960 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
Tin:  pfsixkss  farmer?  s  taper 
A  XsUional  Weekly  Joiiriutl  l‘op  CiMintry  and  SuU?trl>nn  Homes 
Established  fsso 
Fnlili.hpd  weekly  hr  the  Knrnl  Pnhlishlnc  Company.  333  VYobi  SOlli  Slreel,  >>w  York 
Herbert  W.  (JoLl.iNGwrioo,  IVc-irlont  .in<l  Editor. 
Jonv  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  anil  <lciii-i-.*u  Manager. 
Wm.  F.  Dillon.  Secretary.  Mlts.  K.  T.  Royi.e,  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION*  ONE  dollar  a  year 
To  foreijrn  countries  in  the  I’niverSa/  Postal  fnii'ui,  52.01,  equal  to  Ns,  r,d.,  or 
t  .  marks,  or  100,  francs.  Remit  in  money  order,  express 
order,  personal  check  or  bank  draft. 
Entered  at  New  York  Post  Office  ns  Second  Class  Mat  ter. 
Ad-c-tisiucr  rate*..  cents  ppracate  line — 7  words.  References  required  for 
advemsers  unknown  to  us  mid  cash  must  ai'compauy  transient,  orders. 
“A  SQUARE  DEAL” 
XU  beliere  that  every  advertisement  In  this  paper  Is  backed  hr  a  respon¬ 
sible  person,  "  e  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  |he  ml  vertismir  of 
reliable  houses  only.  Put  to  make  doubly  sure.  w<>  will  make- .  ood  Hi;’,  'u  s 
to  paid  /subscriber'  sustained  by  l  rusting  itny  dcllbcmre  sw  iiullor  in. spon¬ 
sible  tuivcrtisers  or  nlhslca.l  I  up  a.  I rt  i-enie.  i '  m  our  columns,  and  any 
sue!,  swindler  will  lie  publicly  expound,  We  ura  also  often  called  upon 
to  fuliuxr  <J jiTY*rHif.'ij*-:  or  mblnk^  our  Kiib*acnbc*i«  and  honest, 
responsible  Ikiom  -,  whether  nilreFtiNei-x  or  not.  Wewillincly  use  our  good 
offices  to  this  cud.  but  such  ease?  should  not  bo  confused  with  dishonest 
transact  ions.  We  protect  subscribers  apa.(nsi  rogues,  hut  we  will  not  bo 
responsible  for  the  debts,  ot  honest  bankrupts  sanctioned  by  the  courts. 
Notice  of  the  complaint  oiusl  he  sent  fo  us  w  Itluii  olio  montli  of  the  time  of 
the  transaction,  and  to  identify  it.  you  should  mention  Tiik  JCCKal  New- 
Yokkek  when  writing  the  advirriis.  r 
THERE  should  be  a  copy  of  the  “Official  Postal 
Guide’*  in  the  home  of  every  business  farmer. 
It  contains  the  postal  information  which  all  need 
who  patronize  the  mails,  and  a  full  alphabetical  list 
of  U.  8.  postoffiees  arranged  by  states  or  counties. 
Formerly  these  volumes  cost  $3  and  $3.50,  and  were 
thus  limited  to  business  houses.  They  are  now  to 
be  sold  at  from  30  to  75  cents,  depending  on  the 
binding.  For  50  cents  a  paper-bound  copy  can  he 
obtained,  and  it  will  be  worth  live  times  its  cost  in 
every  family  where  ordinary  correspondence  is  car¬ 
ried  on.  The  books  may  he  obtained  from  “Dis¬ 
bursing  Clerk,  Post  Office  Department,  Washington, 
D  C.“  They  will  be  ready  the  latter  part  of  July. 
♦ 
TIIE  Hope  Farm  man  speaks  of  certain  soil  con¬ 
ditions  to  be  found  in  Cattaraugus  Co..  N.  Y. 
All  through  the  southern  part  of  New  York  State 
much  the  same  things  will  he  found.  It  is  a  section 
naturally  adapted  to  dairying  or  live  stock,  but  the 
soil  does  not  produce  stock  food  as  it  should.  The 
great  needs  in  general  of  this  soil  are  lime,  organ¬ 
ic  matter  and  phosphoric  acid.  Drainage  is  badly 
needed  in  many  places,  but  lime  must  be  used  in 
order  to  enable  the  soil  to  produce  clover  and  Al¬ 
falfa  as  it  should.  The  humus  problem  can  be 
worked  out  through  the  use  of  cover  crops.  This 
soil  is  not.  as  a  rule,  deficient  in  potash,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  needed  nitrogen  can  be  obtained 
through  the  use  of  Alfalfa  and  clover.  The  only 
element  greatly  needed  for  purchase  is  phosphoric 
acid.  Thus  with  lime,  clover  and  acid  phosphate 
the  soil  of  this  section  can  he  brought  to  a  high 
state  of  fertility. 
* 
ON  page  018  we  told  of  a  fraud  who  was  driving 
around  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  trying  to  sell  a  stock 
feed  at  $20  per  ton.  We  may  now  add  liar  to  the 
fraud  in  considering  him  as  the  following  letter 
shows : 
Your  paper  of  June  24th.  with  an  editorial  regarding 
a  lerter  recently  sent  you  in  reference  to  our  mill,  has 
been  received  by  us.  We  thank  you  for  so  promptly 
branding  this  man  ns  a  fraud,  as  be  seemed  to  lie 
traveling  from  house  to  house  collecting  $3  without 
giving  value  received.  Of  course,  no  such  man  is  in 
our  employ.  Our  company  was  incorporated  in  1S95, 
and  has  neither  sold  nor  leased  its  property,  nor  does 
if  employ  men  traveling  from  bouse  to  bouse  selling 
feed,  our  principal  business  being  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  Sunrise  and  Primrose  flour  through  retail 
dealers.  Should  any  farmer  be  able  to  furnish  evidence 
leading  to  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  this  man,  or 
any  other  who  represents  himself  as  our  agent  without 
proper  authority,  ive  will  pay  a  suitable  reward. 
A.  H.  MERRICK  «Si  SON. 
That  is  good  business,  and  we  hope  some  one 
will  land  this  man  where  he  belongs.  Stuffing  feed 
is  bad  enough,  but  stealing  the  credit  of  an  honorable 
name  is  worse. 
❖ 
ON  page  918  we  printed  a  letter  from  Mr.  C.  E. 
I>.  Phelps  of  New  Jersey  who  objected  to  Mr. 
Swiff's  story  of  the  milk  war  and  The  R.  N.-Y.’s? 
comments.  We  stated  that  if  Mr.  Phelps  was  dis¬ 
satisfied.  or  felt  that  he  had  been  deceived,  lie  could 
have  his  money  hack  at  once.  Now  we  have  an¬ 
other  note  from  him: 
You  offer  to  return  my  subscription  for  the  year 
($1>  if  I  felt  I  had  been  deceived  An  The  R.  N.-Y.’s 
attitude  toward  the  “milk  war.”  This  is  suaigbtfor- 
ward  on  your  part,  hut  I  decline  to  take  back  my  sub¬ 
scription.  I  have  not  been  deceived  in  your  direction; 
only  you  are  going  further  than  I  thought  you  would. 
From  the  earliest  times,  tyrants  and  bigots  have  tried 
first  to  persuade  and  then  compel  others  to  do  their 
bidding  and  hold  their  views.  You  would  not  justify 
this  I  presume.  c.  E.  P.  phelps. 
We  have  spent,  perhaps,  more  time  than  we  could 
well  afford  in  studying  history.1  We  find  that  hu¬ 
man  society  has  whirled  around  iu  a  series  of  cir¬ 
cles.  There  is  nothing  but  the  old  problems,  or  bat¬ 
tles,  between  one  class  and  another.  At  hdart  they 
are  ever  the  same,  though  dressed  differently,  and 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
each  time  with  a  little  thicker  veneer  of  “civiliza¬ 
tion.”  Most  of  the  tyrants  and  bigots  seem  to  have 
been  members  of  the  ruling  classes  who  held  the 
advantage  through  political,  financial  or  industrial 
power  or  some  “divine  right"  of  aristocracy  or  king. 
Their  rule  has  never  been  broken  except  through 
a  fight  of  some  sort,  for  tyranny  knows  no  master 
except  force.  George  Washington.  Ben  Franklin, 
and  all  the  rest,  of  them  were  “strikers”  and  rebels, 
and  of  course  the  Tories  and  stand-patters  of  that 
day  had  no  use  for  their  methods.  The  American 
Revolution  was  as  much  a  fight  for  industrial  rights 
and  against  the  injustice  of  what  we  call  the  35- 
cent  dollar  as  anything  else.  Whenever  one  set  of 
men  can  get  another  larger  set  in  hand  so  that  the 
few  control  the  labor  and  production  of  many,  the 
few  will  never  loosen  their  grip  until  their  fingers 
are  well  pounded. 
* 
AT  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Dairymen's  League 
the  executive  committee  was  instructed  to 
adopt  and  put  in  operation  a  plan  for  establishing 
a  minimum  price  for  milk. 
The  apparent  success  of  the  Chicago  milk  strike  has 
aroused  the  members  of  the  League,  and  they  have  de¬ 
manded  of  their  directors  that  immediate  steps  be  taken 
whereby  the  price  of  milk  being  shipped  to  New  York 
and  other  cities  shall  he  increased,  and  a  price  set 
which  shall  return  a  reasonable  profit  to  the  producer 
of  the'  milk.  This  price  shall  finally  be  determined 
upon  by  a  meeting  of  the  hoard  of  directors  to  be  held 
in  the  early  part  of  September,  and  the  price  estab¬ 
lished  will  be  demanded  October  1st.  1016. 
Now  let  the  league  and  all  its  officers  realize  at 
flic  start  what  the  public  will  expect  from  them. 
The  claim  is  made,  as  we  believe  justly,  that  the 
average  price  for  milk  at  the  farm  does  not  equal 
the  cost  of  production  when  figured  as  manufactur¬ 
ers  and  transportation  interests  figure  their  costs. 
That  is  the  foundation  for  any  effort  to  obtain  bet¬ 
ter  prices  which  can  command  public  support.  In 
order  to  win  any  contest  of  this  sort  the  dairymen 
must  have  the  support  and  sympathy  of  the  city 
and  town  consumers.  In  order  to  get  that  they 
must  prove  their  case  clearly  and  without  any  ques¬ 
tion.  rriio  investigating  committee  will,  we  believe, 
carry  the  investigation  just  as  far  ns  the  farmers 
give  them  active  support  It  is  therefore  up  to  the 
Dairymen’s  League  to  come  forward  with  conclu¬ 
sive  evidence  that  milk  is  being  made  at.  a  loss. 
They  have  the  figures  now  and  should  present  them 
effectively.  When  the  consuming  public  under¬ 
stands  the  case  it  will  join  with  the  producers  in 
calling  for  a  fair  price. 
* 
Why  do  you  not  discuss  the  Mexican  troubles,  a 
large  army  and  other  big  patriotic  questions,  and  thus 
prove  your  Americanism  ?  .T.  l.  m, 
E  have  that  question  in  various  forms  from 
several  readers,  most  of  them  good-natured 
and  sincere.  If  we  have  not  proved  our  American¬ 
ism.  in  a  legacy  from  the  Civil  War,  and  in  trying  to 
benefit  humanity,  we  surely  cannot  hope  to  do  so 
by  shouting  about  war  and  the  National  honor.  The 
men  in  charge  of  affairs  know  more  than  we  do 
about  the  Mexican  question.  If  not  there  are  thou¬ 
sands  of  wise  men  who  think  they  can  tell  what  to. 
do.  We  have  lived  long  enough  to  see  half  a  dozen 
battles  for  the  common  rights  of  our  farmers 
switched  oft'  and  defeated  by  flag  wa rings  and  pa¬ 
triotic  appeals.  It  is  a  trait  as  old  as  humanity  to 
drop  the  work  of  real  reform  when  it  begins  to 
show  results,  and  go  running  off  after  some  more 
exciting  evidence  of  patriotism.  In  King  Henry 
IV,  Shakespeare  pictures  the  dying  king  who  won 
his  crown  by  sharp  practice,  if  not  treachery,  giv¬ 
ing  council  to  his  son  as  follows: 
“I  had  a  purpose  now 
To  lead  nut.  nearly  to  the  Holy  Land. 
Lest  rest,  and  lying  still  might  make  them  lo-  k 
Too  near  unto  my  state.  Therefore,  my  Harry, 
Be  it  thy  course  to  busy  giddy  minds 
With  foreign  quarrels ;  that  action  hence  borne  out 
May  waste  the  memory  of  the  former  days.” 
Now  we  see  very  clearly  that  the  farmers  of  this 
country  have  worked  closer  to  true  marketing  re¬ 
form  than  at  any  other  time  in  our  history.  Tf  they 
will  continue  to  give  their  thought  to  this  subject 
Uiey  will  put  it  in  the  way  of  settlement.  That  will 
put  new  ambition,  new  courage,  new  spirit  and  a 
better  citizenship,  into  every  thoughtful  farmer,  and 
that  is  the  finest  sort  of  “preparedness”  which  this 
nation  can  organize.  If,  however,  our  farmers  drop 
this  ciuestion  right,  now  and  go  chasing  off  after 
political  patriotism,,  they  will  lose  all  they  have 
gained,  and  play  right  into  the  hands  of  the  inter¬ 
ests  which  have  so  long  exploited  them.  The  R. 
N.-Y.  will  yield  to  no  one  in  its  conception  of  pa¬ 
triotic  duty.  There  is  no  hyphen  about  our  Amer¬ 
icanism — neither  is  there  any  full  stop.  The  R. 
N.-Y.  has  enlisted  for  life  in  an  effort  to  make 
farmers  see  that  they  can  improve  tlieir  condition 
July  8,  1916.  « 
by  sticking  together  for  marketing  reform.  We 
stand  for  that  as  our  share  of  Americanism  and 
“preparedness.” 
SOME  farmers  follow  a  rotation  of  oats,  followed 
by  wheat.  After  the  oafs  are  cut  various  plans 
are  followed.  Some  still  follow  the  old  plan  of  a 
"Summer  fallow.”  This  means  plowing  the  oat 
stubble  right  after  harvest  and  harrowing  a  num¬ 
ber  of  times  through  July  and  August,  so  as  to  have 
the  soil  in  fine  condition  for  seeding.  On  some  soils 
this  works  well,  but  most  of  ns  will  now  agree  that 
this  practice  used  lip  too  much  organic  matter,  and 
that  it  is  better  practice  to  get  more  humus  into 
the  soil  rather  than  use  it  up  with  no  return.  Others 
go  to  the  other  extreme  and  plow  after  oat  har¬ 
vest  and  sow  a  cover  crop  of  buckwheat  nr  cow 
peas — plowing  again  in  September  for  the  wheat. 
This  makes  too  much  work  for  the  average  farm 
equipment.  At  the  same  time  we  think  it  will 
pay  to  seed  a  cover  crop  with  the  oats.  A  light 
seeding  of  Alsike  clover  will  usually  pay  a  good 
profit.  The  seed  is  fine  and  a  small  quantity  will 
give  a  fair  stand  on  an  acre.  It  grows  rapidly,  and 
if.  after  harvest,  the  oat  stubble  can  be  top-dressed 
with  stable  manure  the  clover  will  make  a  good 
growth  to  he  plowed  under  for  the  wheat.  At  first 
thought  many  farmers  might  object  to  the  idea  of 
seeding  clover  in  Spring  to  he  plowed  under  live 
months  later.  We  feel  sure,  however,  that  in  most 
cases  one  dollar  spent  in  this  way  for  Alsike  seed 
would  return  $5  of  plant  food  value  for  the  wheat 
and  grass,  without  adding  much  to  the  expense. 
tf 
SHALL  we  cut  clover  and  Alfalfa  into  the  silo? 
That  question  demands  an  answer  from  many 
farmers  this  year.  Corn  is  very  backward — in  some 
cases  it.  will  hardly  be  planted  by  July  4th.  It 
seems  impossible  to  grow  enough  corn  for  silo  fill¬ 
ing,  and  some  form  of  silage  must  be  had.  The  wet 
season  has  been  favorable  to  the  growth  of  clover 
and  Alfalfa,  but  the  continued  rains  make  haying 
a  gamble.  No  wonder  many  farmers,  under  such 
conditions,  are  tempted  to  cut  the  legumes  right  into 
the  silo  and  avoid  all  risk  of  bad  weather.  On 
page  965  Mr.  Judkins  tolls  some  of  the  conditions 
under  which  the  silo  can  ho  used.  The  suggestion 
about  using  comment  reminds  us  of  the  practice 
of  feeding  corpmeal  whenever  a  cow  is  threatened 
with  bloat.  Taken  in  time  it  is  almost  a  sure  cure.  An¬ 
other  good  statement  of  this  silo  problem  is  made 
by  Prof.  Burdick  of  Vermont: 
This  year  in  this  State  wo  are  confronted  with  an¬ 
other  phase  of  the  question.  Some  men  have  been  un¬ 
able  as  yet  to  plant  corn  for  silage,  and  the  question 
comes  up  whether  it  will  ho  practical  to  put  com  into 
the  silo  to  supply  the  deficiency  for  a  succulent  Winter 
food.  If  clover  is  cut  in  Idoom  and  immediately  put  into 
the  silo  before  it  has  withered,  cut  into  one  to  two- 
inch  pieces  and  carefully  packed,  we  feel  that  the  re¬ 
sulting  silage  will  he  of  a  uniformly  high  grade.  But 
iv  e  consider  that  in  general  it  is  best  to  make  clover  hay 
and  rely  upon  early  maturing  varieties  of  corn  to 
furnish  silage.  r,  t,  ru  hoick. 
Our  advice  is  to  use  the  silo  for  clover  or  Alfalfa 
only  as  a  last  resort.  Yon  will  need  dry  fodder  of 
some  sort,  and  corn  is  always  the  best  silage  crop. 
We  still  believe  that  much  of  the  corn  now  planted 
will  get  through.  We  have  been  planting  the  flint 
varieties  up  to  July  4th.  We  should  use  every  ef¬ 
fort  Kith  hay  caps,  the  use  of  salt,  and  quick  han¬ 
dling,  to  make  hay.  At  any  rate  the  silo  must  be 
first,  class  ami  airtight  if  you  expect  to  keep  clover. 
Everyone  knows  that  a  piece  of  meat  will  spoil 
quicker  than  a  piece  of  bread. 
Brevities 
Some  of  our  friends  report  a  fine  crop  of  rheuma¬ 
tism  this  wot  season.  It  is  wise  to  keep  the  open  fires 
going  those  wet  nights. 
The  difference  between  oat  hay  and  oat  straw  starts 
at  milking  time.  When  you  can  “milk”  the  oats  it  is 
time  to  cut  for  hay.  The  milk  is  the  thick  white  paste 
which  comes  out  when  you  squeeze  or  crush  the  soft 
grain. 
Among  other  tests  for  fresh  eggs  the  New  Jersey 
Station  gives  the  following::  "Drop  the  egg  into  a  bowl 
of  water.  If  it  sinks  it  is  fresh,  if  it  stands  on  end 
it  is  not  quite  fresh,  and  if  it  floats  it  is  probably 
spoiled.” 
The  prohibition  of  vodka  (Russian  whiskey!  has 
had  a  good  effect  upon  Russian  agriculture  in  giving 
far  more  efficient  farm  laborers.  The  loss  of  the  trade 
in  crops  needed  for  producing  vodka  was  as  nothing 
computed  with  the  saving  in  labor. 
This  wet  season  has  gone  far  to  prove  the  value  of 
Alsike  clover.  On  many  naturally  low  and  sour  fields 
the  Red  clover  hardly  makes  a  showing,  while  the  Al¬ 
sike  is  thick  and  full.  The  Alsike  is  smaller  thuu  the 
Red,  but  with  its  flue  steins  it  makes  high  quality  hay. 
In  South  Dakota  farmers  are  seeding  Alfalfa  in  the 
corn  with  good  results.  In  such  cases  the  Alfalfa  seed 
is  scattered  like  any  other  “cover  crop”  and  worked  in 
with  the  cultivator.  It  is  worth  trying  but  we  would 
not  depend  on  it  without  much  experimenting. 
