1054 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
the  nrsrxEss  fakvek's  taper 
A  ^National  Weekly  Journal  lor  (omilry  sind  NtiUurlmn  Home** 
Establish'd  -s,~» 
Publolied  weekly  by  th*  Rural  fitblixIiLuft  Company.  HftJl  t>r*t30th  Street,  New  York 
Hkbbkrt  \V_  <  YiLi.iNr;wo<»t>,  Prcpirtent  and  Editor. 
JOHN'  l.  Piu/»n,  Treaamvr  anti  Gt,»u»iiil  Mtuiaffer. 
Wm.  F.  Dillon.  Si'rroiaiy.  Mks.  1C.  T.  Roylk,  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION  :  ONL  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
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“A  SQUARE  PEAL" 
5Ve  believe  that,  every  advertisement,  in  this  paper  is  hacked  hv  a  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  preeautioii  ami  admit  l  be  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  only.  But  to  make  doubly  sure,  wo  will  make  pood  any  loss 
to  paid  subscribers  sustained  by  trusting  any  ileitbeyato  swindler,  irrespon¬ 
sible.  advertisers  or  mislcadtnir  .'ulverteeineuis  in  our  columns,  ami  any 
melt  m\  indict  will  be  publiely  exposed.  Wo  are  also  often  called  upon 
to  adjust  differences  or  mistakes  between  our  subscribers  and  honest, 
responsible  bouses,  whether  ailcerliaers  nr  not.  We  willingly  use  our  good 
offices  to  this  end,  hut  such  eases  should  not  be  confused  with  dishonest 
transactions.  We*  protect  ttuhserfhers  agttln-f  ropues.  but  we  will  not  bo 
responsible  for  the  debts  of  honest  bankrupt*  Bit nctionert  by  the  courts. 
Notice  of  tbecotnpJnlnt  must  lie  rent,  to  us  within  pint  month  of  tile  time  of 
the  transaction,  and  to  identify  it,  yon  should  mention  Tun  Kukai,  Nkw- 
YORKEft  when  wilting'  the  advertiser. 
THERE  is  a  great  need  of  old  paper,  rags,  rub¬ 
ber  and  certain  metals.  The  country  is  full  of 
these  wastes.  Up  to  this  time  the  need  has  not  been 
great  except  for  rags  and  rubber.  Now  manufac¬ 
turers  need  these  wastes  badly,  and  dealers  are 
ready  to  buy.  Here  is  a  good  chance  for  church  or 
club  societies  to  collect  such  wastes  and  ship  in  bulk 
for  the  benefit  of  their  organization.  Many  of  them 
have  already  done  this. 
* 
AT  various  times  we  have  had  descriptions  and 
pictures  of  “brush  burners.”  These  are  usu¬ 
ally  iron  tanks  or  frames  mounted  on  wheels  so  they 
can  l»e  hauled  about  through  the  orchard.  Trim¬ 
mings  are  thrown  right  into  these  “burners”  and 
burned  at  once,  thus  saving  the  time  spent  in  rak¬ 
ing  and  piling  later  on.  Few  people  seem  to  know 
about  the  burners,  hot  all  would  like  to.  So,  will 
some  of  our  people  who  have  tried  them  “tell  us 
how”  before  next  Fall? 
* 
IT  becomes  very  evident  from  a  ride  through 
Western  New  York  that  silos  are  being  built  on 
many  fruit  farms.  The  combination  of  orchards 
With  dairying  or  stock  feeding  is  rapidly  gaining. 
This  shows  a  sound  theory,  and  the  practice  will 
develop  rapidly.  Exclusive  fruit  growing  leaves 
too  much  idle  time  in  Winter,  and  means  too  much 
expense  for  fertilizers.  Stock-keeping  means  Win¬ 
ter  employment  and  a  barn  and  a  silo  to  he  filled. 
That  means  more  care  in  planting  fodder  and  cover 
crops  and  more  manure.  When  a  farmer  has  a  silo 
to  he  filled  he  will  work  many  a  piece  of  land  which 
would  otherwise  stand  idle. 
* 
HERE  is  another  desirable  thing  about  this  wet 
season.  Many  old  meadow's  and  upland  pas¬ 
tures  are  played  or  worked  out.  They  are  hard  and 
weedy,  sour  and  unproductive.  In  a  dry  year  you 
could  hardly  break  them  up  with  dynamite,  for 
they  hake  up  like  a  brick.  This  year  the  long  rains 
have  left  them  soft  and  open  so  that  they  can  be 
plowed.  This  is  a  good  job  after  haying.  These  old 
sods  broken  up  and  fitted  will  produce  good  rye  or 
wheat,  or  get  hack  into  Timothy  and  Red-top.  They 
ought  to  have  a  good  coat  of  lime  well  worked  in. 
This  will  sweeten  them  and  break  up  the  old  sod 
into  available  plant  food.  Even  if  they  cannot  he 
properly  limed  it  will  pay  to  break  them  up  and 
sow  rye  and  Alsike  clover.  The  crop  will  not  be 
heavy  unless  you  use  lime  and  fertilizer,  hut  it  will 
give  far  more  than  the  old  sod  could  produce  left  as 
it  is.  The  point  is  that  now,  in  this  wet  season,  this 
hind  of  soil  can  he  plowed  to  better  advantage  than 
in  the  usual  drought. 
* 
OUR  ancestors  fought  wolves  and  bears  and 
other  wild  beasts  in  their  struggle  for  a  home. 
There  being  few  of  these  enemies  left  we  of  this 
generation  may  well  exercise  our  fighting  spirit  on 
mosquitoes  and  flies.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
modern  house-fly  is  responsible  for  10  times  the 
deaths  that  wolves  and  wild  eats  ever  had  counted 
against  them.  This  filthy  insect  carries  the  germs 
of  disease  to  food,  and  is  responsible  for  thousands 
of  troubles  whieh  have  been  attributed  to  causes 
all  the  way  from  an  evil  spirit  to  a  dispensation  of 
■providence.  No  wonder  the  scientists  are  after  the 
house-fly.  They  have  learned  that  most  of  the  eggs 
are  laid  in  fresh  horse  manure.  If  this  can  he  kept 
so  that  the  flies  cannot  get  at  it  the  new  crop  will 
be  greatly  reduced.  One  of  the  best  ways  of  fight¬ 
ing  flies  is  to  keep  a  number  of  screen  traps  by  the 
doors  and  windows  where  the  flies  enter  the  house. 
The  New  .Tex-sey  Experiment  Station  now  shows  that 
flies  are  attracted  by  the  odor  of  ammonia.  This 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
is  particularly  true  of  the  females,  and  is  probably 
why  they  seek  lxoi'se  manure  for  depositing  their 
eggs.  When  manure  is  treated  with  hydrochloric 
acid  so  as  to  hold  the  ammonia  gas  few  if  any  eggs 
were  deposited  in  it  When  sei’een  fly-traps  were 
“baited”  with  cai'bonate  of  ammonia  such  traps 
caught  205  flies  against  12  where  the  ammonia  was 
not  used.  This  combat  with  the  house-fly  is  nearly 
as  important  as  the  warfare  against  hog  cholera  or 
tuberculosis.  The  practice  of  caring  for  the  manure 
and  using  ammonia  in  fly-traps  will  kill  off  the  pest. 
• 
IN  speaking  of  that  great  farmers’  meeting  at 
Hilton  on  page  1052  the  Hope  Farm  man  says 
the  gathering  would  have  been  impossible  15  years 
ago.  The  fact  is  we  are  rushing  along  so  fast  in 
some  lines  of  development  that  many  of  us  forget 
old  times.  Tn  1006  in  all  this  country  there  was 
State  registration  of  all  motor  cars  of  about  48,000. 
Tn  1015  the  number  had  risen  to  2.445,004.  In  1901 
New  York  collected  $054  in  revenues  from  auto 
registration,  and  in  1005  this  amount,  from  the  en¬ 
tire  country  was  only  $02,500.  In  1015  the  gross 
revenues  from  all  registration  and  licenses  was  $18,- 
245,713.  About  00  per  cent,  of  this  great  sum  was 
applied  to  road  work.  The  following  table  shows 
where  the  larger  congregations  of  ears  were  to  be 
found  in  this  country  in  1015: 
Total 
Government 
Average 
Registered 
Revenue 
per  car 
New  York . 
‘>55  °42 
$1,991,181 
$7.80 
Illinois  . 
.  .  .  180,832 
924,906 
5.10 
Ohio  . 
. . .  181,332 
984.622 
5.43 
California  . 
. ...  163,797 
2,027.432 
12.38 
Iowa  . 
. . .  145,109 
1,533,054 
10.56 
Pennsylvania  .. 
...  160.137 
1.005,270 
10.39 
Michigan  . 
. . .  114.845 
373.833 
3.25 
Massachusetts  . 
. . .  102,633 
1.235,724 
12.04 
There  is  an 
average  of  a 
little  more 
than  one 
motor  car  for  each  mile  of  public  road  in  the  coim- 
ti\v.  In  Nevada  there  is  one  car  for  each  six  miles 
of  road,  while  in  New  Jersey  there  ai*e  six  cars  for 
each  mile-  Taken  in  the  entire  country  there  is  one 
registered  ear  for  each  44  persons.  In  Iowa  there 
is  one  car  for  every  16  persons  and  in  Alabama  one 
for  each  200  persons.  These  figures  let  us  realize 
what  a  mighty  business  has  been  developing,  and 
how  it  has  changed  family  transportation.  It  has 
wrought  the  greatest  change  in  the  country,  where 
it  has  shaken  up  social  life  and  nearly  changed 
human  nature.  We  cannot,  say  that,  the  develop¬ 
ment  has  only  begun,  yet  the  motor  car  has  now  be¬ 
come  a  necessity  in  country  life,  and  during  the  next 
few  years  there  will  he  a  still  more  i*emarkable  in- 
crease  in  the  number  of  cars  in  use. 
* 
ON  the  next  page  you  will  find  a  statement  made 
by  Fred  D.  Spencer  at  the  milk  hearing  in 
Owego,  N.  Y.  Here  we  get  down  to  figures  which, 
we  understand,  accurately  show  Mr.  Spencer’s  year¬ 
ly  expenses.  Now  we  want  to  know  what  is  wrong 
with  this  statement?  We  think  his  figures  are  too 
small.  The  railroads,  the  milk  dealers — in  fact  any 
other  business  group — would  have  added  the  full 
estimate  of  labor  cost.  In  this  case  the  hired  men 
got  $305.75.  Mr  Spencer  worked  and  so  did  liis 
family.  lie  should  add  a  fair  sum  to  cover  these 
items  of  wages,  for  they  are  just  as  evident,  and 
just  as  legitimate  as  the  wages  paid  to  the  hired 
man.  When  the  milk  dealers  and  the  railroads 
come  to  figure  out  their  expenses  every  possible 
labor  cost  will  he  figured  in  as  an  excuse  for  charg¬ 
ing  big  rates  or  big  prices.  The  cost  of  labor  for 
every  man,  woman  and  child  will  be  figured  in  as 
an  argument  to  show  that  the  dealers  canmjt  afford 
to  pay  more  for  the  milk.  We  have  insisted  from 
the  first  that  this  discussion  of  the  cost  of  milk  pro¬ 
duction  is  the  foundation  of  the  demand  for  better 
prices.  In  order  to  obtain  fair  prices  we  must  in¬ 
terest  the  city  consumers.  We  should  not  antagon¬ 
ize  them  or  fight  them,  for  they  are  held  up  for  high 
prices,  while  consumers  are  held  for  low  prices.  It 
is  the  dairyman's  business  to  prove  that  consumers 
are  not  obtaining  a  living  price.  When  the  eon- 
sumers  realize  that,  they  will  understand  that  their 
interests  lie  with  the  farmers  who  produce  the 
milk  This  is  one  of  the  things  which  this  Wicks’ 
committee  should  hammer  at  every  hearing,  because 
it  is  the  strongest  point,  we  can  have  in  any  demand 
for  better  prices.  Whenever  a  farmer  gives  these 
figures  of  expense  and  income,  he  is  confronted  by 
the  statement  of  some  expert  who  says  that  several 
hundred  dollars  should  he  credited  for  house  rent 
and  farm  supplies.  A  bulletin  from  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  states  that,  the  average  farmer  makes 
yearly  wages  of  $600.  This  means  $200  in  cash  and 
$400  in  farm  supplies.  Prof.  Warreh  of  Cornell 
figures  that  a  farmer’s  labor  income  was  $557,  which 
must  include  the  labor  of  his  wife  and  family.  Now 
August  5,  191  fi. 
here  is  the  point.  Lot  the  farmer  imitate  the  deal- 
ers  and  the  railroads  and  include  in  his  estimate 
fair  wages  for  himself  and  family  before  figuring 
profit  or  loss.  Thex*e  is  no  fair  reason  why  he 
should  wait  until  everybody  else  is  paid  and  then 
take  what,  is  left  as  wages.  The  hired  man  gets 
just  as  much  in  the  way  of  “farm  supplies"  as  the 
boss  does.  Pay  the  boss  and  his  family  hired  man’s 
wages  and  this  $557  would  soon  evaporate  and  leave 
a  vacuum  behind.  The  railroad  demands  higher 
rates  and  the  milk  dealers  refuse  to  pay  more  for 
milk  on  the  basis  of  high  expenses.  These  expenses 
are  mostly  for  labor.  These  people  do  not.  wait  to 
take  what  is  left,  hut  they  pay  out  good  wages  as 
cue  of  the  necessities  of  their  business!  Wliy  should 
a  farmer  not  figui*e  the  same  way?  Milk  is  as  much 
a  public  necessity  as  transportation. 
* 
ON  page  960  we  spoke  of  the  “Official  Postal 
Guide,"  which  is  offered  for  sale  at  a  low  figure. 
The  price  is  30  cents  for  a  paper  bound  copy.  The 
Disbursing  Clerk  at  Washington  tells  us  that  many 
of  our  readers  are  sending  50  cents,  so  that  part 
of  the  remittance  mitst  he  returned.  The  price  is 
30  cents  for  the  paper  bound  Guide.  It  will  be 
worth  10  times  that  sum.  xiot  only  to  those  who  do 
much  business,  but  to  farm  homes  in  a  study  of 
geography 
* 
WITH  the  possible  exception  of  the  territory 
around  P.oston,  Mass.,  motor  tnic-ks  are  giv¬ 
ing  bettor  service  in  South  New  Jersey  than  in  any 
ether  part  of  the  country.  That  is  a  noted  farm  and 
garden  section  with  good  roads  and  producing  ci'ops 
which  must  he  hauled  promptly  to  market.  We  get 
a  good  idea  of  the  situation  down  there  in  this  let¬ 
ter  from  Horace  Roberts  of  Moorestown : 
We  are  10  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Ou  a  haul  of 
that  length  horses  are  quite  as  cheap  and  satisfactory 
except  in  times  of  unusual  output,  or  when  speed  is 
necessary.  For  the  farmer  15  or  20  miles  hack  from 
the  market  the  truck  is  a  godsend.  Right  now  the 
express  and  freight  service  of  our  railroads  are  so 
overcrowded  that  they  are  unreliable.  Last  week  we 
delivered  100  hampers  of  beans  at  Moorestown  for  the 
4  :20  express  for  New  York.  Next  morning  they  ar¬ 
rived  in  Now  York  after  the  market  was  over.  The 
next  day  we  delivered  over  200  hampers  of  beans  at 
Moorestown  for  the  1  :20  express,  notifying  the  agent 
early  in  the  morning  that  they  would  be  there  and  act¬ 
ually  placing  them  at  the  station  an  hour  before  train 
time.  The  1:20  express  would  not  take  a  hamper;  the 
4  :00  o’clock  express  would  not  take  a  hamper.  It  was 
after  6:00  o'clock  in  the  evening  before  a  basket  left 
Moorestown  and  all  arrived  in  New  York  next  day, 
too  late  for  the  market.  Talk  about  highway  robbery, 
here  is  au  instance  of  railroad  robbery.  They  charged 
me  good  money  for  service  they  did  not  give  dip.  Since 
then  my  truck  ban  run  every  day  to  New  York,  90 
miles,  and  the.  expense  is  not  only  less  than  express 
rates,  but  the  goods  arrive  on  time,  the  buyers  would 
lather  buy  goods  they  see  handed  fresh  from  a  farmer’s 
truck ;  it  is  an  advertisement ;  it  is  a  success. 
HORACE  ROBERTS. 
Thus  we  see  Mr.  Roberts  and  other  farmers  are 
driven  to  this  work  by  the  inability  or  indif¬ 
ference  of  the  express  companies.  It  is  a  great 
idea — this  sending  produce  90  miles  to  market  night 
after  night,  and  out  of  all  this  we  expect  to  see 
come  a  partial  solution  of  our  transportation  trou¬ 
bles.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  there  will  ever  be  an¬ 
other  extended  trolley  line  hnilt  in  New  Jersey,  be¬ 
cause  the  auto  passenger  service  will  take  its  place. 
We  think  the  motor  truck  service  will,  in  like  man¬ 
ner,  absorb  moi-e  and  more  of  express  and  freight 
traffic  and  do  it  cheaper  and  with  better  satisfaction 
to  the  shipper. 
Brevities 
Now  comes  the  potato  blight.  If  the  vines  are  cop¬ 
per  plated  it  can  he  kept  nut.  If  not  in  this  weather  it 
is  10  to  1  the  blight  works  in. 
The  latest  thing  in  fruit  is  pure  currant  juice  put 
up  in  large  bottles  with  a  little  sugar  It  is  sold  to 
parties  who  want,  to  make  their  own  jelly 
There  are  several  schemes  afloat  for  locating  colo¬ 
nies  in  various  parts  of  South  America.  We  advise  our 
people  not  to  pay  any  attention  whatever  to  them. 
There  is  no  good  reason,  industrial  or  otherwise,  why 
a  citizen  of  this  country  should  settle  iu  South  America. 
Here  is  a  new  proposition  about  straining  milk  from 
Prof.  Ilunter  of  the  Kansas  College  :  “Straining  does 
not  enhance  the  keeping  qualities  of  milk.  It  removes 
the  larger  particles  of  filth,  but  in  the  process  it  breaks 
up  the  small  dumps  of  bacteria,  thereby  facilitating 
bacterial  growth  and  increasing  the  danger  of  souring." 
Mass ac musettes  has  an  anti-roller  law  as  a  sani¬ 
tary  precaution.  They  tell  the  following  about  a  tra¬ 
veller  who  found  such  a  towel  hanging  in  a  country 
hotel. 
“Don’t  you  know  that  towel  is  against  the  law?” 
“Sure,  but  that  law  wasn’t  passed  when  this  towel 
was  put  up.” 
After  much  experimenting  and  sampling  the  Mis¬ 
souri  Station  says:  “No  one  should  be  persuaded  to 
base  the  selection  of  the  silo  to  he  used  upon  the  state¬ 
ment  or  supposition  that  one  type  of  silo  makes  better 
silage  than  another.  Any  silo  that  has  a  tight  wall 
that  keeps  out  the  air  and  is  strong  enough  to  with¬ 
stand  the  pressure  will  preserve  silage.” 
