The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1427 
The  Farm  Lease 
CIRCULAR  87  of  the  Iowa  Experiment  Station 
at  Ames  discusses  the  important  subject  ot 
“Drawing  Up  the  Farm  Lease.”  Every  year  we  have 
dozens  of  calls  for  help  in  preparing  a  contract  be¬ 
tween  farmer  owner  and  tenant.  This  circular  de¬ 
scribes  the  three  classes  of  contracts  used  by  Iowa 
farmers  and  gives  an  excellent  analysis  of  them. 
Out  of  213.000  Iowa  farms,  about  90,000  are  rented, 
and  on  many  the  tenant  remains  only  one  year.  On 
many  more  the  tenant  may  remain  longer,  but  works 
on  a  yearly  lease.  There  are  three  types  of  leases 
employed  in  Iowa.  The  cash  lease  is  one  under 
which  the  tenant  pays  a  regular  cash  rent  per  acre, 
and  assumes  all  risk  of  the  business.  The  crop  share 
lease  is  one  in  which  is  specified  a  fractional  part 
of  the  crops  to  be  turned  over  to  the  landlord  as  rent. 
Under  this  form  of  renting  as  practiced  in  Iowa,  the 
tenant  pays  cash  at  so  much  per  acre  for  the  use  of 
the  pasture  land  and  usually  for  the  use  of  the  hay 
land,  though  occasionally  the  hay  land,  like  the  grain 
land,  is  rented  for  a  share  of  the  crop.  The  third 
type  of  lease,  the  stock  share  lease,  has  come  more 
and  more  into  use  in  the  State  since  the  recent  dis¬ 
astrous  drop  in  prices.  Under  this  contract  the  land¬ 
lord  furnishes  not  only  the  farm,  with  Its  improve¬ 
ments,  but  a  share  of  most  of  the  live  stock  and  in 
some  cases  a  part  or  all  of  the  equipment.  He  also 
commonly  pays  a  part  of  the  current  operating  ex¬ 
penses.  He  receives  as  a  compensation  a  share  not 
only  of  such  crops  as  are  sold,  but  of  all  live  stock 
products  which  are  sold.  The  circular  explains  these 
different  leases  in  considerable  detail,  and  gives 
copies  of  various  forms.  There  are  also  given  exact 
statements  of  the  financial  outcome  on  actual  farms 
under  each  form  of  lease.  Here  are  the  figures  for  a 
cash  renting  case : 
Contributions 
Farm  of  100  Acres 
Rent  at  $8  per  acre. . .  . 
Landlord  Tenant 
.$1,280 
Live  stock . 
$1,390 
Machinery  . 
1.089 
Feed  . 
780 
Checking  account  . 
150 
Total . 
$3,409 
Interest  at  7  per  cent . 
$238 
<  (perating  expenses,  including 
depre- 
ciation  . 
635 
Tenant’s  labor,  12  months  at  $’ 
75 ... . 
900 
Total  contributions . 
.  $1,280 
$1,773 
Returns 
Crops  . 
$1,717 
Live  stock 
Other  income 
House  rent  . . 
1.237 
07 
300 
Total .  $3,387 
As  rent  .  $1,280 
Remainder  .  2,107 
Profits  for  risk  and  management.  ....  $334 
Of  course  such  a  statement  based  on  conditions  on 
the  Atlantic  slope  would  be  very  different,  but  this 
gives  an  idea  of  the  way  cash  rent  is  figured  in  Iowa. 
The  circular  is  interesting  and  valuable  to  anyone 
as  a  basis  for  figuring  rent  farm  values. 
That  New  Hampshire  Tiespass  Law 
THE  State  of  New  Hampshire,  as  our  people 
know,  has  a  trespass  law  which  may  be  said  to 
have  “teeth  in  it.”  We  have  printed  essential  fea¬ 
tures  of  this  law,  and  an  effort  will  be  made  in  the 
next  New  York  Legislature  to  get  such  a  law  for 
this  State.  In  New  Hampshire  the  law  states  that 
anyone  who,  without  right,  enters  the  orchard,  nur¬ 
sery  or  gai’den  or  improved  land  and  destroys  or 
injures  anything  from  a  vegetable  up  to  a  tree,  or 
from  a  hen  to  a  horse,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $25,  and 
if  the  offense  is  committed  by  any  person  with  the 
aid  of  a  motor  vehicle  to  convey  him.  the  license  of 
the  owner  of  that  vehicle  is  revoked  for  one  year. 
There  will  be  a  desperate  struggle  before  such  a 
law  can  be  enacted  in  New  York  State.  Something 
of  the  sort  is  needed,  however,  and  it  can  be  put 
over  if  farmers  and  fruit  growers  organize  and  show 
their  strength  to  the  Legislature.  We  are  told  that 
the  New  Hampshire  law  has  given  considerable 
relief  from  trespassers.  The  worst  burden  in  New 
Hampshire  now  lies  in  the  damage  done  by  pro¬ 
tected  game.  Pheasants  do  considerable  damage 
and  the  trouble  from  deer  is  a  serious  one.  They 
nibble  the  young  trees,  thus  making  it  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  establish  a  good  orchard  on  some  of  the 
best  lands  in  the  State.  The  New  Hampshire  law 
states  that  the  Fish  and  Game  Commissioner  shall 
pay  full  and  adequate  damage.  Of  course  that 
sounds  well,  but  when  a  game  warden  makes  out  the 
case  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  anything  like  the 
value  of  the  destroyed  property.  Most  men  get  dis¬ 
couraged  and  give  up  trying  to  collect  the  award, 
except  in  cases  where  the  loss  is  very  large. 
Strange  to  say,  the  partridges  have  done  great  dam¬ 
age  in  New  Hampshire  orchards.  In  one  case  of  this 
kind,  damage  has  been  allowed  as  high  as  two  to 
three  hundred  dollars.  In  one  reported  case  the 
owner  claims  $400  as  damage  from  these  partridges, 
and  that  is  considered  a  low  estimate  by  many 
growers. 
There  is  quite  a  problem  now  over  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  the  snowshoe  rabbit.  Certain  sports  and 
friends  of  wild  game  are  buying  these  rabbits  in 
Maine  and  liberating  them  in  the  New  Hampshire 
fruit  districts.  These  game  people  claim  that  the 
snowshoe  rabbit  is  harmless ;  that  is,  they  say  it  will 
not  injure  the  trees.  We  have  some  reports  to  the 
contrary,  and  would  like  to  have  the  opinions  of 
readers  as  to  this  breed  of  rabbit,  so  that  we  may 
know  definitely  whether  it  is  likely  to  be  a  pest  or 
not. 
Where  is  Our  Money? 
SENATOR  E.  F.  LADI)  of  North  Dakota  has  re¬ 
turned  from  a  trip  to  Europe,  where  he  spent 
considerable  time  studying  financial  and  industrial 
conditions.  Speaking  of  United  States  money  held 
out  of  circulation  he  says  : 
I  had  one  experience  in  Moscow  that  forcibly  im¬ 
pressed  me  with  the  growth  of  the  credit  system  in  the 
United  States,  and  that  was  when  I  stood  in  the  vaults 
of  the  Soviet  government  and  saw  millions  of  dollars  of 
American  paper  money.  When  I  thought  that,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  reports  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
there  is  practically  the  same  money  in  circulation  today 
that  there  was  prior  to  the  establishment  of  this  much 
vaunted  Federal  Reserve  system  ;  when  I  thought  that 
out  of  that  amount,  here  were  all  these  millions  more 
in  the  vaults  of  the  recesses  of  Russia,  clear  out  of  cir¬ 
culation  and  away  from  the  American  citizen;  when  1 
thought  of  the  vast  millions  of  American  money  that 
are  in  circulation  throughout  all  Europe  where  it  is 
held  by  Europeans  because  of  its  desirability  ;  when  I 
thought  of  vast  amounts,  probably  from  one-half  to 
a  billion  of  dollars  that  is  carried  in  the  pockets  of  auto- 
mobilists  through  America,  who  hold  it  there  as  emer¬ 
gency  funds  against  the  occasions  of  their  trips — thus 
creating  another  extraordinary  demand  for  actual 
money  and  consequently  diverting  it  from  other  chan¬ 
nels  where  it  is  direly  needed ;  when  I  thought  about 
the  increase  in  reserves  held  in  banks ;  when  I  thought 
of  all  those  sums,  I  was  forced  to  the  conclusion,  meas¬ 
ured  by  the  present  demand  for  money,  that  there  was 
probably  not  more  than  50  per  cent  as  much  money  in 
actual  circulation  in  America  today  as  there  was  prior 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Federal  Reserve  system,* 
and  since  that  time  we  have  piled  up  on  us  a  national 
debt  approximating  twenty-five  billions  of  dollars,  all 
of  which  is  bearing  interest,  and  private  debts  through¬ 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  nation  have  increased 
by  leaps  and  bounds. 
The  Careless  Smoker 
(Copied  from  a  Connecticut  Forest  Fire  Poster) 
A  fool  there  was  and  his  pipe  he  lit 
(Even  as  you  and  I), 
On  a  forest  trail  where  the  leaves  were  fit 
To  become  ablaze  from  the  smallest  bit 
Of  spark — and  the  fool  he  furnished  it. 
The  day  was  windy  and  dry. 
The  forest  was  burned  to  its  very  roots, 
Even  beneath  the  ground, 
YV  ith  the  flowers,  the  birds  and  the  poor  dumb  brutes, 
Old  hoary  oaks,  and  the  tender  shoots 
Which  might  have  made  logs  but  for  such  galoots 
Allowed  to  wander  around. 
The  lumberjack  has  now  passed  on — 
His  pay  day  comes  no  more. 
And  the  screech-owls  haunt  the  camp  at  dawn 
Where  the  cook’s  tin  pan  woke  the  men  of  brawn. 
But  the  mill  is  silent,  the  trees  are  gone, 
The  soil  and  the  forest  floor. 
A  deadly  sight  are  those  hills  of  rocks 
Which  once  were  beds  of  green  ; 
No  hope  for  the  human,  no  food  for  the  flocks, 
The  floods  must  be  held  by  expensive  locks, 
And  the  harbor  is  silted  to  the  docks. 
The  ships  no  more  are  seen. 
But  the  fool  smokes  on  in  the  forest  still — 
Leaves  camp-fires  burning,  too; 
While  the  patient  public  pays  the  bill 
And  the  nation’s  wealth  is  destroyed  for  nil; 
If  the  law  doesn’t  get  him.  Old  Satan  will, 
When  his  smoking  days  are  through. 
— Apologies  to  Kipling,  by  Harris  A.  Reynolds. 
Reserving  Trades  for  Dependents 
SOMEONE  stated  in  the  daily  papers  not  long 
ago  that  the  Japanese  are  solving  the  depend¬ 
ent  problem  by  reserving  certain  lines  of  work  for 
afflicted  people.  The  object  of  this  is  to  train  the 
blind  and  the  crippled  in  sneh  a  way  that  they  would 
be  sure  of  making  a  fair  living,  and  then  protect 
them  by  preventing  competition  from  outside  labor¬ 
ers.  We  referred  this  to  a  very  intelligent  Japanese 
who  is  familiar  with  legislation  in  his  country.  He 
tells  us  that  is  largely  true.  Such  work  as  embalm¬ 
ing  and  massage  treatment  is  usually  given  to  the 
blind.  As  a  rule,  too,  very  much  of  the  pxxblic  music 
in  Japan  is  given  by  blind  people,  who  are  taught  to 
play  naturally,  and  give  good  service  in  a  musical 
line.  Tn  case  they  are  not  fit  for  music,  they  may 
be  trained  for  other  lines  of  work,  such  as  massage 
and  various  other  things.  Our  informant  says  that 
there  are  many  very  intelligent  blind  people  among 
the  Japanese,  and  many  of  the  afflicted  have  risen 
to  high  position.  Our  friend  tells  us  a  curious  thing 
regarding  the  deaf  and  dumb  among  the  Japanese. 
He  says  that  they  are  not  given  many  privileges. 
The  theory  is  that^  they  were  born  without  intelli¬ 
gence,  and  such  progress  as  they  make  in  the  world 
must  be  done  through  the  help  of  their  wives.  We 
are  told  that  there  are  countless  Japanese  men  who 
are  perfectly  normal;  that  is,  they  have  their  eye¬ 
sight,  and  can  hear  and  speak  freely,  and  yet  they 
will  rank  considerably  behind  the  unfortunate  and 
afflicted,  because  the  latter  have  been  forced  to  study 
and  exert  themselves  in  order  <o  make  a  living.  We 
understand  it  is  true  that  the  Japanese  reserve  cer- 
tain  lines  of  work  for  the  afflicted  aiid  will  not  per- 
mit  competition  from  normal  people.  This  permits 
the  trained  people  with  an  affliction  to  be  sui*e  of  con¬ 
stant  employment  in  some  useful  line  of  labor,  and 
they  are  less  dependent  than  iix  coxxntries  where  they 
must  compete  with  others  for  a  chance  to  make  a 
living. 
Why  Rural  People  are  Opposed  to  the 
Rural  School  Bill 
In  the  first  place,  any  bill  involving  the  expenditure 
of  vast  sums  of  money  may  be  considered  objectionable 
unless  it  can  be  clearly  shown  that  a  material  advan¬ 
tage  is  to  be  obtained.  This  has  not  been  shown  in  this 
case.  Under  the  present  law,  the  State  paying  the  tui¬ 
tion  of  non-resident  high  school  pupils,  every  boy  and 
girl  who  desires  a  high  school  education  and  who  is 
physically  and  mentally  able  may  have  it.  At  least  this 
is  true  in  this  section  of  the  State,  where  the  rural  dis¬ 
tricts  are  furnishing  more  high  school  students  and  high 
school  graduates  in  proportion  to  their  school  popula¬ 
tion  than  the  village  districts.  We  are  therefore  op¬ 
posed  to  being  joined  to  a  village  high  school  district  in 
forming  a  community  unit,  thus  doubling,  and  in  some 
cases  more  than  tripling  our  school  taxes,  without  re¬ 
ceiving  anything  in  return  except  tuition  for  seyenih 
and  eighth  grade  pupils,  and  the  very  questionable  ad¬ 
vantage  of  free  transportation.  We  are  also  opposed  to 
being  bonded  without  our  consent,  which  would  be  the 
case  when  the  bonds  of  the  high  school  district  were 
spread  over  the  entire  community  unit. 
But  of  more  importance  than 'the  matter  of  taxes  is 
the  fact  that  this  bill  takes  the  control  of  the  rural 
school  out  of  the  hands  of  the  rural  people,  and  places 
K  in  the  hands  ot  a  non-resident  board  of  education 
elected  by  and  responsible  to  non-resident  voters  It 
wib  prevent  us  from  rising  in  our  might  and  eliminating 
an  unsatisfactory  teacher,  or  retaining  a  very  successful 
teacher  by  advancing  her  salary,  as  we  have  just  done 
in  our  district.  It  will  permit  a  non-resident  board  of 
education  to  transfer  our  successful  teacher  to  some 
other  school  in  the  community  district,  where,  in  their 
opinion  (not  ours),  she  may  be  of  more  use,  and  re¬ 
placing  her  by  an  untried  or  indifferent  teacher  It 
may  even  deprive  us  of  electing  our  own  member  of  the 
board  of  education,  as  the  bill  provides  that  the  first 
hoard  ot  education  shall  be  elected  by  the  several  di's 
tricts  voting  separately,  but  the  voters  of  the  com¬ 
munity  district  shall  decide  by  ballot  whether  subse¬ 
quent  boards  shall  be  elected  in  this  manner  or  on  a 
disfrictba ™  t0-nbe  V°re<?  -for  by  tbe  entire  community 
district.  The  village  district  wishing  to  get  control  and 
haying  a  large  majority  of  the  voters  in  the  community 
district  will  carry  the  election  for  the  single  ballot  plan 
and  will  thereafter  elect  the  entire  board  of  education’ 
It  I,  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  from  my 
district,  do  not  please  the  people  of  the  village  district 
they  will  defeat  me  and  elect  in  my  place  someone  whom 
they  can  control,  in  spite  of  anything  the  voters  of  mv 
district  might  do.  It  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that  the 
rural  districts  will  become  “the  tail  end  of  the  tizer  ” 
and  the  tiger  surely  will  wag  us. 
We  are  also  opposed  to  this  bill  because,  while  mas¬ 
querading  as  a  non-consolidation  measure  it  will  create 
conditions  under  which  the  rural  people  will  vote  for 
consolidation  as  the  cheapest  way  out  of  a  bad  situa- 
?0Ib  and  thus  close  up  half  of  the  one-room  schools  of 
the  8tate. 
In  the  matter  of  better  qualified  teachers  for  the  rural 
schools  more  State  aid  for  weak  districts,  uniformity  of 
textbooks  and  many  other  desirable  things  in  the  bill 
they  can  be  obtained  by  slightly  amending  the  present 
law,  without  changing  the  whole  system 
Orange  Co.,  N.Y.  ‘  P.  H.  F.  JANSKN_ 
School  Meeting  for  December  4 
1  nhe  a?itic?e  by  Mr-  DeveJ?dorf  on  the  proposed  school 
bill  in  the  issue  of  The  Rural  New-Yorker  for  No¬ 
vember  3,  is  indeed  timely.  In  my  opinion  the  time 
tor  action  on  the  part  of  the  people  is  at  hand. 
<  ould  you  not  call  for  a  meeting  of  the  rural  school 
districts  m  your  next  issue  of  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker?  I  would  suggest  some  Tuesday  evening  at 
an  early  date.  I  happen  to  be  chairman  of  our  com¬ 
munity  farm  bureau  committee  comprising  seven  school 
districts  and  will  be  responsible  either  for  a  meeting 
in  each  district,  or  a  joint  meeting  of  all  districts. 
Of  course  there  will  be  obstacles.  It  will  not  be 
possible  to  have  meetings  in  all  districts.  But  sup- 
P?S!^meetings.en?ugh  wer?  he,(l  f°  register  the  opinion 
of  tiO  or  70  districts.  This  would  give  the  Legislature 
a  pretty  good  idea  of  rural  sentiment.  Then,  there 
would  be  trouble  in  getting  some  one  to  act  in  all  dis¬ 
tricts.  _  Why  not.  in  your  call,  ask  the  readers  of  your 
paper  in  every  school  district,  either  to  act  himself  or 
to  get  the  trustee  to  act?  Also  ask  that  a  representa¬ 
tive  be  chosen  at  the  meeting  to  communicate  to  you 
the  results.  j.  judson  swift. 
Middleport,  N.  Y. 
Tn  order  to  get  this  promptly  under  way  we  suggest 
Tuesday,  December  4  for  these  meetings.  Further  par¬ 
ticulars  next  week.  This  must  be  volunteer  work 
largely.  We  ask  our  friends  all  over  the  State  to  join 
this  movement.  Send  us  word  at  once  that  you  will 
help  organize  these  meetings. 
