have. 
We  have  therefore  thought  it  wise  to  get  the  legal 
views  of  the  matter.  In  one  particular  case  a  young 
man  assumed  the  mortgage  on  the  home  farm.  His 
father  felt  unable  to  work  the  farm,  and  so  the  mort¬ 
gage  was  transferred  to  the  son;  then  this  young 
man  bought  another  farm,  and  he  mortgaged  that 
heavily.  He  also  rented  a  third  farm;  then  he  was 
induced  to  buy  an  expensive  tractor,  and  gave  his 
notes  for  that.  None  of  these  obligations  has  ever 
been  paid,  and  he  finds  himself  loaded  down  with 
debt.  For  a  time,  during  the  war,  there  were  good 
prices  for  grain,  and  he  did  fairly  well.  Then  came 
the  deflation ;  his  crops  were  still  fairly  good,  but 
prices  dropped  out  of  sight,  while,  of  course,  the 
interest  on  the  mortgages  and  notes  remained  the 
same.  He  now  finds  himself  with  two  mortgaged 
farms  and  a  mortgaged  tractor  on  his  hands;  he 
finds  that  he  has  too  much  land  to  work.  He  has 
reached  the  end  of  his  resources,  and  cannot  raise 
the  money  to  pay  the  interest  on  his  notes  and  mort¬ 
gages.  'Fhe  owners  of  the  tractor  demand  payment, 
and  the  mortgage  holders  threaten  to  foreclose. 
What  shall  he  do? 
THE  LEGAL  ASPECT. — This  man  seems  to  think 
that  he  could  go  into  bankruptcy,  give  up  the  tractor 
and  one  of  the  farms  to  satisfy  his  creditors,  and 
retain  the  other  farm  for  his  own  use.  He  wants  to 
know  just  where  he  would  stand  in  the  bankruptcy 
law.  Being  a  farmer,  this  man  cannot  be  forced 
into  bankruptcy,  but  he  could,  under  the  law,  as 
explained  below  take  advantage  of  tbe  bankruptcy 
act.  if  he  cares  to.  He  apparently  thinks  that  by 
going  into  bankruptcy  the  second  farm  would  be 
saved,  but  that  is  not  true.  Any  equity  that  he  may 
have  in  both  farms  will  be  sold  and  used  for  the 
payment  of  his  debts,  and  if  he  owns  a  large  enough 
equity  in  the  farm  so  that  he  is  not  insolvent  he 
cannot  take  advantage  of  the  bankruptcy  act.  If 
the  mortgage  on  his  property  just  about  equals  the 
value  of  that  property  the  worst  he  can  expect  from 
his  creditors  is  that  they  will  take  judgment  against 
him.  and  they  will  hold  that  judgment  until  there 
seems  to  be  some  property  which  they  can  take  hold 
of.  They  would,  without  doubt,  levy  on  the  tractor 
and  sell  it  for  what  it  would  bring,  and  apply  this 
on  the  judgment.  Perhaps  as  good  a  thing  as 
could  happen  to  him  would  be  to  have  this  tractor 
sold.  Under  all  the  circumstances  we  do  not  know 
just  how  the  bankruptcy  law  will  help  this  man 
materially.  The  following  is  a  statement  of  the 
national  bankruptcy  act;  how  one  can  take  advan¬ 
tage  of  it,  and  what  it  will  do  in  case  it  is  applied 
to  such  a  proposition :  ,r1ln 
ANALYSIS  OF  BANKRUPTCY  LAW.— The  pres¬ 
ent  national  bankruptcy  act  was  passed  in  1898,  but 
amendments  were  added  thereto  in  1903  and  1910. 
H  appears  to  have,  to  a  great  extent,  removed  the 
temptation  from  dishonest  debtors  to  fail  for  the 
purpose  of  making  money,  and  it  offers  to  the  honest 
insolvent  person  a  simple  method  of  getting  on  his 
feet  again.  It  gives  even  the  poorest  debtor  a  com¬ 
plete  discharge,  but  it  grants  to  the  creditors  an 
equitable  distribution  of  his  funds.  Bankruptcy  is 
of  two  kinds — voluntary  and  involuntary.  Any  per¬ 
son  except  a  corporation  may  become  a  voluntary 
bankrupt.  Any  natural  person  except  a  wage  earner 
and  a  farmer  may  be  adjudged  an  involuntary  bank¬ 
rupt.  An  insolvent  person  is  one  whose  entire 
property  exclusive  of  what  he  has  transfeiied  oi 
concealed  in  fraud  of  creditors  is  n^t  sufficient,  at 
a  fair  valuation,  to  pay  his  debts.  The  bankrupt  is 
entitled  to  the  exemptions  to  which  lie  is  entitled 
under  the  8tate  courts  of  the  State  of  his  domicile. 
A  VOLUNTARY  PETITION.— In  order  to  take 
advantage  of  the  bankruptcy  act,  voluntarily,  a 
petition  must  be  filed  setting  forth  a  complete 
schedule  of  all  the  property  owned  by  the  petitioner, 
ail  debts,  both  secured  and  unsecured,  giving  the 
names  of  all  the  creditors  and  setting  forth  such 
exemptions  as  the  petitioner  claims  under  the  State 
law.  After  the  filing  of  the  petition  a  notice  is  issued 
t«»  each  of  the  creditors  whose  names  appear  in  the 
petition,  specifying  a  date  for  the  first  meeting  of 
creditors,  and  on  that  date  all  persons  who  have  a 
claim  against  the  bankrupt  have  a  right  to  appear 
and  file  their  account,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
ihe  bankrupt  to  attend  the  first  meeting  of  creditors, 
examine  the  correctness  of  the  proof  of  claims,  com¬ 
and  the  Bankruptcy  Law 
ply  with  all  lawful  orders  of  the  court,  and  to  exe- 
cut  and  deliver  such  papers  as  shall  be  ordered 
by  the  court.  If  the  court  so  orders  he  must  submit 
to  an  examination  concerning  bis  property,  his 
business,  the  cause  of  failure  and  all  matters  affect¬ 
ing  the  settlement  of  his  estate,  but  no  evidence 
given  by  him  shall  lie  used  against  him  in  a  criminal 
proceeding.  Upon  being  adjudicated  a  bankrupt  and 
the  appointment  of  a  trustee,  title  to  all  property 
owned  by  the  bankrupt  vests  in  the  trustee.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  trustee  to  turn  the  property  into 
cash  under  the  direction  of  the  court,  and  to  dis¬ 
tribute  to  the  creditors,  as  ordered  by  the  court. 
Incumbered  property  may  be  sold  subject  to  incum¬ 
brances,  and  the  purchaser  takes  the  property  sub¬ 
ject  thereto.  The  trustee  has  the  option  of  dis¬ 
claiming  the  bankrupt  property  or  selling  the  same. 
The  trustee  is  elected  by  a  vote  of  the  creditors. 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  ASSETS.  —  Certain  debts 
have  priority.  All  taxes  must  be  paid  before  divi¬ 
dends  to  the  creditors.  After  that  debts  are  paid  in 
the  following  order:  The  actual  costs  of  preserving 
A  Farm  Dog  and  His  Work 
As  I  enjoy  the  various  pictures  in  The  R.  N.-l.,  i 
am  sending  a  photograph  which  1  trust  others  will  en¬ 
joy.  It  is  of  our  faithful  shepherd,  “Shep,”  and  his 
morning  catch  of  rats  a  few  weeks  ago.  There  are  43 
but  several  nests  of  tiny  ones  he  killed  also. 
Here, 
New  York. 
F.  c.  n. 
THERE  are  people  who  say  a  dog  never  "works.' 
It  looks  to  us  as  if  “Shep”  put  in  a  fine  morn¬ 
ing’s  work  at  this  job.  There  might  well  be  more 
dog  citizens  like  him.  Probably  the  rats  were  driven 
out  from  under  a  stack  or  out  of  a  barn  and  the  dog 
fell  upon  them  as  they  came.  The  rat  nuisance  has 
come  to  be  a  menace  on  many  farms.  These  vermin 
steal  grain  and  other  feed  and  spread  disease.  Hunts 
should  be  organized  to  clean  them  out.  Cats  and  rat 
dogs,  properly  trained,  are  among  the  most  useful 
domestic  animals  on  the  average  farm. 
“SJi  ep"  Harvest  a  J/3  Hats.  Fig.  2  )0 
the  estate  after  filing  the  petition,  cost  bf  adminis¬ 
tration,  such  as  witness  fees,  attorneys’  expense, 
etc.,  wages  to  workmen,  clerks  or  servants  earned 
within  three  months  of  the  commencement  of  the 
proceedings,  and  debts  owing  to  a  person  entitled 
to  priority  under  the  law  of  the  State  or  United 
States.  All  transfers  or  incumbrances  of  his  pro¬ 
perty  by  a  bankrupt  made  within  four  months  of 
filing  the  petition,  with  intent  to  hinder,  delay  or 
defraud  his  creditors  are  null  and  void,  with  cer¬ 
tain  exceptions. 
The  proceedings  in  an  involuntary  case  are  similar 
to  the  proceedings  outlined  above.  After  all  of  the 
property  has  been  distributed  an  application  is  made 
to  the  court  and,  after  notice  to  the  creditors,  if 
there  is  no  objection,  the  bankrupt  receives  a  dis¬ 
charge.  This  means  that  he  can  start  business  anew 
freed  from  all  of  his  old  obligations.  x.  t. 
Two  Cases  of  Women’s  Citizenship 
Some  time  ago  I  read  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  that  a  woman 
who  was  born  in  this  country  and  married  a  man  who 
had  not  become  a  citizen  could  now  become  a  voter.  I 
have  a  friend  who  is  Canadian  born.  He  came  here 
and  married  several  years  ago.  He  and  his  wife  think 
as  the  law  is  today  she  is  not  a  citizen,  and  therefore 
cannot  vote.  I  say,  from  reading  The  R.  N.-Yt.,  she 
can.  Am  I  right  or  wrong?  This  Canadian  got  out 
his  first  papers  just  before  the  war.  After  the  war 
broke  out  he  went  back  and  joined  the  Canadian  army, 
in  which  he  was  an  officer.  After  the  war  was  over  he 
came  back.  He  finds  his  wife  feels  rather  put  out  that 
she  cannot  vote  now  that  women  are  entitled  to.  and 
applied  for  second  papers.  He  finds  he  must  go  all 
over  the  same  ground  again,  not  only  take  out  first 
papers  again,  but  wait  a  certain  length  of  time. 
Connecticut.  Mr.  h.  h. 
THE  woman  in  question,  who  was  born  in  this 
country,  but  who  married  an  alien,  did  lose 
her  citizenship  if  she  married  prior  to  September 
22.  1922.  In  such  case  she  simply  applies  now  for 
reinstatement,  bringing  proof  of  birth.  If,  however, 
she  married  such  alien  after  September  22,  1922, 
she  of  course  does  not  lose  her  citizenship. 
L  am  an  American  born  and  bred,  of  English  ances¬ 
tors,  but  in  1919  I  married  an  alien,  thus  losing  my 
citizenship.  This  was  before  the  suffrage  amendment 
was  enacted.  This  year  my  husband  applied  for  his 
first  or  “declaration  of  intention”  papers,  and  the  clerk 
informed  him  that  I  would  have  to  be  naturalized,  too. 
When  the  bill  was  passed  last  year  requiring  individual 
suffrage  or  naturalization  for  women,  1  learned  that  the 
law  did  not  apply  to  women  who  were  married  previous 
to  its  passage,  or  according  to  that  same  law  I  would 
still  be  an  American  citizen.  Now  it  seems  only  rea¬ 
sonable  to  fne  that,  losing  my  citizenship  by  marriage, 
my  husband’s  naturalization  should  restore  it.  Who  is 
right — the  clerk,  or  am  I?  .  MRS.  J.  w. 
You  must  apply  to  the  nearest  naturalization 
court  in  your  State,  with  birth  certificate  and  your 
husband's  naturalization  papers,  and  will  then  be 
reinstated.  The  clerk  who  informed  you  thus  was 
right.  It  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  legislation 
that  compels  her  to  seek  reinstatement. 
Here  Are  Some  Ugly  Bees 
(’an  anyone  tell  me  what  might  make  my  bees  so 
cross?  About  five  years  ago  I  bought  three  box  hives 
fairly  well  filled  with  the  three-handed  bees,  and  for 
some  time  got  along  with  them  all  right.  The  first  year 
1  caught  five  swarms  and  installed  them  in  standard 
rack  hives,  killing  off  the  old  swarms  in  the  Fall.  Until 
two  years  ago  I  could  work  with  them  with  pleasure, 
they  allowing  me  to  change  supers  or  inspect  the  brood 
racks  at  any  time  without  any  undue  commotion,  which 
work  was  often  done  without  any  protection  except 
gloves.  All  at  once  they  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  the 
idea  that  my  every  move  was  one  of  antagonism,  and 
they  got  so  bad  I  had  to  move  them  back  from  the  road, 
as  a  passerby  often  came  to  me  with  complaints.  They 
even  fight  when  they  are  swarming,  which  I  understand 
is  an  unusual  thing.  I  know  of  no  time  they  have  been 
teased  or  disturbed  other  than  doing  what  work  was 
necessary,  but  now  the  necessary  work  is  often  neg¬ 
lected  on  account  of  the  fact  that  I  do  not  wish  to  upset 
them  by  looking  into  the  hive,  as  they  will  make  it 
uncomfortable  for  the  whole  neighborhood  for  at  least 
a  day  thereafter,  besides  the  neglect  of  their  work, 
which  they  seem  to  forget  for  some  time  after  the  least 
disturbance  of  the  hive.  I  thought  the  new  swarms 
would  be  more  amiable,  but  they  are  worse,  if  such 
could  be  possible.  ,t.  c.  H. 
I  WOULD  infer  that  the  three  box  hives  that  you 
bought  originally  contained  pure  Italians,  that 
are  usually  very  gentle.  After  you  had  had  the  bees 
for  about  two  years  the  stock  changed,  in  that  the 
young  queens  were  mated  to  black  drones  in  the 
vicinity.  This  would  make  what  we  call  hybrid 
Italians,  but  the  crossest  and  meanest  bees  to  han¬ 
dle  of  anything  we  know,  unless  it  be  the  Cyprian 
or  Egyptian  bees.  When  pure  Italian  stock  is 
brought  into  the  locality  where  there  are  black  bees, 
unless  an  effort  is  made  to  keep  that  stock  pure,  it 
will  gradually  degenerate  into  hybrid  Italians  that 
are  often  very  cross. 
This  change  of  blood  may  be  tbe  whole  and  only 
explanation  of  their  change  in  temper.  But  there 
are  several  other  contributing  causes  that  will  make 
very  gentle  bees  very  cross  sometimes.  If  the  bees 
get  to  robbing  at  any  time,  or  if  they  suddenly  get 
a  taste  of  sweets,  and  that  supply  is  cut  off,  even 
Italian  bees  will  become  so  cross  as  to  make  not  a 
little  trouble.  But  that  bad  temper  is  only  tem¬ 
porary. 
Very  gentle  bees  may  be  very  cross  if  handled 
roughly  or  manipulated  on  a  chilly  or  cool  day,  or 
immediately  after  a  rain  when  the  bees  have  sud¬ 
denly  been  stopped  in  their  honey-gathering  opera¬ 
tions.  A  little  smoke  should  in  all  cases  be  blown 
over  the  hive  before  taking  out  tbe  frames. 
Bees  are  sometimes  cross  while  working  on,  honey- 
dew,  a  secretion  from  aphides  that  is  thrown  upon 
the  leaves  of  certain  trees  some  seasons  along  about 
midsummer,  and  which  attracts  bees  during  the 
early  morning  hours.  As  the  sun  rises  this  varnish¬ 
like  sweet  dries  up  so  that  the  bees  are  not  able  to 
get  it.  Almost  immediately  thereafter  they  may 
become  cross.  In  the  same  way  bees  may  be  cross 
during  the  buckwheat  honey  flow.  The  bees  gather 
the  honey  from  the  buckwheat  blossoms  during  the 
morning  hours,  and  after  exhausting  the  supply 
sometimes  become  cross  during  mid-day. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however,  that  Italian  bees 
are  usually  very  gentle,  unless  the  owner  becomes 
careless,  allowing  them  to  get  to  robbing  sweets 
either  from  the  housewife  or  from  some  other  hive. 
Even  hybrid  Italians  can  be  handled  with  few  or  no 
stings,  if  one  knows  how.  E-  K00T' 
