333 
i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Business. 
DIVIDING THE MIDDLEMAN’S SHARE. 
Money saved on binding twine; the length of a pound; 
who pays the margin ? It pays to keep a secret. 
Twelve cents a pound for manilla binding twine; 10 cents 
for sisal, and 11 for mixed or standard, i.e. manilla and 
sisal: these were the prices quoted to me, when looking 
after next harvest’s supply. Pure manilla cost me 18 cents 
last year. That price was paid as the result of an easy, un¬ 
businesslike, but farmerlike, if you please, way of doing 
business. When in town the local dealer was asked how 
much such twine would cost, and the “ asking price”—18 
cents—was paid. If there was any inclination on the part 
of the purchaser to complain, the “ trust ” got the benefit. 
This year I met a man who, I knew, was able to sell at 
bottom prices for two reasons: 1, he was on the inside, and, 
2, I am not his legitimate prey, and any few dollars he 
could pick up from me would be extra. When told that a 
few friends with myself wanted 1,000 pounds, cash down, 
he immediately quoted as above, and said: “ Don’t men¬ 
tion my name.” His name is safe, and I would like to keep 
several tons of names of dealers in other lines safe at six 
cents a pound. 
How many farmers know the difference in length of a 
pound of the various kinds of twine! It pays to measure. 
Two years ago I paid 17 cents a pound for manilla, and a 
neighbor paid 14 cents for sisal and manilla mixed. We 
measured a half pound of each and found that the manilla 
was nearly seven-tenths longer than the mixed twine. 
Different makes vary, but in this case the manilla was as 
cheap at 17 cents as the standard at 10. There was much 
more difference in the weight than the appearance would 
Indicate. Good manilla twine should measure nearly 700 
feet to the pound. It is business to measure. It is not 
business to guess from appearances, though any soft, 
small tw ine that is stout, is cheap at any price the dealer 
may dare to ask as compared with coarse, harsh stuff. It 
Is a fact that many hundreds of thousands of dollars are 
wasted by farmers on some low-priced twines. Orders 
should be refused to dealers unless they guarantee certain 
lengths to the pound of the various brands offered. 
R. N.-Y. readers would be benefited if all would tell 
how they buy their farm implements. Farmers are proba 
bly to blame for the seemingly exorbitant profits that some 
have to pay the agents. The average farmer allows two 
or three agents to waste part of two or three days in sell¬ 
ing him a mower or binder. The expense is incurred 
before a sale is made. It is useless to say the farmer does 
not pay it. Like the tariff, it must be paid by the con¬ 
sumer. [Do not statistics of prices and ordinary business 
experience prove that, as a rule, only a part of the duties 
on imported goods is paid by the consumer, and a part by 
the foreign seller r Eds.] All charges follow the goods 
on which they are made ; otherwise business would be done 
at a loss, and that would not be business. The agent 
must have a living and his expenses must be paid and the 
buyers of the goods pay them. 
This is not the worst. Every machine at all complicated 
must be sold at a sufficient margin of profit to allow the 
agent pay for time and expenses incurred in a trip to the 
farm in case the machine does not work. Instead of mak¬ 
ing sure that the machine is set up right and properly ad¬ 
justed, the inclination is to fall back on the agent’s prom¬ 
ise to make it work and give satisfaction, and so he is sent 
for. The machine is probably bought on time, and with 
the unexpressed opinion on both sides that the time will 
be extended by the farmer to suit his convenience. A per 
cent must be added for the cost of collection and for bad 
debts. 
What is the remedy ? Is it not simple and within the 
grasp of all ? In the first place, it Is not hard to learn the 
cost of all standard goods to dealers. A little knowledge 
of business methods, a little quiet watchfulness and calcu¬ 
lation will bring one close to the mark. I find that-if I go 
to a dealer and offer him 8 or 10 per cent above the cost to 
him, tell him I do not want him on the farm before or 
after the sale, take all risks, availing myself only of the 
manufacturer’s guarantee, and proffer the cash, I can get 
the implement. It is worth considerable to have a repu¬ 
tation established for ability to keep private terms to one’s- 
self when buying of a local dealer. The dealer can not 
afford to break down his scale of prices in his neighbor¬ 
hood, and he must have more than 8 or 10 per cent when 
it takes three trips to the country to sell, set up and col¬ 
lect pay for an implement. He can well afford to sell one 
man a certain mower for $39 or $40, when $45 would not 
be enough for the same goods when sold to another. 
It pays to examine machines run on neighboring farms. 
That is the place to decide what kind is wanted, and to 
learn how to run It. It costs too much to pay an agent in 
his busiest season to teach one how to adjust and work 
with an implement. If a complicated machine is bought, 
a neighbor who has had experience with It will gladly see 
that it is properly adjusted, and some favor can soon be 
done him in return. 
Most dealers have the idea that farmers do not want 
them to make any profit, and they would give the impres¬ 
sion that they are making only $1 or $2 when $5 or $10 
would not pay them. But when dealers find that a buyer 
is willing to see them make a few dollars clear of expense 
for a few minutes’ time in making a sale, and that the 
buyer knows what to offer, has the cash to pay down 
and keeps the terms to himself, they can, as a rule, be 
easily dealt with. The hardest part to some may be to 
learn manufacturers’ prices to the trade. If a person is 
unable to pick things up and put them together, and no 
other way is open to acquire a liberal education in this 
line, he can make a friend of a dealer that never sells in 
his vicinity, and give him $10 to show him his bills and 
discounts of all kinds, for personal and private use only. 
The dealer has a right to show them, and will do so to a 
discreet friend that is not a customer. This is a last resort 
for those who do not feel able to learn without a hired 
teacher, but it is a very effective and satisfactory one. 
Gallia Co., Ohio. alva agee. 
AMERICAN MADE BASIC SLAG. 
The R. N.-Y. has had a good deal to say about basic slag 
as a cheap source of phosphoric acid in fertilizers. For a 
number of years this substance has been imported in 
small quantities from Germany, but, as explained below, 
owing to a patent litigation, the basic proctss of taking the 
phosphorus from iron was not fairly established in this 
country before this year. The importation has now been 
prohibited and the American product only is sold. Dr. John¬ 
son, of the Connecticut Station, states that this slag con¬ 
tains nearly 20 per cent of phosphoric acid, the cheapest 
source of that substance he could find; that is to say, the 
specimen he analyzed contained that amount. Samples 
undoubtedly vary in quality, and nothing but analysis 
can tell just how rich they are in phosphoric acid. The 
slag contains neither potash nor nitrogen, and will not 
give satisfactory results where all three elements are 
needed. It might prove useful for adding to urine and 
other manures that are weak in phosphoric acid, but its 
real value can be determined only by experiment. It will 
be well to test it In various ways, as it promises to become 
plentiful and cheap. The following statement is sent us 
at our request by the American patentee : 
What Is Basic Slag ? 
It is an escheat from iron during the manufacture of 
steel by the basic process. Phosphorus has such an affinity 
for iron and iron ores that no iron ore has yet been found 
that is entirely free from it. It is objectionable in Iron 
or steel, because it tends to make them brittle, and so the 
metallurgist has always sought means to eliminate it 
from the Iron and steel. This was done in the puddling 
process by liquation, i. e., when the hot iron was solid, 
the phosphorus was liquid, and ran out of the iron. But 
when Bessemer invented his automatic process which re¬ 
duced the cost of fuel 90, and that of labor 70 per cent, the 
new process came at once into general use. A new dif¬ 
ficulty then appeared because the iron in Bessemer’s pro¬ 
cess was always in a liquid molten state, so that the phos¬ 
phorus could not be liquated from it, and it was found 
that the Bessemer process would not, and could not de¬ 
phosphorize the iron or steel, so the Bessemer manufac¬ 
turers sought iron ores so low in phosphorus that the re¬ 
sulting metal would not contain over one-tenth of one per 
cent of phosphorus, and ores of this class were and are 
called steel ores, and I think that although more than 
100,000,000 tons of such ores have been used, there are not 
over 30 ore banks now known in the whole world where 
Bessemer iron ores are to be got. 
The demand for a new process by which phosphoritic 
iron ores might be converted into steel became so great 
that many metallurgists attempted the solution. And In 
1878 Sidney G. Thomas, of England, Henry Hannett, of 
France, Phillip Baan, of Germany, and Jacob Reese, of 
the United States, claimed to have discovered a process by 
which fluid molten metal could be dephosphorized; and 
a legal contest was commenced to determine who was the 
prior inventor. An injunction was placed on the process 
in this country, so that it could not be put into practice 
here until 1888. But in the meantime Reese did not con¬ 
test the right in Europe, and there patents were issued to 
Thomas, and 10,000,000 tons of steel were made in Europe 
before the litigation ended in this country. In the manu¬ 
facture of these 10,000,000 tons of steel 3,500,000 tons of 
phosphate were made in the elimination of phosphorus, 
most of which was used in Germany. 
When the litigation ended in this country it was found 
that Jacob Reese was the prior inventor, and the patents 
were issued to him. The process is called the basic process, 
and by its use any and all the iron ores of the world may 
be used for the manufacture of steel of the purest and bsst 
quality. More than 700,000 tons of phosphate were made 
by the basic process last year in Europe; and there are 
now being made in this country about 400 tons per week 
at one set of works—single turn. This production will 
soon be doubled and largely increased from year to year, 
with a possible output of 1,000,000 tons per annum inside 
of 10 years. 
When the phospate is made, it is poured into a car and 
taken away in a molten state ; when cold it is pulverized 
and bagged, and is then ready for the market. Reports 
come from Germany and the south of France that the 
wine producers are so careful of the delicate flavor of the 
grapes that they prohibit the use of animal manures and 
acid phosphates, for these give the grapes a flavor not 
their own. So the grape and small fruit producers are 
now ordering the Odorless Phosphate so that it is being 
used In grape culture from Kelley Island along Lake Erie, 
Northern New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, 
down to Florida; and our largest shipments in January, 
February and March, have been to Florida for use on the 
orange groves. We are now shipping to nearly every 
State east of the Rocky Mountains for corn, grass, garden 
truck and small fruits, peach, cherry, plum and apple 
trees. In July the fall trade starts with a demand for 
wheat in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, 
Connecticut, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, and as far out 
as Wichita, Kansas. The demand is increasing rapidly, 
and reports of its good effect on the crops are continually 
coming In. JACOB reese. 
One cent will mail this paper to your friend 
in any part of the United States, Canada or 
Mexico, after you have read it and written 
your name on the corner. 
About Those Rented Farms. 
In The Rural New-Yorker of April 4, on page 273, the 
communication from E. C., Columbia County, N. Y., was 
a great surprise to me, for I never supposed that farms In 
the Hudson River Valley were so low In price. His local¬ 
ity must be an exception. The kind of crops will have to 
change after a time in any locality, or else farming will 
not pay there. Every one must adapt himself to his local¬ 
ity. Perhaps the owners of the farms mentioned by E. C. 
will not allow live, energetic men to branch out in new 
channels. If we were raising the same variety of crops 
here that we did 20 years ago we would have the best of 
reason to say that farming did not pay. Twenty years ago 
we were raising grain and wool, and the man who had a 
load of potatoes and apples to sell took them for sale 30 or 
40 miles to some large town In the winter; but as we could 
not compete with the West in grain, we have looked for 
some other things that we could raise with profit, and we 
have found them in hay, potatoes, fancy eggs and fancy 
butter and fruit, yet many of the old farmers cannot get 
out of the old ruts enough to believe in the last three, and 
they would not believe in hay and potatoes until the con¬ 
viction was forced upon them. We are to-day buying 
nearly as much grain and feed from the West as we sell. 
Farms will rent here for six per cent of their cost and 
taxes, and there are more renters than farms to rent. 
Most of the owners will not let their farms for cash, pre¬ 
ferring to let them on shares. C. H. everett. 
Steuben Co., N. Y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Business for a Boy.— A subscriber in West Virginia, 
presumably a farmer, sends this note: “I have a boy 16 
years of age, one of four, and want to give him a trade of 
some kind. I can put him in a drug store, the proprietors 
of which are thriving business men, of good moral charac¬ 
ter, who live in my county town. Do you think I would 
be doing a good part by him to let him learn that busi¬ 
ness ? ” We are not told why he wants to give this boy a 
trade or what the boy thinks about it. As society Is at 
present made up, the drug store is a necessary fixture for 
every town and will continue to be. The druggist’s busi¬ 
ness affords plenty of opportunity for a smart, active man 
to exercise all his powers in attracting trade. It is not the 
most healthful work, as it means close confinement, late 
hours and little out-door exercise, and usually the pay Is 
small. It is about the last trade that we should think of 
forcing a boy into, particularly if he had a natural inclina¬ 
tion for something else. If he loves out door life, cares 
for animals, takes an interest in crops, etc., let him be a 
farmer. If his taste runs to machinery or the use of tools, let 
him work his way through one of the industrial schools, and 
if the real “ stuff ” is In him he will not remain a common 
workman, but will force himself up to a position of trust. 
If he wants to be a druggist and seems best fitted for that 
work, make a good One out of him and see that he 
acquires the reading habit in chemistry, botany, medi¬ 
cine, and other lines important for his work. We would 
not make any boy become a farmer whether he wished to 
be one or not. Force a boy to strangle all his natural ten¬ 
dencies and plod along at work that is distasteful to him 
and you make another poor farmer. There are poor 
farmers enough now—they injure the trade worse than the 
“ Shylocks.” Show your boy that farming is a business 
safe, pleasant and profitable and he will stay with you. 
An Iron Roadway. —A late Rural contains some re¬ 
marks by E. P. P., of Oneida Co., N. Y., on road improve¬ 
ments. It has long appeared to me, familiar as I am with 
civil engineering subjects, that the ideal road, perfect in all 
the essentials requisite for constant travel, is not a gravel 
road requiring frequent repairs and liable to many imper¬ 
fections, but a well laid iron rail tramway on which loaded 
wagons would run with easy draft, and suitable for cars 
as well as all other vehicles. For a much traveled thor¬ 
oughfare between towns and cities it would be a very 
practicable and economical road, and the reduction in the 
price of iron would in a few years make It cheaper than 
any other. The authorities give the amount a horse can 
draw upon the rail as being 18 times the load he can 
draw on a gravel road. w. c. 
Springfield, Ohio. 
[R. N.-Y.—When we notice the ease with which the 
electric street cars are manipulated, it requires but a 
slight stretch of the imagination to picture a series of rails 
running along our country roads over which cars, propel¬ 
led by electricity, may carry grain, farm products or pas¬ 
sengers with slight cost to farmers. There are thousands 
of townships that have already sunk money enough In 
poor dirt roads to build the iron rails.] 
Bone Meal From India.—A curious state of affairs is 
described by a writer in the Canadian Live Stock Journal. 
For years Canada has been sending her wood ashes to the 
States and her mineral phosphates to England. She has 
now begun to import bone meal from India. Works for 
grinding and crushing bones have been erected at Cal¬ 
cutta, and the bones are collected and sent from all parts 
to the factory. 
Disc Cultivation.— The Louisiana Planter says that 
no modern improvement has so cheapened all kinds of field 
cultivation as the use of disc harrows. The whole disc or 
those with teeth like the Cutaway or Triumph and others 
cut, chop and dig and thus do work that the regular scrap¬ 
ing harrow never could do. What the Planter says about 
the culture of sugar-cane may be said, with more or less 
truth, about any cultivated crop. “ The sugar planters of 
Louisiana place their supremest confidence in the plow. 
Why ? Because It will turn the grass and weeds under- 
will hide the evidence of neglect. Disc cultivators won’t 
do the hiding business as well as the plow, but they will 
prevent the necessity for hiding the grass. They will keep 
the grass from growing by permitting the easy stirring of 
the soil from its whole surface, at a small cost. 
