davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

Impressions" We're safe to work on in
farming and not in dry goods.
The fundamental principle OF success
full farming is getting from the land the
maximum of production at the mini
mum of expense. one who can do that
will, as a general thing, find little diff
Guilty in disposing of his farm products
to the best advantage. In agriculture
as in any other manufacturing enter
prise, the efficiency OF the working
plant Is the first and most important
consideration The soil Is the instru-
ment of production and from ii either
directly or indirectly all farm products
are derived; therefore IL Is false
economy to deny it those things which
it requires in order TO perform its
function properly.
At least that was my impression when
I assumed active management of my
400 acres. In its condition at that time
I could not hope to make the place a
commercial success. because If worked
every acre and got crops equal to the
average in the neighborhood, the result
would be far below my idea OF what
constituted a paying farm. Almost any
man can make a living on farm in
fact most of them do but that IL about
all they make. When the end Of the
year comes around they have paid their
bills and perhaps, have added a couple
of hundred dollars to their bank ac-
count but they have had their heads
through yoke all year and pulled hard
to do 1t. Not only has the farmer
labored out Of all keeping with the re-
ward he has received, but his wife and
his children have struggled with him
That is why country boys so often cele-
brate their twenty-first birthdays by
packing up and leaving for the cities
Possessing only the meagre education
of country schools they succeed, not.
withstandng, in commercial life simply
because OF the brutal training received
in childhood and youth on the farm
they suffer the hardships Of city life
and overcome them because they know
that TO turn back means worse.
I was talking to the president OF ms
bank in the city one day, and in tht
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

had enjoyed, and at all events It seri-
ously hampered farm projects. This
latter feature particularly annoyed me,
for / had already found my plans run
ming over the edge of a year; so in
December, under the persuasive infiu-
ence Of a little added rent, l succeeded
in having the original lease cancelled
and a new one drawn for five years.
That placed me in a position 10 carry
out some of the plans | had in mind re-
garding the working of the farm.
From 400 acres | could reasonably
expect to get sufficient grain and fodder
to support quite a number of live
stock, so l sold the three COWS that
were on the place and bought eleven
thoroughbred IIolsteins-ten cows and
a bull. The milk could be sold to the
factory in the village at a price that
would pay the cost Of production; then
such of the increase in the stock as I
did not hold for breeding purposes could
be sold for a good price and would be
net profit. Il bought eight berkshire
sows due to farrow in March and
April 200 Leghorn chickens and an
other team of work horses. This COM
pr sed our live stock equipment when
we commenced in March to work a liv-
ing for them out of the soil
l moved the family up in May and it
seemed like a homecoming to us all.
During the previous summer we be-
came pretty we'll acquainted with the
| village and its people. and when we re-
| turned, the better part of a forenoon
| was spent in renewing friendships of
the year before. Village folk, / have
noticed. are not given to placing OBJ
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

Is acre field from which we harvested
only 1856 bushels of corn the previous
year we found a clay hardpan about
Ia inches beneath the surface. That
field was at one of the highest points on
the farm and was naturally well
drained, but Notwithstanding that 1t
remained very cold and wet until late
in the spring; 1t seemed to me that
the hardpan prevented the spring rains
from soaking into the ground, so
sent subscribers along after the ploughs
to break it up. II that experiment did
not prove effective, then | intended
putting in artificial drains.
On every acre of ploughed ground /
spread from 80 10 35 bushels of burnt
lime and narrowed 1t In. The harrow
ing, in fact, was done very thoroughly
that spring. When my native farm
hands had performed that operation to
their satisfaction l set them to work
to do It to mine. I combed those 220
acres of ploughed ground until the soil
was as fine as mustard seed. That
work, however, did not seem to agree
with the men, for one evening Waters
came i'm to inform me that they had
Struck" for an increase in pay "be-
cause I was making them do a lot Of
extra work"
l fattered myself, in coming to the
country, that there was at least one
thing in agriculture that ! knew, that
was the labor question. I knew 1t was
a very troublesome problem, but l was
always of the opinion that the fault
was in most cases with the farmer
himself Farm labor is, as n rule,
poorly paid and poorly treated. In our
neighborhood the prevailing wage is
from SIS to 500 a month, and the mems
quarters are none too good. So when
my men struck in jobs that paid
them s25 a month, and where they
were we'll fed, and where they
had comfortable rooms and a bath, |
could not see wherein l was called upon
to devote any more study to the ques-
ton. The labor question was Just as
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

and talk crops to you, and perhaps
discuss public affairs also, because they
take a keen interest in them. They
don't hang their heads in despair out
in that country, because they are too
busy making money.
And all that they have out there that
We have not got here in the East Is
better land. They have not got our eli
mate, nor our good roads. nor our rail-
way facilities, nor our markets: in fact,
they enjoy comparatively few Of the
advantages that the Eastern farmer
has and falls to appreciate. And each
year the area of virgin land is dimin-
ishlng because what it has to give is
taken from IL without return, and the
plundering farmer pushes on further
west. Thirty y airs ago a fertilizer
salesman would have stood no more
show of doing business in the Missis-
sippi Valley than a flannel underwear
agent in the Island of Tahiti but that
rich, black loan did not reach down
TO China, its plant foods were not in
eXhaustible, and to-day they are ferti-
hzing out there. And so it will be with
the rest OF that country before many
years, because the pioneers, the cream
gatherers, have long ago reached the
oceans edge. and their eyes are already
turned toward the country which not
so very long ago they were advised
to leave and "go west"
Soil fertility is the first essential on
farm, and I determined to restore
mine to profitable productiveness at
whatever cost of time and money was
necessary. With that idea in mind
had at the outset used commercial fer
tilzer without having any appreciation
| OF the relation its ingredients bore To
the requirements OF the crop for which
It was used. Results proved that / was
wrong, and l determined to adopt other
methods.
When ploughing commenced I went
Unto the fields with Waters and we dug
small holes here and there with a spade
We found the surface soil from 10 tC
~ inches deep over the entire farm
SO I had the ploughs adjusted to cut a
furrow 10 inches IN depth. In uh'
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

much a part of my farming business as
the planting OF crops or the marketing
OF produce, so l dealt with that feature
Of il in way l thought best for my
enterprise. l argued with the men that
they were well paid and had suffered
no increase OF work, but they were OBJ
durate and / was forced to let them
CO.
The following day my wife and
went into the city on our regular
monthly visit. | called upon an en-
ployment agency, with which l had
done considerable business, and on the
advice of the proprietor selected four
Russians to take the places OF the men
had discharged They were active,
vigorous looking men, and had been
farm laborers in their native country.
put them on the train and telephoned
Waters to meet them that afternoon.
made up my mind then and there
to hire no more native labor. Up to
that time / had been very fortunate in
keeping men, and l thought that good
wages and kind treatment were the
solution of the much talked of labor
problem in connection with the farm,
but | was mistaken, at least in regard
| to the natives. Those four Russians
however, are still with me, doing their
work well, and apparently contented
paid them S25 n month each to start
with and raised that to $50 a month
at the end of the first year OF service
Two years later / increase their wages
to $35 q month, and / shall continue
to increase their salaries in a similar
manner every two years so long as
they remain in my employ.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

up on that farm Of yours?' he said to
me.
l told him that l intended TO do so
just as soon as 1 could find time to look
around and get a good Thoroughbred
stallion.
IN send you horse" he said, that
you can breed from. / won't give him
to you, but you can have the use Of
him. I'll only want him in case racing
comes back but the game looks too
dead to skin just now"
The following week he shipped me
four-year-old son OF Filigrane, He was
a handsome sealbrown stallion, 16 hands
high, and weighed 100 pounds The
contractor told me that the horse had
won in purses upward of $1,000. over
distances of from one to four miles.
Waters broke the stallion to harness
and he proved a splendid road horse.
In buying my work horses I had Sc
lected mares because l had in mind
breeding them at some future time.
My own mares, ten in all, were bred TO
the new horse, and 4 gave his services
gratuitously to those farmers who
would give me an option on the wean-
ling colt at $50. Thirty mares were
bred as result or my offer; they were
clean limbed, middle weight work
horses, and thought the cross would
produce a splendid type of hunter. !
wish / could have gotten five times as
many colts the following year as l sue
ceeded in getting.
During the winter I had mapped out
IA crop plan that we followed when the
planting season commenced. In the
fifty acres where corn had been W,
sowed oats and clover fertilizing with
mixture of $50 pounds OF phosphoriC
acid and so pounds OF nitrate of soda
to the acre. We planted soy beans In
the forty acres that had been used fol
oats, drilling in $50 pounds OF phos
phoric acid and $50 pounds OF muriat,
Of potash to the acre. In the 1906 acres
OF old meadows we planted eight row
flint corn-that particular brand o
corn produced the best results In oul
'locality--and drilled in $50 pounds o
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

To undertake to set down here de-
tailed account of our summers expe-
rience on the farm would require too
much space and II would be a dlgres-
sion from my original purpose. l will
say, however, that II there was a sim
gle flaw in the whole scheme | have
yet to find II out. our sun tanned, vo-
racious boys were sufficient Endorsement
Of the step We had taken.
OF course it was a new experience
for us all and another year might find
the novelty somewhat worn off and the
enthusiasm less riotous. particularly
with the boys. After our return to the
city in october. however, my wife and
|, after a thorough analysis OF the
summers experiment concluded we had
made no mistake. During my early
years of theoretical farming in my IL
brary l doubt If my wife was very
much in sympathy with me; IL she was
she carefully concealed it, but toward
the last she seemed to have become in
feCted in a small way with the enthu-
siasm that had worked so thoroughly
into my system. To the average city
woman the social position of farmers
wife is not an enviable one. They see
her as Millet pictured her in The
Cleaners" or, perhaps. as a Maud
Muller" bare ankled in a hot timothy
field, tortured by bumblebees and work.
AS a rule they fail to appreciate the
other side of it until they try it.
In this farm in the foothills we had
apparently found an ideal summering
place. so l turned my attention to the
farming side Of it. The first obstacle
was the one wear tense. IL might limit
the duration of the blssful state we
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

@AN a city man become n success
full farmer? Harrison Whit
~ tingham says he can; for he is
one. In a book called THAT
Farm" published by Doubleday, Page
A. Co. Mr.. Nottingham tells how he
gave up a prosperous mercantile bust
ness in the city, bought an abandoned
farm and became a prosperous farmer.
1t is an unusual thing. says the au-
thor, for city man in quest of a sum
mer home for himself and family to
lease a 400 acre farm for a year, so
by way of explanation let me say that
for a long time the farm idea had been
In my mind.
was one of those city men who
wanted to go TO the country and start
farming, but my ideas differed in some
respect from theirs. The summer
hotne" feature of 1t was only the first
step in the direction / had been inclin-
ing for years. | had four growing
boys whose welfare naturally was of
the greatest importance to me. and |
believed that few months spent in
the country each year would add very
materially to their education as well
as to their health. Professors and text
books train a young mans mind. il is
tGue' nut Idith ire Is the louhua'loh vi
peculiarly healthy viewpoint.
But i'm addition to that farming had
always meant something more to me.
] looked upon 1t as business filed
with tremendous possibilities. and in
theory | had carefully worked out
plans for their development. Many of
my friends had farms. large and small
but almost without exception their
places were veritable graveyards for
dollars The soil seemed to produce
fairly good crops of all kinds, but some
strange force operated most industri-
Dusly and effectively against net profit
That was the problem that had always
puzzled me- and after years of broken
promises to myself I at last made up
my mind to try to solve 1t.
Being almost entirely book farmer"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17
Harrison Whiting Tells How He Gave Up Flourishing
! Business and After Taking Course in Mistakes"
Made the Abandoned Farm Pay

course of our conversation i touched
on farming and my future plans re-
garding it, He told me that he had
been raised on a farm near Collfnsville,
ILL.,, and described sample vacation
day of his boyhood. He arose at in
the morning, MIXED ten cows and
fed eight calves before breakfast;
then he harnessed a team and
drove n load of milk into the village.
On his return he hoed corn until din
ner. From l until 4:30 in the after
noon more corn hoeing; then he MIXED
the ten cows again and fed the calves
and workhorses. After supper he
fed the pigs and cut up firewood for
the following days cooking. And that
was on his fathers place, too.
Can you Imagine that bank presl-
the country? Not unless he was CO.
Gained or made to do so at the open
end of a revolver. Yet l. his father
and other farmer fathers would listen
to some of the advice that is all but
rammed down their throats they would
find that their sons would not be so
anxious TO desert them when they are
grown and they would also find that
they would put by about five times as
much money each year as they do
now.
Out West they are graduating out
Of drudgery, and they are doing it be-
cause they graduated from agricul-
tural schools. Take a trip some time
out into Minnesota or Wisconsin, or
down through Kansas and Oklahoma,
and have a Etle chat with those farm
ers. They will ride you around in au-
tomobiles and show you their farms
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

and ten in wheat. Seven hundred
pounds of commercial fertilizer to the
acre was drilled in with the corn. We
pastured one Of the meadows and our
hay crop was less than the previous
year. About the middle of August the
thrashlng machine paid a visit to our
oat field from the thlrty-five acres we
got 100 bushels Of oats. Not so bad
my overseer informed me, considering
the condition of the land. He seemed
to feel that after he had become better
acquainted with the land the crops
would be materially increased This
was reasonable enough. He was hired
for that purpose and did not propose
to interfere with the working of his
practical mind by offering theoretical
suggestions. although at times l al
most had the temerity to do so.
The home feature Of the farm was
working so beautifully that | deter
mined to give the commercial side
ample time to get into shape. What
matter il the "Harr. son Whittingham
Farm Account" showed debit bal
ance? 1t would be wiped out very soon
by revenue from the stock and crops;
1t was counterbalanced already by the
pleasure the farm had afforded us.
Little wonder. thought, in a life so
comfortable and independent, that the
farmers brain cultivates no apprecia-
ton OF systematic economies.
did not tnen appreciate how much
took for granted. In my city bust
ness | took nothing on trust; l had to
have actual facts and detail figures
and wonder, now that look back on
il. just why / thought that general
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

purified that sport into Improbable
ness. When the betting rings went out
of business the race tracks closed, and
the contractor. like many others, was
left with a stable of horses on his
hands
Why don't you breed some horses
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17

phosphoric acid and 100 pounds u
muriate of potash to the acre. vs.. pom
a weeder across the rows Wl,. iU,
corn was two inches high. and ..Ir,
when it was about four inch. IN
height. Fifteen acres were souu In
buckwheat, five acres in potatoo- and
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17
DERMATINE

Is a perfect skin tIghtener; an as hs Of
compound for nabbiness and prev %, 'lst,es
wrinkles, builds up and nourishes ih' "'
Send csc. for sample botl''. ,,>s
HELENE sWIFT's BEAUTY CRt ~"
los West iSth ST. 'rAonc, Br!'' -ssi
tSold by leading druggists d'P'
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1915-10-15
EVIDENTLY NOT AN ARTIST
Judging From Comment, Bilkins Had
Good Deal to Learn About
Photography.

Young Bilkins is an enthusiastic de-
voice OF amateur photography. He al
ways insists upon taking" his family
and friends posed in more or less ar
tistic attitudes.
Not long ago there was an eXhibi.
ton of the work of local photograph
ic club TO which the young fellow be-
longs. and where were displayed the
results of certain of his efforts to i'm
mortalize his family and friends. IN
one corner hug a group of figures
twisted into the most extraordinary
positions. the general effect being that
of persons in various stages of par
alysis.
Who in the world are those queer
j oking people?" asked someone.
oh those are some of Bilkins
strained relations" said bystander.
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1915-10-15
FASHION HINTS

The schoolgirls dress should have
pockets because they are both practi-
cal and fashionable.
Little girls dresses show plain-col-
ored belted blouses worn over plaid
killed skirts.
Day gowns are relieved from dull
ness by chiffon sleeves and pretty
neckties.
One OF the few military influences
in feminine attire that seems likely
TO be accorded any sound recognition
is the tartan skirt.
Chiffon sleeves s2cm to be as much
as ever in favor for fall dresses
Odd velvet coats will he worn with
cloth or rep serge skirts
Slashed cloth skirts over velvet or
silk are charming fashion,
White organdie has been and still.
is in great favor.
Short pulled and long full sleeves
are a feature of afternoon and eve
ming toilets.
Hat trimmings are often fatty ap
piled. sometimes almost appliqued. un.
less in the use of wings. perky bows
and coque pompons.
Among the new tweeds. subdued
plaids and checks are most in favor
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1915-10-15
NeckWear NeWness.

Neckwear fashions are about as sta
BILE as the thermometer or the stock
market, for one minute collars are up
and the next they are down very fiat.
Neckwear styles for winter, however.
are TO be mostly high; that is. there
will be some all-high collars some
fiat collars and some that are high in
the back and roll away in the front.
The stole is new neckwear note. az
Is also the crossed fchu OF organdie
with organdie ruchings. There will be
much soft neckwear of georgette
crepe. net. marquisette and silk organ
die. Colored embroidery On georgette
crepe is a new feature, while burnt
orange collarettes of the same mate
rial are a popular fashion note.
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1915-10-15
DRESSES FOR EVENING
pEcclLETE GOWNS MUCH WORN
IN FRANCE.
Best Partisan Designers Have Been
Giving Their Attention to This Class
of Costume-Feather Trimming
on Evening Nantes.

All the great dressmakers of Paris
say that for France and England they
are making, Just now. very few rega-
lar evening dresses. On this side OF
the water demi-evening toilets are the
only thing demanded But these demi-
evening dresses are real works of art.
writes Idalia de Villiers, Paris CORE
spondent of the Boston Globe.
They are, IN fact, very much the
same style of dress that the lovely
women OF past centuries wore at great
dinner parties and even balls. il is
only of late years, comparatively, that
decollete gowns, with no sleeves, have
been worn at dinner parties.
Our grandmothers would have said
that such gowns were only suitable
for court balls. We have had great
many sartorial changes in the last fifty
years. Nowadays decollete gowns arc
worn even at ordinary theaters. The
picturesque gowns shown in Matters
pictures are being copied by leading
dressmakers.
These gowns nearly always show a
tunic or pannier, and many OF them
have sets of narrow, gathered founces
at the hem of the full skirt. These
founces are headed by set rosettes
made of silver ribbon, or by little gar
lands of chiffon or satin roses.
On some of Doucets new models
have seen borders of fine feather trim
ming. This is revival of an old and
very popular fashion. The feathers
are only slightly curled and the trim
ming is about three inches wide. One
model which specially pleased me was
made of pale shell-pink crepe de chine
and the overdress, in fourreau form
wac bordered with pearl gray feather
trimming.
There were pearl gray silk embroid
cries on the border of the Overdress
and also on the corsage and at the
hem of the skirt there was a deer
fringe of gray crystal beads. Another
model of the same order was made Of
fiame-red Grape, with a border of fine
black feathers and delicate embroid
cries in jet and dull gold on the from
of the skirt.
have also seen feather trimming
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1915-10-15
One on Rufus Choate.

Judge Parry. in a recent article on
Rufus Choate, Advocate" says OF oc.
casion Choate would meet with his
Sam Weller. Defending a prisoner
for theft of money from a ship. & wit
ness was called who hal turned state s
evidence and whose testimony went to
prove that Choate's client had insti.
gated the theft.
Well" asked Choate, what did he
say? Tell us how and what he spoke
to you
why" said the witness. he told us
there was a man in Boston named
Choate and he'd get us off if they
caught US with the money in our
boots"