938* 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
tiie  Br  sixes  s  I'  AJt.vnrs  taper 
A  National  Weekly  .Ion  rim  I  I'or  Coliniry  unit  Sillmi-ban  Ilomen 
EstnMiHh&l  into 
Pnbllfiticd  weekly  by  the  Hnrnl  Publiuhlnfr  Company,  388  >Vr,t  8OII1  Street,  New  Vork 
JIkkrpkt  W.  CiiT.Tjjrmvoon,  lVnlilem  ttrxl  Editor. 
JtilfN  .1.  Dn.boK,  Treasurer  :  i  ml  (Im-wnl  Mun-'i,rrr- 
Wii.  F.  PiiAOS.  Snari'Miry.  M iih.  IS.  T.  Rovui.  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION:  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
To  foreign  countries  in  llic*  Uuivertal  Postal  Union,  equal  to  8s.  Cd.,  or 
81s  murks,  nr  liMfe  I' ratios.  Remit  in  money  order, express 
order,  pi'ix hmJ  rluck  or  bank  draft. 
Entered  at  New  York  Post  Ollier  ns  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates.  75  rents  per  agate  line— 7  words.  References  required  for 
advertisers  unknown  toils,  and  east,  must  accompany  transient  orders. 
•*  A  SQUARE  DEAL” 
We  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  tills  paper  Is  bricked  by  n  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  preeamton  and  admit  the  advertising1  of 
x rliaiije  houses  only,  Hut  to  make  doubl.v  sure,  we  will  make  good  any  loss 
to  paid  sulisorlbcrK  sustained  by  trust Inir  any  deliberate  fwlmllir,  Ureapoit- 
sihle  advertiser*  or  tors ltst<|( tip  nd wit Isemefius  In  our  columns,  mid  any 
sneh  swindler  will  he  puhhely  cxpoHtiL  We  are  also  often  called  upon 
to  ad  lust  illlten-neis  or  mlM-akuK  between  our  Kuliserlbers  tuid  hopes!;, 
respopsihle  house;.,  whether  »d verltKisrs  or  not.  We  wililnvly  use  our  good 
offices  to  this  end,  Iml  finch  eases  should  not.  I*e  contused  with  dishonest 
tittllMtcUons.  VVe  proton,  subscribers  turn  Inal  roinie*.  (nit  we  will  not  ho 
responsible  for  rhe  dolus  of  honest  bankrupts  fapeiiomd  by  the  courts, 
Notice  ot  the  complaint  must  be  sent  to  us  within  one  mouth  of  the  time  of 
the  transaction,  and  to  identify  ft,  you  should  mention  Tim  Rubai,  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
WHEN  wc*  spoke  of  giving  out  a  few  roots  of 
the  Semipalatinsk  Alfalfa  we  had  no  idea 
of  the  public  interest  in  those  varieties.  We  thought 
there  might  possibly  be  50  calls.  They  have  really 
come  by  the  hundred  and  are  still  coming.  There 
are  so  many  that,  though  we  had  several  thousand 
roots  we  can  only  send  a  few  to  each  applicant.  In 
some  cases  we  must  substitute  Cossack,  also  a  Si¬ 
berian  variety,  but  an  upright  grower.  The  roots 
will  nil  be  given  out  before  this  is  printed,  so  of 
course  we  cannot  send  to  all.  We  may  be  able  to 
obtain  more  later  on,  for  it  is  good  to  realize  the 
great  interest  in  these  varieties. 
★ 
THE  New  York  Central  Railroad  proposed  to 
raise  its  passenger  rates  to  2%  cents  a  mile. 
Now  the  Public  Service  Commission  has  refused  to 
permit  such  increase.  The  Commission  declares  that 
the  company  lias  failed  to  show  that  the  extra  half 
cent  is  needed. 
The  commission  says  that  while  it  is  possible  that 
some  of  the  minor  divisions  of  the  road  are  not  paying 
so  far  as  passenger  traffic  is  concerned,  there  is  no  just 
reason  why  this  burden  should  be  imposed  through 
generally  increased  rates  on  the  patrons  of  the  main 
line,  where  passenger  business  seems  on  the  record  to 
be  clearly  profitable. 
The  railroad  earned  in  1015,  above  all  charges, 
11.11  per  cent,  on  its  capital  stock,  and  therefore 
the  Commission  decides  that  increased  rates  are 
not  needed  on  the  operation  as  a  whole.  Suppose 
a  farmer  was  producing  milk,  eggs,  grain  and  fruit. 
He  makes  money  on  all  but  the  grain,  the  latter  is 
grown  at  a  loss,  hut  on  the  whole  his  .farm  pays  a 
good  profit.  What  would  the  public  think  of  him  if 
he  demanded  a  higher  price  for  the  grain,  while  ad¬ 
mitting  that  he  was  making  a  good  profit  on  the 
other? 
* 
SOME  farmers  who  operate  south  of  New  York 
City  may  think  an  article  on  mowing  machines 
now  is  out  of  season.  A  large  proportion  of  com¬ 
mercial  hay  is  cut  during  late  July  and  August,  or 
even  in  September.  This  season  cutting  will  be  later 
than  usual,  owing  to  the  cold  wet  weather.  There 
will  be  need  of  a  good  mower  and  the  best  of  tools  to 
handle  the  hay  this  year.  Ilay  is  best  made  by 
warm  wind — not  by  direct  exposure  to  the  sun. 
Water  is  mostly  drawn  out  of  tile  plant  through  the 
leaves,  and  in  curing  clover  and  Alfalfa  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  keep  the  broad  leaves  from  drying  up  too 
soon.  When  these  leaves  are  left  green  and  active 
they  pump  the  water  out  of  the  stems  and  give  it  up 
tfi  the  drier  air.  When  the  leaves  are  dried  and 
killed  while  the  stems  are  full  of  water  the  moist¬ 
ure  cannot  be  thrown  off  in  the.  natural  way.  but 
must  be  slowly  dried  out  of  the  stems.  This  takes 
far  more  time  and  is  nearly  impossible  in  a  rainy 
season.  Therefore  the  best  way  to  cure  broad-leaved 
plants  like  clover  or  Alfalfa  is  to  keep  the  leaves 
fresh  and  make  them  suck  out  the  moisture  for  us. 
This  is  best  done  in  the  shade.  It  is  good  practice 
to  out  the  clover  early  and  after  a  few  hours  of 
willing  rake  it  into  windrows.  If  the  weather  is 
had  coek  up  the  clover  and  put  on  covers.  In  this 
way  the  leaves  are  kept  fresh,  and  will  “sweat"  off 
the  water.  By  opening  the  cocks  or  windrows  when 
the  air  is  dry  this  water  will  he  taken  out. 
* 
LAST  year  we  told  how  the  Otsego  County  (N. 
Y. )  Sheep  Breeders’  Association  sold  their  wool 
at  auction.  They  did  the  same  thing  this  year — sell¬ 
ing  20,000  pounds  a t  30%  cents.  The  sale  was  made 
to  Talbott  &  Sons — the  same  firm  who  purchased 
the  wool  last  year  at  2,0  cents.  If  the  members  of 
the  association  had  each  offered  small  lots  of  wool 
as  individuals  they  never  could  have  obtained  such 
prices.  By  combining  they  were  able  to  offer  a  quan¬ 
tity  large  enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  whole¬ 
saler  or  manufacturer  and  thus  save  several  profits 
EA<?  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
by  this  direct  dealing.  This  is  the  way  for  farm¬ 
ers  to  handle  their  produce.  They  cannot  work  it 
quite  so  well  yet  for  perishable  produce,  but  the 
time  is  coming  when  the  price  for  farm  produce 
generally  will  be  made  at  the  barn,  the  creamery 
or  the  storehouse.  That  is  the  principle  upon  which 
the  manufacturers  and  transportation  interests 
work.  This  association  has  done  more  than  work 
out.  this  auction  system.  It  has  increased  the  in¬ 
terest  in  sheep  both  in  quality  and  numbers.  When 
men  can  get  together  to  settle  prices  they  can  also 
settle  the  dogs.  At  flic  Cooperstown  County  Fair 
there  will  ho  a  wool  contest  and  a  eoSperative  sale 
of  lambs.  This  is  only  one  instance  of  what  plain, 
fair  cooperation  can  do. 
* 
WE  repeat  the  names  of  the  legislators  who  are 
to  investigate  the  milk  and  poultry  business: 
SENATORS 
Charles  K.  Wicks,  Sanquoit.  Farmer. 
M.  S.  ITalliday.  Ithaca,  Lawyer. 
N.  M.  Marshall.  Malone.  Banker. 
D.  J.  Carroll,  Brooklyn.  Manufacturer. 
REPRESENTATIVES 
II.  E.  Machold,  Kllisburg.  Farmer. 
W.  W.  Law,  Jr.,  Briarcllff  Manor,  Real  Estate. 
II.  L.  Grant,  Copenhagen.  Cheese  Merchant. 
D.  I\  Witter,  Farmer  and  Lecturer. 
F.  J.  Taylor,  Brooklyn,  Merchant, 
It  seems  that  the  money  appropriated  for  paying 
expenses  is  not  available  before  July  1.  However, 
the  committee  met  in  Albany,  June  15,  and  organ¬ 
ized  with  Senator  Wicks  as  chairman.  They  hope 
to  meet  for  business  on  July  3,  and  wo  are  very 
glad  to  see  this  evidence  of  an  early  start.  Mr. 
Witter  informs  us  that  he  owns  nearly  200  acres  of 
land,  which  is  run  as  a  dairy  farm  under  the  man¬ 
agement  of  his  son.  We  have  die  following  note 
from  a  neighbor  of  Senator  Wicks: 
In  your  paper,  under  date  of  June  17th,  I  notice  ar¬ 
ticle  by  Albert  Manning,  also  the  committee  appointed 
to  investigate  the  milk  situation.  I  wish  to  say  that 
Senator  Charles  S.  Wicks  was  raised  on  a  farm  in  this 
vicinity,  is  a  farmer  and  not  a  lawyer,  and  as  his 
position  would  indicate,  "stands  high  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen.”  A  better  man  could  not  he  found  in 
the  Empire  State  to  represent  the  dairymen's  interests. 
In  honor,  lie  is  n  Washington.  In  the  faithful  dis¬ 
charge  of  duty,  a  Lincoln.  The  dairymen  may  depend 
upon  it,  “There  will  he  something  doing." 
E.  ,t.  .roxES. 
Surely  that  is  the  type  of  man  needed  by  the 
dairymen  at  this  time.  This  committee  has  a  great, 
opportunity.  Not  in  years  has  there  been  in  New 
York  Stale  an  investigation  which  means  so  much 
of  practical  value  to  our  farmers.  The  proceedings 
will  be  watched  in  detail  by  thousands  of  men  who 
work  hard  and  can  think  hard.  While  we  shall  do 
our  best  to  urge  tin's  committee  to  start  promptly 
and  cut  way  down  to  the  heart  of  the  subject  we 
know  that  they  cannot  do  it  all.  The  dairymen 
must  come  forward  openly  and  clearly  with  their 
story,  and  fortify  it  with  facts  and  figures.  The 
Dairymen’s  League  in  particular  must  get  busy  and 
prove  its  contentions  so  clearly  that  there  can  lie  no 
possible  dispute. 
* 
THIS  question  of  the  tuberculin  test  for  cattle 
has  come  to  be  a  mighty  one.  We  all  under¬ 
stand  some  of  the  troubles  which  have  arisen  be¬ 
tween  buyer  and  seller  over  this  test.  We  have  on 
band  now  several  eases  where  grave  charges  are 
made  or  intimated  against  breeders  or  veterinarians. 
It  is  impossible  to  investigate  some  of  these  charges 
— others  seem  to  hr  based  upon  hearsay  evidence 
or  suspicion.  We  think  the  time  has  come  for  a 
full  and  frank  discussion  of  this  matter,  for  both 
breeders  and  buyers  must  have  some  basis  for 
testing  which  will  give  mutual  confidence.  In  order 
to  start  such  a  discussion  we  print  the  following  ex¬ 
tract  from  a  letter  written  by  a  man  who  is  buying 
a  choice  herd. 
T  take  quite  a  number  of  agricultural  papers  and  see 
in  them  all  kinds  of  advertisements  about  Holstein  cat¬ 
tle  for  sale.  At  the  present,  time  I  need  10  registered 
heifers.  I  could  get  tln-ir  pedigree  and  records  by  cor¬ 
respondence  just  as  well  as  and  belter  than  1  could  by 
personal  visit,  and  I  see  stock  advertised  every  day 
that  I  should  like  to  buy  were  it  not  for  (lie  danger  of 
tuberculosis.  If  ever  I  have  any  stock  that  I  care  to 
sell  outside  of  my  immediate  neighborhood,  and  do  any 
advertising,  I  expect  to  give  the  purchaser,  if  he  lie  a 
reputable  man,  the  right  to  test  the  cattle  within  (10 
days  after  receiving  them,  and  if  they  react,  destroy  them 
at  my  expense  and  have  his  purchase  price  refunded.  I 
am  still  of  the  opinion  that  the  greatest  incentive  to 
proper  purchase  of  goods  by  advertisement  is  absolutely 
In  throw  down  the  bars  and  have  everything  guaranteed 
without  the  slightest  limitation  whatsoever.  If  any 
man  should  advertise  in  Tin:  R.  N.-Y.  tomorrow  10 
registered  Holstein  heifers  to  he  sold  subject  to  a  00- 
day  test  by  the  purchaser,  money  refunded  in  ease  of 
reaction  and  all  expenses  covered.  I  !"•(  a  new  Ranama 
hat  that  lie  would  get  more  cheeks  by  return  mail  than 
lie  ever  saw  in  his  whole  life*  before.  I  can  send  you 
or  any  advertiser  within  2-i  hours  a  list  of  10  or  15 
men  in  this  city,  who  are  financially  responsible,  who 
want  from  five  to  20  head  of  registered  cattle,  and  who 
would  buy  them  instantly  on  the  terms  mentioned  above. 
We  have  sent  this  tu  a  large  number  of  breeders 
July  l,  1010. 
and  asked  them  to  give  their  frank  opinion  of  this 
proposition.  Many  of  them  have  replied  and  wc 
shall  begin  the  discussion  next  week.  It  is  a  big, 
far-reaching  question,  and  the  breeders  all  know 
that  sooner  or  later  it  must  be  settled  right. 
* 
The  R.  N.-Y.  has  put  over  some  good  things  by 
sticking  to  them  until  indifference  turned  to  interest 
and  then  to  enthusiasm.  I  will  grant  that,  but  when  it 
starts  to  interest  farmers  in  sheep  it  is  up  against  a 
dead  one.  and  is  in  for  a  lot  of  wasted  energy.  Yon 
cannot  put  sheep  over.  Too  many  dogs!  s.  it.  .t. 
E  are  inclined  to  accept  the  challenge.  More 
s.xoop  are  needed  on  our  Eastern  farms. 
Next  perhaps  to  dairy  cows  they  are  the  finest  stock 
to  go  with  fruit  farming.  Nothing  can  beat  then 
for  cleaning  up  old  pasture  or  fertilizing  light  land 
or  cleaning  weeds.  There  are  hundreds  of  dairy 
farms  where  cows  do  not  pay  because  of  the  labor 
cost.  Sheep  would  pay  well  on  these  farms,  and 
enable  one  man  to  do  most  of  the  work.  There  are 
a  dozen  sound  arguments  for  sheep  and  one  against 
them — the  cur  clog.  The  sheep  is  so  useful  and  nec¬ 
essary  that  we  believe  wo  can  make  sheep  grow¬ 
ing  popular,  take  care  of  the  clog  by  law,  and  thus 
bring  prosperity  to  many  a  hill  farm.  Too  large  a 
contract?  Of  course  it  will  he  if  we  say  so  at  the 
start.  The  man  who  might  move  a  mountain  could 
not  kick  a  brick  off  the  walk  if  he  had  fear  in 
place  of  faith  in  his  heart  We  like  a  good -sized 
job  when  it  is  worth  while,  and  we  shall  have  one 
in  taking  the  taste  of  mutton  out  of  the  dog’s  mouth, 
it  can  be  done,  however.  Wait  and  see! 
* 
WE  recently  told  of  new  sources  of  agricultural 
potash.  Among  others  the  refuse  from  ce¬ 
ment  works  was  mentioned.  In  California  the  dust 
from  a  great  cement  mill  became  a  great 
nuisance  by  blowing  over  orange  groves  and  de¬ 
positing  a  coating  on  the  trees.  The  fruit  grow¬ 
ers  complained  and  the  mill  owners  began  Inly¬ 
ing  the  nearest  groves  at  $1,000  per  acre.  This 
proved  too  expensive,  and  in  the  face  of  lawsuits 
and  injunctions  the  cement  manufacturers  were  led 
to  try  an  invention  for  settling  the  dust  as  it  rose 
from  the  mill.  The  result  was  that  the  dust  was 
fully  taken  out  and  the  particles  were  found  to  con¬ 
tain  a  large  amount  of  potash.  Formerly  this  dust 
simply  ruined  the  orange  trees.  When  taken  out 
at  the  mill  it  gave  $100,000  worth  of  potash  for 
sale!  Other  cement  mills  tire  arranging  to  try  out 
this  process,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  present 
mills  in  this  country  are  now  blowing  off  as  dust 
about  100,000  tons  of  potash  each  year.  There  is 
also  a  plan  for  collecting  potash  from  the  gases  from 
blast  furnaces.  These  tilings  are  encouraging  for 
two  reasons.  They  show  something  of  what  can  lie 
done  by  utilizing  waste  products.  Better  still,  they 
show  the  power  of  thought  and  study.  Necessity 
drove  the  American  people  to  a  hunt  for  potash 
when  the  German  supply  was  cut  off.  This  con¬ 
stant  thought  and  study  is  now  having  its  effect, 
and  should  the  present  shortage  continue  a  few 
years  more  American  potash  will  he  found  in  full 
supply.  In  like  manner  the  concentration  of  thought 
and  action  of  farmers  upon  the  marketing  question 
will  finally  solve  it,  and  it  will  not  be  solved  in 
any  other  way. 
Brevities 
Now  they  claim  that  two-thirds  of  the  value  of  Al¬ 
falfa  is  in  the  leaves. 
France  has  fixed  the  maximum  prices  for  oats  at 
$2.53  and  $2.45  per  100  pounds. 
Pirosi’itoiiFs  means  the  light.  There  is  so  little  sun 
this  season  that  available  phosphorus  is  more  and  more 
needed  for  the  corn. 
Farmers  must  remember  that  their  one,  big,  paia- 
njount  issue  is  marketing  reform.  Efforts  will  he  made, 
as  is  always  the  case,  to  raise  other  issues  for  poli¬ 
tical  purposes,  but  this  market  problem  is  the  one  to 
Stick  to. 
A  New  Jersey  man  is  reported  to  protect  his  early 
cherries  from  the  birds  with  a  burglar  alarm.  lie 
stretched  lines  from  his  house  to  the  tree,  and  hung 
eleighbells  in  the  branches.  When  a  bird  alighted  <  n 
the  lines  it  rang  the  bells  and  went  off  in  alarm. 
The  Forestry  Service  estimates  that  the  sawmills  of 
tins  eouutry  turn  out  each  year  thirty-six  million  cords 
of  waste.  This  includes  sawdust,  slabs  and  blocks.  Much 
of  tliis  is  now  wasted.  Yet,  if  burned  in  suitable  burn¬ 
ers.  if  would  provide  thousands  of  tons  of  potash  for 
fertilizing. 
They  toll  the  story  of  a  rich  baek-tn-the-lander  who 
drained  a  wet  field  at  heavy  expense.  It  produced  a 
good  CI'op,  and  an  old  farmer  asked  how  the  job  was 
done.  The  B.-to-L.  struck  an  attitude.  “With  brains 
sir!"  “Yes.”  said  the  old  man,  "but  did  you  have  ’em 
or  buy  'em  ?” 
An  English  woman  went  into  an  egg  store  and  asked 
for  fresh  eggs:  ‘  Yes.  mum,  plenty,"  sail]  the  shopman  ; 
“them  with  a  hen  on  'em  are  fresh.”  “I  don’t  see  any 
with  a  hen  on  them."  said  Mrs.  X.,  looking  around  for 
a  nest.  "The  letter  ‘hen,’  mum,  not  the  bird.  ‘Hen’ 
stands  for  noo-laid,’  mum.” 
