690 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER’ 8  FA  PER 
A  National  Wwkly  Journal  for  Conn  try  »n«i  Suburban  Homos 
Established  IHoO 
I'nblbhed  weekly  liy  U»*  Riiral  riihlishlne  Compnoj,  333  West,  Itlltli  Slroct,  .\<-w  York 
H  ehukrt  W.  fVttt.ruowoGD,  PrcvMilont  and  Editor. 
John  .1  Dillon,  Treasurer  ami  General  Manager. 
IV m.  F.  Dillon,  SoorOk'  <-y.  JIus.  E.  T.  Roy  Lie,  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION  .*  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
To  foreign  countries  in  the  T'ntvcrsal  Postal  I'nion.  §2.01.  equal  to  8s.  6d.,  or 
8!a  marks,  or  lOVj  francs.  Remit  in  money  order.  express 
order,  personal  check  or  bank  draft. 
Entered  at  New  York  Post  Office  as  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates.  75  cents  per  agate  line— 7  words.  References  required  for 
advertisers  unknown  to  us  ,  and  cash  must  accompany  traualent  orders. 
••A  SQUARE  DEAL" 
Wc  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  this  paper  is  backed  hy  a  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  precaution  aud  admit  the  advei  tising  of 
reliable  hmiscs  only.  But  to  make  doubly  sure,  wo  will  make  good  any  loss 
to  paid  subsc  ribers  Sustained  by  trusting  a  tty  deliberate  swindler,  inespou- 
fible  advertisers  nr  mislea'ling  advertio*nu'iiiR  in  onr  columns.  and  any 
imeh  swindler  will  be  publicly  exposed.  We  are  also  often  called  upon 
to  adjust  dilfertaicos  or  misiAkf'.  between  chip  subserlhcis  and  honest, 
responsible  houses,  whether  adviyMJpers  tu*  in.it.  Wo  willingly  nr-o  our  good 
o Hires  b>  this  end,  hut  such  cases  should  not  bo  confused  with  dishonest 
tranr  ieiious.  V.'e  protect  subscribers  agalbsl  rogues,  but  we  will  not  be 
responsible  for  the  debt*  of  holiest  bankrupts  sanctioned  by  the  courts 
Noth*,  -il  the  complaint  must  be  sent  It'  u  ,  within  ope  month  ol  flit-  tunc  of 
the  fransnetion.  and  fo  Identify  it,  you  should  mention  ini';  Rural  New- 
Yoiikkr  when  writing  the  tulvertiser. 
WTTIT  the  present  price  of  sulphate  of  copper 
will  it  pay  to  spray  our  potatoes  this  year? 
We  see  no  hope  for  much  if  any  reduction  in  price. 
Copper  is  in  too  much  demand  for  destroying  human 
life!  It  seems  that  sulphate  of  iron  can  he  sub¬ 
stituted  to  some  extent,  and  that  a  weaker  mixture 
of  copper  and  lime  will  answer  under  some  condi¬ 
tions.  Remember  too,  that  the  commercial  substi¬ 
tutes  of  Bordeaux  mixture  have  not  increased  much 
in  price,  and  they  are  effective.  It  is  a  question  of 
season  and  what  you  can  get  for  your  potatoes.  In 
a  season  favorable  to  blight  you  cannot  hope  to  get  a 
full  crop  or  high  quality  unless  you  spray.  Wo  shall 
use  either  liquid  or  dust  as  usual. 
* 
THE  European  war  has  brought  a  hard  fuel  prob¬ 
lem  home  to  Argentina.  This  South  American 
country  has  been  made  rich  by  Alfalfa,  but  Nature, 
virile  kind  with  this  crop,  has  denied  the  country 
adequate  fuel  or  water  power.  Over  three  million 
tons  of  coal  must  he  imported  annually  and  the  price 
has  gone  to  nearly  $30  per  ton!  The  nation  lias 
made  an  inventory  of  all  coal  to  be  found  in  the 
country,  and  experiments  are  being  made  with  wood 
.  ml  peat  In  Southern  Patagonia  are  deposits  of 
l-cat  and  low-grade  coal  which  are  being  worked,  but 
there  being  little  natural  oil  in  the  country  all  oil 
products  are  high.  Thus  we  find  a  nation  rich  in 
food  production,  yet  poor  in  the  ability  to  produce 
heat  and  power.  There  ought  to  he  a  great  increase 
in  the  use  of  American  coal,  and  during  1015  there 
was  such  an  increase  from  1 69, 000  tons  to  651,000.  As 
with  most  oilier  countries,  the  war  will  bring  great 
industrial  changes  to  Argentina.  There  must  be 
more  direct  trade  with  this  country  and  some  substi¬ 
tute  for  imported  coal  as  fuel  must  be  found. 
* 
HERE  is  another  point  of  view  regarding  that 
free  seed  distribution.  Why  should  the  gov- 
rrnment  send  free  seeds  to  people  who  are  abund¬ 
antly  able  to  buy  them?  Why  stop  at  seeds?  They 
are  no  more  necessary  than  shoes  or  hats  or  hoes 
or  wheelbarrows.  If  a  well-to-do  mail  is  to  have 
seeds  given  him  freely,  why  is  lie  not  justified  in 
demanding  the  hoe.  rake,  spade  and  fertilizer  needed 
to  plant  them?  Why  not  limit  the  distribution  to 
people  who  will  go  before  the  overseer  of  the  poor 
and  certify  that  they  are  too  poor  to  buy  their  own 
garden  seeds?  We  think  we  are  quite  justified  in 
saying  that  the  American  seed  trade  will  assume  re- 
sponsihlity  for  the  distribution  to  all  such  people 
and  thus  save  the  government  $252,540  which  it 
spent  last,  year!  Couie.  now,  seriously,  what  reason 
can  any  man  of  property  give  for  accepting  these 
free  seeds?  There  are  some  men  of  strong,  inde¬ 
pendent  mind,  in  other  matters,  fully  able  to  buy 
their  own  seeds,  yet  accepting,  and  even  asking  for 
ibis  petty  graft.  We  would  seriously,  like  to  have 
some  of  them  tell  us  why  they  do  it.  If  it  is  right 
and  reasonable  we  want  to  stand  for  it.  but  at  pres¬ 
ent  we  cannot  see  how  it  can  be  justified! 
* 
Some  reliable  business  concern  might  develop  a 
good  trade  in  soliciting  small  shipments  of  wool, 
hides,  feathers  and  other  products  which  some  farm¬ 
ers  have  to  sell.  Of  course  the  man  with  several 
hundred  sheep  or  a  good  lot  of  cattle  can  find  a 
market  for  these  goods.  There  are  many,  however, 
who  have  only  a  few  sheep,  an  occasional  hide  and 
so  on.  Each  one  has  but  a  small  quantity,  yet  could 
They  be  lumped  together  there  would  he  a  large  sup¬ 
ply.  As  it  is,  farmers  with  these  small  lots  are  usu¬ 
ally  obliged  to  sell  to  wandering  buyers  or  peddlers, 
and  this  just  about  means  giving  the  stuff  away. 
Then  when  the  larger  dealers  or  manufacturers  buy 
of  these  local  collectors  they  are  obliged  to  pay  a 
good  price.  If  these  large  dealers  would  encourage 
shipments  of  smaller  lots  they  would  receive  more 
Stte  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
of  the  goods  and  save  money,  while  the  farmers 
would  receive  more  money.  This  is  just  exactly 
what  has  happened  in  the  junk  trade.  The  war  has 
created  a  great  demand  for  rags,  rubber,  copper, 
brass  and  old  papers.  The  collectors  or  peddlers 
did  not  offer  enough  for  this  stuff  and  so  the  large 
dealers  arc  advertising  for  direct  shipments,  and  are 
receiving  large  quantities  which  would  not  other¬ 
wise  be  sent.  The  same  thing  would  follow  an  offer 
to  buy  small  lots  of  hides,  wool,  etc.,  by  reliable 
houses. 
* 
N.  Y.  Farmers  Save  Their  Department 
THE  New  York  Legislature  finally  appropriated 
$24,500  for  the  Department  of  Foods  and  Mar¬ 
kets.  This  is  not  enough  for  the  work  which  the 
Department  ought  to  do,  but.  the  outcome  is  a  great 
victory  for  the  farmers  of  the  State.  Last  year  the 
Legislature  gave  $15,000  for  this  work,  and  The  gain 
in  appropriation  was  made  in  the  face  of  the  most 
powerful  opposition.  Leaders  of  the  Legislature  did 
not  appreciate  the  size  or  importance  of  this  mar¬ 
keting  proposition.  The  commission  dealers,  trans¬ 
portation  interests  and  many  others  connected  with 
them  were  organized  and  financed  to  kill  the  De¬ 
partment.  Without  any  question  these  interests 
spent  more  money  on  lawyers  and  lobbyists’  circulars 
and  other  political  ■“influence”  than  the  entire  final 
appropriation.  At  several  times  during  the  Winter 
it  was  practically  agreed  to  wipe  the  Department  off 
(lie  slate,  and  this  would  have  surely  been  done  if 
the  farmers  had  not.  come  to  the  rescue.  It  was  a 
wonderful  demonstration  of  their  power.  They  were 
without  organization,  or  political  leadership,  and 
opposed  by  rich  organizations  and  the  shrewdest  pol¬ 
iticians  in  the  country.  At  the  battle  of  Lexington 
a  crowd  of  unorganized  and  untrained  farmers  came 
at  call.  Each  man  caught  up  his  musket  and  to  the 
wonder  of  the  world  beat  hack  the  flower  of  the 
British  army!  With,  something  of  the  same  spirit 
our  New  York  farmers  took  up  the  pen  and  told 
those  leader  at  Albany  just  what  they  wanted. 
They  opened  fire  upon  a  group  of  cold-blooded,  cal¬ 
culating  politicians  who  had  already  decided  to  kill 
the  Department  off  and  thus  stand  well  with  the 
rich  and  Influential  organizations.  For  you  want  to 
understand  that  such  tilings  are  finally  settled  at 
Albany  not  on  the  argument  of  public  good  and  effi¬ 
ciency,  but  on  the  selfish  argument  of  political  pow¬ 
er  and  patronage!  The  letters  from  farmers  came 
idling  up  like  a  snowstorm.  There  would  have  been 
a  trunkful  of  money  for  political  purposes  if  those 
who  wanted  to  kill  the  Department  could  have  had 
their  way.  But  there  would  have  been  nothing  but 
money!  A  great  proportion  >ff  the  commission  men 
and  dealers  do  not  even  live  in  the  State,  and  the 
political  leaders  saw  at  last  that  all  ilie  money  in 
the  New  York  banks  never  could  buy  the  thousands 
of  farmers  who  were  plastering  their  hacks  with 
postage  stamps.  They  had  just  sense  enough  to  see 
that  these  farmers  were  fighting  for  marketing  re¬ 
form  with  something  of  the  fierce,  unreasoning  zeal 
which  burst  out  in  the  French  Revolution.  The  man 
with  (he  postage  stamp  beat  the  magnate  with  the 
check  book !  Those  leaders  simply  bowed  before 
the  storm  and  saved  the  Department.  They  did 
not  make  a  full  or  adequate  appropriation  because 
They  di<l  not  fully  realize  its  need,  but  the  principle 
has  been  saved  by  our  farmers.  They  have  doue 
more  tllun  that — for  they  have  now  started  a  fire 
in  New  York  political  life  which  will  never  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  die  out.  The  R.  N.-Y.  is  not  now,  and  nev¬ 
er  has  been,  actuated  hy  personal  motives  in  light¬ 
ing  for  this  Department.  Wo  stand  for  it  because  it 
is  the  best  aud  most  forcible  expression  of  the  de¬ 
mand  for  marketing  reform.  As  that  is  the  most 
vital  question  of  modern  business  life  we  shall  fight 
for  it  as  best  we  can. 
SOME  of  the  trade  papers  are  very  much  con¬ 
cerned  about  statements  of  egg  prices  in  West¬ 
ern  States  which  have  been  given  in  The  R.  N.-Y. 
These  papers  point  to  their  own  quotations,  and  say 
farmers  receive  far  more  than  we  stated.  Now, 
when  there  is  any  question  as  to  the  share  of  the 
dollar  which  gets  to  the  farmer  we  skip  the  trade 
papers  and  ask  the  fanners.  We  wrote  hundreds  of 
cur  Western  readers  asking  for  the  lowest  price 
They  ever  received  for  fresh  eggs,  and  what  was 
paid  them  last  Summer.  Reports  show  that  in  years 
past  eggs  were  sold  at  three  and  four  cents  per 
dozen.  Last  year  many  of  our  readers  sold  good 
fresh  eggs  at  three  dozen  for  a  quarter  or  8  1-3 
cents  for  12  eggs!  These  were  good  eggs,  and  it 
seenis  clear  that  part  of  them  at  least  were  put 
into  cold  storage  and  retailed  Inter,  during  the  Fall, 
at  40  cents  and  more  per  dozen !  We  do  not  depend 
on  buyers  or  packers  or  dealers  for  these  figures. 
They  come  right  from  people  who  actually  sold  the 
April  29,  1916. 
eggs  on  the  farm.  We  would  like  a  wide  range  of 
those  reports.  We  do  not  care  for  the  quoted  prices 
— toll  u.s  just  what  you  receiyed  in  cash  for  your 
eggs  last  Summer! 
* 
“Stay  On  The  Farm  ” 
THAT  is  a  far  more  sensible  slogan  than  “Back 
to  the  land.”  If  this  nation,  as  individuals  or 
as  a  government,  wants  to  do  most  to  preserve  itself 
strong  and  solid  it  will  strive  to  make  conditions  so 
that  country  people  will  feel  that  they  are  having  a 
square  deal.  Let  them  feel  that  aud  the  food  ques¬ 
tion  will  be  settled,  find  so  will  the  social  question. 
The  natural  farmers  will  stay  on  the  farm  when  they 
believe  it.  pays  them  to  do  so.  No  one  wants  un¬ 
natural  farmers  there. 
* 
NEW  JERSEY  farmers  are  to  reorganize  their 
State  Board  of  Agriculture  at  last.  For  sev¬ 
eral  years  Gov.  Fielder  succeeded  in  holding  up  the 
plan  hy  vetoing  the  |?ill  providing  for  the  change. 
He  tried  it  again  this  year,  hut  the  Legislature 
passed  the  bill  over  his  veto.  The  new  hoard  will 
come  closer  in  its  organization  to  the  farmers  of  the 
State  than  any  other  in  the  country.  The  hoard 
will  be  organized  by  a  convention  composed  of  dele¬ 
gates  named  under  the  new  law  as  follows: 
Each  of  the  following  organizations  shall  be  entitled 
In  be  represented  in  the  annual  convention  by  two  dele¬ 
gates:  each  county  Board  of  Agriculture,  the  N.  J. 
State  Horticultural  Society,  tbe  N,  J.  State  Poultry 
Association,  tbe  American  Cranberry  Growers’  Associa¬ 
tion  and  the  N.  J.  State  G rouge.  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 
Each  of  the  following  organizations  shall  bo  entitled  to 
be  represented  in  I  lie  annua!  convention  by  one  delegate: 
the  State  Agricultural  College,  the  State  Experiment 
Station,  each  Pomona  Grunge,  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 
North  Jersey  Society  for  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  N. 
J.  State  Guernsey  Breeders’  Association,  N,  J.  State 
1  Iulstein-Eriesinii  Breeders’  Association  aud  the  E.  P>. 
Vuor bees’  Agricultural  Society. 
This  convention  will  lie  held  at  Trenton  on  May 
17  and  will  be  a  thoroughly  representative  gather¬ 
ing.  Nothing  quite  like  this  was  ever  held  in  this 
country  before  and  we  predict,  as  a  result  of  this 
new  law,  the  most  businesslike  and  independent 
Board  of  Agriculture  ever  known  in  the  land.  Here 
is  a  case  where  the  farmers  have  a  chance  to  run 
their  own  department  New  Jersey  is  a  compact, 
thickly  settled  State  with  a  great  body  of  solid  and 
progressive  farmers.  You  will  see  them  take  hold 
of  this  marketing  problem  without  gloves! 
* 
Rekkriuxo  to  your  article  in  a  recent  number  of  Tiie 
R.  N.-Y.  regarding  tile  Madden  amendment  to  the  Post 
Office  bill,  enclosed  is  a  clipping  from  our  local  paper. 
1  wrote  our  editor  requesting  that  he  print  your  com¬ 
ment.  which  he  did.  and  I  know  that  our  Senator  Town¬ 
send  will  hear  from  this  vicinity.  I  have  written  him 
and  have  a  reply  stating  that  lie  expected  to  oppose  this 
bilL  c.  R.  F. 
THAT’S  right!  In  all  these  new  things  do  not 
forget  that  efforts  are  being  made  to  limit  the 
weight  of  parcel  post  packages  to  50  pounds.  The 
House  of  Representatives  has  passed  the  measure, 
and  it  is  now  before  the  Senate.  This  Michigan 
man  acted  promptly  and  well.  He  put  one  of  his 
Senators  right  on  record.  It  is  a  wise  thing  for 
farmers  to  write  their  needs  to  the  local  paper. 
Country  subscribers  are  the  most  desired  and  most 
valuable  asset  such  a  paper  can  have,  and  the  man¬ 
agers  know  it.  They  will  gladly  give  expression  to 
the  wants  of  farmers  if  (heir  readers  will  say  what 
they  need.  The  farmers  can  dominate  the  policy  of 
all  such  country  papers  if  they  will  do  as  this  Mich¬ 
igan  man  did,  and  write  straight  to  the  editor  when 
publicity  is  needed.  We  want  organized  farm  senti¬ 
ment  as  well  as  organized  sale  of  farm  crops. 
Brevities 
A  FERTILE  soil  grows  better  with  age — not  so  with  a 
fertile  egg. 
A  WORD  to  the  wise  is  sufficient,  but  1,000  words  to 
tbe  unwise  will  roll  off  his  back. 
A  xkw  crop  suggested  for  Porto  Rico  is  tumeric  for 
dye  and  medicine.  Surely  Porto  Rico  needs  new  crops. 
It  is  stated  that  in  Prussia  alone  330,000  war  pris¬ 
oners  are  employed  at  farm  work.  The  total  number 
of  all  male  farm  workers  in  Denmark  was  386,000. 
After  May  you  will  have  no  earthly  use  for  the  or¬ 
dinary  rooster.  He  will  simply  prove  an  expense  and 
an  annoyance.  Why  do  you  keep  him?  Sell  him  or 
eat  him. 
Ax  English  farmer  raised  18  tons  of  carrots  to  the 
acre  aud  sold  at  $15  per  ton.  In  many  Eastern  neigh¬ 
borhoods  a  root  crop  of  this  sort  could  be  sold  to  great 
advantage. 
Here  we  come  again  with  the  annual  advice  to  pack 
the  soil  firmly  after  plowing  under  a  green  crop,  and 
especially  rye.  If  the  rye  is  left  loose  and  open  the 
air  works  in  and  dries  out  the  soil  so  that  no  crop  can 
thrive. 
A  new  organization  in  South  Dakota  is  the  “Chuck 
Hole  Club.”  It  consists  of  half  a  dozen  men  or  boys, 
one  of  whom  owns  a  car.  At  news  of  a  “chuck  hole 
or  mud  spot  on  the  road  the  club  turns  out  with  pick 
and  shovel  and  fills  in  the  hole. 
