<Ph  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
919 
of  New  York  began  to  advocate  this  system  be  was 
fiercely  attacked  'by  the  people  wbo  say  that  noth¬ 
ing  but  intense  cultivation  should  ever  be  practiced 
in  an  orchard.  That  battle  was  fought  ont,  and 
the  result  has  been  more  or  less  of  a  compromise. 
A  Close-up  Inspection  of  a  Bird's  Nest  After  the 
Tenants  Have  Moved 
were  appointed,  among  others  an  advisory  com- 
mitte  composed  of  some  of  the  most  progressive 
members  who  had  the  good  of  the  cause  at  heart. 
This  committee  was  empowered  to  do  the  work  as 
in  their  judgment  they  saw  fit,  and  the  association 
would  abide  by  their  decision.  It  was  wrell  this 
was  settled  definitely  before  wre  began  the  work,  as 
it  soon  developed  opposition  to  some  of  the  plans  of 
this  committee.  First,  a  printed  circular  was  sent 
to  every  known  person  who  had  relatives  or  friends 
buried  there,  telling  of  the  deplorable  condition,  the 
broken-down  fences  with  straying  cattle  roaming 
over  the  sacred  ground,  which  from  appearances 
might  be  a  game  preserve;  then  telling  what  we 
planned  to  do.  It  was  stated  that  if  all  gave  some¬ 
thing  we  would  accomplish  something  worth  while. 
We  then  asked  for  a  contribution,  small  or  large, 
the  officers  names  were  given  and  the  treasurer  to 
whom  funds  were  to  be  sent.  We  soon  began  to 
get  some  money,  and  having  decided  just  what  was 
needed  went  at  it  in  earnest.  I  think  it  was  early 
in  April  we  began.  First,  we  removed  all  the  small 
stones  known  as  foot  stones,  for  if  it  was  to  be 
leveled  and  seeded  so  a  lawn  mower  could  be  used, 
they  would  interfere  greatly.  Then  we  straightened 
all  the  stones  that  were  not  perpendicular,  cemented 
the  broken  ones  and  with  mattock  and  plow  and 
harrow,  just  worked  that  soil  over  and  over  until 
every  living  thing  was  dead,  then  early  in  August 
gave  it  a  good  coat  of  'barnyard  manure  which  had 
been  donated,  and  a  good  liberal  coat  of  raw  bone- 
meal,  then  sodded  with  Kentucky  blue  grass.  We 
had  a  good  catch,  and  after  these  many  years  it  is 
still  spoken  of  as  a  model  village,  cemetery.  Of 
course,  each  year  a  day  is  set  when  several  men  go 
over  the  yard,  straightening  any  stones  that  the 
frost  has  got  out  of  plumb,  filling  sunken  spots  with 
soil,  and  of  course  all  dirt  and  stone  left  after 
filling  in  a  new  grave  are  carted  away  at  once. 
This  is  our  way  of  turning  a  disgrace  into  a  place 
of  beauty.  J.  v.  h. 
Also,  they  have  a  trunk  line  railroad,  which  would 
stand  a  large  share  of  the  expense,  and  the  project 
has  been  pushed  by  an  exceptionally  energetic  and 
capable  superintendent. 
But  when  it  came  to  transporting  the  children  long 
How  Lima  Beans  4 re  Harvested  in  South  Jersey 
A  Vote  on  Consolidation 
“Five  school  districts  in  the  town  of  Hector,  recently 
consolidated  by  the  district  superintendent,  under  a 
law  which  allows  consolidation  by  the  trustee’s  signa¬ 
ture  only  at  a  special  meeting  held  June  8,  defeated 
the  proposition  to  establish  one  union  free  school  dis¬ 
trict  by  a  vote  of  105  to  31.” 
THE  above  clipping  shows  the  trend  of  public 
sentiment  on  the  hills  of  New  York  State,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  if  consolidation  of  schools  were  put 
to  a  vote  among  the  people  concerned  the  result 
would  average  about  as  this.  In  fact,  this  was  an 
ideal  location  for  a  big  school,  if  there  is  such  a 
thing.  Hector  lies  along  the  east  shore  of  Seneca 
Lake,  where  the  climate  is  as  mild  as  any  in  this 
State.  The  roads  are  improved,  the  country  is  rea¬ 
sonably  level.  The  people,  who  are  mainly  fruit 
growers,  are  very  progressive  and  intelligent,  while 
Mr.  Volstead  has  made  them  independently  rich. 
There  are  some  who  still  continue  to  keep  the  or¬ 
chards  in  sod,  rarely,  if  ever,  plowing,  and  keeping 
the  grass  constantly  cut  and  left  on  the  ground. 
Others  vary  this  plan  somewhat  by  plowing  every 
three  years,  giving  cultivation  during  the  season,  and 
seeding  down  once  more,  usually  to  clover.  The 
clover  is  left  for  two  years  ,and  then  the  process  is 
repeated.  Others,  of  course,  follow  what  is  known 
as  “cover-cropping.”  They  plow  in  the  Spring  and 
give  reasonable  culture  up  to  about  the  middle  of 
July.  Then  they  sow  a  cover  crop;  usually  some 
grain  like  buckhweat  or  rye  with  clover  or  a  com¬ 
bination  of  grain  and  vetch.  The  object  of  this  is 
to  give  culture  during  the  growing  season,  and 
also  to  make  sure  that  the  ground  is  kept  well  sup¬ 
plied  with  organic  matter.  All  sorts  of  combina¬ 
tions  are  suggested,  and  usually  a  wise  fruit  gi’ower 
will  alter  experimenting,  hit  upon  the 
plan  best  suited  to  his  own  conditions, 
and  that  is  why  there  are  so  many 
different  plans  for  handling  an  or¬ 
chard. 
Improving  Rural  Cemeteries 
[The  x-ecent  story  “Consecrated 
Ground”  by  the  Hope-farm  man  has  at¬ 
tracted  wide  attention  and  we  have  many 
letters  from  people  who  are  interested 
in  the  old  graveyards.  We  are  very  glad 
to  note  an  increased  interest  in  repairing 
them.  The  following  note  tells  how  it 
was  done  in  one  New  Jersey  community.] 
YOUR  notes  on  the  neglected  ceme¬ 
teries  have  appealed  to  me;  I, 
with  others  of  the  village  church  have, 
found  a  very  much  neglected  church 
yard  some  15  or  20  years  ago,  and 
took  it  in  hand  with  the  result  that 
ever  since  and  up  till  this  time  it  has 
been  the  pride  of  our  village,  and  even 
of  many  strangers  passing  along  the 
State  highway.  For  many  years  this 
God’s  acre  had  been  neglected,  until 
it  became  a  disgrace;  in  fact  some  of 
the  best  rabbit  hunting  was  found 
among  the  tangled  vines  and  weeds. 
Heaps  of  stones  and  dirt  were  allowed 
to  remain  when  graves  were  opened ; 
the  gravestones  were  leaning  in  every 
direction,  some  were  broken  and  a 
very  distressing  appearance  was  given 
to  an  otherwise  beautiful  country 
church  property.  After  spasmodic  ef¬ 
forts  for  several  years,  finally  at  a 
Congregational  meeting  it  was  decided 
to  go  ahead,  and  several  committees 
Mr.  A.  J.  Brewer  of  New  York  who  sends  the  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  three  farm  helpers  says:  “It  shows 
part  of  necessary  equipment  for  successful  farming 
and  is  the  help  I  use  the  year  around.”  The  cat. 
the  dog  and  the  boy  all  contribute  to  farm  economy. 
distances  and  bonding  the  districts  for  a  $100,000 
schoolhouse  and  an  annual  expense  of  $30,000  more 
for  maintenance,  the  farmers  objected,  and  the  only 
ones,  as  usual,  who  were  able  to  make  a  noise  like 
consolidation  were  a  few  close  in,  and  some  village 
people  who  saw  great  increases  in  property  values 
and  trade. 
Of  course,  under  the  present  law  the  superintend¬ 
ent  can  go  on  and  consolidate,  but  it’s  a  very  safe 
bet  if  much  of  that  kind  of  stuff  were  tried  there 
would  be  doings  over  the  hills  that  would  make  the 
scrap  over  the  old  township  law  look 
like  an  old  ladies’  picnic. 
B.  L.  HATHAWAY. 
A  Contract  by  Telephone 
MANY  of  our  readers  have  asked 
asked  us  whether  business  Trans¬ 
acted  by  telegi’apli  or  the  mails  is 
binding  upon  the  individuals  and  the 
firms  involved.  Some  people  have 
claimed  that  a  contract  made  in  that 
way  would  not  be  legal,  but  the  parties 
must  stand  face  to  face  with  definite 
written  orders.  A  decision  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
seems  to  have  settled  this  matter.  The 
court  held  that  when  an  order  is  given 
by  telephone  or  telegram  and  followed 
later  by  a  letter,  it  constitutes  a  defi¬ 
nite  contract,  even  though  the  party 
receiving  the  order  by  telephone  has 
never  seen  the  buyer.  In  the  case  from 
which  this  decision  was  developed,  a 
man  in  New  York  City  bought  certain 
shares  of  stock  by  telephoning  to  a 
broker.  There  was  also  a  telegram 
and  one  or  two  letters.  The  stock 
deal  did  not  turn  out  as  expected  and 
the  loser  on  the  deal  sued  the  other 
party  to  recover  damages.  An  effort 
was  apparently  made  at  this  trial  to 
show  that  an  order  received  by  tele¬ 
phone  or  telegraph  without  sight  of 
the  buyer  did  not  constitute  a  contract. 
The  court  holds  that  it  does,  especially 
when  corroborated  or  followed  by  let¬ 
ters  written  concerning  the  deal. 
