47 
New  York  State  Agricultural  Society 
The  annual  convention  of  the  New  York  State  Agri¬ 
cultural  Society,  to  he  held  in  the  Capitol  at  Albany, 
on  January  18th  and  10th,  has  the  promise  of  being 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  profitable  conventions 
ever  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  society.  The  pro¬ 
gram  contains  the  names  of  prominent  speakers  from 
widely  distributed  sections  of  the  country,  from  Maine 
to  Texas,  and  the  subjects  for  discussion  embrace  many 
questions  of  pressing  importance  at  this  time.  In  New 
Yolk  State  the  question  of  sustaining  the  dairy  indus¬ 
try  is  the  most  important  problem  awaiting  the  at¬ 
tention  of  farmers,  lienee  it  is  proper  that  the  dairy 
industry  have  a  prominent  part  in  the  deliberations  of 
this  State  convention,  and  it  is  to  bo  treated  in  a  broad 
and  practical  way  by  men  who  have  qualified  by  suc¬ 
cessful  work  in  this  particular  field. 
On  Thursday  following  the  regular  convention  a 
conference  of  milk  producers  will  be  held  at  the  Cap¬ 
itol  to  complete  their  plans  for  an  open  market  to 
establish  an  equitable  price  for  milk.  This  will  he  a 
meeting  of  milk  producers  exclusively,  and  producers 
generally  are  invited  to  remain  over  for  the  conference. 
A  large  attendance  of  dairymen  should  testify  their 
interest  in  this  subject  by  their  attendance.  This  is 
an  important  convention.  It  can  he  made  of  groat 
service  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State.  Every 
Grange  and  other  farm  organization  should  be  rep¬ 
resented  at  every  session  during  the  three  days.  Let 
tin-  farmers  of  Lin?  State  speak  their  own  needs  at 
this  convention. 
A  banquet  lias  been  arranged  for  Thursday  evening 
•it  Stamvix  Ilall:  plates  one  dollar.  Last  year  the 
ladies  attending  the  convention  added  much  to  the 
success  of  the  banquet,  and  the  choice  seats  will  be 
reserved  for  them  this  year.  Bring  the  women  folks 
along. 
An  Open  Market  for  Milk 
No  public  announcement  of  recent  record  has  created 
so  much  interest  or  such  prompt  approval  as  tin1  plan 
announced  by  the  Department  of  Foods  and  Markets 
to  establish  a  price  for  milk.  The  desperate  needs  of 
the  producers  are  no  doubt  responsible  for  the  quick 
and  enthusiastic  approval  of  the  proposition.  Yet  the 
plan  itself  merits  enthusiasm  and  support.  It  is  simple 
and  effective.  It  is  not  difficult  to  execute.  It  is  not 
new  or  untried.  Creameries  are  now  operated  on  fully 
as  large  a  scale  in  some  of  our  Western  cities.  They 
are  successful.  New  York  is  a  better  centre.  It.  can 
get  its  supplies  of  milk  and  cream  on  a  shorter  haul 
than  the  western  creameries  have.  They  must  seek 
foreign  markets  for  their  products.  The  proposed 
creamery  will  have  a  market  at  its  door.  There  can  he 
no  question  about  the  success  of  the  creamery. 
The  daily  sale  of  milk  on  the  open  market  must  also 
be  a  success  in  establishing  a  price  for  milk  on  the 
basis  of  supply  uud  demand.  Independent  dealers  are 
not  now  permitted  to  secure  a  supply  of  milk,  and  as  a 
result  there  are  no  independent  dealers.  Under  present 
conditions  there  can  be  none.  But  there  are  small 
dealers  now  in  the  trade  who  would  welcome  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  buy  milk  independent  of  the  big  dealers, 
and  rely  on  the  State  for  protection  in  the  distribution 
of  it.  There  are  others  who  will  gladly  go  into  the 
business  when  they  are  assured  of  a  regular  supply 
and  ample  protection.  This  distribution  must  increase 
the  consumption  of  milk,  and  the  open  competition  will 
regulate  the  price.  When  milk  is  plenty  the  price  will 
go  down  to  the  producer  and  also  to  the  consumer. 
When  it  is  scam-  it  will  go  up  again,  just  as  other 
food  products  do. 
There  can  be  no  opposition  to  this  plan.  At  most 
it  will  absorb  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  milk  busi¬ 
ness.  If  it  can  do  no  better  than  the  dealers  now  in 
the  business  do,  it  will  not  seriously  interfere  with 
them.  It  will  be  in  their  market  on  equal  terms.  If 
cm  tlie  other  hand  it  does  encroach  on  the  present  trade, 
or  if  it  does  cause  an  advance  to  the  producers,  it  will 
have  justified  its  existence. 
Let  its  have  milk  sold  for  a  time  on  the  open  mar¬ 
ket  for  just  what  it  will  bring  from  day  to  day.  The 
price  may  or  may  not  go  up  the  first  day,  though  we 
believe  it  will;  but  in  any  event  give  us  three  months  of 
an  open  fair  market,  and  no  producer  will  ever  again 
be  willing  to  go  back  to  the  old  system  of  handing  milk 
over  to  dealers  for  six  weeks  and  then  taking  whatever 
price  the  dealer’s  conscience  permits  him  to  pay  for  it. 
Notes  from  the  Auction 
The  report  issued  the  fore  part  of  December  by  the 
International  Apple  .shippers’  Association  and  the 
I’nited  States  Department  of  Agriculture  showing  the 
large  supply  of  apples  in  storage  had  its  effect  on  the 
market  during  December,  after  the  reports  were  is- 
sued,  and  prices  on  the  New  York  market  ruled  lower 
for  the  remainder  of  the  month,  though  some  slight 
improvement  was  noted  during  New  Yeat's  week.  Fancy 
Baldwins  ran  from  $3  to  $3,115  per  barrel,  and  a  few 
very  fancy  Greenings  went  as  high  as  $3.50  per  barrel, 
but  there  were  few  shipments  bringing  the  top  price. 
Information  from  country  sections  where  apples  are 
held  in  cold  storage  indicate  that  speculators  or  deal¬ 
ers  control  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  stored  apples,  and 
independent  growers  35  per  cent.  The  tendency  of  the 
dealers  is  reported  to  lie  to  hold  stock  for  a  later  ad¬ 
vance,  and  growers  are  following  the  same  policy.  In 
such  matters  one  man’s  guess  is  probably  as  good  as 
another,  and  every  holder  is  guessing.  If  any  one  man 
THE  RU  RAL  NEW-YORKER 
knew  just  what  was  going  to  happen  he  would  he  in  a 
position  to  make  some  money.  Wo  see  no  reason,  at 
this  time,  to  change  our  previous  advice  to  growers  who 
have  apples  in  storage.  Our  suggestion  is  to  make 
shipments  regularly;  at  least  as  ofteu  as  once  a  week. 
Some  of  these  regular  shipments  would  of  course, 
strike  the  dull  market.  Coining  regularly  some  of 
them  would  have  to  strike  the  high  market,  and  prob¬ 
ably  more  of  them  the  medium  market,  but.  during  the 
season  they  would  average  up  well.  It  is  possible  that, 
in  some  particular  year  this  policy  may  not  average  up 
as  well  as  the  price  realized  by  the  man  that  watches 
tor  the  high  market  for  every  shipment,  hut  one  year 
with  another,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  from  past  ex¬ 
perience.  that  the  grower  would  come  out  ahead  on  this 
policy.  Let  the  dealer  take  the  risks  of  these  specula¬ 
tions.  Prices  realized  on  two  days  last  week  were  as 
follows : 
APPLES. — 75  bhls.  Baldwin  $2.25;  2  $1.90;  58 
$2.05;  9  Ben  Davis  $2.25;  4  $2.15:  3  Russet  $2.15:  4 
8teol  Red  $2.05 ;  4  $2.25;  3  Baldwin  $1.90;  4  Un¬ 
known  $2.25;  1  $3;  2  $2.35:  19  Hubbardston  $2.30;  7 
$2.05  :  22  Greening  $2.55;  25  Grimes  $2.45;  3  Tolman 
$2.50;  8  $2.45:  1  $3.10;  4  Falla  water  $2.40;  2  $2.30; 
3  Winesap  $3.35;  1  Russet  $1.85;  1  Baldwin  $2.30;  1 
$1.95;  1  Spy  $3.10;  2  Bon  Davis  $2.05. 
MISCELLANEOUS. — 1  Case  eggs  47c;  4  cases 
small  eggs  45c;  1  53c;  3  54c:  2  48c:  4  50c;  2  South¬ 
ern  34c;  0  cases  pullet  eggs  40c;  1  mixed  40c;  110  lbs. 
chickens  19c;  421  lbs.  15c;  84  lbs.  20c:  221  lbs.  20c. 
Last  week  a  typographical  error  made  us  say  that 
the  difference  between  26  cents  and  18  cents  per  pound 
on  a  carload  of  turkeys  profited  the  dealer  who  man¬ 
ipulated  the  price.  $10.  There  are  20.000  lbs.  in  a  car  of 
turkeys,  and  eight  cents  a  pound  amounts  to  $1,000. 
The  figures  last  week  simply  lacked  two  cyphers.  Poul¬ 
try  dealers  have  their  sius  according  to  the  Produce 
News,  hut  we  do  not  want  to  make  them  out  pikers. 
Long  Island  Farmers  and  Fertilizers 
Part  II. 
As  I  use  about  $2,500  worth  of  commercial  fertil¬ 
izers  each  year  on  my  farm,  and  have  held  positions 
which  made  it  necessary.  I  have  made  a  careful  study 
of  the  fertilizer  chemical  business  and  I  wish  to  utter 
a  word  of  warning.  The  fertilizer  chemical  business 
has  a  full  catalog  of  “tricks  of  the  trade”  the  same  as 
any  other  business.  When  the  chemical  salesmen  made 
their  prices  they  fully  discounted  all  of  the  probable 
rise  in  fertilizer  chemicals,  and  when  the  Sellers  of 
mixed  goods  made  their  prices  the  farmers  found  they 
had  agreed  to  pay  more  for  the  chemicals  than  the 
mixed  goods  would  cost  and  ou  the  mixed  goods  they 
had  the  reputation  of  a  reliable  company  back  of  them 
besides  the  protection  of  the  State  license  and  inspec¬ 
tion.  While  the  increase  in  the  price  of  the  materials 
which  enter  into  the  manufacture  of  fertilizers  appears 
to  be  alarming,  it  is  not  nearly  as  bad  as  it  appears. 
The  rise  in  the  price  of  chemicals  has  nearly  all  oc¬ 
curred  since  October  I  and  all  of  the  big  manufacturers 
and  many  of  the  small  ones  had  made  their  purchases 
and  contracts  for  their  supplies  before  that  time.  Many 
of  the  largest  fertilizer  companies  made  their  contract 
for  this  season’s  nitrate  of  soda  a  year  ago  at  the  low 
prices  then  prevailing.  The  large  companies  also  make 
their  own  acid  phosphate  months  in  advance  of  the 
time  they  use  it.  It  is  likely  the  price  of  chemicals 
has  about  reached  the  top,  and  the  prices  will  probably 
be  lower  if  they  change  at  all.  Fertilizer  prices  are 
higher  than  a  year  ago  hut  tn>t;  materially  (except 
potash,  which  is  prohibitive  I  in  this  section.  The  per¬ 
centage  of  increase  in  fertilizer  will  not  he  any  greater 
if  as  great  as  in  the  wages  paid  to  our  farm  hands, 
the  price  of  horses  or  the  increased  price  of  seeds  and 
other  supplies,  due  to  the  war  and  general  prosperity 
of  our  country. 
FERTILIZING  WITHOUT  POTASH. —  Long 
Island’s  most  productive  soils  are  classed  by  the  U.  8. 
Geological  Survey  as  sassafras  gravelly  loam  and  have 
naturally  excellent  drainage.  Up-State  institute  lec¬ 
turers  have  been  telling  us  for  years  that  on  “our  sandy 
soils”  we  should  need  largo  applications  of  potash  for 
such  crops  as  potatoes  and  cauliflower,  for  these  two 
crops  require  large  amounts  of  potash  in  their  growth. 
For  years  our  farmers  used  fertilizers  carrying  as  high 
as  10%  of  potash.  Recent  experiments  have  shown 
that  tliis  potash  is  not  needed,  at  least  not  in  as  large 
quantities  as  formerly  used.  To  determine  more  defiu- 
atel.v  the  need  of  our  soils  for  potash,  rather  extensive 
experiments  were  planned  during  the  Spring  of  1914, 
when  the  shortage  of  potash  was  not  expected.  The  ex¬ 
perimental  field  contained  314  acres,  level  aud  of  even 
quality,  naturally  good  soil  but  I  had  recently  pur¬ 
chased  it  and  it  was  in  a  low  state  of  fertility.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  previous  season  it  was  in  wheat,  raised  without 
fertilizer,  and  gave  a  low  yield,  probably  not  over  10 
bushels  per  acre. 
Results  from  potash  experiments,  season  1914 : 
Potatoes, 
bu.  per  acre. 
Plot  1.  arnmonia-phos.  acid .  199 
Plot  2.  ammouia-phos.  acid  and  potash .  191 
Less  where  potash  was  used .  8 
Plot  4,  ammonia-phos.  acid .  198 
Plot  5,  ammouia-phos.  acid  and  potash .  192 
Less  where  potash  was  used .  0 
In  the  above  experiment,  a  thousand  pounds  was 
used  per  acre,  aud  it  analyzed  5%  phosphoric  acid  and 
where  potash  was  used  10%. 
Another  series  in  the  same  year  and  same  field  gave 
average  results  as  follows  : 
Ammonia, 
Phos.  Aeiff. 
Potash. 
5% 
7  % 
193 
Bu. 
per 
acre. 
5% 
7% 
314% 
205 
Bu. 
per 
acre. 
5% 
7% 
7% 
196 
Bu. 
per 
acre. 
Results 
of  fertilizer 
test  on 
potatoes,  season 
1915: 
Ammonia. 
Phos.  Add. 
Potash. 
T5u.  pt* 
r  an 
T». 
5% 
S% 
181 
Aye 
O 
plots. 
5% 
8% 
10% 
151 
A  vo 
o 
plots. 
5% 
7% 
,  .  ,  ,  , 
.  175 
A  vo 
•) 
plots. 
5% 
7% 
3  R»% 
181 
Ave 
o 
plots. 
5% 
7% 
7% 
172 
A  vo 
»> 
plots. 
The  plots  for  the  1915  experiment  were  planted  on 
he  identical  strips  of  land  as  in  the  1914  experiment, 
so  those  plots  which  had  no  potash  applied  had  pro¬ 
duced  a  crop  of  wheat  and  two  crops  ot  potatoes  with¬ 
out  any  application  of  potash.  The  figures  above  show 
that  the  addition  of  potash  to  ammonia  and  phosphoric 
acid  was  of  no  benefit  to  the  potato  crops.  Extensive 
experiment  at  Other  points  on  Long  Island  have  given 
similar  results.  No  doubt  hut  there  are  many  locali¬ 
ties  where  the  application  of  potash  in  normal  times  at 
normal  prices  would  well  pay,  but  I  have  been  con¬ 
vinced  for  many  years  that  immense  sums  of  money 
have  been  literally  wasted  in  the  purchase  of  potash 
where  it  was  not  needed.  The  same  amount  of  money 
spent  for  phosphoric  acid  and  applied  to  the  laud  would 
have  been  much  more  profitable. 
Twenty-two  years  ago  Dr.  Caldwell  of  Cornell  Uni¬ 
versity  told  his  “shovt  course  boys”  that  for  some  rea¬ 
son  the  chemists  could  not  explain,  a  liberal  content  of 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  soil  helped  to  make  the  soil  pro¬ 
ductive.  In  other  words  a  surplus  beyond  what  the 
growing  crop  required  acted  as  a  stimulant  or  tonic. 
Since  that  time  1  have  always  had  that  lecture  in  mind 
when  making  up  ray  fertilizer  formulas,  and  results 
during  the  past  20  years  have  given  ample  evidence  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  teaching. 
Few  of  our  best  farms  are  situated  near  enough  the 
railroad  to  make  it  possible  to  use  stable  manure  from 
the  city  profitably.  Consequently  we  shall  depend  on 
commercial  fertilizers,  as  in  the  past,  except  that,  it 
wilt  contain  very  little  if  any  potash.  This  does  not 
cause  me  any  alarm  in  view  of  the  experiments  recit  'd 
above.  As  labor,  seed,  power,  and  all  supplies,  w  11 
cost  us  farmers  more  this  coming  season  it  would  he 
poor  business  to  cut  down  on  the  amount  of  plant  food 
we  use  on  our  crops.  Our  best  farmers  will  use  just 
as  many  pounds  of  fertilizer  to  the  acre  as  usual.  The 
200  to  400  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash  which  ordin¬ 
arily  went  into  the  ton  of  mixed  goods  will  he  replaced 
by  additional  quantities  of  ammonia  and  phosphoric 
acid  carrying  agents,  and  instead  of  a  fertilizer  analyz¬ 
ing  five  per  cent,  of  ammonia,  eight  per  cent,  of  phos¬ 
phoric  add  and  eight  per  cent,  of  potash  they  will 
have  a  fertilizer  that  will  analyze  six  per  cent,  of 
ammonia,  10  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  and  no  pot¬ 
ash,  and  they  will  use  just  as  many  pounds  of  this  fer¬ 
tilizer  per  acre  as  they  did  of  the  mixtures  that  con¬ 
tained  potash.  This  extra  plant  food  and  the  care 
which  we  usually  give  our  crops  in  the  way  of  thor¬ 
ough  culture  will  enable  the  plants  to  secure  from  the 
soil  all  the  potash  they  will  need  to  make  maximum 
crops.  I  believe  the  same  theory  will  hold  true  through¬ 
out  most  other  sections  where  fertilizers  are  required 
in  large  quantities.  Prof.  Roberts  showed  many  years 
ago  at  the  Cornell  University  Farm  that  with  tillage 
alone  on  that  soil,  enough  plant  food  could  be  released 
by  thorough  tillage  to  produce  large  crops  of  potatoes. 
Long  Island.  h.  R.  tat.mage. 
New  York  State  News 
AGRICULTURAL  DEPARTMENT  APPOINT¬ 
MENTS. — Commissioner  Wilson  has  appointed  Walter 
Green  of  Rochester  as  secretary  of  tin*  department,  suc¬ 
ceeding  T.  Boynton  Peck,  and  Millard  Frink  of  Alta- 
mont  as  cashier  of  the  department,  succeeding  Robert 
W.  Wood  burn  of  Buffalo. 
BOARD  OF  ELECTION  CANVASSERS  RE 
PORT. — The  announcement  of  the  State  Board  of  Can¬ 
vassers  has  been  made  public,  on  the  vote  ou  the  dif¬ 
ferent  questions  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  last 
election.  The  majority  against  woman  suffrage  was 
188,313;  against  altering  the  rate  of  interest  on  State 
bonds  291,450;  for  the  $27. 000.000  canal  bond  issue 
45,897;  against  the  amended  constitution  504,009; 
against  the  taxation  referendum  508,470.  The  totals 
do  not  include  the  returns  from  Oneida  County  where 
the  vote  of  the  city  of  Utica  was  held  up  ou  account 
of  a  court  order.  But  the  unofficial  returns  from  that 
county  show  that  woman’s  suffrage  was  defeated  by 
over  0.000.  the  canal  bond  issue  by  379  and  the  revised 
constitution  by  4.95 1. 
GOV.  WHITMAN’S  BUDGET  CONFERENCE.— 
As  a  result  of  the  investigations  made  in  13  of  the 
larger  State  Departments  a  reduction  of  $0,500,000  has 
been  made  in  the  budget  estimates  of  the  heads  of  the 
several  departments.  There  is  about  the  same  number 
of  departments  yet  to  be  investigated  but  they  are  not 
so  large  or  important  as  those  already  investigated. 
The  total  requests  of  the  various  departments  amount¬ 
ed  to  about  $36,000,000.  The  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture  has  suffered  most  from  the  Governor’s  pruning 
knife.  A  total  of  about  $341,000  was  shaved  off  the 
Commissioner’s  estimates.  The  Department  of  Health 
escaped  with  the  least  priming.  The.  total  State  budget 
now  curries  about  $27,500,000  as  against  $30,500,000 
for  the  same  department  appropriations  of  last  year. 
The  more  important  of  the  departments  yet  to  be  in¬ 
vestigated  are  Foods  and  Markets.  State  Architect,  In¬ 
dustrial  Commission,  the  two  public  service  commis¬ 
sions.  the  Tax  Commission,  the  Department  of  Weights 
and  Measures  and  tin*  Civil  Service  Commission. 
Farm  Institutes  in  New  Jersey 
Do  *(*. 
Town. 
County. 
Jan.  1 . 
...  Milton . 
“  0 . 
.  .  .  .  Elizabeth . 
. Union 
“  6 . 
.  .  .  .  Mversville . 
. Morris 
“  7 . 
.  .  .  .  Florham  Park . 
“  s . 
....North  Caledon.... 
. Passaic 
“  10 . 
....  Roseland . 
. Essex 
“  11 . 
.  .  .  .  Sergenntsville . 
.  .  Hunterdon 
“  12 . 
.  . .  .  Ringoes . 
.  .  H  unterdon 
“  13 . 
.  .  .  .Califon . 
..II unterdon 
“  14 . . 
.  .  .  Washington . 
“  15 . 
.  . .  .  Blairstown . 
“  17 . 
. . .  .  Pleasant  Grove.  .  .  . 
“  18 . 
.  .  .Wrights town . 
.  .  Burlington 
“  19 . 
....New  Egypt . 
"  20 . 
....  Springfield . 
..... .Union 
“  20 . 
“  21 . 
....  Moorestown . 
,  .  Burlington 
i»  •>> 
....  Blue  Anchor . 
“  24 . 
.  .  .  .Columbus . 
.  .  Burlington 
“  25 . 
. Salem 
“  26 . 
“  27 . 
....  Hariitersvill  * . 
“  28 . 
....  Shiloh . 
.Cumberland 
Feb.  9 . 
....  Vineland . 
.  .Cumberland 
“10  . 
.  .  Leesburg . J. 
Cumberland 
“  11 . 
....  Berliu . 
....  Camden 
“  12 . 
....  Pemberton . 
.  .Burlington 
“  14 . 
. . . . Tnekahoe . 
..Cape  May 
“  15  . 
“  16 . 
_ Millville . 
.  Cumberland 
“  17 . 
....  Bargaiutown . 
....  Atlantic 
“  18 . 
.  . . Monmouth 
“  19 . 
, . . .  .  Fairlawu . 
