32 
that  keeps  looming  up  as  being  more  and  more  im¬ 
portant  each  year  is  the  marketing  problem.  It 
seems  a  great  many  things  need  correcting:  which 
are  of  greatest  importance  few  can  say.  We  hear  a 
lot  about  educating  the  producers.  There  is  need 
also  of  some  education  for  the  consumer.  Just  why 
peas  and  beans  should  be  offered  for  sale  at  15 
cents  a  basket  and  remain  unsold  for  days,  while 
sweet  potatoes  from  storage  houses  should  more 
readily  sell  in  the  same  market  for  $1  to  .$1.25  a 
basket,  or  even  more,  is  a  problem  for  a  psychol¬ 
ogist. 
“PEACH  WEEK.’ —The  idea  of  “Peach  Week,”  as 
taken  up  by  some  of  our  largest  cities  this  past  sea¬ 
son.  is  a  good  one.  During  the  week  when  receipts 
of  poaches  are  heaviest,  this  fruit  is  advertised  and 
offered  for  sale  at  reasonable  prices  in  larger  con¬ 
tainers  than  usual,  and  everything  is  done  to  en¬ 
courage  the  consumption  of  peaches.  I.  believe  it 
would  be  helpful  to  have  “Strawberry  Week,”  “To¬ 
mato  Week,”  "Sweet  Potato  Week”  and  other  special 
sales  for  other  important  truck  and  fruit  crops. 
ENCOURAGING  SALES.— Another  tiling  worthy 
of  imitation  by  all  large  cities  is  the  plan  of  selling 
farm  produce  by  auction  sales  as  now  being  worked 
out  for  New  York  farmers  by  the  New  York  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Foods  and  Markets.  There  are  many  things 
that  must  be  worked  out  by  growers  acting  as  a 
body  if  our  markets  are  to  be  improved.  What  they 
will  be  only  the  future  will  bring  forth.  Just  now 
the  individual  grower  is  more  concerned  over  his 
own  plans  for  the  coming  year. 
HOPE  FOR  THE  FUTURE.— For  ourselves  we 
will  continue  about  as  usual  and  we  feel  the  out¬ 
look  is  good.  Seldom  do  we  have  two  years  in  suc¬ 
cession  in  which  any  one  crop  sells  low.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  that  reasoning  there  should  be  fair  prices  on 
nearly  all  kinds  of  truck  crops  the  coining  season. 
We  do  not  intend  to  "plunge”  in  any  particular 
crop.  Our  crop  plan  is  already  fairly  well  estab¬ 
lished  and  we  intend  to  follow  it  High-priced  fer¬ 
tilizers  will  be  cut.  out  as  much  as  possible  and  good 
stable  manure  used  instead.  The  greatest  problem 
we  see  in  the  immediate  future  is  again  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  labor.  Last  Spring  there  was  an  over-supply, 
and  we  are  all  sick  of  the  results.  This  year  there 
is  already  a  shortage  and  this  one  factor  alone  fol¬ 
lowing  on  a  poor  season  may  so  cut  down  produc¬ 
tion  as  to  materially  raise  the  price  of  farm  pro¬ 
duce.  One  acre  of  well-grown  truck  sold  at  a  fair 
price  is  far  more  profitable  to  the  grower  than  the 
product  of  10  acres  thrown  on  a  glutted  market. 
Gloucester  Co.,  N.  J.  trucker,  jr. 
Railroad  Rates  and  Fruit  Growers 
I  READ  your  editorial  in  your  issue  of  November 
20th  regarding  scienliiie  distribution  of  food  pro¬ 
ducts  in  Germany,  system  of  rural  credits  for  farm¬ 
ers,  etc.  I  think  what  you  have  stated  is  very  ap¬ 
propriate  at  this  particular  time.  It  has  been  the 
policy  of  Germany  for  a  long  time  to  give  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  economic  conditions  of  the  empire,  and 
especially  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  farmers, 
so  that  they  are  not  compelled  to  accept  35  cents 
for  the  dollar  they  produce  and  have  the  other  65 
cents  go  to  transportation  lines  and  middlemen  as 
is  the  ease  in  our  own  country,  according  to  state¬ 
ments  frequently  made  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  It  is  the 
result  of  this  policy,  as  you  correctly  stated,  that 
is  responsible  for  the  wonderful  power  and  endur¬ 
ance  of  the  German  people  in  the  present  war.  The 
real  backbone  of  Germany  is  made  from  the  soil 
and  not  her  military  academies. 
In  recent  times  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of 
noise  made  by  our  railroads  and  express  companies 
that  they  were  not  getting  a  square  deal  because  of 
State  and  federal  rate  regulations  and  a  howl  made 
for  higher  rates  in  which  they  have  been  backed  up 
by  some  of  our  special  interest  serving  newspapers. 
I  have  no  expert,  knowledge  of  wliat  it  costs  to 
carry  freight  and  leave  a  reasonable  profit,  but  it 
lias  occurred  to  me  if  the  transportation  lines  are  to 
have  their  own  way  about  charging  what  they 
please  we  fruit  growers  down  this  way  may  as  well 
donate  them  our  orchards.  During  the  past  Sum¬ 
mer  we  shipped  a  good  many  Elberta  peaches  to  New 
York,  Boston,  etc.,  and  the  charges  for  freight  and 
the  robbery  for  icing,  which  were  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  $200  per  car  in  a  number  of  cases,  not  only 
took  our  peaches  and  crates,  to  say  nothing  of  cost 
of  labor,  but  we  were  called  on  to  “remit  to  pay 
charges.”  At  the  time  shipments  were  made  the 
markets,  according  to  advices,  were  all  right,  but 
when  the  peaches  reached  destination  it  was  “a 
horse  of  another  color." 
Recently  I  had  an  order  for  a  car  of  bulk  apples 
from  what  is  termed  an  “uncommon”  point  in  Texas 
to  which  the  rate,  as  I  was  led  to  understand  it, 
was  three  cents  higher  than  to  “common”  points, 
THE  KURA L,  N  E  W -YORKER 
i.e.,  58  cents  per  100  instead  of  55  cents  per  100.  I 
sold  those  apples  at  $1.35  per  100  pounds,  delivered. 
When  I  received  returns  from  the  bank  I  got  a 
draft  for  $114.66  and  a  freight  bill  for  $253.89. 
Some  smart  Aleck  might  say,  "Why  didn't  you  find 
out  exactly  what  it  would  cost  you  for  freight  before 
making  shipment?”  1  did  as  near  as  I  could  at  our 
country  station,  where,  as  a  rule,  the  local  agent, 
the  shipper  or  a  Philadelphia  lawyer  can  make 
neither  head  nor  tail  of  the  rate  sheets  on  file.  But 
what  good  does  it  do  a  shipper  to  get  a  rate  from 
the  railroad  agents,  since  under  the  laws  passed 
by  our  Congress,  largely  in  the  interest  of  the  rail¬ 
roads,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  rules 
that  they  are  not  liable  for  the  acts  of  their  agents 
in  giving  out  rates? 
It  has  often  occurred  to  me  if  our  law-makers  had 
;  proper  regard  for  the  interest  and  welfare  of  the 
American  farmers  they  would  at  least  compel  the 
railroads  to  make  their  agents  give  out  and  insert 
rates  in  hills  of  lading  that  will  stick  at  the  other 
end  regardless  of  published  rate  sheets  that  nobody 
but  an  expert  can  read.  The  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  may  do  some  good,  but  somehow  we 
fruit  growers  down  this  way  have  never  been  able 
to  see  it.  louis  erb. 
Missouri. 
Treating  Pellagra  by  Balancing  Ration 
A  PECULIAR  disease,  long  known  to  the  present 
population  of  southern  Europe  has.  within  re¬ 
cent  years,  become  widespread  in  the  Southern 
States  of  our  own  country.  This  disease,  known 
as  pellagra,  has  been  a  mystery  to  medical  scien¬ 
tists  because  of  its  unknown  origin.  Text  books 
still  speak  of  the  use  of  corn,  or  maize  altered  by 
fermentation,  or  in  some  other  way,  as  giving  rise  to 
pellagra,  hut  much  doubt  is  now  felt  as  to  any  one 
food  being  responsible  for  it.  Pellagra  is  peculiar 
in  that  it  attacks  the  poorer  class  of  people,  almost 
exclusively,  that  such  attacks  occur  chiefly  in  the 
Spring  and  early  Summer  and  that  they  are  apt  to 
recur  annually.  The  death  rate  from  the  disease 
is  not  high,  but,  owing  to  the  large  number  of  cases, 
the  total  number  of  deaths  in  any  one  year  is  great. 
One  authority  estimates  that  over  7,500  people  will 
succumb  to  pellagra  during  the  present  year.  The 
disease  is  characterized  by  disturbances  of  the  di¬ 
gestive  system,  with  pain,  sleeplessness  and  general 
debility,  and  by  a  skin  rash  which  is  followed  by 
a  roughening  and  scabbing  over  of  the  surface  with 
subsequent  boils.  In  severe  cases,  nervous  symp¬ 
toms  are  prominent  and  insanity  frequently  de¬ 
velops. 
The  increasing  prevalence  and  seriousness  of  pel¬ 
lagra  in  this  country  have  brought  it  to  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  Public  Health  Service  and  from  a  report 
just  issued  by  that  body,  and  from  other  recently 
published  data,  the  following  facts  are  gathered. 
The  resemblance  of  pellagra  to  scurvy  and  other 
nutritional  diseases  in  some  of  its  aspects,  and  its 
much  greater  prevalence  among  that  class  of  people 
in  whom  the  diet  is  necessarily  restricted,  have  led 
to  the  suspicion  that  not  corn  alone  but  a  generally 
one-sided  carbonaceous  diet  might  be  responsible 
for  it.  Among  the  mill  operatives  and  other  poorer 
classes  of  people  in  the  South  there  is  a  marked 
deficiency  in  the  supply  of  fresh  meat,  milk,  eggs 
and  tiie  leguminous  vegetables.  The  food  of  these 
people,  particularly  during  the  Winter,  is  apt  to 
be  made  up  chiefly  of  corn  and  pork,  with  such  other 
starchy  and  fattening  materials  as  wheat,  flour, 
rice  aud  syrups.  As  a  dairyman  would  say,  their 
food  ration  is  too  wide;  unbalanced  because  lack¬ 
ing  in  protein  from  animal  and  vegetable  sources. 
Acting  upon  the  suggestion  contained  in  these 
facts,  the  Commission  studying  the  subject  instituted 
a  series  of  experiments  in  two  orphanages  in  Mis¬ 
sissippi  and  another  State  institution  harboring 
adults,  in  all  of  which  pellagra  had  long  been  pre¬ 
valent,  Without  changing  sanitary  or  other  condi¬ 
tions  in  the  institutions,  the  diet  of  the  pellagrins 
was  changed.  Much  of  the  starchy  and  fat  meat 
food  was  cut  out  and,  in  their  place,  fresh  lean 
meat,  eggs,  milk  and  the  leguminous  vegetables 
were  given.  In  other  words,  the  supply  of  carbo¬ 
hydrates  was  reduced  and  protein  substituted.  The 
results  were  striking;  those  who  received  the  "bal¬ 
anced”  ration,  almost  without  exception,  remained 
free  from  pellagra  while  those  who  continued  the 
old  regimen  were  attacked  as  before. 
While  those  who  are  studying  the  disease  do  not 
profess  to  have  fully  solved  the  mystery  of  its  ori¬ 
gin,  they  feel  that  these  experiments  have  at  least 
pointed  out  a  way  of  avoiding  it.  A  more  generous 
and  better  balanced  diet  must,  be  made  available 
to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  well-to-do.  The  need 
of  a  better  diversified  agriculture  in  the  South,  with 
dairying,  stock  raising  and  increased  home  pro- 
January  8,  1916. 
duction  of  foods  is  again  made  evident  and  is  shown 
to  be  one  of  physical  health  as  well  as  one  of  in¬ 
dustrial  prosperity.  m.  b.  d. 
A  Farmers’  Co-operative  Company 
[The  Benton  Cooperative  Company  is  an  organiza¬ 
tion  composed  of  107  New  York  farmers  of  Yates 
County,  who  intend  to  market  their  produce  and  buy 
their  goods  to  best,  advantage.  One  of  the  advertise¬ 
ments  they  use  in  the  local  papers  contains  the  follow¬ 
ing: 
“We  believe  in  the  Allied  Powers. 
“1st.  The  Power  that  a  farmer  has  of  making  a 
profit  on  the  produce  that  he  raises. 
“2nd.  The  Power  he  has  of  making  a  profit  on  the 
produce  he  sells. 
“3d.  The  Power  he  has  of  making  a  profit  on  the 
materials  that  he  buys. 
“Of  course,  if  you’re  such  a  good  farmer  that  you 
make  all  the  profit  that  you  want,  producing,  don’t 
read  this,  read  the  baseball  news. 
“Producing  is  but  one  part  of  our  business,  and  it’s  a 
gamble.  The  second  and  third  ways  are  just  as  much 
our  business  as  the  first,  and  yet  the  farmer  is  such  a 
good  sport  that  he  has  said  to  his  dealer,  ‘FTere,  you 
lake  the  two  safe  ways  and  I'll  gamble  on  the  third.’ 
“Over  100  men  at  Benton,  the  value  of  whose  farms 
totals  over  one  million  dollars,  have  said,  ‘We  want 
those  other  two  profits.’  ” 
That  cornea  close  to  hitting  the  nail  right  on  the 
head  and  is  very  suggestive.  We  would  all  like  to  hear 
from  the  man  who  is  such  a  good  farmer  that  he  makes 
all  the  profit  he  wants.  The  following  information 
about  this  company  is  given  by  a  member. J 
HE  date  of  incorporation  was  April  20,  1915. 
The  contract  for  the  building  was  let  June  20. 
1915,  and  was  completed  late  in  September,  so  you 
can  readily  see  the  concern  is  young  to  have  made 
much  history  as  yet.  Nevertheless  our  manager  re¬ 
ports  that  the  total  volume  of  business  to  date  is 
approximately  $30,000,  and  this  in  the  poorest  sea¬ 
son  that  farmers  in  this  locality  have  experienced 
in  years,  if  ever  they  saw  the  equal  is  doubtful. 
Rain  and  hail  were  the  direct  cause  of  the  bad  con¬ 
ditions  of  which  they  complain  (but  they  don’t  com¬ 
plain  much  either).  In  a  very  general  sense  of  the 
term  they  are  a  philosophical  harmonious  bunch. 
Nearly  every  farmer  in  this  locality  grows  beans, 
mostly  red  kidney.  The  crop  last  year  was  a  total 
failure;  not  one  grower  in  20  got  his  seed  back.  I 
have  about  six  bushels  which  cost  me  between  $50 
and  $100  per  bushel.  This  is  not  given  as  a  com¬ 
plaint,  but  just  for  information,  that  the  wayfaring 
prospective  farmer  might  avoid  some  of  the  pit- 
falls  that,  beset  the  way  of  the  uninitiated.  The 
cabbage  market  was  so  low  that  it  brought  no  profit 
to  the  grower,  hence  the  greater  part  of  the  crop 
remains  in  the  fields.  The  apple  crop  was  damaged 
by  hail,  reducing  its  value  at  least  one  half.  The 
market  value  of  hay  suffered  in  about  the  same 
ratio.  The  oat  crop  was  in  the  same  class — two 
much  rainwater. 
The  Benton  Cooperative  Company  estimated  that 
(he  members,  107  in  number,  would  normally  pro¬ 
duce  40,000  bushels  of  wheat,  15.000  bushels  beans. 
The  wheat  crop  will  come  up  to  (he  estimate,  but 
so  far  not  a  bean  has  been  offered.  They  have  packed 
and  sold  for  the  growers  several  thousand  barrels 
of  apples  at  prices  that  were  satisfactory  to  the 
members.  The  aim  of  the  concern  is  to  market,  prac¬ 
tically  all  farm  produce  and  purchase  nearly  all 
farm  supplies. 
The  building  occupied  by  the  company  is  30x100 
feet,  with  concrete  grain  bins  at  the  end  in  addi¬ 
tion,  with  a  capacity  of  4, (MX)  bushels.  The  part  of 
the  building  used  for  grain  and  beans  is  30x30,  two 
stories  with  basement.  The  30x70  portion  is  used  for 
apple  packing.  This  is  one  story  12  feet  high,  with 
basement  eight  feet.  high.  Basement  of  appletpack¬ 
ing  room  will  hold  about  3,000  barrels  of  apples. 
The  machinery  for  cleaning  grain  and  beans  is  all 
at  the  plant,  but  not  yet.  installed.  The  basement 
is  of  solid  concrete.  The  construction  above  base¬ 
ment  is  hollow  tile  finished  in  stucco.  On  the  east 
side  of  the  building  there  is  a  concrete  platform  10 
feet  wide  covered  by  a  roof.  The  contract  price  for 
the  building  was  $5,320.  The  railway  company  re¬ 
ceived  $456  for  building  the  switch.  Total  cost  of 
plant  will  amount  to  about  $7,500. 
When  we  began  our  organization  we  got  copies  of 
by-laws  and 'constitution  from  a  number  of  coopera¬ 
tive  companies;  then  we  selected  parts  from  them 
until  we  made  one,  which  is  as  perfect  as  most  ar¬ 
ticles  of  that  kind  are  made.  The  shares  were  $5 
each,  five  shares  being  the  minimum,  $25.  Most 
members  took  20  slia  res,  some  10,  others  5.  The 
company  agrees  to  pay  six  per  cen.t  on  stock,  re¬ 
serving  the  right  for  two  years  to  pay  dividends  in 
stock  at  par.  Right  here  I  would  suggest  the  fol¬ 
lowing  change,  eliminate  that  word  interest  and  sub¬ 
stitute  dividends,  agreeing  (o  pay  dividends  when 
dividends  are  available.  That  word  interest  is  not 
particularly  euphonious  to  most  farmers,  dividends 
sounds  much  better.  I  think  that  each  member 
should  pay  according  to  the  number  of  acres  he 
owns  or  operates,  so  much  per  acre,  according  to 
the  amount  required.  w.  o.  kjpp. 
