7ht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
805 
Taking  a  Motor  Trip 
Part  II 
Once  a  persistent  pacing  round  and 
round  our  tent  at  midnight  proved  to  be 
the  footsteps  of  an  insane  woman  who 
roamed  about  at  night  and  was  disturbed 
by  this  new  feature  of  the  landscape.  It 
is  strange  that  though  we  are  both  timid 
at  home,  we  felt  no  fear  in  these  strange 
places  and  unusual  surroundings. 
Our  last  Summer’s  trip  covered  a  few 
miles  less  than  3,000,  and  we  never  had 
to  change  a  tire  or  repair  one ;  in  short, 
we  made  no  repairs  during  the  entire 
period  of  over  four  weeks,  the  first  and 
last  two  weeks  being  spent  in  continuous 
driving,  while  the  middle  two  were  occu¬ 
pied  in  visiting  all  the  home  folks  back 
in  “Old  New  England  with  her  cloud- 
capped  granite  hills.” 
And,  speaking  of  hills,  for  a  motorist 
who  is  accustomed  only  to  the  level  or 
merely  rolling  roads  of  the  Middle  West, 
the  change  to  the  winding  hill  and  moun¬ 
tain  roads  of  the  East  calls  for  an  ex¬ 
tended  knowledge  of  the  management  of 
a  car.  In  Central  New  York  are  hill 
roads  that  call  for  skill  in  handling  brakes 
and  gear  shifts,  while  to  enter  New  Eng¬ 
land  from  the  west  one  must  climb  most 
of  the  way,  and  every  time  you  go  up 
you  must  go  down  on  the  other  side.  The 
repair  men  along  the  Mohawk  Trail, 
which  crosses  Hoosac  Tunnel  (1,000  ft. 
below)  can  tell  many  a  tale  of  burnt-out 
brake  bands  on  the  cars  of  tourists  un¬ 
used  to  long,  winding  descents.  The  little 
town  of  Camillus,  N.  Y.,  was  the  only  one 
we  encounteed  which  has  posted  a  sign 
at  the  top  of  its  dangerously  steep  and 
curving  entrance — -“Go  down  in  second 
speed.”  We  know  that  other  towns  on 
other  roads  have  erected  this,  as  well  as 
other  instructions  to  motorists,  but  we 
have  not  chanced  to  pass  them. 
The  question  most  frequenty  asked  is, 
“How  do  you  find  the  way?”  In  Michi¬ 
gan  it  is  easy  to  find  one’s  way  to  any 
place,  especially  if  it  is  on  one  of  the 
many  marked  trails.  No  other  State 
through  which  we  have  motored  has  its 
routes  so  plainly  and  satisfactorily 
marked.  New  York  comes  next,  and  our 
limited  experience  in  Ohio  and  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  leads  us  to  consider  them  the  hard¬ 
est  to  follow.  To  enter  a  large  city  and 
pass  through  it,  coming  out  on  the  right 
road,  is  the  most  perplexing,  yet  only  once 
have  we  had  any  real  difficulty.  In 
Cleveland  the  policemen  of  whom  we  in¬ 
quired  did  not  agree,  but  we  got  on  all 
right,  only  I  threatened  to  write  the 
Board  of  Commerce  or  some  other  or¬ 
ganization  of  that  city  to  beg  of  them  to 
have  their  cross  streets  marked  more 
plainly.  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  is  the  one  city 
we  avoid  as  if  it  was  plague-stricken, 
because  on  our  first  trip  we  wandered 
interminably  asking  of  officials  and  citi¬ 
zens,  but  no  one  seemed  able  to  tell  us 
anything  that  our  intelligence  could  grasp, 
until  a  young  boy  driving  a  grocer’s  de¬ 
livery  set  us  on  our  way. 
The  best  way  is  to  have  a  map  of  the 
country  through  which  you  are  to  pass. 
There  are  excellent  tour  maps  of  the 
States  or  sections  of  a  State  to  be  had  for 
10c  each.  On  these  the  roads  and  towns 
are  given,  though  we  found  some  roads  on 
one  of  ours  which  were  not  yet  built. 
Each  city,  of  course,  has  its  own  traf¬ 
fic  ordinances,  but  there  need  be  little 
trouble  if  one  keeps  her  wits  and  obeys 
the  Golden  Rule.  The  matter  of  right 
of  way  is  the  most  puzzling,  and  should 
be  uniform  throughout  the  land.  Some 
cities  give  the  right  of  way  to  motorists 
following  the  main  streets  of  the  city, 
but  generally  “the  man  on  the  right  has 
the  right  of  way,”  and  that  is  as  it  should 
be.  A  number  of  cities  have  a  sign  to 
this  effect  posted  at  their  entrances. 
If  you  are  accustomed  to  a  traffic  of¬ 
ficer  at  street  intersections  to  wave  you 
on  or  to  turn  the  go  and  stop  signal,  you 
may  be  puzzled  by  the  automatic  lights 
with  no  person  attending  them,  but  red 
is  a  universal  signal  of  danger,  and  hence 
one  stops,  then  goes  on  when  the  light  is 
green.  The  matter  of  signalling  with 
the  hand  for  the  benefit  of  the  driver  in 
the  car  behind  should  be  definite  and  uni¬ 
form. 
My  one  bit  of  earnest  advice  to  any 
woman  tourist  is  simply  knoiv  your  car 
and  don’t  plan  on  being  excused  for  any 
lack  of  skill  in  its  management  on  the 
ground  that  you  are  a  woman.  You  will 
not  in  this  day  and  time  get  any  sympathy 
for  any  mishap  on  that  score.  If  you 
can’t  drive  as  well  as  a  man,  don’t  under¬ 
take  it.  Of  course,  you  can  drive  lots 
better  than  many  men,  but  that  doesn’t 
“get  you  anywhere.”  The  officials  will 
attribute  any  little  accident  to  “that  fool 
woman  driver”  when  she  no  doubt  did 
as  well  under  the  circumstances  as  any 
man  would  have  done.  A  few  years  ago 
they  would  have  shown  consideration  for 
a  woman  because  of  her  lack  of  physical 
strength  or  mechanical  knowledge,  but 
now  it  is  no  more. 
In  fact,  it  appears  to  be  out  of  the 
fashion  to  show  consideration  for  any¬ 
body  along  the  road.  We  all  remember 
when  the  sight  of  a  fellow  motorist  stop¬ 
ping  for  repairs  wsls  a  signal  for  the  next 
passerby  to  haul  up  and  offer  assistance, 
but  it  “simply  isn’t  done  any  more.” 
Moreover,  in  case  of  accident  in  the  way 
of  any  form  of  collision  it  is  the  proper 
thing  (to  judge  by  appearances)  to  find 
a  goat  or  pass  the  buck.  Every  motorist 
acquires  what  Strickland  Gillilan  calls 
in  the  Maryland  Motorist  “the  accusing 
eye.”  He  says :  “Unless  you  have  the 
accusing  eye  and  can  turn  it  on  at  any 
moment,  under  whatever  circumstances, 
you  are  no  true  automobilist,  you  have 
only  a  varioloid  case  of  automobilitous- 
ness.” 
We  can  testify  that  they  often  add  the 
accusing  voice  to  the  accusing  eye,  for 
we  once  saw  two  cars  scrape  each  other’s 
fenders  in  passing,  and  the  driver  of  the 
speeding  car  rushed  back  to  a  car  stand¬ 
ing  still  near  the  scene  of  the  accident 
(a  car  which  was  manned  by  a  woman) 
and  began  to  roar  at  her  in  a  way  cal¬ 
culated  to  stampede  a  timid  member  of 
her  sex.  “Don’t  you  know  you  are  re¬ 
sponsible  for  that  accident?  You  shouldn’t 
be  allowed  to  drive  if  you  don’t  know 
the  rules  of  the  road  better  than  that,” 
and  more  in  the  same  strain.  As  she 
evidently  was  accustomed  to  the  ways  of 
the  world  in  general  and  motorists  in 
particular,  she  was  in  no  way  perturbed, 
but  gave  him  a  level  look  and  in  a  cool 
and  unmistakably  well-bred  voice  said: 
“Pardon ;  please  stand  aside  as  I  am 
about  to  start  my  car.  You  have  chosen 
the  wrong  person  to  intimidate  this 
time.”  One  might  use  the  word  slunk 
in  describing  his  departure  from  the 
scene.  And  here  I  would  beg  of  every 
woman  driver  to  preserve  her  poise,  or 
at  least  her  womanliness  on  all  such  oc¬ 
casions.  A  quiet  dignity  will  accomplish 
more  for  you  in  face  of  the  rudeness  or 
profanity  of  a  fellow-motorist  or  the  ob¬ 
jurgations  of  a  traffic  cop  than  all  the 
bluster,  slang  or  so-called  snappy  come¬ 
backs  ever  thought  of. 
Our  trips  call  for  use  of  very  little 
money,  considering  the  time  and  distance 
we  travel,  but  we  never  carry  much  cash 
with  us  for  various  reasons.  A  bunch 
of  travelers’  checks  from  your  home  bank 
are  safer  and  easier.  These  can  be  cashed 
at  any  reputable  garage,  hotel  or  bank 
on  the  route,  and  $25  in  cash  is  enough 
to  keep  about  one. 
Summer  is  at  hand — the  open  road  is 
calling  and  air,  at  least,  is  usually  free  ! 
G.  T.  s. 
Suggestions  from  a  Boarder 
The  writer  recently  boarded  for  a 
month  in  a  country  home  noted  for  its 
unusually  good  table,  and  a  few  practical 
deductions  may  help  your  Connecticut 
correspondent. 
Cream  as  well  as  milk  was  used  libe¬ 
rally,  and  will  any  of  us  ever  forget  the 
great  deep  dishes  of  creamy  cottage  cheese 
which  appeared  at  almost  every  meal? 
We  had  buttermilk  to  drink,  too,  and  the 
eggs,  not  “nearbys”  or  “freshies,”  but 
absolutely  new-laid  eggs,  with  the  cackle, 
so  to  speak,  still  in  them.  The  chicken 
dinners — they  were  our  Sunday  dinners — 
knew  naught  of  cold  storage  or  slow 
transportation.  These  are  simple  things, 
but  things  that  town  people  appreciate. 
Young  rabbit,  freshly  killed  and  de¬ 
liciously  roasted  or  fried,  was  a  luxury. 
There  were  always  eggs  for  breakfast  for 
anyone  who  wanted  them  ;  seldom  meat, 
unless  a  bit  of  bacon  or  meat-and-potato 
croquettes.  Pancakes  with  bacon  and 
eggs  on  Sunday  and  hot  bread,  rolls  or 
dry  toast  on  other  days.  Fruit,  of  course, 
and  superlative  cereals  and  coffee.  A 
favorite  cereal  was  simply  graham  flour, 
made  into  a  rather  thin  mush  and  cooked 
a  long  time. 
A  delightful  salad  was  an  invariable 
feature  of  dinner,  the  foundation  being 
lettuce,  celery,  tomatoes,  cress,  or  occa¬ 
sionally  cabbage.  Another  notable  fea¬ 
ture  of  the  table  was  the  homemade  rel¬ 
ishes,  pickles,  preserves  and  fruit  syrups  ; 
distinctive  things,  not  to  be  bought  in 
market.  Soup  was  often  served  at 
luncheon  (we  had  luncheon  instead  of 
supper),  and  the  “dessert”  to  this  meal 
might  be  homemade  clover-leaf  rolls  of  an 
airy  lightness,  blackberry  jelly,  peach 
preserves,  a  cup  of  cocoa  and  cottage 
cheese.  Then  there  were  certain  special¬ 
ties,  such  as  butter-scotch  pie  and  a  won¬ 
derful  layer  cake  made  with  freshly  grated 
cocoanut,  in  which  the  daughters  of  the 
house  excelled.  Specialties  are  impor¬ 
tant,  or  at  least  valuable.  Summer  board¬ 
ers  like  something  distinctive— cakes 
made  with  honey,  or  maple  pudding 
sauces,  or  black  walnut  salad,  or  wild 
strawberry  jam,  that  they  associate  with 
your  table,  and  don’t  find  elsewhere.  It 
is  something  to  boast  of :  “Such  lebkuchen 
as  we  had  at  Mrs.  Blank’s — their  own 
honey,  my  dear.”  A  choice  vegetable, 
cauliflow’er,  for  instance,  or  eggplant, 
home-grown  and  cooked  with  exceptional 
skill,  is  a  good  specialty.  My  hostess’ 
vegetable  specialty  was  sweet  potatoes. 
She  took  great  pride  in  her  garden. 
A  short  list  of  substantial  main  dishes 
for  lunch  or  supper  may  help  :  Vegetable 
chowder  with  dumplings ;  fish  chowder 
made  with  fresh  or  salt  fish ;  codfish  is 
pood  ;  Dima  beans,  parboiled  and  browned 
in  the  oven  with  drippings  ;  minced  ham 
and  spaghetti,  creamed  noodles,  sweet 
corn  fritters  and  pudding ;  cornmeal 
mush  seasoned  with  cheese  and  fried  in 
savory  fat,  curried  rice,  French  toast 
served  as  a  shortcake  with  fresh  berries 
or  other  fruit.  R.  F.  D. 
The  Improved  Binder  of  Today 
Soon  Pays  for  Itself  By  What  It  Saves 
Every  year  the  old  binder  falls  off  a  bit  more 
in  efficiency.  The  owner  hardly  realizes  the 
gradual  decline.  Finally  comes  a  time  when 
the  risk  is  too  great.  Poor  cutting,  faulty 
binding,  clogged  elevators,  heavy  draft, 
delays,  emergency  repairs,  lost  bushels  and 
loss  of  temper —  these  are  incidents  of  the 
harvest  with  a  worn-out  binder. 
In  the  meantime  the  new  McCormick, 
Deering  or  Milwaukee  binder  goes  into 
neighboring  fields  and  surprises  and  pleases 
its  owners  in  a  hundred  different  details. 
If  you  haven’t  seen  the  perfected  binder 
of  1923  you  can’t  realize  what  a  vastly 
improved  harvester  it  is.  You  will  find 
it  a  marvel  of  skill  and  good  workmanship, 
simpler,  better  made,  easier  to  handle  and 
ready  for  many  years  of  good  service. 
Harvest  is  the  critical  time  when  all  your 
plans  and  labors  come  to  a  head;  go  at  it 
with  trustworthy  equipment.  Will  your 
binder  stand  the  test  this  season?  If  any 
doubt  is  in  your  mind,  invest  in  the  crop¬ 
saving  machine  sold  by  your  McCormick- 
Deering  dealer.  Look  the  binder  over  in 
detail  at  his  store. 
International  Harvester  Company 
606  So.  Michigan  Ave. 
OF  AMERICA 
(INCORPORATED) 
Chicago.  III. 
These  are  a  few  of  the  strong  points  in  the  construction  of  the 
present  McCormick,  Deering  and  Milwaukee  Grain  Binders: 
Better  construction  *  Improved  bearings  •  Lighter  draft 
Outside  reel  support  *  Grain-saving  floating  elevator 
Durable  woven  straps  for  canvases  •  Improved  bundle  carrier 
Tongue. truck  for  steadying  and  carrying  loads 
Safeguard  the  harvest  by  the  use  of  strictly  high-grade 
twine  —  McCormick,  Deering,  International  —  made  now 
in  the  famous  “Big  Ball”  winding  in  which  6  balls  do 
the  work  of  10  of  the  old  style.  Balls  are  of  the  old 
size  but  have  66  %  more  footage.  Arrange  for  delivery 
before  harvest  time. 
McCormick, 
Deering  and 
Milwaukee 
Grain  Binders 
